WeVideo Review: Explore the Online Video Editing Realm

Gone are the days when you needed complex software to create professional videos. Nowadays, many user-friendly online tools are available that don't require complicated installations or extensive expertise to craft compelling videos.

WeVideo emerges as a formidable online video editor in this landscape. In this comprehensive WeVideo review, I explore its range of features and functionality.

Overview

WeVideo is a versatile online video editor with a range of editing features, plus screen recording, voice recording, and GIF creation tools. Thanks to its cloud-based operations, the platform makes it easy to access and edit videos from anywhere, on any system, regardless of configuration.

Beyond the standard features anticipated in any video editor, I was particularly impressed by WeVideo's inclusion of Chroma key and speed ramping, and more, all of which I've covered in detail further in this WeVideo review.

Note: I want to say thanks to WeVideo for extending my access to their Teams plan for another three months. It helped me explore the platform and explain its features better.

Cost and Subscription Plans

WeVideo offers two paid plans for individuals and small businesses:

• Creator – USD 240/year
• Teams – USD 624/year

The Creator plan is aimed at individual users. It includes unlimited cloud storage and publishing, video editing tools, screen recording, stock assets, premium effects, and up to 4K video export. It supports one user and comes with a 7-day free trial with limitations.

The Teams plan includes everything in Creator, along with collaboration features, custom templates, and tools for managing a team. It includes three seats, so up to three people can use the account. You can also purchase additional seats if you need to add more users. Each user needs a seat to access the editing and collaboration features. People without a seat can only view the work and can't edit or collaborate. The Teams plan doesn't include a free trial.

WeVideo also offers an Enterprise plan for larger organizations, with custom pricing. You need to contact WeVideo for pricing and more details.

WeVideo Editor: Interface Review

Like other efficient online video editing platforms, WeVideo has an intuitive, user-friendly interface. I found it easy to navigate, with all functions and tools conveniently located, eliminating the hassle of searching for essential tools during critical moments.

The dashboard is well-organized, making it easy to find Templates, Recent projects, and other key files. At the top, you can see six quick-action buttons to help you get started with editing, recording, GIF creation, podcasting, storyboarding, and uploading files.

I also like the flexible workspace, with its easy drag-and-drop method, which streamlines media arrangement. Like any standard video editor, WeVideo's timeline sits at the bottom, with a toolbar that includes all the essential editing controls. The side panel provides access to uploaded files, stock videos, images, videos, audio, transitions, and other assets. At the same time, the live preview section sits beside it. 

Impression: Overall, WeVideo's clean layout helps both new and experienced video editors use the platform with ease.

WeVideo Features Review

It offers a good range of features that go beyond the basics. Here's what stood out for me during this WeVideo review.

Basic Features

The platform includes the usual features you'd expect, like trimming and splitting, transitions, filters, and a media library, which felt sufficient for simple video edits.

However, some template and filter collections can feel a bit outdated or limited compared to what's available now. Another limitation was that the filters can only be applied to a single clip or the entire segment. I wish there were an option to apply a filter to multiple selected clips at once.

On the upside, though, the stock media has a decent collection and can work well for different projects. You also have basic color adjustment options, which is good since the filters are too simple.

For a detailed comparison, please visit WeVideo's official page.

Additional Features

Apart from the basics, some useful extras caught my eye:

Speed Ramping

You can change the speed of your videos, making them up to 10 times faster or slower. You can also set the speed for different parts of the video, which I found useful. I suggest enabling Ease in/out to make the speed change feel more natural.

Chroma Key

WeVideo has this cool Chroma Key feature, often seen in more advanced tools. It's great for making neat VFX videos, especially if you've used a green screen. In WeVideo, the feature is called Keying, and you can find it in the clip adjustment menu.

While green is commonly used for chroma keying, WeVideo lets you remove any specific color from your footage using the eyedropper tool. You can also adjust the sensitivity and defringe settings to fine-tune the results or enable the Show mask option for more precise adjustments.

