Lightworks review

Lightworks brings a professional editing workflow to a free plan that the vendor describes as free forever. The free tier covers professional timeline editing with multiple video, audio and FX tracks, effects and transitions, colour correction and grading with vectorscope, RGB and histogram scopes, multitrack audio editing and direct upload to YouTube and Vimeo. Background processing lets imports, renders and exports run while you keep working, every change is saved automatically, and files carry no watermarks. The limits show up at export: the free plan tops out at 1080p, 4K export needs the Create plan, and 8K, 10-bit, HDR editing and ProRes encoding need Pro. Free proxies are capped at 720p in H.264, and social presets beyond YouTube and Vimeo come with paid plans. Plan prices displayed in a non-USD currency from our location, so paid pricing is pending. With DaVinci Resolve offering Ultra HD for free, Lightworks makes most sense if you prefer its editing style.

Who it is for

Aspiring editors who want a pro style editing workflow and only need Full HD output.

Price

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

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Professional timeline editing with multiple video, audio and FX tracks
• Colour correction and grading with vectorscope, RGB and histogram scopes
• Background processing for import, rendering and export
• Instant auto-saving of every project change
• Direct YouTube and Vimeo upload

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free forever plan with Full HD 1080p export
• Strength: No watermarks on files created with Lightworks
• Strength: Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux
• Weakness: Free plan exports are capped at 1080p, with 4K on the paid Create plan
• Weakness: Proxies on the free plan are limited to 720p and H.264
• Weakness: Pro style interface has a steeper learning curve

Key facts

• Free plan: Yes, free forever
• Free export limit: Up to 1080p
• Watermark: None
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux

Where it ranks

Lightworks is No. 8 in our Best Free Video Editors for Windows verdict and No. 7 in Best Video Editors for Linux and No. 10 in Best Video Editors for Mac.