Wondershare Filmora 2024 Review: A Comprehensive Look at the Pros and Cons, New Features, and System Requirements
Unbiased Editorial Review of Filmora for Informed Decision Making
For those seeking the best video editing software, consider this impartial editorial review of Wondershare Filmora. This comprehensive source covers various aspects such as the latest Filmora features, best plan options, capabilities of Filmora, recommended computer specifications, and more. Don't forget to explore user opinions and feedback in the final section of the article.
👉️ Watch Filmora video tutorial below.
Our Verdict: Is Filmora a good video editor?
Wondershare Filmora is not just good, rather Filmora is presently the best video editing software in market, according to my neutral assessment of the top 5 video editors.
Wondershare Filmora is easy-to-use yet feature loaded video editor which is equally good for beginners, intermediate, and pro users. Filmora video editing software works on computer 💻 (Windows, mac), as well on mobile 📱 through its apps for Android and iOS devices (phone, tablet).
👉️ Check our Comparative Ratings for the Top 5 Video Editors – Star (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) Rankings.
Which Filmora Plan is Better?
The following recommendations might help you choose a better Filmora plan. Wondershare Filmora special discount offer is waiting for you, somewhere on this page.
Filmora Perpetual Plan vs Advanced Plan
Do you plan to regularly use the following functions:
AI tools (such as text-to-speech for creating voiceovers or AI Speech-to-Text for creating captions).
Premium Stock Media – downloading stock video footages, images, effects etc.
👉️ Compare Options & Pricing Plans ⮯
⮩ Wondershare Filmora vs CyberLink PowerDirector vs Corel VideoStudio vs Movavi (links open in new tab).
If you do not require the above features, then I would recommend the perpetual plan which you retain forever, without paying after each year – it will be good (and cheaper in the long run) for your video editing requirements for the next few years. You will get free updates to the current version, but you might miss some new features after a major upgrade (after the launch of the next version). Please note that some stock media comes free with the perpetual lifetime plan of Filmora.
However, if you plan to use the above features on regular basis, then in my opinion, the subscription based Advanced Plan (previously it was called Annual Plan) will prove cheaper in the long run (due to free credits of AI, and stock media), and you will always have access to the updated version.
👉️ Method to Design a Facebook page cover with Filmora in Easy Steps.
Helpful Tip:
If you've bought the Filmora perpetual plan, you can upgrade to the latest version for free by purchasing either TTS or STT, which costs about $4 per month. For instance, I had purchased the Filmora 12 perpetual plan, and now, with my TTS monthly subscription, I successfully upgraded to Filmora 14 at no extra cost. Plus, I'm able to use Filmora on two computers with just one TTS subscription.
Is Filmora cross-platform license valuable for you?
If you plan to use Filmora on multiple devices – Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android Phone, and Android Tablet – then the discounted cross-platform subscription license will be best for you because you can switch the device for using Filmora. But keep in mind that the cross-platform license is not available for perpetual (lifetime) use - it is only available as quarterly or annual subscription plan. According to the cross-platform license terms of Wondershare, you can use only one instance of Filmora at a time – it means you can login to Filmora for only one device at a time.
In my opinion, cross-platform license is a good choice because you can edit videos using mobile phone when you are away (for some time) from your main desktop pc.
Filmora Pros and Cons
Here I have enlisted the benefits as well as the limitations of Wondershare Filmora. I have also compared with other Video Editing programs. Although Filmora has some limitations but when compared with other video editing software, in my assessment, Wondershare Filmora is the best video editor.
Filmora Review
Quick Summary of Filmora Pros and Cons
Among cons, Wondershare Filmora lacks the functionality for 360-degree video editing. However, among pros, Filmora is packed with great and unique features, such as Screen Recorder, AI Auto Reframe, AI Voice Cloning, AI Smart Masking, AI Copilot Editing, AI voiceover from text, automatic subtitles from audio, Compound Clip, Speed Ramping, Vocal Remover, Keyframing, Motion Tracking, AI Music Generator, and fast Background Removal.
