DaVinci Resolve vs Lightworks 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
A film editor with a free tier and no time limit
At a glance
- Lightworks starts cheaper, at $13.99.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
DaVinci Resolve | Lightworks | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $295 | From $13.99 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing (they differ) | One-time purchase | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export |
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
Lightworks
A film editor with a free tier and no time limit
Lightworks has been cutting feature films since long before the web, and the free tier is the whole editor at a capped export resolution with no trial clock on it. Paying raises the export ceiling and opens the formats a delivery spec actually asks for. Three ways to pay sit on the same page, including a single payment for anybody who does not want another monthly line. The interface comes from broadcast rather than from the web, so the first afternoon is spent learning 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.