The category ChatGPT surfaces for 'AI video editing' splits into two camps: subscription editors that add AI on top of a pro timeline, and free or freemium editors where AI (captions, masking, clipping) is the point. We checked every entry against its official pricing source on 2026-10-27 — the CapCut page at $19.99/mo or $179.99/yr, DaVinci Resolve at a real $0 free tier and $236 one-time Studio, OpusClip at Starter $15/mo and Pro $29/mo ($14.5/mo annual), Descript from $16/mo annual, Runway from $12/mo annual — and where a vendor walls its pricing page (Adobe) or renders it in JavaScript (VEED, JetBrains), we flagged the source as a tracker cross-check instead of pretending the figure came off an official page. The axes that separate the eight: what the free tier actually runs, the cheapest tier that removes watermarks, and whether the AI editing depth (auto captions, object masking, generative clips, virality scoring) matches your output platform. The short version: DaVinci Resolve is the best price-to-capability deal in the class — a genuinely free timeline plus a one-time Studio buy; CapCut is the social creator's default; Premiere Pro remains the professional standard around $22.99/mo; Descript owns talking-head work because transcription is the edit surface; Runway owns generative edits; and OpusClip turns your long videos into Shorts at a subscription a solo creator can actually budget.
All figures verbatim from each tool's verified pricing page. A dash in the price columns means the vendor publishes no such figure (a free-only tool has no entry price); a dash in Score means the tool has not been rated yet.
| # | Tool | Why it's here | Score | Free | Paid from | Trial | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adobe Premiere Pro | Best overall for professionals | 4.4 | No | ~$22.99/mo (single app) | — | 2026-10-27 |
| 2 | CapCut | Best for social media | 4.2 | Yes | $19.99/mo (Pro) | — | 2026-10-27 |
| 3 | DaVinci Resolve | Best free professional editor | 4.5 | Yes | $236 one-time (Studio, was $295) | — | 2026-10-27 |
| 4 | Descript | Best for talking-head videos | 4.3 | Yes | $16/mo (Hobbyist, annual) | — | 2026-09-22 |
| 5 | Runway | Best for generative AI editing | 4.5 | Yes | $12/mo (Standard, annual) | — | 2026-09-22 |
| 6 | VEED | Best for browser-based editing | 4.0 | Yes | ~$12/mo (annual, Lite) | — | 2026-10-27 |
| 7 | OpusClip | Best for turning long videos into Shorts | 4.1 | No | $15/mo (Starter) | — | 2026-10-27 |
| 8 | Microsoft Clipchamp | Best for simple everyday videos | 3.9 | Yes | ~$6.99/mo (Microsoft 365 Personal bundles premium Clipchamp) | — | 2026-10-27 |
4.4/5: single-app subscription ~$22.99/mo (trackers; adobe.com is bot-walled). AI masking, generative clip tools and Firefly make it the professional default, at a professional price.
Free tier: No — trial only
Paid from: ~$22.99/mo (single app) (Adobe's pricing page is behind bot protection; third-party pricing trackers (2026-10): 4 plans from $22.99/month for Premiere Pro single-app; adobe.com homepage confirms the 50% first-3-months promo. Treat $22.99 as best available public figure.)
Adobe Premiere Pro is the professional editor with AI masking, generative clip tools and Firefly integration — single-app subscription from about $22.99/mo, with regular 3-month promotions.
4.2/5: Free $0 / Pro $19.99/mo or $179.99/yr. Template-first editing with auto captions and AI generation metered by the second (official pricing page, 2026-10-27).
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $19.99/mo (Pro) (Official capcut.com/pricing (verified 2026-10-27 text layer): Free plan with basic editing, Pro USD 19.99/month or USD 179.99/year; AI generation metered separately (Seedance from $0.12/sec, first month).)
CapCut is the social-video editor runaway: free plan at $0, Pro at $19.99/mo or $179.99/year, with AI templates, auto captions and Seedance-based generation add-ons.
4.5/5: Free $0 full editor / Studio $236 one-time (was $295). Hollywood-grade color, Fairlight audio and 100+ FPS timelines without a subscription (official page, 2026-10-27).
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $236 one-time (Studio, was $295) (Official blackmagicdesign.com page (verified 2026-10-27): DaVinci Resolve Free download at $0; Studio 'Was $295 Now $236'; Speed Editor $349, Replay Editor $445.)
