Best Video Editing Software in 2026

Adobe Premiere Pro, marketed on Adobe's site simply as Premiere, is the professional non-linear editor in Adobe Creative Cloud. It is widely used in broadcast, online media, marketing and corporate video, largely because it exchanges projects and assets with After Effects, Audition, Photoshop and other Creative Cloud apps.

Adobe has made AI central to recent releases. Its product page describes an AI Assistant that sorts media into bins, batch-renames clips, identifies interview questions and assembles rough cuts; clip generation and extension from reference frames using Adobe Firefly as well as partner models from Kling and Google Veo, without plug-ins; generation of sound effects, commercially safe music and soundscapes; dialogue separation and enhancement; and assistive AI for transcription, captioning, reframing and caption translation into more than 20 languages. Adobe, Google and Runway are named as AI partners. Generative features consume monthly generative credits, 25 in the single-app plan and 4,000 in Creative Cloud Pro.

Premiere is subscription-only and its cost rises considerably when bundled into Creative Cloud Pro. Prices shown to this review were displayed in euros because of geolocation; US-dollar prices differ.

DaVinci Resolve, made by Blackmagic Design, combines editing, colour correction, visual effects (Fusion), motion graphics and audio post-production (Fairlight) in one application, and with version 21 adds a Photo page for still images. Its colour tools have long been used in film and television finishing, and Blackmagic describes it as used by high-end professionals on feature films and television more than any other solution.

The free version handles virtually all 8-bit formats up to 60 fps at resolutions up to Ultra HD 3840 by 2160 and includes multi-user collaboration and HDR grading. The paid Studio version adds the DaVinci AI Neural Engine, more Resolve FX, temporal and AI spatial noise reduction, text-based editing, Magic Mask, film grain and optical blur, and supports 10-bit video up to 120 fps and resolutions beyond 4K. DaVinci Resolve 21 added over 100 motion-graphics effects and AI tools including IntelliSearch and CineFocus. Blackmagic Cloud hosts shared projects for remote collaboration.

Resolve's one-time Studio licence is unusual among professional editors. Its trade-offs are a steep learning curve across many pages and demanding GPU requirements, especially for AI and noise-reduction features.

Final Cut Pro is Apple's professional video editor for Mac and iPad. It is built around the Magnetic Timeline, which keeps clips in sync as edits are made, and includes Magnetic Mask for isolating people and objects, Transcript Search, automatic reframing for different aspect ratios and Live Multicam on iPad. It is optimised for Apple silicon and exports presets for Apple devices and platforms including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Vimeo.

Apple now sells Final Cut Pro within Apple Creator Studio, a subscription that also includes Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor and MainStage plus enhanced versions of Keynote, Pages, Numbers and Freeform. A one-time purchase remains available, but some premium content is reserved for Creator Studio subscribers; existing owners continue to receive updates. Apple's companion app Motion supplies motion graphics, with more than 1,900 royalty-free graphics and 60 USDZ 3D models.

Final Cut Pro runs only on Apple hardware, and its project format is less commonly exchanged in multi-vendor post houses than Premiere's or Avid's. For Mac-based creators, however, its performance on Apple silicon and its one-time purchase option are strong advantages.

CapCut is a video editor for desktop, web and mobile oriented to short-form social video, with templates, effects and a growing set of AI generation features. Its pricing page lists Free, Pro, Ultra and Teams plans.

The free plan includes free templates and basic editing tools. Pro adds premium templates and features, 1 TB of storage and 1,200 monthly AI credits, which pay for AI features including video generation with the Seedance models; Ultra raises the allowance to 8,645 monthly credits and adds exclusive AI features; Teams provides Pro features per seat with a brand kit. New users can start a seven-day free trial of Pro without a credit card, subject to availability.

CapCut is efficient for creators producing TikTok, Reels and Shorts content, but it is less suited to long-form or broadcast work than Premiere or Resolve. The pricing page states that displayed prices are for reference only and that final pricing, taxes and offers appear after sign-in, and per-second charges for AI video generation can add to costs.

Filmora is the video editor of Wondershare, a creative-software company founded in 2003 that says its products reach more than 2 billion people in over 200 countries and regions. Filmora targets YouTubers, educators and small businesses who need more than a mobile app but less complexity than Premiere Pro.

Filmora's individual plans include 4K export without watermark, over 100 advanced editing features, more than 2.9 million creative assets and an AI assistant called AI Mate. The Advanced annual plan adds 1,000 Filmora AI credits per month for more than 20 AI features and 10 GB of cloud storage; annual plans work on both Windows and Mac with one licence. A perpetual licence is also sold, tied to one platform, with 1,000 one-time AI credits and updates only within Filmora 16.

Filmora is easy to learn and reasonably priced, but its perpetual licence excludes future major versions, AI use is metered by credits, and some creative assets renew monthly after a trial.

PowerDirector is CyberLink's consumer and prosumer video editor. It is offered in three forms: PowerDirector Essential, a free version without a time limit that includes core tools and basic AI features but restricts advanced AI tools and some export options; PowerDirector 365, a subscription with all new AI features, continuous updates and a royalty-free stock library; and PowerDirector 2027, a one-time-purchase licence with core editing tools.

CyberLink also sells Director Suite, which bundles PowerDirector with its photo, audio and colour tools. PowerDirector's subscription model mirrors Filmora's: frequent AI-feature updates and stock content are reserved for subscribers, while the perpetual version receives no monthly updates.

PowerDirector is aimed at hobbyists and small-business users who want templates, effects and AI tools at low cost. Professionals will find its colour, audio and collaboration features less developed than in Resolve or Premiere.