👉️ Check More Reviews by Dozro ⮯
⮩ CyberLink PowerDirector or ⮩ Adobe Premiere Pro or ⮩ Corel VideoStudio and ⮩ Movavi.
Advanced Video Editor Software
Filmora has much advanced features as compared to most video editing software out there, especially the powerful AI tools in Filmora are unmatched.
Filmora has as advanced features as found in Davinci Resolve Studio or Adobe Premiere Pro. However, Filmora is easy to use and time saver when compared with those software options.
Previously, Wondershare had FilmoraPro software which was comparable with Adobe Premiere Pro but in 2022, Wondershare discontinued Filmora Pro and introduced most of its features in the current Filmora video editing software.
Screen Recording
The screen recorder is a plus in Filmora – whereas Adobe Premiere Pro lacks screen recording functionality. Through Filmora Screen Recorder, you can record everything what is being displayed on your device (including voice), such as a gaming video or a TV program.
In addition to screen recording, you can also record through camera and microphone simultaneously. Therefore, Filmora is also perfect for creating video tutorials.
In Filmora screen recorder, you can automatically merge the computer screen and the camera footage either into a single track (like multicam editing) or place each of them on separate tracks for individual further editing. You can set the video quality of recording such as lower or higher. You can change the Pause/Resume hotkey – for example, I preferred the “Caps Lock” (key on on keyboard), for quick pausing or resuming the recording.
360 Video Editing
Filmora lacks the capability to edit a 360-degree VR video. It means you cannot edit a 360-degree VR video in Filmora.
It is beyond my understanding that why Filmora has not yet introduced 360 editing in Filmora because FilmoraPro (discontinued) has this capability and I still use it. One reason might be to keep the Filmora software lightweight because 360 video editing is a resource demanding function which requires powerful system specs of computer.
AI Vocal Remover
Use Filmora AI Vocal Remover to separate the instrumental music from the singer’s voice in a song. Just right click over a clip to find this tool. Free vocal remover is part of the Filmora subscription plan. On the flip side, other video editing programs including Adobe Premiere Pro, Movavi, Corel VideoStudio, CyberLink PowerDirector lack the feature of vocal remover.
Voice Changer
Filmora's AI voice changer provides various voice filters and characters for platforms like Tiktok and YouTube. Users can choose from preset characters such as a male, child, hacker, or robot to enhance creativity and privacy in videos. This is a new feature in Filmora.
Auto Reframe
The exclusive AI based Filmora Auto Reframe feature is great time saver – not available in other video editing software. Through this tool, you can quickly create a vertical video (for YT Shorts, FB Reels) out of a standard horizontal YouTube video.
By using the power of AI, it keeps the focal point (main object such as person in video) of your video within the set frame. If you are not happy, you also manually adjust the frame position. In addition to the common vertical size, you can also recreate your video in a square or any other aspect ratio.
It means you do not need to edit your landscape video again, for the purpose of creating a portrait video copy for social media.
Generate Custom Music
You can use the Filmora AI Music Generator to create your own custom music according to your preferred genre and mood, for example, Happy, Sad, or Emotional. You can use this royalty-free music as the video background without fear of any license strike. You can edit the music audio file and remove the unwanted parts.
This feature is exclusive to Filmora – not available in competitor software.
Easy Background Removal
Although, you can remove background by using chroma key in Filmora. However, Filmora also offers more easier tools to replace background of videos or photos.
You can use Filmora AI Smart Cutout feature to brush what you want to keep in a video – everything else will be removed to become transparent, where you can apply other background.
You can also use AI Smart Masking for easily removing video/photo background behind an object. To use it, just click video in timeline, brush over the intended object, under Mask select the AI Mask. In my test, Filmora automatically created mask around the selected object but around 5% of the object border was not correctly masked. So, I easily edited the mask points by deleting some extra mask points, and manually correcting the position of some points. You can also track the path of masked object in video through keyframes.
In fact, replacing video background in Filmora is easiest even for a novice.
