VideoPad was one of the first video editing software that I had used, and to this day, it is one of the most simplest and easiest video editing software I have ever used.
The entire platform is designed in a way that is simple and easy enough for anyone who is starting out new as a video editor and would like to learn more about video editing.
In this article, I will try to cover most of the features that are available on it, and in the end, give you my verdict on this video editing software and whether you should use it or not.
Contents
Availability of VideoPad
The first great thing about VideoPad is the fact that it is available for both, Windows and macOS devices, making it simple and easy for anyone who is trying out this software for the first time on any computing device.
There are also some other great video editing softwares that you can get on computing devices, such as macOS, where you can use the video editing software for free.
One such example is iMovie, if you want an in-depth review about it, then I have written a separate article on it, as well.
If you are using a Linux-based device, then you have a bit of a problem as VideoPad is not available for Linux, and there are a lot of people who use Linux devices, so that can be a bit of an issue.
If you want to know about other video editing softwares that run on Linux, you can check out this article where I discuss about the best video editing apps/software present in the market right now.
VideoPad Price & Free Trial
VideoPad doesn’t offer a free trial, it offers its entire software for free if you are not using it for commercial projects, and that is one of the biggest reasons why I chose this software as my first video editing software.
A lot of beginners are simply trying to learn how to edit videos, and you would always find a free tier or a free trial plan for a particular video editing software with some limited features that can only be unlocked via subscribing to its services.
Well, that’s not the case here because the free version of VideoPad offers most of its premium features on its free version plan, which should be sufficient enough for most people.
However, if you want to VideoPad for commercial usage, then there are two different pricing points available to purchase them.
You can either choose the Master Edtion, which costs around $100 Dollars as a one-time fee, or the Home Edition, which costs around $60 Dollars as a one-time fee.
Features of VideoPad
There are a number of different features that are available on VideoPad, and I will discuss all of them in-depth later on in the video, but for now, I can quickly glance through them to explain some of them.
A number of effects – VideoPad features a great number of effects in its effects library, and most of them work quite well, considering that you are able to use them for free if you are using them for non-commercial usage only.
The effects are also in-line with some of the other video editing softwares that fall under the price range of $80 – $100 Dollars range, and that is quite commendable, to say the least.
Constant Updates – The company that distributes and publishes VideoPad, NCH Software, almost constantly update the video editing software so that you are able to receive the latest list of features.
This is especially a great thing because usually, companies don’t like to update their applications for the free version and focus more on the paid versions so that customers tend to move towards them.
However, that’s not the case with VideoPad.
Pros and Cons of VideoPad
Let’s discuss some of the pros and cons of VideoPad.
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅Easy and simple to use software ✅Great ways to share the files ✅Works on popular computing devices ✅Simple UI | ❌Old aesthetics of the UI ❌Reports suggesting the Windows version of the application has more features than the macOS version ❌Lacks premium features |
Well, the Pros list always outnumbers the cons list in my review articles, but that doesn’t mean that the cons are limited and shouldn’t be taken for granted.
In today’s age, where people can easily edit from their phones, and the UI of those video editing apps look modern and nice, it makes it feel a little different when a computing device’s video editing software looks old.
Along with this, while video editing software does provide you with some great effects, it still lacks some premium features which you would want to try out once you have started to know about video editing and learning more about it.
So, instead of having those premium features on this software, you would probably move on to another video editing software, at least that’s what I did, and I don’t think that’s a good business move for VideoPad.
They should be able to retain their customers, and keep them using this software by providing premium features, such as multicam editing, VR editing, more audio controls, etc.
So, while the pros on this list are pretty solid, there are definitely some areas where VideoPad has to improve upon, as well.
Specific functionalities of VideoPad
With all that mentioned, let’s discuss some of the specific functionality of VideoPad that it has to offer to its users.
User Interface
The user interface of VideoPad, as I mentioned above, is a simple UI but it is also a little outdated, as well.
However, the overall UI of this video editing software is based to look and feel as practical as you might want to.
A lot of the times, video editing software feel a little too complicated to use, and that is true for even professional video editors, as well and that can be truly annoying, even if you know most of the shortcuts.
Well, that’s not the case here. With VideoPad’s UI, you are able to use the software quite easily and learn it quite quickly, as well. The overall program is designed so that new video editors don’t find it too confusing.
The overall look of the UI is clean and simple and the program automatically, distrubutes audio, video and image files into separate categories, so that it is easy to access them.
