4 AI-Based iMovie Alternatives: Make Movies for Free

Exploring iMovie alternatives, I found four AI-based tools that offer diverse video editing features. These alternatives, such as WeVideo and Animoto, provide unique functionalities like green screen effects, customizable titles, and easy integration with platforms like Vimeo. They are suitable for various users, including beginners and professionals, catering to different needs like education, business, or personal use. This comparison highlights the strengths and limitations of each alternative, offering insights to choose the right video editing tool for different purposes.

Until recently, businesses were seen going mobile with their marketing strategies. But in 2017, the mobile first approach took a step ahead.

A recent report by Hubspot states that after watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online.

Since video marketing is taking over the content space by a storm, more and more businesses are going after this trick to pull in higher traction using video editor.

64% consumers buy products online after watching a video. Here are the tools you need to make them! #contentmarketing #videos Click To Tweet

But, why is Video Marketing a Winning Strategy for Your Business?

  • Increases Conversion and Sales
  • Brings higher ROI
  • Non-linear professional video editing tool
  • Build Customer Trust
  • Improves SEO
  • Expands Mobile Presence
  • Ensures higher Engagement
  • Simplifies Product Explanation
  • Amplifies Social platforms

It is true that using professional video editing tool and creation demands a particular skill set and the right knowledge of using video making platforms, but the situation is much simpler now.

If you’re a new-bee video editor in the video marketing business, you don’t need to fret over the ever so complicated platforms and software anymore.

There are a bunch of easy to use platforms available today that new users can start with right away, to create professional looking videos for the market.

iMovie

Developed by Apple, iMovie is a popular choice amongst Mac os users who are new video editor but the software is not open source.

For beginners who own Mac os , Mac Windows and devices, creating videos on iMovie is a relatively simple task as the platform is user-friendly and allows users to pick up videos from various sources.

These sources include DVD encoded files, digital video cameras, and even images.

Not only this, but you can also quickly add texts across videos to place video titles and execute simple transitions for visual effects using this video editing tools on Mac os.

Features in the latest iMovie version allow an iCloud integration which makes it easier for the users to access, edit videos from any Apple or Mac os .

iMovie Features:

1. Keyboard Shortcuts:

Navigating through a video clip can sometimes be too much of a task, lacking the exact precision.

However, with iMovie’s set of keyboard shortcuts, going to and fro and even applying other features on the video can be incredibly simple.

This feature helps save a lot of time, by ensuring that all video editing is literally at our fingertips!

iMovie keyboard-shortcuts - iMovie Alternative

2. Timeline:

You can easily differentiate between the video and the soundtrack, allowing you to take informed decisions while doing any video editing.

This is the long bar-like space that you see on your screen once you select a project.

There are clear markings across this bar (above and below) that depict the timeline of a video.

iMovie timeline-switch

3. Movie Sharing:

The videos created by you on your iMovie can be easily stored at the ‘Theatre.’

This is a storage center that also allows you to play your videos on an iMac Winodws iPhone, and the Apple TV.

iMovie sharing-options

4. Audio:

You can quickly access the audio track on your editing software screen, to play with the sound levels.

Earlier, matching the audio levels with the current clip could be a challenging task.

However, the functionality of placing both tracks below one another has made things much simpler!

iMovie audio - iMovie Alternative

5. Green Screen Controls:

Initially, iMovie came with a blue screen feature that did allow overlapping of two clips but the visual effects were a bit too sharp.

The new green screen feature helps soften these video effects, giving the video a much more natural look on the whole.

iMovie green-blue-screens - iMovie Alternatives

6. Trailers and Themes:

There are themes and introductory templates that you can directly pick up and use for video editing.

While these are great to use on the go, for creating impressive and professional looking visual content, the customization options are a bit limited.

7. Trimmer:

Editing video clips with precision is a daunting task even for the pros. However, with the iMovie trimmer, this problem has been solved too.

The drag and drop feature enables you to select the concerned clip and cut it as per the required duration.

8. People Detection: 

The people detection feature has been specifically designed for video makers who like to work with details.

While it does not tell the identity of the people on the screen, it does tell how many people there are in a  frame and how far away are they from the camera.

imovie people detection

While the feature is cool, it is a bit slow and requires patience to work with.

9. Lowered Background Noise:

Your video editing software is of no use if the background noise is dominating it.

While creating a video on iMovie, you can completely let go of this worry, as the platform offers a feature to lower the background noise of your clips automatically.