Stock Media Usage
Filmora has built-in integrations with Unsplash, Giphy, Pixabay and Pixels for stock media . You get most of Filmora Creative Assets (music, images, titles, effects, stickers, transitions, animations, and footage clips) as free from Filmora inside library, Wondershare Filmstock, and from the integrated stock websites. For example, you can use countdown timer effects and AR fun stickers (cool eyeglasses, heart eyes, Christmas ElkHead, censor bar).
The use of some stock elements, requires additional Filmstock subscription – a form of upselling. Frankly speaking, I have never used the paid Filmora stock elements – if a striking element is needed - for example a subscribe animation - I download it from Canva, then I removed its background color in Filmora (by use of Chroma key) for using it as overlay on my videos. Please note that Filmora also offers built-in free overlays including the animated subscribe overlay.
Filmora has built-in NewBlue FX & Boris FX effects plugins – whereas PowerDirector has only BorisFX plugin. You may check the current price for Filmora Filmstock and external effects Plug-ins.
Good for Laptops
Filmora has all the necessary features, required for professional video editing tasks. It is fast and takes much less memory resources – therefore it is evenly good for running on laptops. It also has the capability of proxy video editing – which temporarily reduces video resolution for smooth playback in the Filmora software on computers with modest specs but exporting in the same high quality.
Language Support for TTS and STT
Filmora has edge over PowerDirector in many features – for example the Speech-To-Text of PowerDirector supports only English, Chinese and Japanese but the Speech-To-Text (for creating transcriptions, subtitles, captions) and Text-To-Speech (for generating AI voiceover) tools of Filmora support almost all languages.
Update (November 2024): For AI voiceover 55 human voices are offered by Filmora, in male and female voices, catering to various ages. For easy selection of a preferred voice, tags are given next to each voice, for example, Young, Adult, and Old voice. Now a play button is also added for quick testing an AI voice.
Filmora AI voiceover supports all major languages including English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, russian, Dutch, Korean, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Indonesian, Hindi, Begali, Marathi, Tamil,Telugu, Turkish, Norwegian, Danish, Hebrew, Malay, Ukrainian, and Croatian.
Text-to-Speech TTS
The integration of AI tools, particularly the multilingual text-to-speech feature, positions Filmora as the leading multilingual video maker available in the market.
The AI based Filmora Text-to-Speech is a very powerful tool with incredible efficiency and accuracy which I myself use for creating voiceover audios for Dozro YouTube channel videos. It is also noteworthy that other video editing programs including Adobe Premiere Pro lack this TTS (text-to-speech) feature.
Please note that in Filmora provides some free credits for TTS – it requires additional payment after using the initial free quota.
AI Voice Cloning in Filmora
Wondershare Filmora launched the AI Voice Cloning in July 2024. You can generate a realistic copy of your own voice by recording a brief audio clip (few seconds) using Filmora's AI Voice Cloning function.
Once you have a voice replica, you can utilize it to generate voiceovers in various languages. To generate a custom voice, Filmora instructs you to read a provided text out loud using your microphone. To clone your voice, the recording should be at least 10 seconds long.
Fast Rendering Speed
Based on the Rendering Speed Test by PCMag, Wondershare Filmora is the fastest video editor software and CyberLink PowerDirector has gained the second position – it means they have faster rendering and quick export speeds than all other video editing software, including Adobe Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve, Movavi, VideoStudio.
No Software Crashes
In my own experience, Filmora never crashed (because it is lightweight) whereas Adobe Premiere Pro cashed (or hanged) several times. In my opinion, most of the times, crashes result due to the low specs of our own computer – and less times due to any bugs in a video editing software. Using Filmora, you can import, edit a footage and export it in HD, FHD, or 4K resolution. With Filmora, you can effectively monetize YouTube channel or create commercial videos for your business.
Pro Tips: To avoid loss in case of crashes, make habit of saving project after intervals of every few minutes, no matter which video editor software you are using. If your computer has low specs, close extra programs such as browser while video editing, and also clear the temporary files from the computer.
Comparison of Pricing and Plans
Above all, Filmora is less expensive than many other video editing programs. Filmora is almost 5 times cheaper than the annual plan cost of Adobe Premiere Pro and almost 6 times cheaper than the price of Davinci Resolve Studio. Filmora offers both lifetime as well as subscription-based plans, whereas Premiere Pro does not offer the lifetime (perpetual) plan.
