The wait for something new and unusual is finally over! The update is here and it isn’t just another version: it’s VSDC 10.1!

A number that marks a turning point.

A release that takes everything you love about VSDC and represents another big leap forward.

With the new VSDC 10.1 update you can edit your brightest videos in HDR with vibrant colors, deep contrast and every detail fully preserved, overlay GPS-based metrics like route data, create dynamic animated strokes using the upgraded Curve Line tool, enhance your visuals with new Duotone color effect, remap audio channels and much more!

We invite you to explore these enhancements firsthand.

Download VSDC 10.1 today and dive deeper into the most impactful new features!

Precise Color Control

Have you ever noticed how vibrant HDR footage often looks washed out in the editor? That used to happen due to a lack of HDR support. But not anymore! With the PRO version your colors and brightness stay exactly as they should. Thanks to advanced HDR (High Dynamic Range) video processing, VSDC 10.1 makes your footage look true-to-life. All you need to do is open the video file properties, go to the HDR mode section and adjust the settings as you need.

Even vivid clips from the latest iPhones (those in HEIC format), are now fully supported ensuring accurate color representation.

So if you're working with footage from modern smartphones, action cameras or professional gear, VSDC now has all you need to keep your colors bright!

Learn more about VSDC color possibilities

GPS Telemetry Integration from GoPro, Garmin and More

A real must-have for sports, travel and outdoor content! VSDC PRO now supports importing GPS telemetry data from GoPro, Garmin, Insta360, Suunto, TomTom and most smartphone tracking apps. It means you can now overlay real-time route data directly on your videos using VSDC.

The process is rather simple: when your footage contains embedded data, the app will automatically suggest extracting it into a resource file. Just drag it to your timeline and boom: your route will appear on the scene. Customize its style or apply presets if needed. You can display altitude graphs and markers too if your camera recorded the data. Stay tuned: we're adding even more cool features soon!

This isn’t just about showing your journey. It’s about making your audience feel it and follow you in racing down mountain trails, conquering urban marathons or exploring uncharted paths. Use this new feature to let them live these moments with you!

New Properties for Curve Line

One of the most significant changes in this release is the overhaul of the Curve Line tool. With enhanced settings of it you can now adjust the thickness of your lines dynamically (for example, starting a line at 0% thickness and gradually swelling it to 200% for a beautiful tapered effect), apply blur or feathering to soften edges and choose from multiple end cap styles, for example, rounded or square ends.

Also, you no longer need to dive into the object’s timeline to adjust its structure: you can now select and modify point properties directly on the scene with just Ctrl+click any point of your line. Be sure: it will be a real time-saver that makes digging through timelines a thing of the past!

New Effects

When it comes to video editing, color and sound are everything because they set the tone and shape the atmosphere. That’s why VSDC 10.1 introduces two new effects to give you greater control over both.

• The Duotone effect that allows you to recolor any image or video using just two shades: one for highlights and one for shadows. It replaces all colors in the original with a smooth gradient between your chosen tones.
  If you need to quickly recolor logos, icons or overlays, it’s exactly what you’re looking for!
  Besides, for this effect you can find 50 ready-made presets: some are available in the free version, while others require a Pro subscription. Simply pick the one that works best for your project.

• Audio channel remapping that can help you remap, balance or even duplicate channels to fix one-sided recordings and improve audio quality in seconds. Anyone who works with sound knows how frustrating it is when one channel turns out louder, cleaner or completely silent. With this effect your audio sounds exactly the way it should.

New Templates

We’re happy to unveil our biggest template expansion yet! More than 600 new options! Dive into a treasure trove of new assets including sleek new titles, smooth transitions, magic backgrounds and our exclusive Premium Elements collection featuring hand-drawn animated arrows, lines, expressive emojis, lots of popular and unique symbols. Visit our Store to explore even more Premium packs.

But that's not all! We've also supercharged your workflow with new presets for video effects like Shift, Perspective, Lens Flare and Distort and almost all text effects: Recoloring, Glyph FX and Shift position. Simply head to the Properties window for one of them to discover these time-saving gems. Choose the best for your needs and don’t spend much time on working with settings.

Also be sure to check out the updated Free Shape presets and the brand-new gallery of presets for Curve Line. Why draw something that's already been done for you? All of them are available in the Free version. Just find the option “From gallery”, pick one of the presets, set its duration and draw on the scene.

Tip: hold Shift while adding these objects on the scene to keep their proportions.

What Else Is New?

This update brings more improvements than we can list. All of them are aimed at making your video editing faster, safer and more convenient. For example, if you are a PRO user who likes to stream content, you can now hide your name from public view directly in the Options. It’s also useful that the Basic Effects window now supports direct numeric input for more accurate adjustments, which can automatically be saved after that as applied effects.

