Premiere Pro alternatives

Why people look for a Premiere Pro alternative

The subscription is the first reason. Premiere costs $22.99 a month on a yearly commitment and can't be bought outright, while DaVinci Resolve is free and Final Cut Pro is a one-time $299.99.

The second is complexity. Premiere is built for professionals, and most creators use a tenth of it. If your videos are you talking to a camera, a professional timeline is a lot of tool for the job.

DaVinci Resolve: professional editing and colour, without a subscription

DaVinci Resolve is a professional suite for editing, colour grading, effects and audio, with a free version and a paid Studio version you buy once. Pick it if you want professional-grade editing and the best colour tools without paying monthly.

Free plan: yes: a full editor, free. Paid from $295, once, on Windows, Mac and Linux. It's a complex professional suite that needs a strong computer, and nothing in it edits for you.

Final Cut Pro: mac owners who want a fast professional editor

Final Cut Pro is Apple's professional video editor for Mac and iPad, sold as a one-time Mac purchase or inside the Apple Creator Studio subscription. Pick it if you have a Mac and want a fast, polished professional editor you can buy once.

There's no free plan. Paid from $12.99 a month, or $299.99 once, on Mac and iPad. It only runs on Mac and iPad, it's a professional timeline to learn, and nothing in it assembles the edit for you.

Descript: podcasts and interviews, edited as text

Descript is a video and audio editor where you edit the transcript to edit the video, with an AI assistant called Underlord that takes plain-language instructions. Pick it if you make podcasts or interviews and like the idea of deleting words on a page to cut the video.

Free plan: yes: 720p with a watermark. Paid from $16 a month, billed yearly, on Web, Windows and Mac. You still work inside an editor and read through a transcript, and the AI help is rationed by monthly credits.

Filmora: an easy desktop timeline at a low yearly price

Filmora is Wondershare's desktop and phone video editor: an approachable timeline with a long list of AI tools that run on credits. Pick it if you want an easy desktop timeline with plenty of effects, at a low yearly price or a one-time licence.

Free plan: yes: exports are watermarked. Paid from $59.99 a year, or $79.99 once, on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. Free exports are watermarked, the AI tools cost credits on top of the plan, and you're still editing on a timeline yourself.

Krafto: describe the edit instead of making it

Krafto works differently from every editor on this page: you upload your clips and say what you want, and it cuts the retakes and pauses, adds captions and hands you a first cut. You change things by asking, and the timeline is still there if you want it. It costs $25 a month. There's no free plan, so it only makes sense if editing is the part you want off your plate.

Where it loses: no free plan or trial, no phone app, and no template library: you film, Krafto cuts, and you check the result in a browser.

Which Premiere Pro alternative should you choose?

Choose DaVinci Resolve if you want professional-grade editing and the best colour tools without paying monthly.

Choose Final Cut Pro if you have a Mac and want a fast, polished professional editor you can buy once.

Choose Descript if you make podcasts or interviews and like the idea of deleting words on a page to cut the video.

Choose Filmora if you want an easy desktop timeline with plenty of effects, at a low yearly price or a one-time licence.

Choose Krafto if you film yourself talking, you'd rather describe the edit than make it, and $25 a month with no free plan is acceptable for not editing. No free plan or trial, no phone app, and no template library: you film, Krafto cuts, and you check the result in a browser.

Stay with Premiere Pro if you edit for a living, or want to, and need full control and the rest of Adobe's apps alongside.

When Premiere Pro is still the right choice

Premiere is still the right choice if you work with other editors or clients who use it, or rely on After Effects and Photoshop alongside. Its Speech to Text and text-based editing are strong, and nothing here integrates with Adobe's other apps the way it does.