We bring you a collection with 21 free programs to make videos with photos and music, a fairly simple and successful composition, especially on dates and designated events. There are many video editors for all platforms, but today we will focus on those that make it easier for you to work with your photos and music.
You will see the programs arranged alphabetically in our list, but these may be for desktop computers, mobile devices, or browsers. In this way, you will have several options to resort to regardless of the device from which you want to make the editions.
We have included those we have considered the most reliable or popular, but there is always the possibility that we have left out a hidden gem. Therefore, if you know other editors that are used to making videos with photos and music, we invite you to leave us your ideas and contributions in the comments section so that the rest of the readers can benefit from the knowledge of our xatakeros.
Avidemux
Let’s start with this powerful open-source video editor, which means that it doesn’t hide any nasty surprises when you install it and is free. In addition, it has versions for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux, and PC-BSD, which means that you can use it on practically any computer.
The application has all the basic functions of any video editor, adding audio tracks and images to create compositions with photos and music. It also has several filters and the ability to add subtitles. It is compatible with the main video formats such as MKV, AVI, or MP4.
- Link: Official website
AVS
We continue with this fascinating and powerful free video editor for Windows. It has all the basic functions: trim videos, split them, combine them, rotate them, and mix them. You will also be able to apply different subtitles or even add subtitles.
With an interface that is very reminiscent of Windows Movie Maker but with a more modern appearance while maintaining its simplicity, you can also add photos or audio to create video slideshows and background music. In addition to this, it allows you to adapt your videos to mobile phones or different online platforms.
- Link: Official website
Filmora
Filmora is an excellent video editor with a beautiful and modern interface and with versions for Windows and macOS. It tries to stand out among other advanced editors by offering more ease of use, with the timeline and its layers below, a window for the preview, and another for the photos and videos you can add to the top.
It is a paid application, although, in the trial version, you can use almost all the functions without limitations… in exchange for having to put up with a watermark inserted. It also has music and sound effects, and the full, paid version costs just forty dollars.
- Link: Official website
FilmoraGo
We now turn to a mobile application, an adapted version of the previous one. It is a somewhat more simplified version and oriented towards ease of use. However, it is enough to edit videos or create clips from videos and/or photographs you have on your mobile, even mixing them. You also have transitions between the elements of a clip and filter lists to make them look in certain ways.
It’s easy to use, with videos and photos at the bottom as icons to choose from and tap on to edit or add. You can layer on top with music, voiceover, titles, and/or filters. Much of this content is free, but some paid items can be downloaded. In this case, it is a free application with free content, although there are options to download separate paid additions. The bad thing is that there is a watermark that can only be removed by paying a couple of euros.
- Link: Google Play and App Store
Google photos
If what you want is to create your videos on your mobile, one of the easiest solutions you have is the Google Photos application, the same one where you can have a large number of them uploaded. This app has a simple video editor where you can choose photos and videos and make a movie out of them.
Therefore, it is a very simple way to create personalized videos with your photos, being able to choose how long the reproduction of a photo or video lasts within the composition itself. You will also be able to add background music or remove the sound… and little else, because it is a limited tool but very easy for anyone to use.
- Link: Google Play and App Store
iMovie
Whoever has an iPhone or iPad has iMovie, Apple’s video creation application. It comes pre-installed, and it’s so good that you won’t need another one on your mobile unless you’re looking for more specific features. It offers a huge list of options very close to those offered by desktop editors without having to search for other third-party applications.
It has everything from title themes to music and transitions, with various filters for videos or sound effects. You can also upload your music, use photos, add narrations… and all this is presented elegantly and simply, and being able to add the photos and videos you want from your phone to compose a video or a trailer. The results can be saved in 4K or 1080p resolutions at 60 FPS.
- Link: App Store
InShot
You will find interesting mobile applications in today’s list, but one of the best, besides the native ones from Google and Apple, is this InShot editor. Its negative point has always been that perhaps it has overused advertising, but in exchange, you have a versatile application, easy to use and with many options.