DaVinci Resolve is the Hollywood-grade editor with a real free version at $0; Studio costs $295 one-time (currently $236) and adds AI and HDR tools.
4.3/5: paid from $16/mo annual (Hobbyist). Transcription-first editing — you cut the video by editing the transcript, with studio sound and screen recording.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $16/mo (Hobbyist, annual) (Free plan with limited monthly transcription; paid tiers billed per person monthly or ~30% less annually, adding media hours (Hobbyist 10 hrs/mo), watermark removal and AI credits. Transcription accuracy is part of a full text-editing suite, not a per-minute service.)
Descript is text-based audio/video editing with transcription built in — free plan, Hobbyist $16/mo annual, editing the transcript edits the media.
4.5/5: from $12/mo (Standard, annual). Gen-4 generation plus the broadest frame-level generative controls in one studio.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $12/mo (Standard, annual) (Credit-based: 625 credits/mo on Standard = ~52s of Gen-4; Pro 2,250 (~187s); Unlimited 9,500 (~791s). Generations also sold as annual credit packs. Credits fund every model and tool.)
Runway is the full-suite pro AI video studio — Gen-4 image/video plus the biggest set of frame-level editing tools; free trial credits, paid from $12/mo (annual).
4.0/5: Free $0 / paid from ~$12/mo annual (trackers; official page JS-rendered). No install, auto captions, AI avatars — the quick social clip editor.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: ~$12/mo (annual, Lite) (Official pricing page is JS-rendered; third-party trackers (2026-10) disagree on tier names — figures from ~$12/mo annual to $49/mo for Pro. Treat plan structure as approximate until the official page renders.)
VEED is the browser-based editor for quick social video: free plan at $0, paid tiers from around $12/mo annual (about $19/mo monthly) with AI captions and branding tools.
4.1/5: Starter $15/mo / Pro $29/mo ($14.5/mo annual). AI clipping with a virality score, auto captions and watermark-free exports (official pricing page, 2026-10-27).
Free tier: No — trial only
Paid from: $15/mo (Starter) (Official opus.pro/pricing (verified 2026-10-27): Starter $15 USD/mo (150 credits), Pro $29 USD/mo annual-equivalent $14.5/mo ($174 billed annually, 300 credits/mo), credits roll over 2 months; Agencies scale beyond.)
OpusClip is the AI clipper that turns long videos into Shorts: Starter at $15/mo monthly, Pro at $29/mo ($14.5/mo annual), with virality scoring and auto captions.
3.9/5: Free $0 with unlimited exports; premium AI/cloud features via Microsoft 365. The zero-learning-curve Windows editor (official support pages, 2026-10).
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: ~$6.99/mo (Microsoft 365 Personal bundles premium Clipchamp) (Official Microsoft support + pricing pages (verified 2026-10): personal version includes a free plan with unlimited exports; premium assets/AI export via Microsoft 365. Numbers for 365 plans are Microsoft-list, treat exact local price as regional.)
Microsoft Clipchamp is the simple everyday editor: free plan at $0 with unlimited exports, premium AI/cloud features unlocked through a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Bottom line: DaVinci Resolve is the class's best price-to-capability deal — a real free tier and a $236 one-time Studio license against everyone else's subscription. CapCut is the social default ($19.99/mo Pro, or keep the free tier), Premiere Pro still wins professionals at ~$22.99/mo, Descript owns talking-head work, Runway owns generative edits, VEED is the quick browser edit, OpusClip the Shorts pipeline, and Clipchamp is the free everyday editor for Windows users. Match the free tier to your output platform before you pay for anyone.
DaVinci Resolve free is a full professional editor at $0 — no watermark, no time limit. CapCut's free tier covers templates and basic editing; Clipchamp's free plan has unlimited exports; VEED's free plan carries a watermark.
CapCut Pro at $19.99/mo (or $179.99/yr) and VEED from about $12/mo annual lead the cheap end; OpusClip Starter is $15/mo; Descript starts at $16/mo annual; Runway at $12/mo annual; Premiere Pro is the priciest at roughly $22.99/mo. DaVinci Resolve Studio's $236 one-time buy beats them all long-term if you edit constantly.
OpusClip is the dedicated pipeline (virality score, Starter $15/mo), while CapCut and VEED handle the manual AI-assisted path with captions and templates. Runway (from $12/mo) is the generative first choice when the video itself needs creating, not just cutting.