File management becomes smarter with the ability to assign custom metadata keywords, while technical editing is streamlined thanks to Ctrl+Click point access (e.g., on Curve Lines) and proportional scaling using the Shift key on any handle.

Additional improvements include a percentage-based volume adjustment mode for the Amplify effect, customizable preview backgrounds during text conversion and the ability to convert subtitles into editable text directly in the Properties window.

Further expanding accessibility, full Polish interface support has been added, helping break down language barriers and make the video editor accessible to more creators worldwide.

To top it all off, we’ve addressed many bugs reported through social media platforms (Facebook, X, Reddit, Discord and YouTube) as well as those submitted directly to our support team.

Got ideas? Share them with us: your suggestion might be implemented in the next update!

We're excited to share this new version with you and look forward to your feedback!

Change is all about improvement, and this process wouldn't be possible without your input. After carefully reviewing your feedback, we’ve addressed several key issues and introduced updates designed to improve your editing experience.

We are thrilled to announce that VSDC 9.3 is here, and we can't wait to share all the exciting new features with you. In this version you’ll discover a new text conversion utility for transforming text, fresh ready-made templates for perspective titles, wedding slideshows and LUTs (Look-Up Tables), significant enhancements to the Wizard, an automatic blur background function, an auto-detect function for sprites, numerous interface updates, and much more.

Don't miss out! Download the latest version today and experience these upgrades firsthand.

Download VSDC Video Editor 9.3

Text Conversion Utility

Say goodbye to the tedious process of manually crafting curves, shapes and other elements to style your text. Our new text conversion utility simplifies everything. With just a few clicks VSDC automatically transforms your text into curves, allowing you to create animations for word outlines, shapes for letter transformations, text blocks for dynamic appearances, such as by word or letter, and even tracking points to animate highlights along letter contours and apply effects like Lens Flare or Bokeh Glare.

From there, just customize the parameters and styles to achieve the exact look you desire. Whether you're designing dynamic titles or intricate animations, this function saves you time and gives professional results.

New Ready-Made Templates

The templates window has never been bigger! Our beautifully designed nine wedding slideshow templates will help you preserve cherished moments and emotions of your special day. Simply add your best pictures and videos, and the perfect slideshow is ready.

In this window you will also find new perspective text templates that elevate your designs to new heights. With over 10 distinctive templates you can create titles in dynamic styles that are sure to grab attention. Your text will move, transform and leave a lasting impression, ensuring it stands out and engages your audience like never before.

Additionally, we are excited to introduce 140 new LUTs, conveniently categorized into five groups: Cinematic Moods, Filmic Tones, Sunset Waves, Aqua Depths and Light to Night. Cinematic Moods and Filmic Tones will help you to create a special atmosphere in your videos, Sunset Waves will infuse your videos with the cozy glow of sunsets over the sea or ocean, Aqua Depths dives into refreshing blues, perfect for beach scenes or underwater footage and, finally, the Light to Night collection will allow you to create dramatic shifts in mood for storytelling that spans different times of day.

Wizard Enhancement

And how our Wizard has been changed! Now you can see all available transitions in one place and use them there to add smoothness in your projects. We've also revamped its interface to make it more intuitive and customisable, placing all the important tools at your fingertips for a fast and efficient workflow.

Fill Background Function

Have you ever found it challenging to fill in black bars by duplicating and blurring the object you’re editing to match the colors seamlessly? Now this process is fully automated! Simply set the fill background function to our new Blurred Background option in the properties window, and the program will handle it for you. It's fast, convenient and useful when working with videos in portrait mode or with footage that doesn't match your project's aspect ratio.

Auto-Detect Function for Sprites

In almost every video tutorial you're asked to manually set NO for ‘Use as a container’ and YES for ‘Show effects’. You wonder, why isn't this the default setting? We heard you! But we've taken it a step further by introducing an auto-detection feature for sprites that selects the correct settings for you.

More User-Friendly Functionality

VSDC now offers more capabilities than ever before. Convenient toggles have been added to various settings in the properties window, allowing for quick switches between “Yes” and “No,” and even impacting the Key Editor in some cases.

We've also significantly improved the precision for effects like Zoom, Rotate, Perspective, Skew, etc., allowing you to set more accurate numerical options for better results.

Exciting news for color enthusiasts: Color Grading wheels are now easier to use, allowing you to fully control the color tones in your projects. This improvement ensures smoother adjustments, whether you're fine-tuning details or balancing overall color.

