Guide
Best free AI video editor: Clipchamp, with free AI captions and no watermark
Clipchamp is the best free AI video editor on a computer, and YouTube Create is the best on a phone. Both add captions for you and cost nothing.
In short
- Clipchamp is the best free AI video editor on a computer: its free plan adds AI captions and exports up to 1080p without a watermark.
- YouTube Create is the best free pick on a phone: it adds captions with one tap to clips of up to 60 seconds, with no ads.
- CapCut is free on a phone, and you can do all the editing yourself, but its automatic captions need Pro.
- DaVinci Resolve is a free professional editor, but its AI tools are in the paid Studio version.
- Kapwing, Descript and OpusClip have free plans for trying, with watermarks or monthly limits.
- free exports with no watermark on Clipchamp
- 1080p
- the longest clip YouTube Create captions for free
- 60 sec
- a one-time price for DaVinci Resolve Studio and its AI tools
- $295
The best free AI video editors at a glance
A free AI video editor does part of the editing for you, like captions or clipping, at no cost. Here are seven, plus Cutroom's free video, and what each free version gives you.
Seven free AI video editors, plus Cutroom's free video
Free plans and prices as published on each company's own site on the day shown. Plans change, so check before you rely on one.
| Tool | Best for | Editing approach | Platform | Pricing from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Clipchamp | Free editing on a computer, with AI captions and no watermark | You make the cuts; AI writes the captions and can read your text aloud | Browser, Windows app | Free plan; Premium comes with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family |
| YouTube Create | Free captions and editing on your phone | A phone editor from YouTube that adds captions with one tap | iPhone, Android | Free, with no ads |
 CapCut | Free editing on your phone, where you make every cut | You make every cut yourself, with templates and effects to help | iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, web | Free; Pro $19.99/month or $179.99/year (varies by region) |
 DaVinci Resolve | Free professional editing, including colour correction | A professional editor where you do every step yourself | Mac, Windows, Linux | Free; Studio $295 one-time |
 Kapwing | Trying a browser editor you can share with a team | A browser editor where you drag clips into place, with AI tools | Browser, with mobile support | Free plan (720p, watermark); Pro $16/month per person, billed yearly ($24 monthly) |
| Learning to edit video by editing text | You edit the transcript and the video follows | Web, Mac, Windows | Free plan (720p, watermark); Hobbyist $16/person/month, annual ($24 monthly) | |
 OpusClip | Testing AI clipping on your own long videos | Picks clips from a long video, makes them vertical with the speaker in the middle, and adds captions | Web, mobile | Free plan (watermark); Starter $15/month |
| Cutroom | One finished video of you talking, free | Edits your clip for you: b-roll, captions and an opening headline | Browser | First video free, no card (Cutroom mark); Lite $19.99/month |
- Clipchamp
- Best for
- Free editing on a computer, with AI captions and no watermark
- Approach
- You make the cuts; AI writes the captions and can read your text aloud
- Platform
- Browser, Windows app
- Pricing from
- Free plan; Premium comes with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family
YouTube Create
- Best for
- Free captions and editing on your phone
- Approach
- A phone editor from YouTube that adds captions with one tap
- Platform
- iPhone, Android
- Pricing from
- Free, with no ads
- CapCut
- Best for
- Free editing on your phone, where you make every cut
- Approach
- You make every cut yourself, with templates and effects to help
- Platform
- iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, web
- Pricing from
- Free; Pro $19.99/month or $179.99/year (varies by region)
- DaVinci Resolve
- Best for
- Free professional editing, including colour correction
- Approach
- A professional editor where you do every step yourself
- Platform
- Mac, Windows, Linux
- Pricing from
- Free; Studio $295 one-time
- Kapwing
- Best for
- Trying a browser editor you can share with a team
- Approach
- A browser editor where you drag clips into place, with AI tools
- Platform
- Browser, with mobile support
- Pricing from
- Free plan (720p, watermark); Pro $16/month per person, billed yearly ($24 monthly)
Descript
- Best for
- Learning to edit video by editing text
- Approach
- You edit the transcript and the video follows
- Platform
- Web, Mac, Windows
- Pricing from
- Free plan (720p, watermark); Hobbyist $16/person/month, annual ($24 monthly)
- OpusClip
- Best for
- Testing AI clipping on your own long videos
- Approach
- Picks clips from a long video, makes them vertical with the speaker in the middle, and adds captions
- Platform
- Web, mobile
- Pricing from
- Free plan (watermark); Starter $15/month
Cutroom
- Best for
- One finished video of you talking, free
- Approach
- Edits your clip for you: b-roll, captions and an opening headline
- Platform
- Browser
- Pricing from
- First video free, no card (Cutroom mark); Lite $19.99/month
Prices and plans read from each vendor's own pricing page on 21 September 2026.
What is the difference between these free AI video editors?
Some are free editors you can keep using. Others are free plans with limits, meant for trying before you pay.