I like these small yet flexible controls that make editing feel more natural.

Animation

The fun part of having an animation tool is that it can liven up your videos with movement.  While I appreciate its inclusion in WeVideo, the feature felt quite bare-bones. The controls are limited to adjusting the X and Y positions at the start and end of a video, and changing the scale to your liking.

The slider-based approach is handy, but I would have liked a little more control over the animation. At the very least, a few preset animations would have added a little variety. 

Audio Adjustments

There isn't much to play with here except tweaking the volume, adding Fade in and Fade out, and using the Reduce Noise feature, which is still in beta and did a decent job of reducing the background noise to some extent. However, on the downside, it made my voice sound a little muffled.

Nonetheless, the feature felt promising, and I hope WeVideo develops this feature further in future updates.

Webcam and Screen Recording

You can record both your screen and webcam at the same time, which is really handy, or you can choose to record just the screen or webcam. There's also a Narrate feature for adding voiceovers.

What I found more interesting, though, is its browser extension. The WeVideo Screen & Webcam Recorder extension lets you change the background, add a script, or generate one before recording, making webcam narration easier. It is helpful when you want to follow a script while recording without switching tabs.

Auto Caption Generator

WeVideo provides a hassle-free way to create captions without manual typing. With a simple click, you can generate automatic subtitles. While the accuracy is impressive, processing time may vary depending on the video's duration.

Impression: However, I wish the feature were in the workspace rather than the export panel. It would make the workflow more convenient.  

Text to speech (New)

It helps generate voiceovers in four different characters. All you need to do is add up to 1000 characters of text, and it will generate the audio for you. However, in my test, the generated voice sounded robotic and lacked the natural expression of a real voice.

Team Collaboration

WeVideo, a cloud-based platform, offers seamless team collaboration features to enhance your work experience.

To start a new collaboration, send your unique collaboration code to your collaborator and ask them to apply it by navigating to Account Settings > Apply code. Once done, all you need to do is:

• Approve their request
• Send them an invitation to their respective mail address, and
• Add them to the individual project.

Once completed, they can gain access to your projects and contribute by making essential edits and leaving comments directly within the project.

Note: You can only send invitations to people on WeVideo if they've already logged into the platform.

Impression: Although collaboration adds convenience, I initially had difficulty finding the tool. If you're new to the platform, you might need guidance to find and use it.

WeVideo Review: Editing Experience

Editing with WeVideo felt intuitive. The drag-and-drop functionality made selecting and arranging clips on the timeline easy. Features such as transitions, filters, stock footage, and titles were easily accessible, which helped me use these assets without complications.

However, to open advanced editing options, I either had to double-click the main clip or select the Edit option from the toolbar. It includes additional tools for resizing videos, chroma key, color adjustment, animation, etc. I have used different video editors, so this approach felt familiar. Still, I can't say the same would apply to beginners. Similarly, the placement of the auto-subtitle generation feature in the Export section felt a little odd. I wish it were available in the toolbar or somewhere in the editing workspace for quick access.

Other than that, the overall editing experience was smooth, with most common tools easy to find and use.

WeVideo Review: Performance

Editing videos in WeVideo was a breeze. I used Chrome to run WeVideo, and it mostly performed smoothly even with multiple tabs open.

For the performance test, I added a few MOV and MP4 files along with an MP3 file. I kept the editing simple with splits, trims, overlay, text, a few audio adjustments, filters, and transitions. The whole video was about 35 seconds long.

During the edit, I didn't experience any performance hiccups, except for slight preview lag. WeVideo used up to 217.4% of the browser's CPU resources and 795.58 MB of RAM during the whole process.

WeVideo Review: Overall Experience

What I Liked

Editing videos with WeVideo turned out to be quite intuitive.

Intuitive Interface

Both the dashboard and editing workspace in WeVideo are clean and intuitive, along with all the essential features within easy reach. So finding tools and using them did not pose any challenges for me.

