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DaVinci Resolve
Free at the bottom, professional at the top, AI in the middle.
NOT REALLY
why this verdict
Keep paying — Google has not replaced it
Google's version overlaps, but does not finish the video job, so this one still earns its $25/mo.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- AI features arrived as additions rather than replacements. Google, May 20, 2025 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers not the job editorial call
- Parts of it. The job still needs the tool to get finished.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 1 of 1 listed replacements have a usable free tier: CapCut.
- What the call is worth $300/yr
- $25/mo at the entry paid tier — $300 a year per seat.
Reason composed from the fields above missing: announcement linked recorded: free replacement listed missing: two or more escape hatches
- Threatened by
- Since
- May 20, 2025
- List price
- $25/mo
- Per year
- $300
The backstory
Resolve gives away a genuinely professional editor and sells a Studio licence with the advanced Neural Engine features. That structure is close to AI-proof: the free tier absorbs price pressure from below and the paid tier keeps colourists and finishing artists. Blackmagic sells hardware anyway.
Escape hatches
1 of 1 replacements have a usable free tier.