# Lightworks review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Pro video editor with a free tier and paid Create and Pro plans Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Lightworks is a video editor for Windows, macOS and Linux, with a free plan limited to 1080p export and paid Create and Pro plans that add 4K or 8K export, more formats and audio tools. Plans can be bought monthly, yearly or as a one-time license. - **Category:** Screen Recording & Video - **Made by:** LWKS - **Website:** https://lwks.com - **Runs on:** Windows, macOS, Linux - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you need 4K, which starts at Create, $20 a month. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Lightworks has a free plan, and paid plans start at $20 per user / month on Create, paid monthly. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Free plan with timeline editing, effects, color correction, multitrack audio, 1080p export and YouTube and Vimeo upload, with no watermarks. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | Timeline editing, effects and transitions, color correction, multitrack audio and export up to 1080p. | | Create | $20 per user / month, paid monthly | Adds 4K export, BRAW and ProRes decode, NewBlue Titler Pro, audio effects and noise reduction, and cloud storage integration. | | Pro | $35 per user / month, paid monthly | Adds up to 8K and 10-bit video, HDR editing and full scopes, Apple ProRes encoding, and AU, VST3 and LADSPA plugin support. | Read from https://lwks.com/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Lightworks before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **One-time license** (Lifetime license): The pricing page offers a Once option beside Monthly and Yearly, described as a perpetual license. The price was not readable in this check. Source: https://lwks.com/pricing ## Key features - **Timeline and trim tools:** Multiple video, audio and FX tracks with simple and advanced trimming and audio track sync, plus bins, tags and search for organizing footage. - **Background processing:** Import, rendering of complex effects and export can run in the background while you keep editing. - **Color and audio:** Color correction and grading with scopes on every plan. Native audio effects such as compressor, limiter and noise reducer come with the paid plans. - **Exchange formats:** The pricing page lists AAF, XML, OMF and EDL interchange, and sequence exchange with Premiere, Media Composer, DaVinci Resolve, Pro Tools and Reaper. - **Cloud and stock media:** Connects to Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive, pulls stock footage from Pexels and Pond5, and publishes to YouTube and Vimeo. - **In-edit quality control:** QScan checks for issues such as video levels, missing audio and loudness and shows markers on the timeline. This is listed among the paid features. ## Good for - Editors who want a free tier with no watermark - Users who prefer a one-time license to a subscription - Projects that need ProRes or 8K delivery on a paid plan ## Worth knowing - The Free plan exports up to 1080p and uploads only to YouTube and Vimeo; 4K needs Create and 8K needs Pro. - The yearly and one-time license prices sit behind toggles on the pricing page and were not read, so only monthly prices are recorded. - Some Linux functionality is restricted, and the advanced transitions, advanced titles and TotalFX are not available on Linux. - The pricing page showed the Free plan as £0 and the paid plans in dollars, and says prices are offered in USD, GBP and EUR. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Lightworks is a video editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. The free plan exports 1080p with no watermark, but 4K needs Create at $20 a month, 8K needs Pro at $35, and some features are missing on Linux. - **Value for money: B.** The free plan covers editing, color and 1080p export, and paid Create starts at $20 a month, which is where the dearer quarter begins. Yearly and one-time prices weren't readable. - **Free plan and trial: B.** A free plan with timeline editing, effects, color correction and 1080p export, with no watermarks. Upload goes only to YouTube and Vimeo. - **Features: C.** Timeline, trimming, color, audio, exchange formats and quality checks. The listing shows gaps: 4K and 8K need paid plans and advanced titles aren't on Linux. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and a timeline editor has a learning curve. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Desktop only: Windows, Mac and Linux, with Google Drive, Dropbox and stock links. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Lightworks's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among screen recording and video tools - Lightworks's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 36 of the 84 other screen recording and video tools we grade, and level with 18. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 66 of 84) and worst on features (C, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $20 a month for each person, against a middle price of $12 for the category: 48 of the 62 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 43 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/video ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Lightworks you would be making a video editor. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $240 a year. - You could not: A video editor. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other. - You could not: It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive among them. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, YouTube, Vimeo, Pond5, Pexels **Tags:** Video editing, One-time purchase ## Alternatives - [DaVinci Resolve](https://toolgpa.com/tools/davinci-resolve): Video editing, color, effects and audio post-production in one app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/davinci-resolve-vs-lightworks) - [Shotcut](https://toolgpa.com/tools/shotcut): Free open-source video editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lightworks-vs-shotcut) - [Kdenlive](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kdenlive): Free, open-source non-linear video editor from the KDE community. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/kdenlive-vs-lightworks) - [Adobe Premiere](https://toolgpa.com/tools/adobe-premiere): Professional video editor for desktop, with a free mobile app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/adobe-premiere-vs-lightworks) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://lwks.com - https://lwks.com/pricing Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/lightworks Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).