DaVinci Resolve vs Kdenlive Comparison 2026
Both cover video editing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Edit, colour and audio post in one app
Free multi-track editing from the KDE project
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
DaVinci Resolve | Kdenlive | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $295 | Free |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | One-time purchase | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Everything, in an open format |
| Their cut | None | None |
| Runs on | Not stated |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
DaVinci Resolve
Edit, colour and audio post in one app
DaVinci Resolve is the free version of the software a great many films are finished on, carrying editing, colour correction, visual effects and audio post in one application. The free build is not a trial and does not watermark what it exports. Studio costs $295 once and adds the neural engine features, better noise reduction and higher frame rates. The learning curve is the real price of admission.
Our note
The free version is more capable than most paid editors, and the only real cost is the time it takes to learn. Buy Studio when a specific feature blocks you rather than up front.
Only on this side
- Covers motion graphics & animation
Kdenlive
Free multi-track editing from the KDE project
Kdenlive is a multi-track video editor maintained by the KDE community, with proxy editing, keyframes and a configurable interface, and it is free in the sense that matters: no account, no watermark, no export ceiling. It reads and writes whatever FFmpeg handles, which is most of what a camera or a screen recorder produces. Windows, macOS and Linux builds come from the project itself. Support is a forum and a bug tracker rather than somebody answering a ticket, which is the real difference from a paid editor.
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.