CapCut vs. DaVinci: Which FREE Editor Should You Use?

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So, you're looking to change video editors?  Good choice! In 2024, there are so many amazing   platforms out there, and as someone who has used  Premiere Pro for the majority of my 20 years   editing, recently my eyes were opened to DaVinci  Resolve and CapCut. And now that I've seen them   and what they can do, there ain't no way I'm ever  going back to Premiere. Never, ever, ever, never,   never, never, ever... or will I. I'm pretty sure I  won't. So, which is the better editor of the two?   After using both DaVinci and CapCut for editing  my YouTube videos, I've got some pretty definite   observations and insights that will help you make  that decision. So, stick around to the end if you   want the full list. I won't cover every single  feature, but I will share the main differences   between the two that I've noticed and ultimately  who I think each software is for. DaVinci and   CapCut are completely free. You don't need to  pay a cent to use either one, while they both   do have paid versions: DaVinci at $295 USD  and CapCut at either $8 or $9 USD per month.   These really are optional and not essential for  most use cases; therefore, pricing isn't really   a factor. How easy are they to use? Well, I'd say  CapCut is probably the easiest software I've ever   used. I picked it up in literally 10 minutes.  It has a very similar layout to other editors,   and they've really simplified the user experience.  Most features are either drag-and-drop, or various   tools can very easily be found in the extremely  simplified menus. Whereas, DaVinci Resolve... you   can't do the same thing. It's going to take a bit  of time to learn it because it is a more complex   and nuanced software with a lot more features,  therefore a lot more learning time. So, while you   can learn the basics in under an hour, to master  the entire program, it's going to take quite a bit   longer. So what about basic trimming and editing  of clips? While they can do the basics of trimming   quite well, one big downside I've noticed  of CapCut is its inability to do multi-track   editing. Here's what I mean: So, I've got a clip  here, which is easy enough to cut up. However,   when you add a second layer, here is a text layer.  Let's say I want to delete left or Ripple trim,   which is one of the most common edits you make  when you're cutting up dialogue. When I press Q on   the keyboard, it trims track one but not track 2,  a.k.a. the text layer. This makes editing multiple   layers extremely frustrating because let's say  I wanted to cut right through these two layers,   both the text and the A camera. Instead, I'm going  to make a split in that clip, select the previous   clip, and delete it. Then, it throws track two  out, so it's no longer in sync with the cut   point of the bottom track. And that just took me  maybe 10 clicks. Here's the same thing in DaVinci:   press Q, and it Ripple trims both layers. So,  I'd say if you're only planning on editing one   single video on one track, this won't be an issue.  However, if you're like me and you like editing   with lots of tracks, this is going to be a big  issue in CapCut and slow down your edits. I know   this sounds like a small thing, but you make  cuts like this hundreds of times throughout a   video edit; therefore, it's going to add lots of  little 2-3-5-second increments onto your overall   edit time.Here's another difference between the  two: In DaVinci, let's say I want to move this   text down and center it. I'll select the text, go  to settings, then position, and place it roughly   where I think it belongs, which is probably about  there. That's fine. But in CapCut, watch this.   This is potentially the... or one of the best  features of CapCut: the interactive viewer. I love   being able to drag and drop graphics so easily  and have the blue guidelines guide you toward   the center of the frame, especially handy for  symmetry freaks like me. I'm fairly sure DaVinci   doesn't have this feature. When I click and drag,  nothing happens. What about adding an animation to   this text? So, in... it's pretty straightforward.  Select the text, choose a transition you like,   drag and drop it on, and... yeah, that was pretty  good. The transition isn't amazing, and a lot of   the DaVinci templates, while they're pretty fun,  I wouldn't use the majority of them. In CapCut, to   do the same thing, you just select a text, head to  animation, and here is a full library of different   text effects that you can click to preview, and  these are actually, like, pretty good. I think   I'd use them. In fact, I'd definitely use them and  have used them in my last few videos. So, I'd say   the inbuilt library of transitions and animations  is definitely better within CapCut. This not only   applies to text but also other drag-and-drop  effects where it's literally just one click of   a button, and it applies the effect, as well as  silly sticker overlays like this, LOL. And while   DaVinci does have some effect templates that are  honestly quite good, the program overall relies   more on you creating your own within the software,  which can be done in the Fusion Tab. And this is   essentially like the After Effects of DaVinci  Resolve, and it allows you to create effects from   scratch that are miles better than the ones inside  CapCut. However, it does require you doing it   manually at first and saving it as a template for  you to then use in the future, whereas, I don't   know, I kind of like having the presets in CapCut  without having to make them from scratch. To me,   personally, a fast workflow is really important,  which is why having a big library of templates   and effects is super valuable. So, I'd say I'd  rate them about even for effects and templates,   with CapCut having more inbuilt and ready-to-go,  and DaVinci having the ability to create more   advanced templates and effects, as well as import  other effects that people have made and uploaded   to various websites like Motion Array, which  is nice to have, but again, personally, I'd   kind of rather have the effects inbuilt to begin  with just to keep things simple. Whereas, CapCut   doesn't allow you to import outside graphics into  CapCut. What about color correction? Well, yes,   obviously DaVinci Resolve wins for this. It's  the best software there is for color correction   and allows you to do anything your heart desires  color-wise with your footage. They use DaVinci   Resolve in Hollywood, and it's really such a  powerful tool for color correction, so hands down,   it wins. However, how does it compare to CapCut?  