We are sure all of you appreciate the possibility to use over 10 presets for panel configurations in Panes Manager, which was not possible before. It will help you to optimize the interface to your needs and save it for using by default.

And another opportunity that will surely surprise you is that the program now remembers your last selection in the template tree and the file extension in the file explorer window, saving your time and effort for searching necessary objects.

Of course, that is not it about our new version. More info you will know from our new how-to articles on the official page and YouTube tutorials.

Experience the capabilities and user-friendly features of VSDC 9.3 today!

Download VSDC Video Editor 9.3

We invite you to share your thoughts — your idea could inspire our next update. Our VSDC support team is always available at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also connect with us on Facebook, X, Reddit or Discord.

This holiday season embraces new beginnings with the latest update of VSDC Video Editor! We’ve listened to your feedback and decided to focus on enhancing the tools you love most—all while laying the groundwork for even more exciting innovations coming next year!

The update introduces such features as an upgraded Text Conversion tool, a standalone Blur Background effect, new Color Grading opportunities, a more user-friendly template preview window and more. Additionally, we’ve curated a special holiday gift for you: a festive collection of templates featuring both free and premium Christmas-themed backgrounds to add magic to your videos, along with a variety of abstract backgrounds designed for every season.

Read further and learn more about VSDC 9.4!

Don’t forget to install the new 9.4 version

Upgraded Text Conversion Tool

What you loved most about the previous update is now even better! Say goodbye to the hassle of closing and reopening the window of the text conversion tool if you don't see results. Take full advantage of the preview window, accessible in all tool modes!

We’re confident you’ll also appreciate the presets we’ve designed for the Free Shape, Curve Line and Text Blocks modes. They are ideal for creating text animations like Stroke Text, Text Reveals and more, with options to select the method and speed of text appearance. No need to manually adjust the settings — just choose the preset that works best for your text!

Additionally, you’ll find the template window, available for Free Shape and Text Blocks. It allows you to preview templates before applying them for Fade-in and Fade-out!

100+ Background Templates

What’s Christmas without greeting cards and beautiful holiday videos? Our new templates feature two collections of Christmas backgrounds: one free and one premium, both perfect for bringing holiday joy into life! Choose from designs with Christmas trees, gift wrap styles and many more. Be sure: it’s a wonderful opportunity to impress everyone with colorful posts on social media and beyond!

And when the holidays are over, you may find yourself in need of versatile backgrounds for presentations or other projects. We’ve got you covered with 10 collections of abstract animated templates.

Take a moment to explore these stunning designs and tell us—what do these abstract backgrounds evoke for you? After all, the beauty of abstraction lies in letting everyone see what they want to see.

Quick Access Toolbar

Now you have even more options to customize your workspace in VSDC! With the new Quick Access toolbar all root folders of the template window are just a click away, so you can keep your frequently used folders always at your fingertips.

What’s more, you can fully personalize the icons in this panel! Choose your favorite from our library or import your own icon. Want larger icons? You can do that too! Just right-click on the panel and activate the “Large icons” option.

Color Grading Enhancement

For those who love playing with colors in the Color Grading panel we have an exciting new feature! Now you can add the Color Grading effect directly to the timeline. This is the perfect way to quickly apply your custom color adjustments to multiple videos. Simply tweak the settings in the Color Grading panel, click the new button in the lower-left corner and add the effect to your current object on the timeline. From there you can easily copy and apply it to other files or save it in the template window to use for future editings!

Of course, we’ve taken care of bugs and fine-tuned minor issues, ensuring the program is now more stable and reliable than ever before! It’s fully prepared and eagerly awaits the exciting transformations we have in store for the coming year!

VSDC Team wishes you happy holidays filled with joy, boundless creativity and continued success in all your endeavors!

Your feedback drives our progress, so don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or connect with us on Facebook, X, Reddit, Discord and YouTube.

Thank you for being part of our journey—we’re excited to create more amazing moments together!

Intro

In 2024 the options range for creating visual effects is incredibly diverse and it becomes more and more challenging to identify the top choices.

Here you can find a guide to the top visual FX software that will help you to add originality to your projects. Whether you're looking for advanced compositing tools, powerful 3D animation capabilities, or user-friendly interfaces, this article will help you navigate the options and find the software that best suits your needs and preferences.

Each program is reviewed based on its features, ease of use, and suitability for different levels of expertise. You will learn about intuitive solutions for beginners, like VSDC Video Editor, and sophisticated tools for professionals, like Houdini, to make the right choice.

Key Takeaways

This article covers the following key points.

