Lightworks review

Lightworks is a professional timeline editor, and its free plan gives beginners a taste of that workflow on Windows, macOS or Linux. The vendor describes it as free forever, with professional timeline editing, effects and transitions, color correction and grading, multitrack audio and direct uploads to YouTube and Vimeo. Files carry no overlays or watermarks, and projects save automatically as you work. The catch is resolution. Free exports stop at 1080p, while 4K export, BRAW and ProRes decode, NewBlue Titler Pro and audio noise reduction belong to the paid Create plan, and 8K, 10-bit and HDR sit in Pro. For a creator posting to YouTube in 1080p, that is workable, but DaVinci Resolve and Kdenlive give higher resolutions for free. Upgrades come as monthly, yearly or perpetual licenses. The pricing page showed only pounds from our location, so we list the paid price as pending.

Who it is for

Creators who want a pro-style editing workflow and only need 1080p exports for now.

Price

Free forever plan with 1080p export; see vendor pricing for Create and Pro (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Professional timeline editing on the free plan
• Full HD 1080p export with no watermarks
• Effects, transitions, color correction and grading
• Multitrack audio editing
• Direct upload to YouTube and Vimeo

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free forever with no watermarks
• Strength: Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux
• Strength: Monthly, yearly and perpetual license options when you upgrade
• Weakness: Free plan exports top out at 1080p
• Weakness: 4K, BRAW and ProRes decode need the paid Create plan
• Weakness: Steeper learning curve than beginner apps

Key facts

• Developer: LWKS
• Platforms: Windows, macOS and Linux
• Free export limit: Up to 1080p
• Watermark: None
• Paid plans: Create and Pro, monthly, yearly or perpetual

Where it ranks

Lightworks is No. 10 in our Best Free Video Editing Software verdict.