VEGAS Pro is a Windows video editor with a long history among YouTubers and independent editors, now published by Boris FX, the visual-effects plug-in company, under the VEGAS Creative Software brand. VEGAS Pro 23 is the current version.

VEGAS combines editing, colour, audio, titles, effects, speech tools and export in one application and is tied into Boris FX's portfolio, including Mocha Pro tracking, Particle Illusion and CrumplePop audio repair, with Sound Forge, Acid Pro and Optics in the wider ecosystem. Its AI features include automatic reformatting to other aspect ratios, AI Quick Mask, text-based editing, and speech-to-text and text-to-speech; the VEGAS Core Engine uses GPU acceleration. A 15-day free trial is available, and one licence can be used on two computers.

VEGAS remains Windows-only, and its pricing was not visible on the product page at review; buyers must check the plans page or checkout.

Lightworks is a professional non-linear editor available on a free plan, as monthly or annual subscriptions, or as a perpetual licence. The free version offers professional timeline editing, Full HD 1080p export, effects and transitions, colour correction and grading, multitrack audio editing and upload to YouTube and Vimeo.

The Create plan adds 4K export, Blackmagic RAW and ProRes decode, NewBlue Titler Pro, audio effects and noise reduction, and cloud-storage integration. The Pro plan adds video up to 8K, 10-bit support, HDR editing with full scopes, Apple ProRes encoding and AU, VST3 and LADSPA audio plug-in support.

The free plan's limits are specific: export is capped at 1080p, proxies are low-quality H.264 up to 720p, only one cloud integration can be active and file export is limited to MP4. Lightworks has a smaller user community and fewer tutorials than Resolve or Premiere, and its paid prices were not visible in the page text at review.

Kdenlive, short for KDE Non-Linear Video Editor, is a free and open-source editor developed within the KDE community by a small, mostly volunteer team. It runs on Linux, Windows, macOS and BSD, and version 26.08.3 was released on 7 November 2026.

Kdenlive covers the full editing workflow: ingest of almost any audio or video format, metadata review, proxies for smooth playback on low-end systems, tags, filters and multiple bins; a non-linear timeline with multicam, three-point editing, nested sequences, markers and automatic backups; audio mixers, voiceover recording and an audio spectrum; hundreds of effects with keyframes; LUTs, colour grading and scopes; and subtitles with automatic transcription, plus integration with Glaxnimate for motion graphics.

Kdenlive is the most complete free editor on Linux. Its limitations are those of volunteer-developed software: support comes from the community, and stability and performance can vary by platform.

Shotcut is a free, open-source, cross-platform video editor. It relies on FFmpeg to support hundreds of audio and video formats without importing, allowing native editing with mixed formats, resolutions and frame rates in one project, and supports frame-accurate seeking for many formats.

Shotcut supports Blackmagic Design SDI and HDMI input and preview monitoring, screen, webcam and audio capture, network stream playback and resolutions up to 4K. Its interface uses dockable panels for media properties, playlists, filters, history, encoding and job queues. Development is active: recent releases included version 26.9 with auto ducking and adjustment clips, 26.8 with Elements, and 26.6 with high dynamic range support.

Shotcut is lighter than Kdenlive and suits quick edits and format conversion. Its interface is less polished than commercial editors, and advanced features such as multicam and AI tools are limited.

iMovie is Apple's free video editor for Mac, iPhone and iPad, distributed through the App Store. Version 10.4.5 for Mac lists support for editing Cinematic mode footage from Final Cut Camera.

The Mac app offers 29 trailer templates with customisable titles, credits and music; editing at up to 4K or 1080p at 60 fps; picture-in-picture, side-by-side and green-screen effects; slow motion and fast-forward; 48 video and audio effects; stabilisation, one-click enhancement and colour controls; titles, transitions and travel-map graphics; and export presets for YouTube and other sites. Projects can be handed off to Final Cut Pro when they outgrow iMovie.

iMovie is the simplest route into editing for Apple users, but it lacks advanced colour and audio tools, and its App Store listing is for Apple platforms only.

Clipchamp is Microsoft's online video editor, used with a personal Microsoft account and requiring no payment or download for the free version. It includes AI text-to-speech voiceovers, automatic subtitles in more than 80 languages, a screen, camera and voice recorder, AI audio clean-up that removes background noise, pauses and filler words, background removal and a royalty-free stock library.

Microsoft has folded Clipchamp's premium tier into Microsoft 365: premium features, including 4K UHD export, premium stock assets and a brand-kit tool, are now included with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions. Separate offerings exist for work and education.

Clipchamp suits quick social, presentation and training videos made in a browser. It lacks the depth of desktop editors, depends on an internet connection, and 4K export requires a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Descript edits video and audio by editing a transcript, much like editing a document, and combines video editing, podcasting, a screen recorder, remote recording through Rooms and AI enhancement. Its AI co-editor, Underlord, and more than 20 AI tools handle tasks such as removing filler words and fixing audio. Descript says more than 6 million creators and teams use it.

Plans are metered by media hours and AI credits. The free plan provides text-based editing and a trial of AI tools; Hobbyist includes 10 media hours and 400 AI credits per month with watermark-free 1080p export; Creator includes 30 media hours, 800 AI credits, 4K export and full Underlord access; Business supports teams of up to five; Enterprise adds SOC 2 Type II controls, SSO, SCIM and audit logs.

Descript is efficient for interviews, podcasts, explainers and course content where speech drives the edit. It is less suitable for music videos, cinematic work or colour-critical projects, and heavy users must manage monthly media-hour and credit allowances.