Best AI tools for video editors

9 AI tools that fit the work video editors actually do, grouped by task. Tasks are ordered by how central they are to the job; inside each task, tools are ordered by aitrove popularity. That's not a quality ranking: we compiled every review from public sources (pricing pages, docs, published reviews, user reports), not hands-on testing.

Editing and repurposing · Generated shots · Voiceover

At a glance

Tool	Task	Best for	Biggest weakness	Free tier	Starting price
Descript	Editing and repurposing	Podcasters and talking-head YouTubers.	Users report AI credits running out after a single heavy edit on the Creator plan	Yes	Free tier: yes. Hobbyist $16/mo billed annually ($24 monthly), Creator $24/mo annually ($35 monthly). (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Pictory	Editing and repurposing	Marketers repurposing written content into social video.	No permanent free plan. The 14-day trial is watermarked	No	Free tier: no (14-day trial). Starter $29/mo billed annually, Professional $59/mo annually, Teams $199/mo annually. (checked Oct 10, 2026)
InVideo AI	Editing and repurposing	High-volume social and marketing clips from a prompt.	Free exports are watermarked, and free credits reset weekly	Yes	Free tier: yes (watermarked). Plus $10/seat/mo billed annually ($20 monthly), 400 credits/seat. Higher tiers available. (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Kapwing	Editing and repurposing	Social teams churning out short clips.	Free is heavily limited: watermark, 720p, short exports	Yes	Free tier: yes. Pro $16/member/mo annually ($24 monthly). Business $50 annually ($64 monthly). (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Pika	Generated shots	Playful social clips and effects.	Free has no monthly credits. You buy credit packs	Yes	Free tier: yes (no monthly credits; packs only). Starter $10/mo (900 credits). Higher tiers $35 and $95/mo. (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Runway	Generated shots	Creators who need controllable cinematic shots and will budget for credits.	The free plan is 125 credits once, not monthly	Trial only	Free tier: 125 one-time credits. Standard $12/mo billed annually ($15 monthly), Pro $28/mo annually ($35 monthly). (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Luma Dream Machine	Generated shots	Creators who want transparent credit math.	No free plan on the current pricing page	Yes	Free tier: none listed. Plus $30/mo, $90/mo and $300/mo tiers. (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Kling AI	Generated shots	Budget AI video with commercial rights.	The intro price jumps at renewal: Standard goes from $6.99 to $8.80/mo	Yes	Free tier: yes (credits shown in app). Standard $6.99 first month, then $8.80/mo (660 credits). (checked Oct 10, 2026)
ElevenLabs	Voiceover	Podcasters, YouTubers and devs who need realistic voiceover.	Free credits don't roll over, and downgrading or cancelling forfeits unused credits	Yes	Free tier: yes (10k credits/mo). Starter $6/mo, Creator $22/mo, Pro $99/mo. (checked Oct 10, 2026)

"Free tier" comes from each tool's pricing line; "Not stated" means our source didn't say. Prices include the date we checked them.

Editing and repurposing

1. Descript

Best for: Podcasters and talking-head YouTubers.

Pros

Edit video by editing the transcript like a doc
Studio Sound and filler-word removal clean up talking-head audio fast

Cons

Users report AI credits running out after a single heavy edit on the Creator plan
Reports of lag, crashes and blank screens on long projects

Skip it if: You do complex visual edits. Use Premiere or Resolve.

Price: Free tier: yes. Hobbyist $16/mo billed annually ($24 monthly), Creator $24/mo annually ($35 monthly). (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full Descript review · Descript alternatives

Sources for Descript

2. Pictory

Best for: Marketers repurposing written content into social video.

Pros

Turns blogs and scripts into videos quickly
Text-based editing: cut video by deleting transcript words

Cons

No permanent free plan. The 14-day trial is watermarked
Stock scene matching is often literal or generic, especially for B2B or technical topics

Skip it if: You need polished branded video or real editing control.

Price: Free tier: no (14-day trial). Starter $29/mo billed annually, Professional $59/mo annually, Teams $199/mo annually. (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full Pictory review · Pictory alternatives · Pictory vs InVideo AI

Sources for Pictory

3. InVideo AI

Best for: High-volume social and marketing clips from a prompt.

