Clipchamp - Professional-Looking Videos for Free?

Creating a video is not a walk in the park, especially if you are a YouTube creator or a small business marketer who hopes to get more with a limited budget. This phase may involve a lot of sleepless nights and cups of strong coffee.

Depending on your concept, you have to shoot footage from different angles, from different locations, and at different people or objects. You have to edit video clips to get the desired effect and impact. You will need a video editor that won’t leave you hanging. And that will not come cheap.

Clipchamp is one of many video editors that claim to make video creation and editing quick and easy (for free). Whether you’ve heard of it or not, we’re giving you a rundown of its uses, key features, things you need to know, and whether it is even worth your time. Let’s go!

What is Clipchamp?

Clipchamp is an online video editor. We need to emphasize on ‘online’ because you can fully use it in Chrome browser. No time-consuming, space-eating downloads. This is great for people who use internet-only computers like Chromebook. But if you want to download it to your desktop, you can.

One thing that makes Clipchamp stand out from other video editors is that it does not add a watermark to your videos even if you’re using a free account. For 480p resolution videos, that is. Sure, you can’t download higher resolution videos but that’s a better deal than having 480p’s with a huge, roaring watermark reminding you that without them, your video is nothing. Clipchamp is a good example that you can’t have everything, but you can have better options.

What it offers

For something free to use, Clipchamp’s multi-track timeline will surely make professional heads bow in approval. It lets you organize clips and music tracks with ease.

The interface looks friendly and yet serious enough to make you feel like you are actually working on a video. It has the basic features like trimming, cutting, speed control, filters, titles, captions, and more.

The webcam and screen recorder is a must-mention tool since most video recorders do not have a built-in editor. Another feature that gamers and online teachers will truly find this useful is the picture-in-picture tool they call video overlay. You can insert a video of yourself, or something else, on the main video screen. This is better than using split screen because viewers get to see the main video in its entirety.

The Text-to-Speech feature is also something worth mentioning. You can choose from 14 voices, each with a unique character. The voices are properly labeled so you get an idea what they may sound and you can pre-play to get a real auditory sample. This is useful for voicovers if you don’t want to lend your voice or hire a voice talent.

FAQs

Is it a good video editor for work?

Yes, but only if you plan to make videos that require basic editing and customization, like maybe a vlog, a video greeting or tribute, or a tutorial. But if you are making a short film or a high-end advertisement that requires grandiose effects, then you might need something more advanced.

Is it easy to use?

Yes. The dashboard is in plain view and the tools are labeled properly. Although some things are not quite evident, like how to trim clips down to the right duration.

Is it compatible with any computer?

It should be. It is a web-based video editor so, as long as you have Chrome browser and reliable internet connection, you should be able to use Clipchamp. No need to check computer specs and deleting apps and programs to make way for this one.

Is it safe?

Yes. What’s awesome about Clipchamp is that, although it lets you create and edit online, it won’t save or share your files. If ever the website gets hacked, no one would be able to pull out every single video that was made using their editor, whether free or paid. Now, that’s privacy worth ooh-ing about.

Is it free?

The basic plan is free. There is an option to upgrade to a paid plan, of course. Here’s a quick guide on Clipchamp plans:

Basic - unlimited 480p exports, all the basic editing features, but you have to pay $10 for stock audio or video
Creator - Pay $9 a month (not bad) unlimited 720p exports and you now have access to free audio stock (but still have to pay $5 for video stock)
Business - Pay $19 a month (still not bad) for unlimited 1080p video exports, custom branding, and free audio and video stock.

Who it’s best for

Clipchamp is a suitable video editor for anyone who wants to create and customize videos at a limited budget. So, those would be video creators or vloggers (on various platforms) and video marketers that work with small or startup businesses.

Pros and cons

If you are a vlogger, influencer, or small business marketer with a limited budget, we sorted the good and the bad of Clipchamp to give you a glimpse of whether it is a good fit for what you do or not.

Pros:

You can create and edit using the free basic plan
It allows you to crop video (change width and height) to fit the requirements for social media platforms
It has templates to help you get started
Webcam and screen recording feature
Text-to-speech voiceovers
No watermark (for 480p videos that made use of its free features)

Cons:

You need to pay for audio and video stock (if using the basic or creator plan)
You can only download free (watermark-free) videos in 480p resolution (free basic plan)

The Verdict

Clipchamp is a suitable online video editor for personal and small business use, especially if the budget is limited. It provides enough free features to help create and edit decent, professional-looking videos.

Should you use the free basic plan? There is definitely no harm in that. Should you upgrade to a paid plan? The extra features look promising and the rate is quite affordable as compared to other video editors.

It is safe to say that, with this video editing tool, you can avoid sleepless nights, and get that tasty, foamy, and refreshing frappe you so rightfully deserve.