Category: AI Video
Free and capable, but read the content licence first.
CapCut is the video editor most short-form creators actually use, covering trimming, captions, effects, templates, background removal and a large library of generative features, available on mobile, desktop and in the browser. It is owned by ByteDance through its Singapore entity and bills UK customers in pounds. Paid tiers include a monthly AI credit allowance with generation metered beyond it. There is no first-party MCP server or public API; community projects either write draft files on disk or route through third-party backends, neither of which is supported. The terms of service were rewritten in April 2026.
Capable, fast, available in pounds, and free at the level most people need, which is why it dominates short-form editing. If you are making your own content, it is an easy recommendation. The reason we would not use it for client work is the content licence. Their terms grant a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, perpetual and worldwide licence over content you upload, plus a separate licence to use your username, image and likeness including in sponsored content, and there is no separate UK or EU version of those terms. For an agency putting a client's unreleased footage or a named individual's likeness through it, that clause is usually disqualifying on its own. Worth correcting two things commonly repeated: CapCut is not an EU-designated very large online platform, and the large Irish data protection fine was TikTok's rather than CapCut's. The real exposures are a US biometric class action and ByteDance ownership generally.
Best for: Creators and social teams producing short-form video who are not working with client-confidential footage.
Pricing: Free, then £21.99/mo (Freemium)
Rating: 3.5/5