- Clipchamp, YouTube Create, CapCut and DaVinci Resolve are free editors you can keep using. Clipchamp, CapCut and DaVinci Resolve also sell a paid version.
- Kapwing, Descript and OpusClip have free plans for trying, with a watermark, 720p exports or a monthly limit.
- Cutroom gives you one finished video free, edited for you, with a Cutroom mark on it.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
What each free version includes
Free plans differ most in what you get when you export: a watermark, a lower resolution or a time limit to download.
What each free version includes and holds back
From each company's own site.
| Tool | Free version includes | Free version limits |
|---|---|---|
| Clipchamp | Exports up to 1080p with no watermark; AI captions in 80+ languages; AI voiceover | 4K and premium stock need Premium; no Mac or phone app |
| YouTube Create | Captions with one tap, background-noise removal and an AI first draft; no ads | Phone only; captions only on clips up to 60 seconds; available in some countries |
| CapCut | All the editing you do yourself; export up to 8K | Auto captions, advanced AI tools and premium templates are on Pro |
| DaVinci Resolve | A full professional editor that exports up to 4K Ultra HD | The AI tools are in Studio only |
| Kapwing | The browser editor and up to 10 minutes of auto subtitles | 720p, a Kapwing watermark, exports up to 4 minutes |
| Descript | 60 minutes of video a month and 5GB of storage | 720p exports with a watermark |
| OpusClip | Uploads up to 10GB; 1080p exports | Watermark on animated captions; exports kept 3 days |
| Cutroom | One finished video with b-roll, captions and an opening headline | A Cutroom mark across the middle; made within 7 days |
Tool: Clipchamp
- Free version includes
- Exports up to 1080p with no watermark; AI captions in 80+ languages; AI voiceover
- Free version limits
- 4K and premium stock need Premium; no Mac or phone app
Tool: YouTube Create
- Free version includes
- Captions with one tap, background-noise removal and an AI first draft; no ads
- Free version limits
- Phone only; captions only on clips up to 60 seconds; available in some countries
Tool: CapCut
- Free version includes
- All the editing you do yourself; export up to 8K
- Free version limits
- Auto captions, advanced AI tools and premium templates are on Pro
Tool: DaVinci Resolve
- Free version includes
- A full professional editor that exports up to 4K Ultra HD
- Free version limits
- The AI tools are in Studio only
Tool: Kapwing
- Free version includes
- The browser editor and up to 10 minutes of auto subtitles
- Free version limits
- 720p, a Kapwing watermark, exports up to 4 minutes
Tool: Descript
- Free version includes
- 60 minutes of video a month and 5GB of storage
- Free version limits
- 720p exports with a watermark
Tool: OpusClip
- Free version includes
- Uploads up to 10GB; 1080p exports
- Free version limits
- Watermark on animated captions; exports kept 3 days
Tool: Cutroom
- Free version includes
- One finished video with b-roll, captions and an opening headline
- Free version limits
- A Cutroom mark across the middle; made within 7 days
Clipchamp
Clipchamp is Microsoft's video editor. It is best if you edit on a computer: it runs in a web browser, and there is also a Windows app.
- You make the cuts yourself. The AI writes your captions and can turn typed text into a voiceover.
- It also records your screen, camera and voice, and it can remove silences.
- Premium adds 4K and premium stock, and it comes with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family.
CapCut
CapCut is a free video editor for phones and computers where you make every cut yourself. It is best if you edit on a phone and enjoy editing.
- The free version lets you cut, trim and add text, effects and stickers yourself, and export up to 8K.
- Most of the AI is on Pro: auto captions, background removal, noise reduction and premium templates.
- Pro costs $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year. The price is set in the app and varies by region.
- It runs on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and in the browser.
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is a professional editor from Blackmagic Design with a free base version. It is the most capable free tool here, and the hardest to learn.
- It handles editing, colour, visual effects and sound in one app.
- The free version exports up to 4K Ultra HD, and several people can work on the same project.
- The AI tools, such as editing by transcript and cleaning up voices, are only in the paid Studio version.
- Studio costs $295, paid once.
- It runs on Mac, Windows and Linux.
Kapwing
Kapwing is a browser editor with nothing to install, and teams can share projects. Its free plan is for trying it out.
- You drag clips into place in the browser, and AI tools add subtitles, translate and clip long videos.
- The free plan exports 720p with a Kapwing watermark, up to 4 minutes long, and includes up to 10 minutes of auto subtitles.
- Pro costs $16 a month per person billed yearly, or $24 month to month.
Descript
Descript is a video editor where you edit the transcript and the video follows. Its free plan is a good way to learn that way of editing.
- Delete a sentence from the text and it disappears from the video.
- Underlord, its AI assistant, turns a raw recording into a first edit, and a tool called Studio Sound cleans up the audio.
- The free plan gives you 60 minutes of video a month and 5GB of storage, with 720p exports and a watermark.