Real-Time Collaboration

WeVideo also makes collaboration easy with real-time editing features. You can work on projects together, combine projects, and add comments, which is helpful for team-based work.

Support for HEVC format

Another useful advantage of WeVideo is its support for HEVC format, which many video editors struggle to handle. I tested it with a 2K HEVC file, and WeVideo handled the footage well while editing. 

What I Disliked

Despite the platform's many strengths, it falls short in a few areas.

Limited Editing Capabilities

If you are looking for in-depth controls, WeVideo might disappoint you. While most features work well for simple edits, they may feel limited or outdated if you want to try something out of the box.

Can Lag during Preview 

When previewing my edit, I noticed slight lag. It was not severe or disruptive, but because I was working with relatively small files and editing them bit by bit, the preview delay felt noticeable. Other than that, I didn't notice any major performance issues while editing.

Some Tools Could Do Well with Better Visibility

Tools such as text-to-speech, additional editing options, and auto-caption generation are not easy to find at a glance. I would have preferred these features to be more prominent within the workspace for a seamless editing workflow.

WeVideo Review: Support

WeVideo offers a decent level of customer support. On their support page, you can access answers to questions through various troubleshooting topics, tips and tricks, and other informative articles. You can email them if you can't find a solution to your query.

During my WeVideo review, I contacted their customer support through email. Their responses ranged from a few minutes to a maximum of two days and were helpful and detailed.

Who is it for?

WeVideo is an ideal online video editing tool for those looking for a simplified approach to creating professional-looking videos. From school students to business professionals, the tool lets everyone create engaging videos without the hassle of installing heavy, complicated third-party video editing tools.

However, if you are a professional editor looking for advanced capabilities found in Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or Da Vinci Resolve, WeVideo may not be the right solution.

Alternatives

Flixier

Although both WeVideo and Flixier are cloud-based online video editors with advanced features, Flixier has an edge with offerings like keyframing, motion tracking, and more. Read our detailed Flixier Review to learn more.Conversely, WeVideo excels with its clean interface and straightforwardness compared to Flixier.

FlexClip

In addition to Flixier, FlexClip is a strong competitor to WeVideo, with an extensive and visually appealing template collection. Nevertheless, I prefer WeVideo over FlexClip for its advanced features. To gain more insight regarding the platform, I recommend reading our FlexClip review.

Veed.io

It is another solid alternative to WeVideo. Veed.io relies heavily on AI and automation, making video editing more accessible. It is useful for those who don't want to handle every edit manually. In addition to its AI tools, Veed also includes decent manual editing features (e.g., effects, animations, transitions, trimming, chroma key, etc). Compared with WeVideo, the collection of transitions and effects is creative and modern; however, the customization options felt limited.

Overall, if automation and AI-assisted editing are your priorities, Veed can be a good choice. In contrast, if you are willing to give up automated editing for a simpler editing experience with manual control, WeVideo may be a better option. You can read this Veed.io review to get a better idea about the platform.

FAQs

Does WeVideo have a free version?

WeVideo offers a 7-day trial of its Creator plan. The trial comes with some feature limitations, including limited storage, export restrictions, and watermarked exports. These trial limits may change over time, so check WeVideo's website for the latest details. Once the trial ends, you must purchase a plan to continue using the platform.

Is WeVideo Professional?

WeVideo can help you create professional-looking videos with its range of features. However, if you are looking for advanced editing controls and customization options, you may find it somewhat limited to professional desktop video editors.

Does WeVideo have AI tools?

Yes, WeVideo includes AI features like Text to Speech and Script Generator. However, if you are looking for a dedicated AI video editing tool, WeVideo might not be the right option.

Conclusion

WeVideo is a simple yet effective online video editing tool, especially helpful for beginners. It helps you craft professional-looking videos without going through a complex editing process.

Based on my experience with the platform, I wholeheartedly recommend WeVideo to anyone looking for a streamlined video editing solution.