A lot has happened to HitFilm since we last reviewed the video editor. For one, there has been a complete rebranding, HitFilm Express is now simply called HitFilm.
At the time, we described one of the best free video editing software as "the most impressive", with such a comprehensive and useful set of tools that in the end, "when you see the quality of other free or super cheap alternatives, it's hard to think of a reason why you should give them the time of day when HitFilm Express offers so much in comparison.
That's still largely true of the powerful video editor, with some welcome new improvements, but also some unwanted feature removals.
Pricing
HitFilm is still free, mind you. That has not changed. However, there are also two subscription levels that give you additional features.
Creator (€9.99/€9.99 per month, or €6.25/€6.25 per month billed annually), includes the Hitfilm Creator and Imerge Creator apps. It lets you export footage in up to 4K resolution (free Hitfilm limits it to HD), includes 100 songs, 100 sound effects, and 25 templates from the Artlist library, and offers "premium support."
Pro ($15.99/€15.99 per month, or €9.99/€9.99 per month billed annually) comes with a host of software: HitFilm Pro, Imerge Pro, Mocha HitFilm, BorisFX 3D Objects, and Foundry 3D Camera Tracker. You can also export up to 8K, and the subscription includes 200 songs, 200 sound effects, and 50 templates.
Now, if you're not a fan of subscriptions, fear not: Perpetual licenses for HitFilm Pro and Imerge Pro are still available, which include 12 months of updates and technical support. If you are already a HitFilm user, you can also renew your license at a reduced price. Unfortunately, HitFilm Creator doesn't seem to be available this way.
Pro is the subscription service they offer, but we'll see how the latest free version, now known as 2022.1, stacks up.
New style
The interface has undergone quite a major overhaul. Gone is the off-white look that graced the version we reviewed two years ago, replaced by a sleeker, more modern dark gray design. It is very beautiful. Unfortunately, if you're running HitFilm on a Mac, interface guidelines break, the menu bar is ignored, and menus follow Windows principles, consuming valuable real estate unnecessarily.
The justification for this could be the giant "Refresh" button, top right, constantly reminding you that you actually have to send money to FXHome every month by taking one of their juicy subscriptions.
Maybe being subtle didn't work for them with the old look, but it's garish and overbearing, and definitely a big step forward in our opinion.
Self learning
If you're new to video editing software, launching such an app might seem daunting. So many windows or panels, so many options, where do you start?
For this reason, we really liked the new sidebar, simply called "Learn". You can turn it on and off with a simple button, to the right of the top menus.
Here are three videos that explain the basics: interface details, how to manage your media, and how to export your finished product.
But there's so much more: Click "All Categories" to view the 39 available videos designed to teach you most aspects of filmmaking, including working on green screen, changing audio tones, and adjusting sound. color balance of a clip, among others.
This is a very welcome addition – it makes HitFilm one of the best video editing apps for beginners, and the tutorials provided are sure to quickly improve the capabilities of a new editor.
art is not free
Another new addition for HitFilm version 2022.1 is the inclusion of stroke and vector stroke effects. These basically allow you to paint lines along a path, using points that you can easily turn into curves to give a more organic feel to what you're drawing.
They're very easy to use and can be a great addition to your editing and compositing arsenal, except there's one catch: even though you can use them with the free version of HitFilm, these effects will be watermarked. The only way to remove it is to get a subscription or get a perpetual license.
We must emphasize that this is not an unusual sales tactic. Free video editing software without hidden watermarks somewhere in the app is rare. If you go through all the available effects, you will see that most of them can only be used when leveling up.
The inclusion of VFX software, which makes HitFilm a true all-in-one post-production tool, is a nice touch. But if you're looking for a real alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects alternatives, you'll need to upgrade to HitFilm Pro, which offers the best of both worlds.
Still, you can at least try them out to see if you like the included effects, but like that big, ever-present "Refresh" button, it doesn't leave a good taste in your mouth.
additions and deletions
You'll find most of the other improvements in this release under the hood.
For example, the Puppet effect has been improved, HitFilm now supports a wider range of TIFF images, and there is a new user preference to enable or disable mouse wheel scrolling in dropdown menus. Mac users running computers equipped with the latest internal processors will also appreciate the extensive support from Apple Silicon.
If you pay for one of the subscription levels, you'll find direct access to Artlist's music, sound effects, and templates, via the Creative Library panel (you can't access this with the free HitFilm, but there are plenty of free alternatives online that could use and import as media in your project).
But you will find that other elements have been removed, such as the integration between HitFilm and Vegas Pro. There is no longer support for the Adobe After Effects plug-in, nor is there the ability to import and export AAF files.
OS compatibility has been reduced. If you are using Windows, HitFilm will now only work on versions 10 and 11. While the oldest Mac operating system is Catalina (MacOS 10.15).
final verdict
This version is a bit disappointing. Rebranding happens from time to time, and we won't blame FXhome for trying to improve the look and feel of their best video editing app.
HitFilm is still a great video editing software, with lots of powerful features, all free (see our previous review for more on that). And it's a lot less intimidating than rival free video editor DaVinci Resolve; actually, it is more aligned with Lightworks, both of which are some of the best free video editing software for beginners.
But after two years, we expected more than what we have now with HitFilm.
This obviously doesn't take away from what it could already do, but we expected more than a rebrand and larger update requests. Still, it's easy to miss that big "Update" button and you're still left with a full-featured video editor and all your edits in your pocket.
If you're looking for free video editing software, we recommend downloading a copy and trying HitFilm for yourself.