This makes the overall usability of VideoPad simple and fun, as well. However, if you are someone who likes a little bit of dynamics with the UI, then this one is not for you.
Audio Editing
Audio editing is also a really important part of any video editing software because while the visual elements of your video should definitely be on par, if the audio elements are not, then the viewers probably wouldn’t continue watching your videos.
So, while you can always record great audio with good microphones, you may need to edit them on your video editing software so that the overall outcome of the material is good.
VideoPad does offer some basic audio editing tools, such as increasing and decreasing the volume, fading and mixing audio, etc., but they are still a bit limited compared to some other video editing softwares.
If you really want to edit audio properly, then you would need to download NCH’s Wavepad which syncs with VideoPad to provide you with some additional tools, such as text-to-speech, voice recognition for subtitles, etc.
However, even those features are not as great as you might find on some other video editing softwares. So, overall audio editing on VideoPad is above average.
We have also covered the best AI video editing software
Video Editing
While audio is an important aspect for any video editing software, the main thing that it should be really good at is video editing. The overall process of video editing on VideoPad is fairly simple, and that is because of its simple and easy UI.
There are a handful of features that are available on VideoPad that also do make the overall experience of editing videos simpler, such as image stablization, adding a bit of VFX, etc.
Image stabilization is a great feature to include, as it tries to remove the shakiness of your video and try to make it as smooth as possible.
While testing the stabilisation option, you can obviously tell that something has been done to the footage in the post to make it look smoother, but the overall outcome of the feature is quite decent.
The same is the case with the VFX tools that are available on VideoPad.
So, overall the video editing procedure on VideoPad is smooth and easy as it does have some professional tools.
Effects and Transitions
Speaking of VFX, there are obviously a number of different transition and effects tools that are available on VideoPad, as well.
The effects that are available on VideoPad aren’t going to be something that will truly make your videos, in fact, you should actually use them sparingly, but that is not a bad thing at all.
Same is the case with the transitions that are available on it. Usually, video editors like to simply use a jump cut as a transition or create manual transitions, but the list of the transition effects that are provided are pretty decent, as well.
The thing that you have to expect is that the overall software is available for free, so you have to set your standards to those degrees, and for those standards the effects and transition tools on VideoPad are pretty good, as well.
Integration with Suite
Now, just like most video editing softwares, such as Adobe like to bring in people in its ecosystem so that customers are able to use more products of the company rather than is competitors; the same is the case VideoPad, as well.
NCH also makes a number of other softwares that are available to be used on VideoPad. All of these other programs are under the option of ‘Suite’ in VideoPad.
These programs are all to be separately downloaded, and they provide different levels of features. The great thing about them is that they are all available for free for non-commercial usage, as well.
There are a number of programs, such as WavePad, MixPad, PhotoPad, PhotoStage, etc., and all of them lead to different levels of tools that can assist you in your video editing process.
Recording tools
VideoPad also offers a recording tool that is in-built the video editing program so that you can easily use your laptop’s microphone and camera to record yourself and seamlessly add this video clip to your video.
The recording of clips can be extremely useful if you are making a video to demonstrate a particular item or something else and want to have your own video and audio in the video itself.
The overall recording application works as expected, and most of it does have to depend more on your computing device’s camera and microphone capability rather than VideoPad’s recording ability.
You can easily shoot the video, and it has an option to directly add recordings to the project, which is a simple and easy way to record your own videos.
It is a simple feature but does come out quite useful, and beginners would definitely appreciate it, as well.
Performance of the software
The overall performance of the software is pretty much what you might expect from a free video editing software, and again, that is pretty good as well.
The software is not the fastest, but at the same time, it is also not super slow to use, and if you have a computing device with decent specs, then the software should run smoothly and edit your videos, as well.
As per rendering and exporting videos, VideoPad does excel in that department as it does offer a number of different settings and options for people to directly choose how they want their export files to be.
It even has an option of burning the videos on CDs, which I am pretty sure that this generation of kids won’t even understand what that is (which is so weird considering that I am only 22 years old, and I am referring to them as ‘kids’).
Still, the overall render and export speeds are good, and you get a good amount of options to choose from.
Colour correction and Management
Now, this is usually a department that is mostly available in premium video editing softwares, such as Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, etc., and while it is not of that level, you do get certain options in this department at VideoPad, as well.
If you use one of the programs available under the suite option, you will see that you are able to colour-grade your videos to a certain degree on VideoPad, as well.
While the tools are a little rudimentary, it is still quite impressive that you are able to colour-correct your videos and make it look like the way you want it to.