• What are Visual Effects?
• How Do Visual Effects Work?
• Best Visual Effect Programs
  • VSDC Video Editor
  • Autodesk Maya
  • 3Ds Max
  • Blender
  • Houdini
  • Cinema 4D
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Nuke
  • Fusion
• How to Choose Right Visual Effects Software
• Conclusion
• FAQ
  • What kind of special effects can I create with this software?
  • I'm a beginner. What software is easiest to learn?
  • I'm a professional editor. What software do industry professionals use?

What are Visual Effects?

Visual effects, or VFX, are special tools used in various fields and media formats to create vivid visual impact. They are integral to film and television, video games, advertising, music clips, etc. Using free visual effects software even amateurs can create truly incredible videos.

There are lots of different visual effects, such as green screen, or chroma keying, motion capture, compositing, rotoscoping, matte painting, using which creators make their viewers mesmerize what they watch.

As technology advances, VFX capabilities are growing and providing greater creative opportunities for both professionals and enthusiasts.

How Do Visual Effects Work?

Utilizing these effects, filmmakers and content creators can transport viewers to fantastical worlds, integrate real and fantastical elements and produce breathtaking visual outcomes. With VFX software it is possible to create a unique style and unusual atmosphere, improve image quality, remove unwanted objects, create complex animations, etc.

In advertising VFX can highlight key product features and make products more memorable and engaging for viewers. For example, the Samsung “Galaxy Z Fold 5” advertisement uses special effects to create smooth transitions between different product features, blending practical effects with digital enhancements to showcase the phone's foldable screen.

Let’s also remember some films where visual effects are used. James Cameron's film "Avatar: The Way of Water" showcases advanced visual effects, particularly with its underwater scenes and new technology for realistic water simulations and marine life. In "The Marvels", visual effects enhance the superpowers of characters and create complex space battles.

With visual effects, videos are more attention-grabbing. That is how they work.

Best Visual Effect Programs

Different visual FX software is widely spread on the Internet. Everybody has lots of opportunities for trying their hand at making video content. We will introduce some of the most well-known and popular visual effects programs and cover both simple and accessible options, where most functions are available for free, such as VSDC Video Editor, as well as more complex programs that require a subscription for regular use, such as Autodesk Maya or Houdini.

VSDC Video Editor

VSDC Video Editor is a lightweight software that allows you to install it even on outdated PCs. In this program you can import and export a broad range of formats and codecs. Besides, it is possible to handle large files and complex projects without any slowdowns.

In this program you can professionally create a wide range of visual effects, including segmentation to isolate objects from the background, VHS effects for adding noise, retro color tweaks, classic camera shake simulation, etc., particle effects such as trace paths or smoke trails, lighting effects for dramatic illumination, echo effects for simulating delays with trailing copies, motion blur effects to mimic the blur of fast-moving objects, and many more.

VSDC Video Editor stands out as one of the best visual effects programs, not only because it allows you to create lots of its effects for free, eliminating the need for a paid version, but also due to its intuitive interface that makes the editing process easy for users of different levels.

Learn more

Autodesk Maya

Autodesk Maya is a product designed by Autodesk software corporation. It can be named one of the best compositing software for creating not only visual effects, but also for 3D models for video games, television, and more. You can create particle effects, fluid dynamics, cloth simulation, rigid and soft body dynamics, etc.

This software offers customization through scripting with MEL and Python. It also integrates with other Autodesk products and third-party plugins.

Unfortunately, Autodesk Maya doesn’t have a free version, but it offers a free trial period for potential users. For commercial use Maya requires a paid subscription that may be expensive for those on budget.

For users who are new to visual effects or looking for a more user-friendly option, software like VSDC Video Editor would be a more suitable choice.

3Ds Max

3ds Max is another product designed by Autodesk. This 3D software is used for modeling, animation, and rendering. Here you can create particle effects, volumetric effects, fluid dynamics, cloth simulations, etc. Comprehensive lighting and shading options for photorealistic results, and animation capabilities, including motion capture and character rigging are also possible.

Despite the strong merits of this program, several challenges may occur during your work in it. Its high licensing fees can be prohibitive for individual users. Besides, it requires powerful hardware, and users may have such difficulties as slow processing times, lag during complex operations, and crashes when handling large files.

It does not have a free version, but you can use a trial period to determine if the program meets your needs before purchasing a paid version.

Blender

Blender is a free visual effects software. You can use various VFX features here, including automatic and manual tracking, camera reconstruction, real-time preview of tracked footage and 3D scenes, as well as support for planar tracking and tripod solvers.

Because of its advanced functionalities requiring high-end hardware for optimal performance and a potentially complicated user interface, this software may present challenges for less experienced users and those with less powerful systems. However, Blender has a large user community and many tutorials available online. With some effort and time, you can learn to use the program effectively.

