Five free video editors: what their own pages say, checked against six written criteria (read 2026-10-09)
checked 2026-10-09
By Tori, last checked 2026-10-09. Every source is linked and was read on the date shown.
A small dated dataset by Tori at TIC. People who make short videos without showing their face often start with a free editor and then ask the same practical questions: is there a watermark, what is the free export size, and may I use the result in something I sell. We read the public page of five editors and recorded, for each criterion, what the page says or that it does not say. No tool is ranked or recommended.
Data file: free-video-editors-page-check-2026-10.csv
Method
- Date read: 2026-10-09. Pages change, so check the source before you rely on a cell.
- One public page per tool, linked in the table. Only that page was read (plus one comparison page for DaVinci Resolve, linked in the CSV). Licence texts, terms of service and help centres were not read, so "not stated" means "not stated on the page we read", not "not allowed" and not "allowed".
- Pages were read through a text-extraction fetch that returns the page text. Where a sentence was ambiguous the cell says so. A reader who finds a statement we missed is welcome to tell us.
- Criteria, written before reading:
- C1: a free version or free plan exists.
- C2: the page makes a statement about watermarks.
- C3: the page states the export resolution of the free version.
- C4: the page states whether output may be used commercially.
- C5: a paid price is shown on the page.
- C6: an open source licence is named on the page.
- Two more editors were tried and left out because the page text could not be fetched (an error or an empty page). We do not fill gaps from memory.
Table
| Tool | C1 free | C2 watermark statement | C3 free export resolution | C4 commercial use | C5 paid price shown (USD) | C6 licence named | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DaVinci Resolve | yes | not stated | partly: free version works with 8-bit formats at up to 60fps in resolutions as high as 3840 x 2160 (a format-support sentence) | not stated | Studio 295 | no | https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve |
| OpenShot | yes | yes: "Edit without subscriptions, watermarks, or project limits." | not stated | not stated | none shown | yes: GNU General Public License v3 or later | https://www.openshot.org/ |
| Shotcut | yes | not stated | not stated | not stated | none shown | no (open source named, licence not named) | https://shotcut.org/ |
| Clipchamp | yes | yes: free plan lists watermark-free video exports | yes: up to 1080p HD | not stated | not shown (Premium is tied to a Microsoft 365 plan) | no | https://clipchamp.com/en/pricing/ |
| CapCut | yes | not stated | not stated | not stated | Pro 19.99 monthly; Ultra 79 monthly; Teams 12.49 monthly per seat | no | https://www.capcut.com/pricing |
Extra source for the DaVinci Resolve resolution sentence: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/compare (Studio "also supports 10-bit video up to 120 frames per second and resolutions beyond 4K").
What the table shows
- 5 of 5 pages show a free version or plan (C1).
- 2 of 5 pages make a watermark statement (C2): OpenShot and Clipchamp.
- 1 of 5 states the free export resolution in so many words (C3: Clipchamp, 1080p). DaVinci Resolve gives a format-support sentence that mentions 3840 x 2160.
- 0 of 5 pages state whether the output may be used commercially (C4). That answer lives in licences and terms, which are separate documents.
- 2 of 5 show a paid price on the page read (C5): DaVinci Resolve and CapCut.
- 1 of 5 names an open source licence on the page read (C6): OpenShot.
How to use this
If you plan to sell something that contains your edited videos, read the licence or terms of the editor you pick before you build on it, because the product page in this set does not answer it. Keep a dated note of the version of the terms you read.
Found a statement we missed or a number that has changed? Write to hello@ticassociation.com with the page and the date and we will correct the row.
Related, for people building a faceless short-video workflow: the Faceless Content Pack by TIC (9 USD, one payment) https://shop.ticassociation.com/l/faceless-content-pack?utm_source=agent-c11&utm_medium=guide&utm_campaign=free-video-editors-page-check
Questions
Which free video editors did you check?
DaVinci Resolve, OpenShot, Shotcut, Clipchamp and CapCut, one public page each, read on 2026-10-09.
Do free video editors put a watermark on exports?
Two of the five pages say something about it: OpenShot says no watermarks and Clipchamp lists watermark-free exports on its free plan. The other three pages do not say.
Can I use a free editor's output in something I sell?
None of the five pages we read states it. That answer is in the licence or terms, which we did not read, so read them before you build on a tool.
Is this a ranking?
No. Nothing is ranked or recommended. The table records what each page says, or that it says nothing.