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Both cover video editing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Camtasia | Shotcut | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $39 | Free |
| Pricing model | Paid subscription | Free |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | Annual only | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Covers | Screen Recording, Video Editing | Video Editing |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Screen recording and editing in one suite
Camtasia has been the default answer for recorded training and software walkthroughs for about two decades, and the reason is the editor rather than the recorder: callouts, zooms and cursor effects are built in rather than assembled by hand. TechSmith sells it by the year and bundles Snagit with it. There is still a perpetual licence for people who would rather buy a version and keep it.
Our note
Ignore the $39 tier unless you genuinely only want Snagit, because the editor that makes Camtasia worth buying is on the plan above. Against DaVinci Resolve, which is free, this earns its price on the demo-specific tooling and nothing else.
Only on this side
A free desktop video editor, open source
Shotcut is a free desktop video editor that has been maintained for well over a decade and runs on Linux, macOS and Windows alike. It reads a wide range of formats because FFmpeg is doing the work underneath, and it asks for no account at any point. The interface takes a session to settle into. Nothing is upsold later.
Our note
This is the answer when the budget is nothing and the work is real, and the interface is the price you pay instead. DaVinci Resolve's free build is more capable if your machine can run it.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.