Houdini

Houdini is one of the best visual effects programs known for its advanced procedural workflow, which facilitates faster content creation, shortens project timelines, and offers greater flexibility for complex tasks. Houdini FX provides high performance and realistic dynamic simulation tools, enabling the creation of particle effects, fluid simulations, cloth simulations, and more.

Mastering all these features can be challenging, particularly for beginners, and creating effects can place a significant demand on system resources. The high cost of the software may also be a barrier for individual users.

Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D is a 3D modeling, animation, and rendering software. It is known for its user-friendly interface and wide variety of capabilities, including visual effects. You can create complex particle simulations, simulate realistic interactions between objects, try MoGraph effects, X-Particles integration, and more.

The disadvantage of this program is that some advanced simulations may require additional plugins or software for more specialized needs. The program is compatible with both PCs and Macs, but its system requirements may be too high for consumer level computers. Besides, its subscription may be quite expensive for users, as it does not offer full free access like Blender or a free version like VSDC Video Editor. Moreover it is not possible to purchase Cinema 4D online, you will need to contact a licensed distributor to purchase the software.

Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is a leading visual effects program for creating motion graphics and visual effects. It allows for the design and animation of dynamic text, shapes, and graphics, has excellent compositing capabilities, supports particle effects and includes keying techniques to remove backgrounds from footage, such as green screen, or chroma keying. After Effects also offers time manipulation capabilities for slow motion, time-lapse, and time remapping, and provides tools for color correction and grading.

As with many of the programs already described above, a free trial version is available, which allows you to use the full functionality of the program for a limited period of time. After the end of the trial period a subscription is required to continue using the program.

Nuke

Nuke is a compositing and visual effects software used in film and television production that offers a wide choice of capabilities including green screen, retouching and correction, particle simulation, color grading, 3D compositing for working with 3D objects and cameras. It also handles depth and stereoscopic effects, allowing for multi-layered and multi-channel image processing, and provides rotoscoping tools.

The base version of Nuke is available for free, but more advanced features are restricted to the paid version.

Fusion

Fusion is a powerful compositing and visual effects software where users can create such visual effects as chroma keying, or green screen, remove backgrounds, try rotoscoping, particle effects 3D compositing for integrating 3D models with 2D footage, detailed color correction and grading, tracking and stabilization of camera and object movements, and more.

Despite its considerable advantages, Fusion has a smaller library of third-party plugins compared to other software, which may limit the range of available effects and functionalities.

How to Choose Right Visual Effects Software

The answer to this question depends on your experience level, budget and needs.

If you are new to visual effects software, you need to choose one with an accessible interface and clear functionality.

If you're already a pro, you can try more sophisticated programs discussed above, read user reviews about them and then make your choice.

Conclusion

We've reviewed a number of the most popular 2024 software, where you can create visual effects. Which one you choose is up to you. Of course, many of them are rather expensive and can be difficult to put into practice, that is why we recommend you to start with something that is easier to understand and more affordable, like VSDC Video Editor, and then decide whether or not to switch to other software taking into account feedback from users who have purchased a particular subscription.

Our testing revealed that VSDC Video Editor is also the least demanding on your computer's resources, making it an excellent choice for less resource-intensive video editing and for users with moderate hardware. For more complex 3D modeling and effects, programs like Maya, 3Ds Max, or Blender are preferable, although they come with higher system requirements and greater complexity.

We hope that this article was useful to you and you will choose a software that will really meet your needs and expectations.

FAQ

What kind of special effects can I create with this software?

You can create a great variety of visual effects that enhance your video content. The most popular of them are compositing which combines multiple layers of video and images to create complex scenes, chroma keying (green screen) that enables the removal or replacement of backgrounds to place subjects into different environments, motion tracking that lets you follow the movement of objects or cameras within a scene, particle effects that simulate elements like fire or rain, and many more.

I'm a beginner. What software is easiest to learn?

If you are new to visual effects software, you need to choose software with an accessible interface and clear functionality, for example, VSDC Video Editor. This software also has a free version in which most functions are available, so unlike other products presented in this article, you will not need to purchase a paid version.

I'm a professional editor. What software do industry professionals use?

As a professional editor, industry standards often include software like Houdini and Adobe After Effects. For visual effects and compositing, Adobe After Effects and Nuke are commonly used, while Autodesk Maya and Blender are preferred for 3D animation and VFX. However, VSDC Video Editor is a strong alternative that offers a range of professional-grade editing tools, including advanced visual effects, motion tracking, and color correction, at a more accessible price.