Pros

Prompt-to-video with access to many video models (Veo, Kling, Seedance) in one place
Manual timeline editing and exports don't use credits

Cons

Free exports are watermarked, and free credits reset weekly
Unused plan credits don't roll over, and credit costs can change without notice (per pricing page)

Skip it if: You need predictable costs or AI avatars.

Price: Free tier: yes (watermarked). Plus $10/seat/mo billed annually ($20 monthly), 400 credits/seat. Higher tiers available. (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full InVideo AI review · InVideo AI alternatives · Pictory vs InVideo AI

Sources for InVideo AI

4. Kapwing

Best for: Social teams churning out short clips.

Pros

Browser-based editing for social video and subtitles
Collaborative team workspace

Cons

Free is heavily limited: watermark, 720p, short exports
Long or complex exports can fail (per user reports)

Skip it if: You do long-form or advanced editing.

Price: Free tier: yes. Pro $16/member/mo annually ($24 monthly). Business $50 annually ($64 monthly). (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full Kapwing review · Kapwing alternatives

Sources for Kapwing

Generated shots

5. Pika

Best for: Playful social clips and effects.

Pros

Fun, stylized short-form effects
All models accessible, even on Free

Cons

Free has no monthly credits. You buy credit packs
Free doesn't include a commercial license

Skip it if: You need photorealistic, client-grade footage.

Price: Free tier: yes (no monthly credits; packs only). Starter $10/mo (900 credits). Higher tiers $35 and $95/mo. (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full Pika review · Pika alternatives · Runway vs Pika · Pika vs Luma Dream Machine

Sources for Pika

6. Runway

Best for: Creators who need controllable cinematic shots and will budget for credits.

Pros

Strong camera and character control, which reviewers single out
Standard ($12/mo annual) unlocks every model on the platform, including third-party ones like Kling 3.0

Cons

The free plan is 125 credits once, not monthly
Standard's 625 credits buy about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 video before retries

Skip it if: You want lots of footage for little money.

Price: Free tier: 125 one-time credits. Standard $12/mo billed annually ($15 monthly), Pro $28/mo annually ($35 monthly). (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full Runway review · Runway alternatives · Runway vs Pika · Runway vs Luma Dream Machine

Sources for Runway

7. Luma Dream Machine

Best for: Creators who want transparent credit math.

Pros

Per-second credit costs are published, so you can budget clips up front
Plus includes 10,000 credits a month

Cons

No free plan on the current pricing page
Starts at $30/mo, pricier to try than Kling or Runway

Skip it if: You want to try before paying.

Price: Free tier: none listed. Plus $30/mo, $90/mo and $300/mo tiers. (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full Luma Dream Machine review · Luma Dream Machine alternatives · Runway vs Luma Dream Machine · Pika vs Luma Dream Machine

Sources for Luma Dream Machine

https://lumalabs.ai/pricing

8. Kling AI

Best for: Budget AI video with commercial rights.

Pros

Paid plans include commercial use, watermark removal and 1080p
Cheap way in: $6.99 for the first month

Cons

The intro price jumps at renewal: Standard goes from $6.99 to $8.80/mo
Free output is watermarked, non-commercial and capped below 1080p

Skip it if: You hate intro pricing and expiring credits.

Price: Free tier: yes (credits shown in app). Standard $6.99 first month, then $8.80/mo (660 credits). (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full Kling AI review · Kling AI alternatives · Runway vs Kling AI

Sources for Kling AI

Voiceover

9. ElevenLabs

Best for: Podcasters, YouTubers and devs who need realistic voiceover.

Pros

Natural-sounding text-to-speech and voice cloning
A free tier with 10k credits/mo, and Starter is cheap ($6/mo)

Cons

Free credits don't roll over, and downgrading or cancelling forfeits unused credits
Professional voice cloning needs Creator ($22/mo) or higher

Skip it if: You need fixed, predictable per-minute costs.

Price: Free tier: yes (10k credits/mo). Starter $6/mo, Creator $22/mo, Pro $99/mo. (checked Oct 10, 2026)

Full ElevenLabs review · ElevenLabs alternatives

Sources for ElevenLabs

Head-to-head comparisons

More roundups

Pros, catches and prices are compiled from public sources (official pricing and docs pages, published reviews, user reports), not hands-on testing. Prices change often, so check the vendor page before you buy.