Shotcut vs Vegas Pro (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Shotcut grades higher than Vegas Pro: 2.8 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Shotcut grades higher on value for money, the free plan and platforms. Vegas Pro grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Vegas Pro
Windows video editor with AI tools, now published by Boris FX
Which one is for you
Pick Shotcut if
- Fits if you want a no-cost editor for Windows, Mac or Linux and don't mind learning a timeline
- Works for people who edit offline and don't want a subscription
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want templates, AI captions or one-click social videos, as the features page lists no AI tools
- Not for you if you work in a team on the same project, since there's no cloud collaboration
- Too light for people who rely on VST2 or LV2 audio plugins, which are still work in progress
- Watch out: Windows 7 and 8 stop at version 22.12.21 and macOS 11 and earlier get older builds
Pick Vegas Pro if
- Fits if you edit on a Windows PC and want a timeline editor with GPU rendering
- Works for people who edit longer videos with several cameras
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use a Mac or Linux, because it's Windows software only
- Tight if you want speech to text, text to speech or the Storyblocks library, which are subscription-only
- Watch out: the store also sells a perpetual licence, but its price and the monthly prices weren't visible on the pages read
- Not for you if you want to know the trial length up front, as it isn't stated
- Watch out: prices exclude tax and VAT
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAShotcutGood | 1.8GPAVegas ProWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree to download, with no paid tier. A program anyone can download and run counts as free. | C$8.33 a month on yearly billing for the base plan, between the category's cheapest quarter and its middle. The dearer plans are $12.50 and $16.66. |
| Free plan and trial | ANothing is locked: no trial, no watermark and no paid tier on the page. | DA free trial is offered, but the pages don't say how long it lasts or whether a card is needed. No free plan. |
| Features | CTimeline editing, 4K, capture, audio filters and subtitles, but the features page lists no AI tools or cloud collaboration, and VST2 and LV2 plugin support is still work in progress. | BGPU timeline, colour and compositing, multicam, audio, titling and AI tools. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job of a professional editor. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A full timeline editor has a learning curve. | CNo store rating on record. A full timeline editor has a learning curve. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWindows, Mac and Linux, which counts as computers only. No web or phone version. | DWindows only. No Mac or Linux version is listed, and no phone or web version. |
| Best for | a free desktop video editor | a Windows editor with a timeline and GPU speed |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Shotcut and Vegas Pro. How we grade
Price against what you get
Shotcut has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vegas Pro starts at $8.33 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Shotcut starts $8.33 a month lower. Of the other screen recording and video tools on the chart, none scores higher than Shotcut for less, and 22 score higher than Vegas Pro for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Shotcut is open source, according to its own site.
- Shotcut also covers screen recording.
- Vegas Pro also covers transcription and text to speech.
At a glance
| Shotcut | Vegas Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $8.33 per month, billed yearly |
| Free plan | Free and open source, with downloads offered at no charge and no paid tier listed. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | A free trial is offered; its length is not stated on the pages read |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Meltytech, LLC | Boris FX |
| Price read from | shotcut.org | borisfx.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Shotcut
- Windows 7 and 8 users are limited to version 22.12.21, and macOS 11 and earlier to older builds.
- VST2 and LV2 audio plugin support is listed as work in progress.
- Versions are numbered by date and new releases arrive about every two months.
- The features page lists no built-in AI tools or cloud collaboration.
Vegas Pro
- The product pages describe it as software for Windows; no Mac or Linux version is listed.
- Speech to text, text to speech and the Storyblocks library are marked subscription-only.
- The store also offers a perpetual license, but its price could not be read; monthly billing prices also were not visible.
- Prices exclude taxes and VAT, and Boris FX offers a 15-day money-back guarantee.
Key features
Shotcut
- Wide format support
- Edits hundreds of audio and video formats through FFmpeg without importing, and mixes resolutions and frame rates on one timeline.
- Capture
- Records screen, webcam and audio, and takes input from Blackmagic Design SDI and HDMI devices, JACK and Pulse audio and network streams.
- High-end video
- Handles 4K and 8K, 10-bit end to end, HDR10 and HLG, alpha-channel files and tone mapping from HDR to SDR.
- Audio filters
- Includes scopes, volume control and filters such as compressor, equalizers, noise gate, limiter and RNNoise noise reduction.
- Subtitles and export
- Creates and imports SRT, VTT, ASS and SSA subtitles, and exports EDL, single frames and image sequences.
- Dockable interface
- Panels for playlist, filters, history, encoding and jobs can be docked or undocked, with drag-and-drop from the file manager.
Vegas Pro
- GPU-accelerated timeline
- A flexible timeline with unlimited video and audio tracks, running on the Vegas Core engine for playback, effects and rendering.
- AI tools
- Auto reframing to vertical or square, AI quick masks, text-based editing from a transcript, speech to text and text to speech.
- Color and compositing
- Advanced color grading, compositing modes, masks and effects for layered edits.
- Multicam and audio
- Multicam sync for interviews and events, plus recording, editing and mixing tools built into the editor.
- Titling
- Continuum 2D and 3D titling is included in every tier for animated titles and motion graphics.
- Stock media
- A Storyblocks library of stock footage, music and sound effects, available on subscriptions.
Plans
Shotcut
Shotcut$0
The full editor, free to download for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Vegas Pro
Vegas Pro$8.33
per month, billed yearly
The editor with AI tools, Continuum titling, speech-to-text, text-to-speech and Storyblocks media. $99.95 for the year.
Vegas Pro Plus$12.50
per month, billed yearly
Adds Mocha Vegas tracking, CrumplePop audio plugins, Sound Forge and Acid Pro.
Vegas Pro Ultimate$16.66
per month, billed yearly
Adds Continuum VFX plugins, Mocha Pro, Particle Illusion, Optics, iZotope Photon and Sound Forge Plus.
Ways to pay less
Shotcut
No public discounts listed.
Vegas Pro
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves over 50%
The Boris FX store labels its yearly subscription option as saving over 50% compared with monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Shotcut or Vegas Pro?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Shotcut is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $8.33 a month for Vegas Pro. Shotcut is free, and Vegas Pro starts at $8.33 per month, billed yearly.
Which has a free plan, Shotcut or Vegas Pro?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Shotcut has a free plan. Vegas Pro does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Shotcut and Vegas Pro run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Shotcut lists macOS and Linux apps. Both list a Windows app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.