That being said, you also need to know how to colour-correct your videos, otherwise, no matter whether you use VideoPad or DaVinci Resolve for colour correction, you won’t be able to make your video look good.
So, yeah, the colour-correction tools on VideoPad are above par, if you know how to use them properly.
Sharing features
Just like other video editing softwares, even VideoPad offers a wide array of sharing options for the videos that you edit on its platform.
You can directly upload your videos on popular cloud storage, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Flickr, etc. Or you can also choose to upload the videos straight into YouTube, as well, making it simple for people for YouTubers who are using this software.
The sharing feature isn’t something that is pretty new, and a lot of other video editing softwares have this feature to make the overall experience of exporting videos simple and easy for the user.
VideoPad is no different in that department, and it is able to do the same thing for free where you sometimes end up having to pay a lot for being able to access such features.
So, in that aspect, it is a great thing that is available on VideoPad. If not, then you can simply export the video on your computing device and share it from there.
FAQs
Let’s discuss some of the frequently asked questions regarding this topic.
Is VideoPad worth it?
I would say that VideoPad is worth it, based on your usage. If you are a beginner, like I was when I first used this video editing software, then yes. It is definitely worth it.
The overall UI of this software is pretty easy to use and understand, and that is something that I appreciate more because I am now using some professional video editing softwares, and I do get overwhelmed by the UI.
That was not the case with VideoPad, and that did motivate me to learn more about video editing, rather than being overwhelmed by it and stop using it.
Plus, the amount of features you get on it for a free software, is also well worth the price.
Is VideoPad fully free?
If you are using the software for non-commercial usage, such as making videos for your own personal projects and not earning anything from the videos, then, yes, it is free of cost.
Otherwise, it does have paid plans, as well, for commercial usage. You can either pay for the ‘Master Edition’ which costs around $100 Dollars as a one-time fee or for the ‘Home Edition’ which costs $60 Dollars as a one-time fee.
Still, most people who are going to end up using VideoPad are probably going to use it for non-commercial purposes, and for them, the entire software is free of cost.
Is VideoPad professional?
VideoPad does have some professional features available on it, for free, as well, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a professional video editing application.
You can actually pay for its services if you feel like the overall software provides you with the list of features and tools that you are looking for.
However, as far as I know, and having been personally used this software, I can tell that this software is designed for people who are new to video editing and would love to know more about it.
If you want to use some professional video editing softwares, then I have written many different articles on it, and you can find yourself a great video editing software that you can use for professional purposes.
What is the difference between VideoPad free and paid?
The overall difference between VideoPad’s free and paid versions is not a lot, which is a great thing if you are using the free version of the software, since you are able to get the most out of the features that VideoPad has to offer.
However, there are some differences between the two. In the paid version, i.e. ‘Master Edition’, you are able to have a number of different options for audio tracks, whereas, on the free version, you are only able to have two audio tracks.
You also get the option for different Windows plugins on the paid version, which you do not get on the free version.
However, the main important difference between the two is that you can only use the free version for non-commercial purposes, whereas you can use the paid version for commercial purposes.
There is also a ‘Home Version’, which is essentially the same as the free version that allows you to use the software for commercial usage.
Also read:
How to edit videos for instagram
How to improve your video editing skills
How to choose the right Video Editing App
Final Verdict and Review
Well, as I had mentioned at the start of this article that VideoPad was the first video editing software I had ever used and I am glad that I chose this particular video editing software.
There are a number of great things about VideoPad, most notably its free price for non-commercial usage, and it also offers you a number of features without much limitation.
Over time, as I got better at video editing, I found VideoPad to be a little limiting, in terms of its features.
And I feel that is where its biggest strength is, for being a great video editing software for beginners, so that they are able to learn how to edit videos on a video editing software and then move on to some other professional softwares.
So, it is a pretty solid video editing software, that did help me make my first video (which was quite bad actually, and I did put a lot of time and effort into making it), and if you are someone who is new to video editing, I would highly recommend it to you making your first video on it, as well.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it. An article about reviewing VideoPad. While I feel the software is a robust video editing software for beginners, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for professionals.
Still, there are a number of different video editing softwares present in the market, and I have written about quite a handful of them, and if you want you can check those articles, as well.
As always, these have been my thoughts on this topic. What about you? Do you agree with my review on VideoPad? Or do you think that it can be used by professionals, as well?
Whatever your thoughts are, do let us know about them in the comments down below!
