Lightworks Pricing 2026
Plans, hidden costs, and cheaper alternatives compared
Is Lightworks worth the price?
Lightworks offers a generous free tier, making it accessible for beginners.
However, the lack of transparent pricing for the 'Create' and 'Pro' tiers makes it difficult to assess their value against competitors. It's best for hobbyists and those needing basic editing without a budget, but professionals will need to inquire for pricing.
Pricing Plans
Free
Free
- Timeline Editing
- 720p HD Export
- Automatic Saving
- Advanced Transitions
- Simple VFX
- Import Formats
- Operating systems
- Powerful Timeline
- Background Processing
- Instant auto-saving
- No Watermark
- Custom UI Layout Templates
- Inbuilt Effects, Titles & Transitions
- Advanced Transitions
- Video Mask Effect
- Audio Leveling and EQ
- Export Resolution Up to 720p
- Social Media Presets YouTube, Vimeo
- Backup
- Media Files MP4
- Media Clip LUTs
- HDR Workflows
- BRaw Clip Settings
- Apple ProRes Certified Decode
- Advanced 10-Bit Pipeline Decode
- Proxy Generation
- Codec Selection H.264
- Quality Selection Low
- Size Selection Up to 720p
- Active Cloud Integrations 1
- Cloud Download
- Import Exchange Formats
- Pexels
- Pond5
Create
User / Pay Monthly
- Everything in Free, plus:
- 4K Video Export
- Social Media Templates
- NewBlue Titler Pro
- Dynamic Motion Graphics
- Powerful Colour Controls
- Advanced Audio EQ
- Quick LUT Support
- High Res Proxy Editing
- High Res Timeline Rendering
- Advanced Video Scopes Vectorscope, RGB and Histogram YCbCr CIE, YCbCr & Split View
- Advanced Titles
- Native Quick Audio FX Acoustic Sweetner, Dialog Enhancer, Instrument Enhancer, Subtle Sweetner and Voice Enhancer
- Native Audio FX Compressor, Limiter , Noise Gate, Noise Reducer, Reverb
- Export Resolution Up to 4K
- Social Media Presets YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat
- Cloud Upload
- Active Cloud Integrations Not limited
Pro
User / Pay Monthly
- Everything in Create, plus:
- 10-Bit Support
- Audio and Video Plugin Support
- Increased File Formats
- Advanced Video Effects
- Custom Format Creation
- Support for NewBlue TotalFX
- Export Interchange Formats
- Advanced Colour Scopes
- In Timeline QC
- Cloud Export/Upload
- Upgrade to TotalFX
- OpenFX Compatible
- 3rd Party Audio Plugins AU, VST, LADSPA
- External Midi Control (Mackie)
- DAW Workstation
- Export Resolution Up to 8K
- Media Files AVI, MP4, Image Sequence, MOV, MXF and WAV
- Physical Media Targets DVD and Bluray
- Camera Formats AVC-Intra, AVCHD, P2 AVC-Intra, XAVC-Intra, XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD
- H.264 Bitrate Config Set Variable/Constant. Set min/max bitrate.
- Custom Output Formats
- Subtitles
- Advanced 10-bit Export
- RED R3D Clip Settings
- Advanced Custom Metadata
- In-Edit Video Quality Control
- Apple ProRes Certified Decode and Encode
- Advanced 10-Bit Pipeline Decode and Encode
- Codec Selection Apple ProRes, AVID DNxHD (additional codec purchase required), AVC-Intra, Cineform or H.264, AVID DNxHR
- Quality Selection Low/Medium/High Up to Very High
- Size Selection Up to 4K
- Export Exchange Formats
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Pricing for 'Create' and 'Pro' tiers not public
Additional codec purchases for Pro tier
Upgrade to TotalFX for Pro tier
No free trial for paid tiers
Which Plan Do You Need?
Beginners needing free HD editing
Social media content creators
Professionals with custom needs
How Lightworks Compares to Competitors
Compared to DaVinci Resolve, which offers a powerful free version and a Studio version for a one-time purchase of $295, Lightworks' opaque paid tier pricing is a disadvantage. Adobe Premiere Pro, a subscription-based competitor, typically costs around $20.99/month, offering a clear pricing structure that Lightworks lacks for its advanced tiers.
Lightworks Pricing FAQ
How much does Lightworks cost?
Lightworks uses custom pricing. Contact Lightworks directly for a quote based on your team size and requirements.
Does Lightworks have a free plan?
Yes. Lightworks offers a free plan called "Free". It includes: Timeline Editing, 720p HD Export, Automatic Saving.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Lightworks?
Yes. Popular alternatives to Lightworks include DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Shotcut. Free alternatives include DaVinci Resolve, Shotcut, CapCut. Compare them side-by-side on Toolradar.
Cheaper alternatives to Lightworks
4 of 6 direct competitors below offer a free plan. Per-seat pricing varies up to 60% across this set.