10. Easy Sharing Options: iMovie video clips are no longer restricted to only Apple platforms for uploading.

You can now quickly share your videos on multiple platforms such as Vimeo, Facebook, Youtube, and others.

Sharing on every platform is pretty easy, and there are no compatibility issues reported so far.

Disadvantages of using iMovie:

While iMovie is an excellent choice for video editing and creation, there is also a host of disadvantages that pull down this video editing software’s value.

Especially since there are so many competing products with winning capabilities available in the market, iMovie does lag behind in some areas.

1. Limited Video Formats Support:

iMovie does not accept all video formats and files that are available today.

Every time you begin filming something on your mobile, you need to ensure that the video formats would be accepted by the video editor – which can be a hassle for most users.

Unsupported video formats can lead to the content filmed being a complete waste of effort of video editor.

2. Storage Space:

As you would know, videos need a larger storage space when compared to simple images.

Moreover, on using the iMovie application, every media file used is replicated and stored in the device which eats up a lot more space than it actually should.

Over time, the space consumed keeps multiplying, which eventually makes the platform redundant.

3. Limited Platform Support:

Since Apple has built the iMovie app, the app only runs on the Mac Windows and iOS devices. This is a huge barrier for Mac Windows and Linux users.

Strong iMovie Alternative: WeVideo

Initially known as Creaza, this is one of the best alternatives to iMovie that was built for students and kids who wanted to create exciting videos on Mac Windows.

What started off as a tool developed to be used in schools and at home, scaled up quickly and was soon renamed as WeVideo, also catering to businesses now.

The creators of WeVideo realized the real potential of the product, which was majorly based on its easy to use interface.

The fact that it was first built for kids made it much simpler for them to stick to the ‘ease of use’ approach in a bigger market like iMovie.

With mobile coming into the picture and higher rates of content consumption, including video content, the value of such a tool was bound to increase.

WeVideo saw a steep rise in its usage recently when Video Marketing took over the marketing space.

The features offered on this platform make video editing and creation seem like a cake-walk, something that many businesses and individuals would appreciate.

The tool’s usage is divided into three segments for video editor- work, life, and school.

4 AI-Based iMovie Alternatives: Make Movies for Free 1
Wevideo G2 review

Here’s taking a look at what each of them offer:

For Work:

1. Combined Edits: This video editing software is one of the best alternatives to iMovie and is ideal for teams and video editor who like to collaborate and work together on Windows Mac.

With this feature, different users can work separately on their video edits, before merging the different tracks to create one single video.

By letting the users create their versions on their timelines, they get to work with a broader perspective, delivering higher creativity at every step.

The functionality of this feature does not end at combining the different video tracks. It also allows the user to change the sequence of clips to create a proper flow of content.

To state simply, the feature offers end to end customization when it comes to delivering something creative.

wevideo combined edits - iMovie Alternative

2. Chroma Key: This is a favourite post production technique used by a lot of video makers to add after effects to the videos post production.

By using this open source amazing video editor, the user can merge a minimum of two video clips to add a dramatic effect to the final video.

To use this feature, one requires a green screen, which helps key out the background of the main video, allowing a way to merge it with the second clip, to create something entirely different.

In addition to the green screen, it is important that the frame receives good lighting.

The idea here is to eliminate all shadows so that the screen appears to be in one single colour while shooting.

wevideo chroma key - similar to iMovie

The process of merging clips with green screens on WeVideo is relatively straightforward, which is also why this feature is quite popular amongst its users.

The video editing software lets video makers work on new and creative ideas in a simple and hassle free manner.

3. Customizable Titles: A lot of times, open source video editor end up using static images which are then converted into slide shows to make them look like a video.

In such a scenario, this customization feature can come in handy.

There is a broad range of video elements that can be easily tailored- right from the title, to panning across the images and even trying out different creative fonts.

wevideo customized titles - same as iMovie

4. Integration with Vimeo: Since WeVideo is a creative space for videos, their integration with Vimeo is an icing on the cake for video editing.

The possibility of publishing self-created videos onto a platform where your work can be easily viewed is a great bonus, after all!

Owing to the ‘video on demand’ world we live in, this feature simply makes your work more accessible anytime and anywhere for the people you care about.

wevide integration with vimeo - software like iMovie

5. Adding Sound to Videos:  Sound is an essential element of any video editor.

Various emotions and effects can be created with simple sounds such as slow or heavy musical instruments to convey a sad situation or depict happiness.