You can compose a new video and use the photos or videos you have on your mobile. You also have several ways to add music from your mobile or even extract it from YouTube videos. You also have basic options such as cropping, adding text, music, or voiceover, changing the speed, and using filters that can be free or paid.
- Link: Google Play and App Store
IvsEdits
A fairly flexible and modular video editor that supports high resolutions like 4K. One of its pluses is that the free version has very few limitations and that it’s associated with Vimeo, so you have options to easily upload your videos to that platform. Of course, you will have to register to be able to download the program.
One of the limitations of the free version is in the video formats in which you can export your creations. And also in the included applications, since it is a modular program made up of several. But for basic editing tasks, it still works.
- Link: Official website
Kdenlive
An open-source application created for KDE, one of the most popular GNU/Linux desktop environments. Over time, it grew and reached other operating systems, and now a powerful free and cross-platform tool also available for Windows, macOS, and BSD.
This video editor is quite advanced and versatile, with support for multiple video formats, keyboard shortcuts, and the possibility of editing multichannel video and audio and adding effects and transitions.
- Link: Official website
KineMaster
KineMaster is a video editor with a simple landscape interface that stands out because it allows you to create several layers with clips, texts, stickers, effects, or doodles. It looks very similar to desktop editors, so it can be interesting to use if you’re uncomfortable with mobile-friendly interfaces.
What we have said about the layers means you can put one clip on top of another, creating a peculiar effect. The bad news is that it is priced quite high at €4.99 per month or €29.99 per year. In its free version, you will have a watermark and limited options.
- Link: Google Play and App Store
Kizoa
Kizoa is an online video editor with simplicity and extreme ease of use as its flagship. Its operation is simple, and all you have to do is click to add the video or image you want to the composition in the order you want it to appear and then add transitions if you want.
In the free service mode, you have a maximum space of 1 GB, and the videos will appear with watermarks. Even so, it allows you to add effects, texts, transitions, GIFs, and music, and you can share your creations by email, social networks, or by a link that you can send by any other application,
- Link: Official website
Lightworks
One of the best-paid applications for video editing, although if you don’t want to pay the $134.99 per year for its license, you can use its free version with somewhat more limited options, but it will still be useful for small compositions. In addition, it is compatible with Windows, macOS, and GNU/Linux.
The way it works is simple since you can go to the folder where you have the multimedia elements and drag everything to the video you want to create, being able to join photos, music, or several videos. It is a simple method to work with, although the maximum resolution of its free version is 720p.
- Link: Official website
Movie Maker
It cannot be the most advisable tool since Microsoft abandoned it long ago, and it has not been maintained or updated for a few years. However, if you like the classics, you can install Movie Maker on Windows 10 by installing Windows Live Essentials 2012 from the Internet Archive repositories.
Here, you should keep in mind that you will be using an obsolete and discontinued version, so you will find errors, bugs, and incompatibilities everywhere. However, for some basic editions, it can still work.
- Link: Internet Archive
Movie Maker Online
It is an online video editor that uses the name of the mythical Microsoft program, but it is not related in any way. Of course, what you do have is practically the same interface and ease of use, and it does not require you to register or leave watermarks in its free version, which is an important point in favor.
The editor works simply, and it has a button to upload and add your videos, your photos, or your music to be added to the composition. Then, you have very intuitive menus and tools such as filters, text overlays, and transitions, as well as a selection of royalty-free images that you can use. Its only limitation is that you can only save the videos in MP4 format.
- Link: Official website
open shot
OpenShot Video Editor is another application designed to offer a simple tool for basic video editing. It’s as easy to use as dragging the video, image, or music tracks you want to use onto the application’s interface so that it loads them and you can add them to your creation. In addition, it has several tracks to add different contents and have them well organized.
It is a free and cross-platform editor with versions for Windows, macOS, and GNU/Linux and the possibility of starting a job in one OS and finishing it in another. You will also be able to add 3D effects and subtitles, map the time of the sound clips or edit them, put watermarks or trim the clips and their size, and even add transitions between them.