Filmora cross-platform license allows you to use the software free on its mobile phone app. On the flip side, all other video editing software (such as PowerDirector, Movavi) require separate payment for using the premium features of their mobile apps.
Speed Ramping
Filmora provides easy to use but effective speed ramping tool. Because Filmora is best and advanced at keyframing, you can also manually control the precise speed of a clip. Filmora speed ramping can be applied to video clips as well as audio clips.
Trust Factor
In my personal experience Wondershare has proved itself a trustworthy company. I am using its products including the Filmora video editor since 2017 without any issue. Currently, our staff is using Filmora on some of our computers and I am still using Filmora Pro on my desktop. Wondershare had discontinued Filmora Pro in 2022 but as I had purchased the perpetual (lifetime) license, Wondershare upheld their promise and continued FilmoraPro services for me – I can still log into the software and use it. It is noteworthy that in 2022, Wondershare had introduced most features of Filmora Pro in their easy-to-use Filmora software.
Photo Slideshow
Presenting your photos into beautiful slideshows is very easy, quick and intuitive in in Filmora. To create photo slideshow in Filmora, just import your images from your PC into the software and choose your favorite style. You can add your favorite transitions, overlays, voiceover, and color filters for producing impressive photo slideshow. The PowerDirector video editor is also excellent in creating image slideshows.
Live Streams
Filmora lacks the live streaming (live broadcast on social media channels) functionality, whereas this feature is available in CyberLink PowerDirector.
Number of Tracks
Like Movavi, you can add unlimited number of video tracks in Filmora whereas in Corel VideoStudio you can add up to 20 overlay tracks. To be honest, usually you do not require too many tracks. For a normal commercial or a YouTube video, I use only 3 to 5 tracks – it is rare when I need 10 or more tracks, for example, I used 12 tracks while creating this subscribe animation.
Easy Cuts and Splits
In video editing, the cutting or splitting the audio and video clips is the frequently used function. Filmora has attached the Split Button over Playhead which makes it quick and easy to split a clip – it is not found in other video editor programs such as Corel VideoStudio, PowerDirector, Movavi, and Premiere Pro. Clip splitting is most complicated in Adobe Premiere Pro for new users.
Cloud Storage
Wondershare has its own cloud storage service and provides 1 GB free cloud storage with Filmora subscription whereas PowerDirector provides 50 GB cloud storage with an annual plan. However, Wondershare offers subscription plans for any additional storage requirements. Honestly speaking, I do not prefer to use the cloud service of a video editing program – check the reason.
Split Screen Presets
You find easy to use readymade split screen templates in Filmora to show multiple videos (including photos) side by side on a single screen. But such easy premade multiscreen templates are non-existent in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Multi-Clip Editing
Multi-Clip Editing in Filmora saves time by enabling you to apply the same size, same color, audio values etc to the multiple selected video clips in timeline, simultaneously. This batch editing feature is also helpful in creating uniformity in design – for example, you can select multiple texts in timeline and apply same color and font to all of them with single stroke. This Multi-Clip Editing functionality is not available in PowerDirector – except the copy/paste attributes function. Although, this functionality is available in Adobe Premiere Pro – for example, by using Master Text Styles to apply the same color at once to multiple texts – but that is not as easy-to-use as in Filmora.
Compound Clip
It is great tool in Filmora for management of clips. Just select multiple clips (Ctrl + Click) of videos, images, texts, then right-click over any clip and select the Create Compound Clip option. Now it is easy and time saving to apply various settings on the merged clips. for example, you can move around the compound clip anywhere on screen, adjust size, position, opacity etc simultaneously. You can save to use it in media folder to reuse it later in other projects. If turn ON the Sync button, you can use it on all devices such as computer or mobile. This feature also helps to create new effects, new transitions, or new custom animations.
Easy Color Grading in Filmora
Filmora offers professional LUTs and filters for instant color grading using AI algorithms. Its vast collection simplifies color correction and grading, adaptable across devices for cinematic video production. With 800+ filters and LUTs, Filmora caters to various video styles and scenarios, enabling easy color adjustments for all users.