What’s more, sounds can also be used between two clips for smooth transitions.

On WeVideo, there are a bunch of tracks for sound effects and music, which the user can simply lay over their video.

The free video clips can be used as per the user’s requirement.

For Schools:

1. Collaboration: Content can be uploaded and collaborated upon using multiple locations such as Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox, Facebook and even Instagram.

This ensures seamless collaboration no matter where the users are.

2. Voice Over to Videos: This is a great feature to encourage creativity amongst school children. You can ask them to create a video and put a voice over on it, to explain the video’s concept.

This exercise would help students improve upon their content by building a process that enhances their presenting skills as well.

Wevideo voiceover - iMovie Alternative

3. Easy Shares: Since WeVideo is a cloud-based open source platform, creating and sharing of content is very simple.

This only encourages video editor to experiment with videos more often on Man windows.

4. Free Video Library: WeVideo hosts a library of free video, editing tools, themes, tracks and sounds that can be used quickly to add some personality to the video – without running into copyright issues.

The use of these tracks and themes adds an essence of finesse that may be lacking in an otherwise raw video.

wevideo library - iMovie app Alternative

5. Drag and Drop Timeline: Most open source video editing software and creating platforms are seen as cumbersome and complicated.

However, WeVideo has solved this problem by introducing the drag and drop feature that works on both Mac windows.

The drag and drop feature is an excellent way to save time by keeping processes simple and allowing the user to concentrate more on the content of the videos being created.

wevideo drag and drop - iMovie free Alternative

6. Chromebooks: School children can be encouraged to shoot and create video content by using their Chromebook’s webcam of Mac windows.

The method of assigning work makes learning a much more fun and informative exercise.

For Life

1. Static Photos in Videos: You know how we love to click numerous pictures on the go. Even on a very regular day, thanks to our smartphones and killer cameras, we click a minimum of 5 photos.

How about converting those into a video on WeVideo and enhancing it with a few features from the platform? By the end of it, you would have a mini video diary, chronicling your life!

2. Cloud Storage: We almost live and work with ‘ all things Cloud’ now.

The good thing is that WeVideo works the same way, offering a great deal of accessibility and flexibility in the way its users want to create their content with visual effects.

Since videos are also a great way of communicating, Cloud storage makes it easier for video editor to share the content in their circles.

It also eradicates space issues that a user might face after saving a considerable number of videos.

3. Create your own Holograms on WeVideo: Holograms are not something new, but having to create them on an amateur video? Definitely new AND exciting.

wevideo hologram - iMovie online Alternative

iMovie VS WeVideo

While iMovie is a great video editing platform to start creating videos on, WeVideo has been giving some tough competition to the former.

On comparing the two, WeVideo has emerged to be a better platform in terms of its utility, open source, ease of use, compatibility with other platforms and of course the video editing software features.

The restriction of using iMovie only on Apple devices is a huge factor that pulls down its popularity amongst users – limiting the number and segment of people who can make use of it.

But that isn’t the case with WeVideo.

WeVideo is created to cater to a wide audience – school students, professionals and just about anyone who wants to experiment with video content.

There are no device restrictions as it can be used on Mac windows, making it a widely adopted tool in the digital space.

Parameters imovie vs Wevideo
What do we like?Easy to use
Transitions are very well designed
Intuitive
A vast repository of video clips, images.
Good for newbies as well as business people.
What we don’t like?Not for all platforms The free plan is slightly limited.
PricingBasic feature is free The Paid plan starts at $4.99/mo billed monthly.
Best for Helpful for easy video editing on Apple devicesAnyone looking for a tool to create video.

Proven iMovie Alternative: Animoto

Animoto is another great platform and one of the best iMovie alternatives that is open source, built for amateur video makers who want to create and present professional looking content with visual effects.

4 AI-Based iMovie Alternatives: Make Movies for Free 2
Reddit discussion thread of video creation platforms

Let’s face it, not everyone is a born professional video editor and not everyone has the money to attend expensive film schools or hire the required resources.

That’s what Animoto was born out of as one of the best iMovie alternatives – for people like you and me, visual storytellers who want to experiment with rich formats of content.

1.Choosing a Video Style: The great thing about Animoto is that it is open source and comes with ready templates.

For users who do not have the time to create everything from scratch, can quickly pick up themes and a possible introduction to give a steady direction to their videos.

It begins with choosing what TYPE of video you want to create- for family, business or static images.