- Link: Official website
PowerDirector
This is another powerful mobile video editor with versions for Android and iOS. You can create clips using videos and photos with many templates and effects, transitions, stickers, color filters, or titles. The point is that there will be a few free ones, and then for other functions, you will have to go to its paid version.
It also has editing tools to adjust brightness, color, and saturation, with transitions between the videos and photos in your clip and the ability to add text or play background music. Then, the results can be exported to 720p in its free version or go to the paid one for resolutions up to 4K.
- Link: Google Play and App Store
Powtoon
If you are looking for an online tool to make small and short videos, Powtoon is an interesting solution. The limits of its free plan are clear, you can only store 100MB, and your videos cannot exceed 3 minutes in addition to having watermarks.
Therefore, it will soon become too small for somewhat more complete and complex editions, but that does not mean that it is not a simple resource for small ones. Its interface is also quite easy to use, and you must create an account.
- Link: Official website
Quik
Quik is an application designed for Go Pro, although you can simply use it on any other mobile. It is an app designed so that you do not have to do almost anything, so it is perfect for users who have almost no knowledge and want to start creating their videos or compositions.
The app analyzes your library of photos and videos in search of the best ones. Also, you can create clips using your videos and photos, and you can even add your music in case the extensive library that the app has isn’t enough. It doesn’t give you much control over the result but accepts your suggestions about key points in each clip. Using that information, along with the music and the desired duration of the final video, the app generates the video without much intervention on your part.
- Link: Google Play and App Store
VideoPad
A little above we have told you about the mythical Video Maker, and we could consider VideoPad as one of its spiritual successors. It is one of the best editors with a free version that you can find and includes export options such as burning the videos to a DVD, saving them to your hard drive, or sharing them directly on social networks, although these options are paid, although in In this case, the license barely costs 25 dollars.
Otherwise, this application offers several combinable transition effects and allows you to decorate your videos with different brightness, saturation, and color settings. They put all of this in a very simple interface that is inevitably reminiscent of Movie Maker, including a box where you have your music, your photos, and your videos to add by dragging.
- Link: Official website
VSDC Video Editor
Another paid editor has a free version with some ads and fewer options, but enough for video file editing or video creation. In the creation, you will be able to use your audio tracks and even photographs, being able to add transitions and visual effects, and even Instagram-style filters.
The most important thing about this program is that it has a minimalist and easy-to-use design. Even so, it also includes some options beyond the basic ones, such as the creation of masks to hide, blur or underline elements in the video. It also allows you to export the creations to your social networks.
- Link: Official website
WeVideo
And we are finishing with WeVideo, which is an online video editor that stands out among the best. The only thing you will need to use it is to register, and in return, you will be able to work with files of up to 1 GB in the free version, with resolutions of 720p… although with watermarks when saving the video.
Now the good news, and is that it has a simple interface similar to Video Maker that will make things easy for you to add your photos and music to the videos. In addition, you will be able to make collaborative editions, and it is included in Google Drive to save your creations in the cloud. You also have a library of hundreds of songs to give your videos some life, which you can upload to YouTube and other services once you’re done.
- Link: Official Website
Bonus: DaVinci Resolve
Possibly this application remains a bit high in complexity for the most basic users, but being one of the most complete that exists, we have decided to add it to the end of the list. It is a paid editor that is the best you can find on Windows in the professional field, with a very, very complete free version.
In this free version, you have tools for editing processes, visual effects, graphic animations, color grading, and audio post-production in a single application. The paid one is 269 euros, including a neural engine, collaboration options, stereoscopic tools, and dozens of other advanced options, but the free one is a good access point.
- Link: Official Website
Sharlene Meriel is an avid gamer with a knack for technology. He has been writing about the latest technologies for the past 5 years. His contribution in technology journalism has been noteworthy. He is also a day trader with interest in the Forex market.