Is Filmora Free?
Many online users complain that Filmora website displayed the button for ‘Free Download’ but after editing a video, users were suddenly awful when they saw a big ‘watermark’ on their video.
Yes, like most other commercial video editing software, Filmora is not free to use.
You can test all its features free but to remove the watermark on your exported videos, you must purchase one of Filmora plans. I suggest you download its free version (with watermark) first to check whether it meets your editing requirements OR whether your computer is suitable for the Filmora software.
The trial version has the same functionality as the paid version - the only difference is the watermark over your creations.
It is worth noting that Wondershare does not impose any such limitations for audio export in Filmora even with free trial.
Rating Score by Independent Reviewers
Wondershare Filmora has maintained an impressive rating from reviews (4.0) on Trustpilot. Their customer support is quite helpful. Wondershare team gives value to the customers as evident from their replies to the customer feedback on Trustpilot.
Please remember, although Trustpilot is most authentic reviews website, but some companies either completely ignore it or manipulate it. Therefore, the video editors ranking score by Dozro experts might be more helpful, and trustworthy for you.
Money Back Guarantee and Free Trial
In case you are not happy with Filmora, you can claim 30-day money back guarantee for full refund. Wondershare also offers 30 days Free Filmora Trial but with watermark (a large Filmora logo over your video) on your exported videos.
Great Filmora Offer: Get 3-Day Free Export without Watermark.
Filmora Latest Features
Here are some remarkable new features introduced recently by Wondershare Filmora. These great features are included in the Filmora subscription plan.
AI Copilot Editing – it provides suggestions which you can apply or ignore. For example, it can quickly correct the colors of your video or remove the background noise from your audio.
Multi-Clip Editing – explained above.
Drawing Tool – you can quickly draw common shapes such as rectangle, squares, arrows, lines, ellipses, and triangles, right on the video player.
AI Text-Based Editing – this feature is useful for automatically creating video subtitles (as display on YouTube videos). It converts the spoken words in your video's audio to text which can be edited if needed.
AI Music Generator – explained above.
AI Thumbnail Creator – This Filmora tool automatically selects the best moments (images) from your video, puts editable text over it and creates a thumbnail for your video. Using this AI tool is not necessary to create a thumbnail – Watch my popular tutorial video to learn how I created a YouTube Thumbnail Image in Filmora video editor
AI Text-To-Video – Generate a video (visual graphics) from text script with the help of AI. In my opinion, it is only good for creating conceptual videos.
AI Vocal Remover – detach instrumental music from vocals in a video song, as explained above.
AI Smart Masking – explained above.
Automatic Captions – Elevate your videos using Filmora's automatic caption feature, effortlessly emphasizing important text and incorporating animated captions.
AI Voice Changer – explained above.
Curved Shape Text – Filmora provides users with sophisticated text formatting options. In July 2024, Wondershare Filmora unveiled a new functionality that allows users to transform any text into an eye-catching curved shape. Check out the demo of the Filmora curved shape text feature in our latest tutorial (shown below).
Pro Tip:
With the Filmora Advanced plan, you are provided with 1,000 AI credits. Should you deplete these credits, you have the option to purchase an affordable standalone Text-to-Speech plan, enabling you to transform text into a human voice with a single click. Additionally, there is a standalone Speech-to-Text plan available for converting voice or video into text. Moreover, Filmora offers AI credit packs that are beneficial for all AI services, including AI Copywriting, AI Music, and AI Image generation.
Filmora Tutorial by Dozro
All Filmora Features
What Filmora can do, is placed in the separate blog post on this Dozro website. Features are explained in easy-to-understand examples. Click the above link to land there.
Recommended Computer Specs for Filmora
Please note that following are my own recommendations, based on my years of experience in video editing. Filmora can run on much lower specs than what I recommended here. More powerful system (computer) is better for fast rendering and export of your video project, especially if you use more than three video tracks in timeline or you apply too many effects (motion, color) on a single track.