Animoto Video Styles - best iMovie Alternative

2. Style Customization:  What’s a solution without a little customization capability? After you choose the video type, you will be asked if you want to customize the template you’ve selected in this iMovie alternatives.

You can pick and choose the text, font and other elements based on the look you have visual effects for your video.

There is a range of font styles and colours available on the tool, making it easier for you to experiment with different looks for the video.

You can also play with the text size to create drama or highlight specific segments of the video.

Animoto Style Customization - iMovie Free Alternative

3. Pre-Built Storyboards: Since marketing videos require a whole lot of strategy and a particular message to go across to the viewer, it is essential that you create a storyboard first.

While this might seem like a daunting task, the good news is that Animoto already hosts some pre-built storyboards for your marketing team to choose from.

There is no dearth of these videos as they cover everything from product videos to sales and promotional ones.

This open source tool asks you to pick a video design from the library to give a particular theme to it and enhance it with visual effects as well as sound tracks.

Animoto Pre built Storyboards - Similar iMovie Alternative

4. Text Controls: A platform is not considered impressive without the availability of customization. Animoto users can customize their videos to the T.

Right from the font style, size and effects of the same across the video clip, the freedom to let your creativity run wild seamlessly, makes this tool a great choice.

Animoto Text Control - simple iMovie Alternative

5. Drag and Drop:  Animoto too offers an easy drag and drop feature for video editing on Windows Mac.

The features saves the time of video editor and removes the hassle of adding or removing elements from the video, letting them focus more on the content flow.

6. Deciding Video Length: Quite often, videos are recorded without having a defined concept or plan in mind.

You just end up shooting what you think looks nice, without worrying about aspects like the video’s length.

However, Animoto helps you trim these videos to a length you require and use them separately with different concepts.

Animoto Deciding Video Length - Alternatives for iMovie

7. Collage Block: Use this feature to highlight multiple instances from different video clips and put them together to create something totally unique.

This is just a fun feature that provides an extra edge of creativity to your work.

Animoto Collage Block - Alternatives to iMovie

8. Library: For times when your self-recorded video clips and soundtracks are not enough, don’t be disheartened.

Animoto has a vast library of over 2,000 soundtracks and videos that can be quickly used as an extension to your own creativity.

These resources are commercially licensed and also free of copyright issues so you can use them hassle free.

Animoto Library

9. Preview and Publish:  It is always good to preview your work before going live. It lets you be the critic to your own work and even get feedback from friends.

Animoto’s preview option makes it easy for you to take a second look at your work and make it better, before taking it live.

4 AI-Based iMovie Alternatives: Make Movies for Free 3
Animoto Capterra review

It is quite evident that the idea behind building Animoto was to simplify the process of video making on the whole.

The platform’s user interface and feature functionalities are incredibly simple, but don’t underestimate the features it has to offer – they can truly add value to amateur as well as professional video makers.

Parameters imovie vs Animoto
What do we like?Easy to use
Transitions are very well designed
Intuitive
Easy to use drag and drop editor
Plenty of export and share functionalities
What we don’t like?Not for all platforms Pricey if you use it occasionally.
PricingComes with all ios operating systems. The paid plan starts at $8/mo billed annually.
Best for Helpful for easy video editing on Apple devicesGreat for people who are just starting out.

Animoto VS WeVideo

These multi-platform video editor are fierce, non linear iMovie alternatives with only minor pros and cons.

All in all, Animoto is a great starter kit for video creators, but it is Wevideo that provides a professional edge to your work.

It’s a joy to work on WeVideo. Its user-friendly interface and design, responsive video editing features as well as intuitive navigation through the tool, makes it a top choice.

Another positive for WeVideo is that while your uploads take place in the background, you can still use this cross-platform video editor to work on other bits of your project.

After a lengthy comparison, it is safe to say that WeVideo wins the battle here.

Few more imovie alternatives you can try:

1. Flixier

A cloud-powered collaborative video editing tool that can help speed up the process of video editing.

It offers three plans Free, creator, and business priced at $10/editor/mo, $25/editor/mo, and for the enterprise contact the sales team.

2. Production Crate

Production crate is a video editing software with an archive of readymade assets that help with video creation that include music, graphic and visual effects.

It has a customer base of more than 40,0000 around the globe.

It has features like call-to-action buttons, edit the feel of a video with easy-to-use outlays and overlay filters, mograph and editing, Facebook and YouTube templates, and production-ready HD image effects.

It is available in two pricing plans Pro- $49/year and the other is Pro lifetime – $799/year.