This may shock you. So, I'm going to select a   clip and head over to adjustment. And CapCut has  not just one but four tabs of color correction   options, including a color oscilloscope in  the viewer because who doesn't like a good   oscilloscope? I know I do. Anyway, so it's got all  the basics of color correction. This is the kind   of stuff you'll see in the Lumetri tab in Premiere  Pro. Then it's also got HSL adjustments, so if you   want to isolate individual colors and work just  on those, you can do that. It's got curves if   you like color correcting that way, as well as  color wheels. So yeah, it's not DaVinci-level   color correction, but it's also not beginner-level  color correction. There's quite a lot of options   here, so I definitely rate CapCut for color  correction. I'd say it's for sure good enough   for most use cases. Not every single project needs  Hollywood-level color correction when all you need   to do is just change a few sliders here and there  and you're good. What about audio editing? Well,   unfortunately, this is another downside of CapCut.  While you can edit audio and they do have some   filters that do it automatically, like loudness  normalization, and if you do pay for the Pro   version, you can select enhanced voice and vocal  isolation, which is a really good feature. Aside   from that, I've got to say I really don't like the  audio editing of CapCut. The main reason being,   if your sound is embedded in your clip like this  one is, the waveforms are so small you basically   need to get out a microscope to see them. Like,  literally, if your clip is selected and the   white border is around it, it conflicts with the  waveform so much that you're basically guessing   where to cut since more experienced editors cut  based on the waveforms more than the actual clips.   So, I found when editing with CapCut, I have to  actually deselect the clip then shuttle over frame   by frame... okay, there I can see is a waveform,  so I'll make a cut there. And still, the waveforms   are so small, and keyframing the audio is equally  hard because it's really so hard to see these   waveforms. Like when the peaks go into the orange  zone, which is too loud, you've really got to   squint to see what you're doing. Whereas if they  did have a dedicated audio track, which you can   create if you right-click and go extract audio,  this does make it easier. But then it creates   other issues with the multi-track editing causing  your clips to easily go out of sync. And yes,   while you can group a clip like this, it still  just makes it really hard to edit this way. Like,   I'm trying to unselect one of these two clips,  and it's not unselecting. Whereas in DaVinci,   there is a dedicated audio track which you can  drag to be as big as you like, and it's really   easy to keyframe the audio as well. So, there in  just a few seconds, I've isolated this part of the   audio to make louder or quieter. And this is the  visual experience you want when editing audio. It   needs to be really big because clearer visibility  translates to a faster editing experience. Also,   DaVinci has an entire tab dedicated to audio  called Fairlight where you can do all kinds   of advanced stuff to your audio. So, without  question, DaVinci Resolve beats CapCut for   audio editing unless you only need the absolute  basics and you're happy for the auto leveler   within CapCut to do all the work, which can  actually be okay if you recorded your audio   properly to begin with. But if it's a track that  needs more individualized editing, then DaVinci is   going to be the better choice. Another strength of  CapCut is the automatic captions option, which is   available in the free version. These captions  are super stylish, and both the free and paid   versions come with a ton of templates that are  great options for capturing short attention spans   on social media. Whereas with DaVinci Resolve,  you need to buy the paid version to get automatic   captions, and if you only do the bare minimum of  tweaks, they're not going to be on the level of   CapCut. What about more advanced features for more  professional use cases? While CapCut does have   some advanced features, some of my favorites being  Auto Cutout, where it automatically removes the   background even if you didn't use a green screen.  Here's another cool one: it's called Relight,   where you're literally relighting your scene  after the fact, and you can change the intensity,   the color of the light. This is literally acting  like a light source in the scene; that is pretty   advanced. And there are a few other decently  intermediate to advanced features in CapCut.   But they have built the CapCut Editor to appeal  to a more beginner-friendly audience. Therefore,   you're not going to get anywhere near the  amount of advanced features as you do in   DaVinci. DaVinci is without question the best  option for advanced video editing since it has   multiple tabs dedicated to multiple steps within  your video editing workflow. Each of which has   hundreds of potential customizations you can  make to your video, including editing effects,   color correction, audio, and export. All of these  act like their own software, yet it's built into   the one DaVinci Resolve software. Whereas you  wouldn't say that about CapCut, these are just   like boxes you can tick yes or no. So, definitely,  DaVinci wins for advanced features. Another place   they differ slightly is with mobile friendliness.  With CapCut, you can edit on your computer, on   your phone, tablet, or even an internet browser.  