- Hobbyist costs $16 a person a month billed yearly, or $24 monthly, and exports 1080p.
OpusClip
OpusClip turns a long video into short captioned clips. Its free plan lets you test it on your own videos.
- The AI picks the moments, makes them vertical and captions each clip.
- The free plan takes uploads up to 10GB and exports 1080p.
- It puts a watermark on animated captions and keeps exports for 3 days.
- Starter costs $15 a month. It removes the watermark, scores each clip on how likely it is to do well, and imports from Google Drive, Vimeo and Zoom.
Is there a free AI video editor for your phone?
Yes. YouTube Create is free on iPhone and Android, with no ads, and adds captions with one tap. CapCut, InShot and Instagram's Edits app are free phone editors too.
- YouTube Create adds captions to clips of up to 60 seconds, removes background noise and can arrange your clips into a first draft. It is available in some countries only.
- CapCut runs on iPhone and Android, and its free version lets you do all the editing yourself and export up to 8K.
- InShot has auto captions, and its free version adds a watermark and ads. Pro, $4.99 a month on the US App Store, removes them.
- Instagram's Edits app is free and exports without an added watermark.
- Clipchamp, the best free editor on a computer, has no phone app.
Is a free AI video editor enough?
Clipchamp's free plan is enough if you edit on a computer and want captions without a watermark. On a phone, YouTube Create's free captions cover clips of up to 60 seconds.
For clips from long videos, OpusClip's free plan works but keeps each export for only 3 days. Starter, at $15 a month, keeps them for 30 days and removes the watermark from animated captions.
- Kapwing and Descript's free plans export 720p with a watermark, so they are for trying before you pay.
- DaVinci Resolve is free to keep, but its AI tools, such as editing by transcript and cleaning up voices, need the $295 Studio version.
Which free AI video editor should you choose?
Choose by what you need the free version to do.
Which free AI video editor should you choose
Choose Clipchamp if you edit on a computer, in a browser or on Windows, and want free captions and exports without a watermark.
Choose YouTube Create if you edit on your phone and want free captions on clips of up to 60 seconds.
Choose CapCut if you want a free editor on your phone with templates and effects, and you can add captions yourself.
Choose DaVinci Resolve if you want a professional editor for free and are willing to learn it.
Choose Kapwing if you want to try a browser editor you can share, and can live with 720p and a watermark while you test.
Choose Descript or OpusClip if you have long recordings and want to try editing by text or AI clipping before you pay.
Choose Cutroom if you want a clip of you talking turned into a finished video with b-roll, captions and a headline. Your first video is free, with no card, and carries a Cutroom mark.
Where Cutroom fits
Cutroom's free offer is different: one finished video, edited for you, instead of a free editor you work in.
- You upload one clip of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long.
- Cutroom cuts the pauses, puts b-roll on your words, and adds captions in 40 styles and an opening headline.
- You need no card, and you have 7 days from signup to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark across the middle.
- Lite at $19.99 a month removes the mark. Basic is $39.99 and Premium $79.99.
- The free offer is one video, not a new free video every month.
Questions people ask
- What is the best free AI video editor?
- Clipchamp, because it exports free videos without a watermark and includes AI captions. On a phone, YouTube Create is free and adds captions with one tap. DaVinci Resolve is the most powerful free editor, but its AI tools are in the paid Studio version.
- Which free AI video editors export without a watermark?
- Clipchamp, up to 1080p, and Instagram's Edits app on a phone. Kapwing and Descript put a watermark on free exports at 720p, and OpusClip watermarks animated captions. Neither YouTube nor Blackmagic mentions a watermark on YouTube Create or on DaVinci Resolve's free version. Cutroom's free video carries a Cutroom mark, and Lite at $19.99 a month removes it.
- Is CapCut really free?
- Yes, the standard editor is free: you can cut, add text and effects, and export up to 8K. Auto captions, advanced AI tools and premium templates need Pro, according to CapCut's own site. Pro is $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year, and the price varies by region.
- Does the free version of DaVinci Resolve include AI tools?
- Mostly no. The free version is a full professional editor that exports up to 4K Ultra HD. The AI tools, such as editing by transcript and cleaning up voices, are in DaVinci Resolve Studio, a one-time purchase of $295.
- Which free video editor adds captions automatically?
- Clipchamp, on its free plan, in over 80 languages. On a phone, YouTube Create adds them free to clips of up to 60 seconds. Kapwing's free plan includes up to 10 minutes of auto subtitles, and OpusClip captions every clip. Cutroom's free first video includes captions.
- Is Cutroom free to try?
- Your first video is free. You need no card, and you have 7 days from signup to make it. It gets b-roll, captions and an opening headline, and it carries a Cutroom mark across the middle. Lite at $19.99 a month removes the mark.
Upload one clip of yourself talking and see a finished video before you spend anything. Your first video is free.