VEED is an online video editor with free and paid versions. All versions include a screen recording function and an impressive audio transcribing capability.
Looking for a reliable online video editor, one that requires no payment or registration i.e. free if your tasks are straightforward?
Well, here’s a really great one to try. VEED Online Video Editor offers three different suites of tools, all of which allows you to perform standard tasks like adding text and subtitles, trimming, applying filter effects, and combining pictures/videos. Finished projects can also be exported in a variety of sizes and settings, with convenient presets for popular social media platforms such as Instagram.
Speed-wise, VEED is extremely fast with tasks too; I experienced no lag at all when resizing pictures, uploading, or adding elements. Most impressively, there are even audio cleaning and transcribing functions. To date, I’ve not encountered such functions in free online video editors.
Naturally, the free version comes with certain limitations. For example, a 50MB upload limit, a maximum export quality of 720p, etc.
But if you’re just looking to output a quick video for your Instagram or Youtube account, with some filter effects or text, the free version absolutely does the job. The paid versions in turn give you more flexibility with exports. Users with a fixed set of visual identities will also find the “brand kit” function in the paid versions extremely useful. (More on this later)
VEED Free Version Review
VEED’s homepage promises no pre-requisite registration to use the free version, and it is indeed the case. All you need to do is to upload the stuff to be edited/compiled/enhanced. After amendments or enhancements, simply click the export button to output the finished video in your preferred format, and it’s done. There’s no hidden pay screen anywhere. It’s 100 percent free.
As for the uploading and editing processes, it’s as you would expect. There’s a timeline with different layers for different elements. Everything’s one-click too. In a nutshell, I’d say VEED’s strengths are:
VEED Free Version Strengths
- As mentioned above, tasks are performed quickly.
- Tools are grouped into categories with individual clickable buttons.
- There’s an included screen recording function.
- A small but reasonable selection of text and filter effects. There are also sets of emojis, progress bars, shapes, etc, for you to pick and drop. (All such graphic elements are resizable, rotatable, even distortable)
- A “clean audio” function. On this, it takes a while to run, and doesn’t completely remove background noise. But it does boost and clarifies spoken audio. By quite a few notches too.
- Believe it or not, there’s an included free audio transcribing function. As in, VEED will analyze the audio in your upload and automatically create subtitles. How great is that? After testing, I’d say it’s amazingly accurate too, as long as words are spoken with reasonable clarity. The results are even more impressive if you have cleansed the audio beforehand.
- Doubly impressive is how audio transcribing is not limited to English. There’s a variety of other languages to choose from, including Asian languages.
- The free version includes a nifty drawing tool. If you have a drawing pad or likewise, you can add pretty elaborate and unique illustrations to your video.
- There’s a variety of export presets with an emphasis on social media. No more searching the net for the best Instagram video size, best YouTube video upload format, etc.
VEED Free Edition Limitations
Being free, there are, of course, some limitations.
- Video upload size is limited to 50 MB.
- Export quality is limited to 720 p i.e. 1280 x 720 pixels.
- Video length is limited to 10 minutes.
- Curiously, there are no transition effects.
- This is perhaps the peskiest. All exports have a VEED.IO watermark.
VEED Basic and Pro Versions i.e. the Paid Versions
Veed’s Basic and Pro versions are priced at USD 12/- and USD 24/- respectively; these, the discounted prices if you pay for a year’s use at one shot.
Once you’ve paid, the limitations of the free version are removed. To go into specifics, the paid versions allow you to export up to 4K quality (Pro), edit much longer videos, and enjoy support services. (Details here) The VEED watermark is also removed.
With the paid versions, you can also upload your own images, fonts, etc, to create a brand kit. In short, a brand kit is your customised set of graphic assets usable for all projects. Once you’ve created such a kit, there will be no more need to repeatedly upload the same graphics for different videos. For content creators working with series, this function saves a lot of time and ensures visual consistency.
No Additional Editing Functions
Rather surprisingly, editing tools and free graphic elements are not expanded in the paid versions. They are very much the same as the ones in the free version. In other words, what’s not in VEED free isn’t in the paid versions too.
My conclusion is thus that the payments are primarily for the flexibility to edit and export bigger videos. For myself, since I mostly work with 4K videos nowadays, this means only the Pro version would be truly useful for me.
VEED Online Video Editor Review Conclusion
I can’t repeat this enough. I think the availability of audio cleaning and audio transcribing functions, even for the free version, distinguishes VEED from other online video editors.
Its editing functions and packaged free graphic elements are on the thinner side. But if adding text and a dash of visual enhancement are all that you need, the selection should suffice.
Technically, I have to say this is one of the fastest online video editors I’ve ever worked with! There’s no lag whether when uploading or editing.
The export limitations with the free version might disappoint some users. But let’s be honest, what’s offered free is already a great package. For users just looking to create attractive videos for social media, with text, VEED is unquestionably a great tool to use.
Read my other software reviews.