3. Filmora:

Again a non linear video editing software and one of the best iMovie alternative, the platform targets beginners and offers them with easy to use features, intuitive workflows, and design, along with open source enviornment.

Filmora video editing

4. Magisto:

Another complete video making software, Magisto offers a range of features you can sue to enhance your video clips.

It provides everything, from background music and themes to clips that you may use to enhance your project in open source environment.

Magisto video editing

5. Windows Movie Maker:

Probably one of the oldest and widely popular iMovie alternatives, video editing features was almost introduced on Windows movie maker.

Windows Movie Maker has all the essential features to produce a professional looking video but at some level, it has failed to scale up in terms of encouraging creativity.

Windows Movie Maker

To summarise, if you ask us for one of the most professional iMovie alternatives, iMovie and Windows Movie Maker, our choice is pretty clear – WeVideo.

6.Adobe Premiere:

Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the most amazing iMovie alternatives and video editing software.

Features like creative tools, integration with other apps and services and the power of Adobe Sensei help users create professional looking video using this movie maker.

You can take subscription if Adobe Premiere Pro via Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe Premiere elements is a video editing software application published by Adobe Systems.

You can buy Adobe Premiere elements outright, instead of subscribing like Premiere Pro . Premiere elements is a scaled-down non-linear version of Adobe Premiere Pro and suitable for novice video editor and consumers.

  • Adobe Premiere Elements is suitable for 64-bit editions of Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
  • Adobe Premiere Pro CC: $20.99 /month with an annual plan
  • Adobe Premiere Pro CC: $31.49 / month on a monthly basis

7.Sony Vegas Pro:

Sony VEGAS Pro is one of the best iMovie alternatives produced by MAGIX.

This video editing software and one of the best alternatives to iMovie has the power of Artificial Intelligence to bring your video production two steps ahead.

A quick overview of Animoto and WeVideo:

imovie alternativesPricingFeatures Summary
WeVideoThe Paid plan starts at $4.99/mo billed monthly.What is good?
Vast repository of video clips, images.
Cloud-based and more compatible with platforms
Good for newbies as well as business people.
What is not good?
The free plan is slightly limited.
AnimotoThe paid plan starts at $8/mo billed annually.What is good?
Very easy to use drag and drop editor.
Huge variety of templates.
Plenty of export and share functionalities.
What is not good?
A bit pricey if you do not have to use it on a regular basis.
4 AI-Based iMovie Alternatives: Make Movies for Free 4
Best video editing software G2 grid

Ankit Prakash
Ankit Prakash

Ankit is a seasoned technology entrepreneur and founder of Aritic and EasySendy. With over 10 years of experience building product-led B2B SaaS companies, he is focused on ambitious goals and bringing innovative platforms to market. As a Principal Founder, Ankit leads product, engineering, marketing, and strategic partnerships for Aritic's suite of sales and marketing automation tools. He has grown the brand to over $120M valuation and $8M+ in revenue since 2015. Ankit is passionate about analyzing and reviewing software to provide readers with authoritative, in-depth insights. His articles cover martech, SaaS, entrepreneurship, and other technologies based on his hands-on expertise. He stays on top of industry trends and best practices in product marketing, performance marketing, inbound marketing, and content marketing. His work has been featured in leading publications including G2Crowd, Scoop.It, Brandvertisor, Martech Advisor, Smart Insights, and more. Driven by a dedication to shaping the future of B2B SaaS, Ankit enjoys translating his experiences building, marketing, and scaling companies into actionable thought leadership.

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  1. imovie is specifically for iOS but I am interested to know about video editing tools for Windows and Linux that doesn’t cost me a fortune. I am pretty confused with a variety of options available on the Internet. And I have a question about iMovie is how I can convert iMovie projects to Avi.

  2. Is iMovie good for Youtubers? Will it be a good idea to invest in a MacBook in order to use iMovie or the same results can be achieved with other video editing softwares like sony vegas, wondershare ,filmora? I do not have a budget issue I am looking for the best video quality.

  3. Chinnaiah Ramamoorthi July 2, 2018 at 6:25 AM

    Seems interesting..would surely give it a try.

  4. PixaPal is a rather new alternative to iMovie. For those familiar with Canva, the interface should feel similar. Would love to get your thoughts on PixaPal.

  5. Finding an imovie alternative is pretty tough. But, from what I have heard is that Wevideo is a great tool and is quite popular as an imovie alternative. I will definitely think of trying Wevideo for all my video needs.

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