Lightworks vs Shotcut Comparison 2026
Both cover video editing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
A film editor with a free tier and no time limit
A free desktop video editor, open source
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Lightworks | Shotcut | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $13.99 | Free |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | None | None |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Covers |
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.
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.
Our note
Take the free tier seriously here, because it is the whole editor rather than a crippled demo and the export ceiling is the only real limit. If the interface does not click within a week it never will, and DaVinci Resolve gives away more for the same money.
Shotcut
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
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.