After 10 years of only using Adobe Premiere Pro I tried these 5 video editors – here’s what I think

For the past decade, I have been an Adobe loyalist, particularly using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit all my footage. For the longest time, there just didn’t seem to be any competitors ready to go toe to toe with Adobe. But in 2024, things are different, and there is now a whole marketplace full of editing software both free and paid that can offer a similar, if not better, experience as Adobe Premiere Pro.

5 Lightworks

There are better free and paid alternatives

Lightworks is a video editor with quite a prestigious history, as it was used to edit award-winning films like Pulp Fiction and The Wolf of Wall Street. The editor looks very basic when compared to a program like Adobe Premiere Pro, but it is perfectly capable of creating new sequences, cutting videos, adding transitions, and special effects. The editor also has color correction and audio mixing, but not as robust as other options on the list.

The benefit of using this editor over other video editors in this list is that Lightworks has more advanced VFX features than other video editors. Unfortunately, the downside of this editor is its export limitations. The free version of Lightworks only allows you to export videos in 720p and your formats are limited to H.264 and MP4. Locking 4K behind a paywall is something we have all come to expect, but it feels like a cheap move to gate 1080p behind a paywall, especially in today’s age where 1080p is the bare minimum for most people.

The worst part of it is that the Create version, which includes 1080p, 4K, and more advanced tools, is only slightly cheaper than Adobe Premiere Pro’s monthly fee. I’ve seen a lot of people recommend this to beginners as a free video editor to start on, but there are better alternatives you should try before you try this.

However, if you’re determined to use Lightworks as your primary video editor, then just make sure to buy the Pro version as a one-off payment. It may cost more, but if you’re going to pay for a subscription-based video editor, then in my opinion, it might as well be Adobe.

Lightworks

Lightworks is a self-proclaimed “Hollywood-level” video editor that has been used in multiple beloved movies and TV series for years. The software comes in three versions; Free, Create, and Pro.

4 Clipchamp

A great free editor for beginners

Microsoft seems to have a love-hate relationship with the video editors on their operating systems. In Windows 7 and before, we had Windows Movie Maker, which by all means was a good video editor for its time. When Windows 8 launched, there was no video editing tool to speak of, and when Windows 10 rolled around, they just tacked on a video trimming tool to the Photos app and called it a day. Of course, later they added a web-based version of Clipchamp to Windows 10, but it was too late to spark interest.

Clipchamp is Microsoft’s latest attempt to tackle the video editing market, and in all honesty, it doesn’t fall completely flat. Although the app just looks like a Canva clone for video editing, there are some exciting features here, particularly for social media creators and independent brands. The best part is that you can export in 1080p completely for free. Clipchamp does have premium plans that have a few advanced tools, but otherwise, it’s just additional transitions and effects, which you can also unlock by using other Microsoft products like Microsoft 365.

Although the Clipchamp app now comes installed on Windows 11 devices, it’s still only a web-based program, which means you will have to have a stable internet connection to use the app. Clipchamp definitely wouldn’t hold up in a professional setting, but if you just want to edit a quick video or learn the ropes of video editing before committing to paying for a professional video editor, then it’s definitely a worthwhile tool to use.

Microsoft Clipchamp

Clipchamp is a feature-rich video editor for Mac users. Whether you are a beginner or a professional, you shouldn’t have a hard time with editing videos on Clipchamp. 

3 CapCut

The new kid on the block

Source: CapCut

CapCut is a relatively new video editor that gained popularity with the rise of TikTok. Being the go-to mobile video editor for the majority of the creators on the platform, CapCut had access to all the trending songs and effects freely available for users on TikTok. Since then, CapCut has developed into three standalone products: a mobile editor, a web-based editor, and a desktop editor. For this pick, we are going to be talking about the desktop editor.

CapCut is marketed as a free all-in-one video editor, and upon further use of the program, it actually seems to hold to its promise. While there is a paid Pro version of the application, the free version offers a good set of tools for editing and lots of different templates for you to use. CapCut, similar to Clipchamp, is a great video editor for content creators who work in social media.

Another thing that sets CapCut apart from other video editors on this list is its myriad of AI-based tools, like image generation, converting long videos to shorts, video stabilization, and voice changers. One downside of the application is that you can’t add custom templates, meaning you are limited in what you can do to individualize your videos to set them apart from other users as easily. Although it has a few limitations, CapCut really is a great all-in-one video editor that would be perfect for people who find Clipchamp too limiting but Adobe too expensive.

CapCut

CapCut is a great video editor for vertical format mobile videos, with AI tools and tons of templates.

2 Final Cut Pro

For all the Mac users out there

While a lot of these video editors are compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac devices, few of them are actually developed purely with Apple Silicon in mind. Although I usually stay away from the Apple ecosystem, I borrowed my colleague’s new MacBook and started up the editor. Apart from getting used to navigating the MacBook (as a PC user), Final Cut Pro was very impressive. It appears to include elements and features that I rely on in Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects. Final Cut Pro delivers a smooth editing feel with a great set of tools to use, advanced color grading, a sleek interface, and no real export limitations.

While it probably isn’t worth buying a Mac simply for the program, if you are already in the Apple ecosystem and somehow don’t use this program, then you really are missing out. If you would like to try it for yourself, you can make use of the generous 90-day free trial when you sign in with your Apple account. Final Cut Pro costs $299 as a one time charge in the Apple App Store and can be used on all Apple devices linked to your Apple ID.

Final Cut Pro

This software from Apple is available as a one-time purchase and is aimed at professionals and exceptional enthusiasts. If you don’t want to commit just yet, you may use it for 90 days without paying.

1 DaVinci Resolve

The undisputed champion

After having used Adobe for so long, I feel like a fool for not taking a longer look at DaVinci Resolve before now. The free version of DaVinci Resolve comes with more features than most paid software offers to their users, and the paid version, DaVinci Resolve Studio 19, is cheaper than any other on the market.

Where DaVinci Resolve truly shines is in its advanced color-grading tools, which will make your videos go from being bland and flat to being a cinematic masterpiece in just a few clicks (and a lot of YouTube tutorials). Premiere Pro has amazing color-grading tools, but DaVinci Resolve just makes the tools more intuitive to use.

DaVinci Resolve is definitely a little rougher around the edges than Premiere Pro, with some features being slightly more clunky to use, but that is an easy price to pay for the professional quality that both the free and paid versions have. So, after 10 years of using only Adobe Premiere Pro, I think I may have finally found a professional video editor which doesn’t want me to continually burn money. Instead of paying $300 a year to use Adobe Premiere Pro, you can pay that same amount to have and use DaVinci Resolve Studio forever.

DaVinci Resolve

This video editor comes in either free or paid versions, so you can choose one based on your editing needs. It offers a balanced mix of editing features, including face refinement, noise reduction, motion effects, and more.