The best experience is obviously going to be on   a desktop where you've got a faster computer, but  it does have an amazing mobile app which is great   for quick video and reels. DaVinci doesn't have a  mobile app, but they do have an iPad app which is   kind of like a simplified version of the main  software that still goes pretty advanced. But   personally, again, I'd recommend editing on a  computer instead. The export settings of CapCut   leave a lot to be desired. The maximum resolution  is 4K, and the other customization options are   really on the basic side here. There's really  only a handful of basic options. Again, because   it's designed for a beginner-friendly audience.  So, if export formats are important to you,   then you'll probably want to consider DaVinci.  These are good enough, but due to there being   so few options, either you've got to sacrifice  a little bit on video quality, or if you choose   something like Pro Res, it totally blows out your  file size to 20 times what it should be. However,   for social media, you can get away with H.264 or  HEVC for good enough video quality. With DaVinci,   you've got a lot more options here: H.264  and H.265. It's got presets for YouTube and   all the various platforms, and just a lot more  individualization of your export settings that   you can take advantage of, and you're a lot less  likely to end up with a low-quality video or a   video where the file size is way too big. It's  important to know though that both platforms   have limitations when it comes to exporting: with  DaVinci, the limit is 4K resolution, so if you're   exporting anything higher, you'll need to upgrade  to the paid version, which allows you to export,   get this, up to 32K resolution, which I'm sure  is very common. Yeah, and with CapCut, the export   limitation is 15 minutes; as long as your video is  under 15 minutes, you can export it. If it's over,   you will need to upgrade to CapCut Pro. The  final factor I'll mention that I have noticed   with both programs is performance speed. CapCut is  undeniably fast, both for video editing even with   multiple tracks and lots of graphics, but also  exporting, which takes literally minutes or less   even for a 10-minute video. And my Mac has not  had any issues editing videos in CapCut. Whereas,   admittedly, I have had some crashes with DaVinci  Resolve because I like doing multi-track editing   with lots of 4K clips. It does sometimes stress  it out, especially when you're using graphics,   and the program can crash. Luckily, both of  these programs have an automatic save feature,   so it doesn't matter. You're not going to lose  work even if the software does crash. However,   one downside of the free version of DaVinci is  this performance issue which is where upgrading   will fix that issue because the paid Studio  version has GPU acceleration and allows you   to use multiple GPUs which inevitably speeds  up the editing workflow significantly. So,   in conclusion, both CapCut and DaVinci Resolve are  fantastic editors, and if you choose either one,   you'd be making a good choice since they are  fully functional with the free version; you   don't need to upgrade unless you want those extra  Pro features. But again, you really don't need to.   And while there are other free editors out there,  nothing touches these two in terms of what you get   with the free version. So, if you're a complete  beginner, you've just picked up video editing   and you want to start a YouTube channel and make  your own content without a massive learning curve,   then CapCut is the obvious choice. It has a lot  of fantastic features and is so easy to learn,   which makes it a no-brainer if you're a beginner  who wants a fast workflow. Whereas if you consider   yourself a more experienced creator, you've used  a few other programs before like Premiere Pro,   Final Cut Pro, Avid, and so on, and you're ready  to upgrade to a more modern editor, something that   does all the things that the non-linear editors  do, that After Effects does, that Audition does,   and also does world-class color correction,  then DaVinci Resolve or DaVinci Resolve Studio   is definitely going to be the right choice since  you can get way more customized edits in DaVinci,   the trimming workflow is much faster due to the  multi-track editing, and you really can go quite   advanced with your graphics. So, DaVinci really  could serve as the only editor you'll ever need,   whereas with CapCut, you probably wouldn't  stay on CapCut forever. Eventually,   once you're getting good at making videos, you'd  then upgrade to DaVinci. I can say personally,   and again, I've been editing videos for 20 years,  I'm going to be using both. I think CapCut has a   place for simple videos for social media with  cool graphics and automatic captions that are   really well optimized for social media, TikTok,  reels, and so on. But my main editor is going   to be DaVinci Resolve because you can edit  bigger projects much faster and it's got way   more advanced options for when I need them.  So, even if you are an experienced editor,   I would suggest trying CapCut; you'll be able to  pick it up like this, and you might even find that   you love it since it really does make video  editing a fun experience. And unfortunately,   that was something that I completely lost with  Premiere. Now, is there anything that you would   add to this comparison? If so, let me know down  below. If you're going to give CapCut a go,   then be sure to download my free CapCut keyboard  shortcuts cheat sheet if you want to edit 10 times   faster through using one-tap shortcuts on the  keyboard. And now that this video has hopefully   helped you decide which of the two video editors  to use, your next step is learning how to edit   with them. So, in these videos here, you'll  find my complete beginner guides to DaVinci   Resolve and CapCut and how you can get up and  running with them in less than 20 minutes.
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Channel: Ben Claremont
Views: 46,556
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Length: 16min 44sec (1004 seconds)
Published: Tue Mar 05 2024
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