For many editors, being able to work remotely is the dream. You roll out of bed, grab a coffee from your home coffee bar, and sink into the editing chair still donning those limited-edition Baby Yoda lounge pants you splurged on last March (with no regrets).
However, working as a fully remote video editor does come with some technical challenges. Thankfully, there are vast amounts of software solutions designed to solve nearly every problem a remote creative team may face. But which ones do you actually need?
We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 video editing tools that any remote video editor will want in their software stack to turn your home office into a powerhouse editing studio.
Adobe Premiere Pro
This is your keystone software for most editors. Adobe Premiere Pro has quickly arisen as one of the most favored editing platforms for digital video editing, and for good reason.
It’s power packed with features and has a relatively intuitive UI that allows for fast editing of nearly any project, from simple interviews to action-packed feature films.
Key features:
- Available for both Mac and PC
- Can handle nearly any audio or video format
- Works seamlessly with other Adobe programs
- Used widely among other professionals
- Can export in any format for distribution or visual effects editing
Pricing:
Starts at $20.99 per month for an individual license, or can be part of a bundled Creative Cloud package of all Adobe creative apps for $52.99 per month.
AVID Media Composer
The preferred editing platform of digital post-production houses for decades, AVID is an essential platform for any video editor to master.
Having this in your toolkit alongside both Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro will ensure that no matter what your creative team’s preferred workflow is, you’ve got it covered.
Key features:
- Available for both Mac and PC
- Can handle nearly any audio or video format
- Used widely among other professionals
- Seamlessly compatible with Pro Tools and other external creative software
Pricing:
Starts at $23.99 per month for an individual license, with discounts available for paying yearly up-front.
Final Cut Pro
The final editing platform in the great trifecta of editing platforms, Final Cut has long been the darling of Mac users from the days when programs like AVID didn’t work on Apple products.
Good for compiling fast and straightforward linear edits, if you’re a Mac editor, it’s always good to have this program on-hand just in case.
Key features:
- Ultra-intuitive user interface (heavily favors “drag and drop” style editing)
- Great VR editing features
- Included motion-graphics templates and visual effects
- Fast rendering times
- Only available on the Mac app store
Pricing:
A one-time purchase price of $299.99.
Pro Tools
Audio is important, and while most editing platforms have built-in audio tweaking features, if you want to be a truly one-person editing powerhouse, you’ll need a professional audio mixing program.
Pro Tools has long been an industry standard for professional mixing of everything from pop albums to movie soundtracks and is packed with features to create the perfect soundscape.
Key features:
- Available for both Mac and PC
- Packed with all the features of a full mixing board
- Seamlessly integrates with both AVID Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro
- Compatible with external mixing boards for precise, tactile control
Pricing:
Starts at $29.99 per month for an individual license.
After Effects
You don’t have to be a VFX wizard to take advantage of all that After Effects has to offer your video editing workflow.
From slick title cards to advanced rotoscoping and motion graphics, After Effects is the software equivalent of “yeah, I can do that.”
Key features:
- Available for both Mac and PC
- Powerful image manipulation tools
- Advanced motion-tracking AI
- Advanced motion-graphics tools
- Seamlessly blend video elements and remove unwanted objects with rotoscoping
Pricing:
Starts at $20.99 per month for an individual license, or can be part of a bundled Creative Cloud package of all Adobe creative apps for $52.99 per month.
Adobe Photoshop
Don’t let the “photo” in the name fool you, this is a software platform you’ll want in your stack as a video editor.
Whether it’s creating backgrounds to drop into a green-screen setup or creating graphics to sample into After Effects, Photoshop is a key tool in any editors arsenal.
Key features:
- Available for both Mac and PC
- Works seamlessly with other Adobe programs
- Used widely among other professionals
- Can handle still images and even extract images from video files
Pricing:
Starts at $20.99 per month for an individual license, or can be part of a bundled Creative Cloud package of all Adobe creative apps for $52.99 per month.
Evercast
Just because your team is spread apart, doesn’t mean collaboration has to be limited to endless email chains and clunky back-and-forth revisions.
Evercast is specifically designed with the needs of video editors in mind, allowing you to stream edit sessions in HD while video chatting with your team members face-to-face as you review, notate, and apply changes in real-time.
Key features:
- Ultra-low latency HD video streaming (less than 150ms)
- Record and review function to review key session moments
- On-screen drawing for visual notations
- Time-stamped notes to keep comments organized
- Real-time video conferencing, HD project streaming, and comments/visual note taking all under one platform
Pricing:
Starts at $599 per virtual room, per month (billed month-to-month). Special pricing packages are available for larger studios or teams.
Wipster
It’s not just creative teams that need to be on the same page, it’s clients too. If you want a simple way to keep both your creative team and your clients on the same page with the work in progress, Wipster is a great platform for getting and receiving edit approvals.
Key features:
- “Stages” feature which allows everyone to see which stage of approval each project is at (ex: “needs changes” or “approved”)
- Activity notifications that can be linked to browser, email or Slack so you never miss an update
Pricing:
Free for teams of up to two people with limited storage and playback resolution. $25 per month, per seat for teams of over two people with HD video playback and 250GB of storage. Custom pricing is available for enterprise users.
Frame.io
Now, collaboration isn’t the only technological hurdle to get over when working remotely. You need ways to quickly and safely transfer media files between team members and devices, while also tracking versions and allowing for additional note-sharing between clients and team members.
Frame.io is a fantastic platform that you can custom-fit to your workflow to allow you to share, annotate, and manage all of your media throughout a project.
Key features:
- Lightning-fast media upload speeds (less than 3 minutes for 5GB of data)
- Supports most common video editing software integrations and has an API that allows it to custom-fit the workflow to your needs
- Time-stamped notes and on-screen annotations
Pricing:
Free for up to 2 users, paid packages starting at $15 per user, per month. Custom pricing available for enterprise customers.
Dropbox
When it comes to cloud storage, there’s a reason Dropbox has continued to be the preferred storage solution for cloud-based backups and file transfers.
Its proven security, ease of use, and large storage options make it a necessary tool for editors who want to back up important files, transfer media to team members or clients, or receive media from outside sources without relying on hard drives.
Key features:
- Available for both Mac and PC
- Plans available that include unlimited data storage
- File-locking and advanced file encryption
- Transfers of up to 100 GB
Pricing:
Free version is available for storage up to 2GB, but professionals should look at their paid plans which start at $16.58 per month for up to 3 TB of storage.
These programs are a great jumping-off point for rounding out your full-service remote editing studio to ensure that you deliver great products to your team and clients, all while staying connected at every step in the process.
