DaVinci Resolve Studio remains the best video editing software in my opinion, and it's now also photo editing software. It very rarely has discounts given that the one-off cost is already so reasonable, but Blackmagic Design has just slashed the price of the full studio package by 20% from $295 to $236.
Although DaVinci doesn't have the recurring subscription cost that comes with most software these days, you still get industry leading updates every year, including the recent addition of powerful AI tools. Meanwhile, raw image editing makes DaVinci Resolve Studio also now an alternative to Lightroom for photographers.
Blackmagic is also running discounts on hardware, including editing panels.
For other options, see our guide to the best video editing software. We also have a guide to the best laptops for video editing and the best monitors for video editing.
Powerful pro video editing software at a great price
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I've been using DaVinci Resolve Studio for around three years, and I'm very happy with the investment. It's one of the most complete video-editing apps around, gets regular updates with new features, and it has no recurring cost.
The software is made by the Australian company Blackmagic Design, which whose main line of business is making high-end cinema cameras for the film industry. The software in its current form has been around for over 15 years. We last wrote a full DaVinci Resolve review in 2025 and gave it five stars out of five.
It's now moved on to its 21st annual release. Additions include the Photo Page, bringing node-based colour grading tools to still photography workflows.
DaVinci Resolve Studio 21 also adds IntelliSearch, which finds visual content using content analysis, transcripts, and metadata, and AI-driven tools like Speech Generator, CineFocus, which creates synthetic depth for defocus, bokeh, and focal point adjustments, Face Age Transformer, Face Reshaper, which adjusts facial proportions after detection and tracking, Blemish Removal and Motion DeBlur, which renders media to reduce motion-blur softness without altering the source.
On the Fusion Page, there are around 70 new motion graphic effects and tools via the Krokodove integration. DaVinci Resolve 21.1 added an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for AI assistant integration.
The software's node-based colour grading and effects workflows present a bit of a learning curve compared to more basic video editing apps, but the beauty of DaVinci is that you can go as deep as you want. You'l never learn everything that the app can do, but you can be certain that if there's any effect that you want to create, you'll be able to do it, and you'll be able to find a tutorial online showing you how.
Just note that colour grading and effects work in DaVinci Resolve can be demanding in terms of computing power. Blackmagic cites 16GB RAM and 4GB of VRAM as minimum requirements, but you might want significantly more than that if you're editing long videos or using advanced tools.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.