Kdenlive is an open source alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro. Cross-platform open-source non-linear video editor built on MLT, with multi-track editing, keyframe animation, and effects for Linux, Windows, and macOS. GPL-3.0-or-later licensed, 5.5k GitHub stars, no terminal required to start, and last released 2026-07-06.
Cross-platform open-source non-linear video editor built on MLT, with multi-track editing, keyframe animation, and effects for Linux, Windows, and macOS.
Should you switch?
Linux, Windows, and macOS users who need a capable non-linear editor with multi-track timelines, keyframe animation, and a broad effects library without Premiere Pro's subscription cost or DaVinci Resolve's hardware requirements. Part of the KDE project since 1998 and available via Flatpak, native distro packages, and desktop installers on all three platforms.
You need AI-assisted generation, MCP-driven agent editing, or macOS-exclusive integration with Seedance/Kling models. Kdenlive is a traditional NLE without built-in generative AI; for AI-native video editing on macOS, see Palmier Pro.
GitHub mirror (5,402 stars) undercounts the real community: the canonical upstream is invent.kde.org/multimedia/kdenlive. Crash reports are a recurring theme in user discussions, particularly on complex projects or older hardware. Kdenlive and the KDE project logos are trademarks of KDE e.V.
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Community proof
"Kdenlive hits the perfect sweet spot for me. It's much more capable than basic editors like iMovie, but doesn't have the overwhelming learning curve (or steep hardware requirements) of DaVinci Resolve. Like others have mentioned, pairing it with OBS for screen recording and Audacity for audio makes for an incredibly powerful, 100% FOSS media creation stack. It's amazing to see how far open-source video editing has come."
"For what it's worth, while I haven't found kdenlive (or shotcut, based on the same underlying toolkit) to be 100% stable, I've had significantly fewer lost-work incidents with kdenlive than I did with Premiere Pro. The frustration of Premiere's instability was the main thing that drove me to open-source software."
"Same. They really thread that needle well IMHO. I _choose_ to use Kdenlive over paid options, not because I have to, but because I _want_ to. It's quality software, and it being free (in both aspects) is a dream come true."
Maintenance health
Can you do it today?
Linux: flatpak install flathub org.kde.kdenlive | Windows/macOS: download installer from https://apps.kde.org/kdenlive/
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