The best video editors, according to hackers
20 video editors were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 3 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended video editors with the badge. Each figure is 25 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Replaces Premiere and Adobe suite
A professional video editor and color grader whose free version rivals Premiere, with a fair one-time Studio license; expect a learning curve, heavy GPU demands and rough Linux support.
Easy for beginners to learn
Free, capable video editor that beginners pick up quickly and many find stable now. The most common caveat is crashes and corrupted project saves.
Simpler, user-friendly interface than alternatives
Free, open-source video editor people pick for its simple layout, high-resolution and 10-bit support. Critics say it is slow with 4K footage unless you use proxy files.
All 20 video editors, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DaVinci Resolve | 175 | 66 | 73% | 11 | 3 yrs14 owners | Approved |
| 2 | Kdenlive | 56 | 25 | 69% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Tied 3 | Final Cut Pro | 25 | 23 | 52% | 9 | — | — |
| Tied 3 | Mosaic agentic video editing | 25 | 13 | 66% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 3 | OpenShot Video Editor | 25 | 17 | 60% | 4 | — | — |
| 6 | Cardboard video editor | 22 | 3 | 88% | 1 | — | — |
| 7 | Adobe Premiere Pro | 17 | 25 | 40% | 10 | — | — |
| 8 | VidStudio | 15 | 6 | 71% | 2 | — | — |
| 9 | Shotcut | 14 | 5 | 74% | 6 | — | Approved |
| 10 | Palmier Pro | 13 | 2 | 87% | 3 | — | — |
| 11 | Browser-based video editor (WebGPU and WASM) | 9 | 9 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 12 | iMovie | 8 | 12 | 40% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 12 | LosslessCut | 8 | 1 | 89% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 12 | FableCut | 8 | 3 | 73% | 1 | — | — |
| 15 | Avidemux | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | CapCut | 6 | 1 | 86% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Free AI video clipper | 6 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Lazycut | 6 | 4 | 60% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Filmcraft | 6 | 1 | 86% | 1 | — | — |
| 20 | Lightworks | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same video editor in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to video editors that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.