Best AI Video Editing Software in 2026: Top Tools Reviewed

Introduction

Video content is king, but the editing process can be a massive time sink. AI video editing software is revolutionizing the workflow, automating tedious tasks like clip selection, captioning, and even generating new footage. Whether you're a social media creator, marketer, or podcaster, the right AI tool can turn hours of editing into minutes. When choosing the best AI software for video editing, consider your primary need: are you looking to repurpose long videos into short clips, generate new content from text, or enhance existing footage with professional polish? The ideal tool balances powerful automation with intuitive controls.

Our Top Picks at a Glance

• OpusClip — Best for Automated Video Repurposing
• Descript — Best for Text-Based, Podcast-Style Editing
• VEED — Best All-in-One Browser-Based Editor
• Captions.ai — Best for Intuitive, Clean Short-Form Editing
• Submagic — Best for Dynamic Social Media Clips
• Invideo AI — Best for AI-Generated Videos from Text
• Canva AI Video Editor — Best for Quick, Template-Driven Edits

OpusClip — Best for Automated Video Repurposing

OpusClip excels at one core task: transforming long-form videos into viral-ready short clips. It's a specialist tool designed for creators and marketers who need to quickly repurpose webinars, podcasts, or interviews for platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

Key Features

• Imports from multiple sources (YouTube, Zoom, Twitch, Rumble).
• Uses AI to analyze content and assign a "Viral Score" to potential clips.
• Automatically generates multiple short clips from a single long video.
• Adds basic captions and offers simple cutting tools.

Pricing

Offers a free plan with limits. Paid plans start around $15/month, with a Pro tier at approximately $25-$29/month for full feature access.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Unmatched for fast, automated clip discovery. Excellent for scaling short-form content creation. Simple, focused interface.

Cons: Editing features are basic (mostly cutting and captions). Clip generation can be slow. Pricing can feel steep for the limited editing suite.

Descript — Best for Text-Based, Podcast-Style Editing

Descript takes a revolutionary approach by treating video editing like a word document. If you work heavily with spoken content—interviews, podcasts, tutorials—this AI software allows you to edit video by simply editing the transcribed text.

Key Features

• Text-based editing: delete, rearrange, or tweak video by editing the transcript.
• "Studio Sound" AI dramatically cleans up audio quality.
• Automatic removal of filler words (ums, ahs).
• AI features like Green Screen and Eye Contact correction.

Pricing

Free tier available. Paid plans start at approximately $16 per person per month (billed annually).

Pros and Cons

Pros: Revolutionary workflow for spoken content. Powerful audio enhancement tools. Great for collaboration.

Cons: Can have performance lag with large projects. Has a steeper learning curve than simpler clip tools. Pricing adds up for teams.

VEED — Best All-in-One Browser-Based Editor

VEED is a comprehensive, cloud-based video editing suite packed with AI features. It's ideal for creators who need to perform a variety of tasks—from upscaling and subtitling to trimming and adding effects—all within a single, accessible browser window.

Key Features

• AI-powered subtitle generation and translation.
• Video upscaling tools (up to 4K on Pro plans).
• Background removal, noise cleanup, and other enhancement features.
• Full editing suite with trimming, filters, and resizing.

Pricing

Free plan available with 720p export and watermark. Paid plans start around $12/user/month (annual) for the Lite tier, with Pro plans at approximately $49/month for 4K export and advanced AI tools.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Incredibly convenient all-in-one tool. No software to install. Strong set of AI utilities for subtitles and cleanup.

Cons: Can experience buffering/performance issues with large files. Higher-tier plans are expensive. Free plan is quite limited.

Captions.ai — Best for Intuitive, Clean Short-Form Editing

Captions.ai is praised for its exceptionally clean and intuitive interface, making it a top choice for creators who prioritize ease of use. It's built for straightforward, vertical video edits, offering a simple workspace to add captions, effects, and polish to short-form content.

Key Features

• Extremely user-friendly and clean interface.
• Strong tools for adding and styling captions.
• Optimized for vertical/short-form video editing.
• Mobile-native design philosophy.

Pricing

Specific pricing is not detailed in the research, but it is positioned as a competitor in the mid-range market alongside tools like OpusClip.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Arguably the most intuitive tool for quick edits. Minimal learning curve. Excellent for creators who want a simple, focused workspace.

Cons: May lack the advanced depth and repurposing power of specialized tools like OpusClip. Best suited for simpler projects.

Submagic — Best for Dynamic Social Media Clips

Submagic is built specifically for creating engaging, dynamic short clips. Its standout features are designed to add professional polish automatically, making it a favorite for social media content that needs to grab attention quickly.

Key Features

• "Magic B-Rolls" automatically sources and inserts relevant B-roll footage.
• "Magic Zooms" adds dynamic zoom-in effects to highlight key moments.
• Accurate AI clip rating system to identify the best parts of your video.

Pricing

Pricing structure involves a base plan plus an add-on for AI clips, bringing the total to nearly $40/month.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Excellent for adding automatic, engaging motion effects. Strong clip detection. Great for creating polished social clips fast.

Cons: Interface can be clunky. Pricing is considered deceptive and on the higher end. The total cost is a significant consideration.

Invideo AI — Best for AI-Generated Videos from Text

Invideo AI focuses on generating new video content from text prompts or articles. It's a powerful tool for creators who need to produce explainer videos, social content, or marketing videos quickly from a script or idea, often using stock footage and AI narration.

Key Features

• Text-to-video generation from prompts or articles.
• Access to a large library of stock media and AI avatars.
• Template-driven creation for speed.
• AI voiceovers and script assistance.

Pricing

Specific detailed pricing is not available in the research, but it is generally considered a cost-effective option for video generation, likely with a freemium model.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Fast way to create videos from scratch. Reduces need for filming and complex editing. Good for templated content.

Cons: Output can sometimes feel generic. Less control over fine-grained editing compared to traditional editors.

Canva AI Video Editor — Best for Quick, Template-Driven Edits

For millions already using Canva for design, its AI Video Editor is a natural extension. It integrates AI tools into a familiar, drag-and-drop interface filled with templates, making it perfect for creating social media videos, presentations, and simple marketing content with minimal effort.

Key Features

• Seamlessly integrated into the Canva ecosystem.
• AI tools for background removal, image expansion, and text-to-image.
• Massive library of templates, stock footage, and music.
• Extremely user-friendly for beginners.

Pricing

Free plan available with basic features. Canva Pro ($14.99/month or $119.99/year) unlocks premium features, likely including advanced AI video tools.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Unbeatable for ease of use and speed with templates. Perfect for non-editors. Great for cohesive branding across designs and videos.

Cons: Lacks the advanced, specialized AI clipping or generation features of other tools. Not ideal for complex, long-form video projects.

How We Chose

Our selection is based on analysis of user reviews from creator communities (like r/DigitalMarketing), professional software testing roundups, and direct comparisons from industry blogs. We prioritized tools that demonstrably save time through AI automation, offer unique strengths for specific use cases (like repurposing or generation), and provide real value at their price point. We balanced professional insights with feedback on common pain points like pricing, interface clunkiness, and processing speed.

Conclusion

The best AI software for video editing depends entirely on your primary goal. For automatically repurposing long videos into short clips, OpusClip is the specialist leader. If you edit podcast or interview-style content, Descript's text-based approach is revolutionary. For an all-in-one browser suite with robust AI tools, VEED is a powerful choice. Beginners or those needing quick, templated videos will find the Canva AI Video Editor incredibly efficient. Ultimately, the right AI video editor empowers you to create more content in less time, letting you focus on creativity and strategy rather than manual labor.