👉️ CPU Processor – I recommend at least Core i7. Whereas the minimum requirement of Filmora is Intel Core i3 processor and Intel 6th Gen for HD and 4K videos. Compare prices of Intel Core i5, i7, and i9 processor on Amazon.
👉️ Graphics Processor (GPU) – You should prefer any NVIDIA RTX series with vRAM of at least 6 GB. I personally use dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 with 12 GB memory. Whereas Filmora recommends 4 GB vRAM for HD and 4K videos.
👉️ RAM Memory – at least 16 GB. The RAM of my own PC is 32 GB. Whereas Filmora recommends minimum 8 GB RAM. For HD and 4K videos, it recommends 16 GB RAM.
👉️ SSD Storage Memory – I recommend at least 512 GB SSD for editing videos of HD and and 4K resolution but an SSD with 1 TB capacity will be the best option. Check computer SSD drive.
👉️ HDD Storage Memory – Your computer should also have a Hard Drive (HDD) of good storage capacity with faster speed. I use 2 TB for overall needs of storing data. Please note that Filmora video editing software requires 10 GB hard drive memory for installation, but when you will download stock media elements (effects, video footage etc), while using the software, it will take up additional memory space. Check price for internal HDD for laptop and desktop computer.
👉️ System Type – x64 based PC is recommended. All modern computers (laptops) have 64-bit operating system. System type 32 bit can only use up to 4 GB of RAM, so not good for video editing tasks. To check it for your computer, open Settings → System → About.
👉️ Monitor – Use at least an HD display monitor with your computer but 4K display monitor is a better choice – Check 4k computer monitors on Amazon. 4K monitor will help for better editing of colors. A monitor with minimum 1920 x 1080 px resolution is a good option for screen recording and creating tutorial videos, so that you can export the final video in the same resolution size as in recorded video – To explain it, for example, you screen recorded on a monitor with 1600 x 900 pixel resolution, but you want to export the edited video in 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution for uploading on YouTube, then you must forcibly upscale it in video editing software, which may result in pixelated (blurry) quality.
👉️ Computer Type – Prefer a desktop computer over laptop – because it is easily customizable (for adding more storage or replacing the power unit etc) and its casing can secure a large sized GPU.
Above are the best computer specs for your best experience while using Filmora video editing software. You may also check the minimum system requirements for Windows or Mac on Filmora official website.
👉️ Check top video editing laptop computers. You may also check the list of best desktop computers for video editing, recommended by Dozro.
Please note that Filmora is a lightweight software which can run even on a laptop with moderate specs. Filmora takes around three times less memory resources than what is required for Adobe Premiere Pro.
Filmora Learning Resources
Wondershare website has profound learning guide and tutorials about Filmora video editor. There are also plentiful other independent video tutorials available on YouTube.
In fact, Wondershare is very smart because it has captured potential customers of its competitors through content marketing – through thousands of learning articles even about competitor software including Adobe Premiere Pro, Movavi, and PowerDirector.
You can also check free Filmora tutorials on Dozro website. You can also get Dozro service to quickly learn Filmora in personalized coaching class online.
Suggest Edits
Let’s make this review a trusted source for other people to make informed decisions.
I have made my best efforts to highlight everything important about Filmora, but it is possible that I might have missed something to include in this Filmora review. Please give your feedback, opinion, and suggestions to improve this article. If your suggested edit is approved, you will be publicly endorsed by Dozro.
👉️ Post your comments and feedback in this Facebook post or in this YouTube community post or this LinkedIn post.
To date, all the information in this article is accurate and up to date in the best of my knowledge.
Conclusion
👉️ Check our Comparative Ratings for the Top Video Editors – Star (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) Rankings.
Filmora is simple and easy-to-understand video editing software for creating YouTube videos, personal and family videos, marketing videos for business promotion. Filmora empowers you to create videos of any size, resolution, and format for Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok.
Filmora is one of the best and time-saving choices for marketers, small and medium businesses, freelancers, and influencers. It is also great for creating tutorial videos, thanks to its free screen recording feature. You can even create beautiful thumbnail images in Filmora. With Filmora, you can create stunning videos that look professional.
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