What is the best video editing & screen recording tool right now?

Adobe Express leads this list by user signals — it is best for small business owners and social media marketers who need branded templates resized across multiple platforms without a full creative cloud subscription. Adobe Premiere Pro is the strongest runner-up.

Which video editing & screen recording are free?

12 of the 15 tools here have a usable free tier or are fully free: Adobe Express, Adobe Premiere Pro, CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, Descript and 7 more.

Are there open-source video editing & screen recording?

Yes — Kdenlive, OBS Studio, Shotcut are open source.

15 Best Video Editing & Screen Recording in 2026

Video editing and screen recording software cuts footage, captures screens, and produces finished video, used by editors, YouTubers, and teams making tutorials.

Top video editing & screen recording

Tool	Best for	License	Price	Reviews
Adobe Express	small business owners and social media marketers who need branded templates resized across multiple platforms without a full Creative Cloud subscription	Freemium	Free tier · paid from $7.99/mo
Adobe Premiere Pro	professional video editors and filmmakers who need frame-accurate multi-track editing, broadcast color grading, and Frame.io review workflows	Freemium	Free tier · paid from $22.99/mo	4.7/5 on Capterra (573 reviews)
Avid Media Composer	broadcast and studio post-production teams who need frame-accurate editing, dialogue search, and shared-storage collaboration across multiple editors	Paid	From $199/yr	4.2/5 on Capterra (11 reviews)
Camtasia	corporate trainers, educators, and software marketers producing tutorial and course videos from screen recordings, not general-purpose video editors	Freemium	From $39/yr	4.5/5 on Capterra (453 reviews)
CapCut	social media creators and marketers making short-form video for TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts who want templates and AI tools over a professional timeline	Freemium	Free tier · paid from $9.99/mo
DaVinci Resolve	colorists and post-production editors who want node-based, Hollywood-grade color grading and a full VFX/audio suite without paying a monthly subscription	Freemium	Free tier · paid from $295 one-time	4.8/5 on Capterra (272 reviews)
Descript	podcasters, YouTubers, and marketing teams who want to cut video and audio by editing a transcript instead of scrubbing a timeline	Freemium	Free tier · paid from $24/mo	4.6/5 on Capterra (183 reviews)
Filmora	social media creators and small business marketers who want AI-assisted video editing without the learning curve of Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve	Freemium	Free tier · paid from $49.99/yr	4.5/5 on Capterra (736 reviews)
Final Cut Pro	professional and prosumer video editors on Mac who want a one-time-purchase alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro's monthly subscription	Paid	From $2.99/mo	4.7/5 on Capterra (143 reviews)
Kdenlive	independent video creators and hobbyists who want a full-featured, free video editor on Linux, Windows, or macOS without a subscription	Open source	Free
Loom	product, engineering, and customer-facing teams replacing routine live meetings or long written explanations with short async screen-recording videos	Freemium	Free tier · paid from $18/mo	4.7/5 on Capterra (529 reviews)
OBS Studio	streamers and content creators who want a free, unlimited-scene streaming and recording tool without subscription fees or watermarks	Open source	Free
ScreenPal	educators, corporate trainers, and support teams recording short tutorial and how-to videos who want built-in AI captioning without a separate video editor	Freemium	Free tier · paid from $3/mo	4.4/5 on Capterra (102 reviews)
Shotcut	hobbyist and independent video editors on Windows, macOS, or Linux who want a capable, no-cost editor that handles native footage formats without a conversion step	Open source	Free	4/5 on Product Hunt (1 reviews)
Vidyard	sales and marketing reps who want to send trackable, personalized video messages through their CRM and email tools instead of generic text outreach	Freemium	Free

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Find alternatives to a specific tool

Alternatives to Adobe Express3 Alternatives to Adobe Premiere Pro5 Alternatives to Avid Media Composer3 Alternatives to Camtasia5 Alternatives to CapCut3 Alternatives to DaVinci Resolve6 Alternatives to Descript3 Alternatives to Filmora5 Alternatives to Final Cut Pro6 Alternatives to Kdenlive4 Alternatives to Loom3 Alternatives to OBS Studio1 Alternatives to ScreenPal4 Alternatives to Shotcut5 Alternatives to Vidyard1

Frequently asked questions

What is the best video editing & screen recording tool right now?: Adobe Express leads this list by user signals — it is best for small business owners and social media marketers who need branded templates resized across multiple platforms without a full creative cloud subscription. Adobe Premiere Pro is the strongest runner-up.
Which video editing & screen recording are free?: 12 of the 15 tools here have a usable free tier or are fully free: Adobe Express, Adobe Premiere Pro, CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, Descript and 7 more.
Are there open-source video editing & screen recording?: Yes — Kdenlive, OBS Studio, Shotcut are open source.