The Best Video Editor for YouTube in 2026
There is no single best video editor for YouTube, because a twenty-minute video and a thirty-second Short are different crafts with different tools. This list separates them explicitly and says which format each entry is actually for.
How we picked the best video editor for YouTube
Entries are split by format , long-form or Shorts , and then ranked on what they automate, what they cost, and whether the processing happens on your machine. Capabilities come from each vendor's own documentation, and pricing is described qualitatively because plans change.
Which format it's genuinely built for: long-form, Shorts, or both. What it automates versus what stays manual. Where the footage is processed, locally, or uploaded. What the free path allows before it stops being enough.
- 1
DaVinci Resolve — best for long-form, and free
A full professional suite , editing, colour, audio, effects , whose free version is enough to finish a channel's worth of long-form video on your own machine.
Best for: Long-form creators who want professional output without a subscription.
Trade-off: A steep learning curve, hardware requirements, and far too much tool for a Short.
- 2
Adobe Premiere Pro — best long-form workflow at scale
The industry-standard NLE, with Text-Based Editing since version 23.2 in February 2023 for cutting from the transcript and deleting filler words in bulk.
Best for: Channels with editors, collaborators and a pipeline to maintain.
Trade-off: Subscription-only and desktop-only, with the complexity that comes with a professional NLE.
- 3
Final Cut Pro — best long-form editing on a Mac
A fast magnetic-timeline editor optimised for Apple hardware, sold once rather than rented.
Best for: Mac-based creators who'd rather buy than subscribe.
Trade-off: macOS-only, and the magnetic timeline is a genuine adjustment coming from other NLEs.
- 4
Gling — best first pass on a long recording
Transcribes and automatically removes silences, bad takes and filler words, then exports MP4 or an XML you can finish in Premiere, Final Cut or Resolve.
Best for: Solo YouTubers whose raw footage is one long take that needs tightening before the real edit.
Trade-off: Cloud-based, so the footage is uploaded, and it's a pre-edit rather than an editor.
- 5
YouTube Create — best free mobile editor tied to YouTube
Google's free editing app, on Android since 2023 and on iPhone since December 2025, with automatic captions, a royalty-free music library and publishing straight to your channel. Available in select markets.
Best for: Editing and publishing Shorts from a phone with nothing else installed.
Trade-off: Mobile-only, market-limited, and not a serious option for long-form.
- 6
Montaj — best for Shorts, not for long-form
On-device transcription, word-by-word subtitles, one-tap silence removal and audio cleanup, with nothing uploaded. Built for the vertical Short rather than the main video.
Best for: Channels whose Shorts are a separate production line from the long-form.
Trade-off: Vertical 9:16 only, exported at 1080×1920. It cannot produce a horizontal long-form video at all. No templates, and closing a project today loses it.
Long-form or Shorts
| Tool | AI automates the tedious work | Runs on your device | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| DaVinci Resolve | Little , manual pro suite | Yes , desktop | Desktop, long-form |
| Premiere Pro | Text-Based Editing since 23.2 | Yes. Desktop | Desktop, long-form |
| Final Cut Pro | Little , manual pro suite | Yes , desktop | macOS, long-form |
| Gling | Silences, bad takes, filler words | No. Cloud | Web, long-form pre-edit |
| YouTube Create | Automatic captions | No. Publishes to YouTube | iOS, Android, Shorts |
| Montaj | Subtitles, silences, audio cleanup | Yes. Nothing uploaded | On your device, Shorts |
No single video editor for YouTube wins everything, and the split is the point: DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro own long-form, Gling tightens the raw take before you edit it, and Montaj only competes on Shorts. It cannot export a horizontal long-form video.
The verdict
— Thomas, Social Media Manager