DaVinci Resolve vs Shotcut
Two of the top three video editors, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- DaVinci Resolve has 87 points and Shotcut 79, 8 apart on our video editing software rules.
- DaVinci Resolve earns more on systems and editing tools; Shotcut earns more on price and licence.
- Cheapest paid plan: DaVinci Resolve $8.19/mo, Shotcut $0.
- Only DaVinci Resolve meets: one-time licence, multi-camera editing and shared projects.
- Only Shotcut meets: open-source apps.
87/100 #1 of 12
Best for: People who want one editor for cutting, colour grading and sound without a subscription.
Points by group
| Group | DaVinci Resolve | Shotcut |
|---|---|---|
| Systems of 10 | 6 | 4 |
| Price and licence of 30 | 21 | 24 |
| Output of 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Editing tools of 44 | 44 | 35 |
| Total | 87 | 79 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | DaVinci Resolve | Shotcut |
|---|---|---|
| Other systems (10) | macOS, Linux, iOS 6 | macOS, Linux 4 |
| Free version (8) | Yes 8 | Yes 8 |
| One-time licence (6) | Yes 6 | No 0 |
| Cheapest paid plan (12) | $8.19/mo 7 | $0 12 |
| Open-source apps (4) | Not published 0 | Yes 4 |
| 4K export (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| 8K export (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| 10-bit and HDR (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| GPU-accelerated export (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Multi-camera editing (6) | Yes 6 | Not published 0 |
| Colour grading with scopes (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Automatic captions (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Motion tracking (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Multitrack audio and noise reduction (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Proxy editing (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Third-party plug-ins (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Shared projects (3) | Yes 3 | Not published 0 |
| Green-screen keying (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Video stabilisation (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve suits people who want editing, colour grading, effects and audio in one editor and prefer to pay once. The free version covers Ultra HD, multicam and proxy editing, and Studio adds noise reduction and AI tracking for $295. The catch: the vendor's pages do not say how long a $295 licence receives updates, and the apps are not listed as open source.
Shotcut
Shotcut suits anyone who wants an editor at no cost, on any desktop system. It lists scopes, tracking, proxies, chroma key and plug-ins, and its code is public. The catch: the features page names no multicam tool and no shared projects, and its VST and OpenFX support is marked work in progress.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score video editors.