Best one time purchase video editing software

If you’re a hobbyist video content creator or you are just starting your video editing career and really are on a budget, you are going to need to find affordable yet decent video editing software. While some professional video editing programs like Adobe Premiere Pro are now only available through a subscription, there are still some products that you can get with a one-time payment.

But, are those video editors with a one-time purchase any good? Could you rely on a video editor without a subscription in a long run? Let’s find out what are the best options to get a one-type payment video creation software.

Subscription video editor vs one-time payment. What are the benefits and drawbacks?

The main benefit of using a subscription-based video editor is that you always have the latest updates and features. This could be really important if you are working on professional projects and need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends. In addition, Adobe Premiere Pro and some other pro programs offer cloud storage so your files will always be available to you no matter where you are.

However, subscription-based video editors can be quite expensive. If you are not creating professional videos on a regular basis, the cost of the subscription might be more than what you need or want to spend. In addition, you are locked into that subscription for as long as you want to use the software – there is no way to just pay for a month or two.

One-time payment video editors have some clear benefits over subscription-based ones. First of all, they are usually much cheaper, which can be really important if you are on a budget. For example, a one-year subscription to Adobe Premiere Pro costs $251.88 while Movavi Video Editor Plus can be purchased for just $69.95 right now!

Once you purchase a one-time payment video editor, it is yours – you do not have to pay anything more unless there is an optional upgrade that adds some new features.

What is the best one-time purchase video editing software?

Here is a list of the best video creation programs that I have picked:

• VEGAS Pro – A professional video editing software with a one-time payment of just $400 that is a direct competitor of Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve
• FilmoraPro – The most affordable intermediate-to-professional video editing software that aims to compete against Adobe PP and costs just $150 for a single-license
• Final Cut Pro – Mac-only professional video editor with trackless editing approach and professional effects that costs just $300 one-time payment
• DaVinci Resolve – A professional video editing software that is available for free (with some limitations) or as a one-time purchase priced at $259
• Filmora X – A beginner-oriented video editing software with a handful of pro features for the price of just $70 single-time purchase
• Movavi Video Editor Plus – A broke-beginner-oriented video editor for just $70 one-time purchase

VEGAS Pro

This video editor is one of the most complete video editing applications that ever existed. The program started from a humble beginning as Sony’s professional video editor and then was bought by MAGIX, where it has reached its current version – VEGAS Pro 19.

The software shares many similarities with Adobe Premiere Pro.

VEGAS Pro offers a non-linear editing approach and provides almost everything you need for video creation, including motion tracking and color correction. In addition, it has really good integration with third-party products like NewBlue FX plugins (a popular set of professional effects), Boris Continuum Complete, HitFilm Pro, and Sapphire Plug-ins.

The downside of VEGAS Pro is that it’s not the easiest software to use, so you might need some time to learn all its features.

With VEGAS Pro you’re getting all the necessary tools and advanced HDR color correction for professional video content creation. You’re also getting live streaming, sound design, and hi-res video of up to 8K. All this is available without any subscription.

Main highlights:

Get VEGAS Pro

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FilmoraPro

This video editor is my personal favorite on the list. It is affordable, yet has enough features to make it a viable option for intermediate and professional video editors. The best part? You can get it for just $150 – that’s cheaper than Adobe Premiere Pro!

With the perfect look and feel of the User Interface and familiar layout, FilmoraPro is a direct competitor to Adobe Premiere Pro, but, it is available via single payment and the price is very attractive.

It is an intermediate video editor with a pretty simple interface and advanced features. It also supports LUTs (lookup tables) to quickly apply color correction presets.

FilmoraPro contains a lot of advanced color grading tools, effects, transitions, keyframe animations, and others.

It works on both Windows and Mac and supports up to 60 FPS videos (which makes it suitable for editing fast-action footage like action cameras or drones).

You might also be interested in their annual plan, which is just $90 per year (with free updates and tech support), but, as a one-time payment software, FilmoraPro is definitely a great choice.

This video editor has an amazing audio sync feature that works automatically. In case you have a video recording with audio but also high-quality audio that is recorded into a separate file, FilmoraPro can automatically sync it and combine it with your video.
FilmoraPro has a very good selection of audio editing tools similar to any other pro-level video creation software. The best thing is you are not bound by any subscription and simply choose to pay once.

FilmoraPro is the best choice if you want a professional quality with minimal initial effort. As this software comprises lots of automatic tools, you won’t have to spend hours learning how to apply a simple effect or color correction. Start simple with quick settings that are already available, and evolve as you go, improving your video editing results.

Main highlights:

Get FilmoraPro

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Final Cut Pro

This video editor is targeted to the middle between professionals and beginners, or, so-called “prosumer” video editing software. Be advised, the Final Cut Pro is only available on Mac and is a great improvement compared to iMovie.

Though this NLE has a very unique way of trackless project editing, it is still a powerful one-time payment video editing program if you are an Apple user.

It has some advanced AI features like Smart Conform that automatically transforms a wide-screen video to match the screen of a smartphone (similarly to Adobe Premiere Pro’s Auto Reframe tool).

Final Cut Pro allows editing 4K and 360° videos and does support stabilization for every format. It also has great support for RED RAW and Canon Cinema RAW Light codecs. You can also work with 8K videos and do advanced editing, color grading, and delivery in HDR on an 8K ProRes video.

The editor allows doing wonders with color correction. You can either use automatic tools like color balance, saturation, exposure, or use a Color Adjustment panel and color wheels.

You will also like that this relatively cheap one-time purchase video editor has a lot of effects and transitions. You will begin with 149 video and audio effects that can be customized significantly. There are also third-party plug-ins if these are not enough. There is 100 transitions built-in, so, you will get a lot of uniqueness in every video project.

Final Cut Pro is a very affordable product with a one-time payment of just $300 per license and a free trial. It is great for Apple as it supports hardware acceleration on the latest M1 Silicon.

Main highlights:

Get Final Cut Pro

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DaVinci Resolve

If you’re up for a longer learning curve but want a cheap one-time purchase video editing software – pay attention to DaVinci Resolve from Blackmagic Design. This program requires a considerable amount of time spent to learn it as it is very different from other NLE software. You will also need a powerful graphics card and CPU as well as a lot of RAM if you want to run DaVinci Resolve smoothly.

Having said that, this editor is a good alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro as it is offered without subscription and is a tool used by Hollywood video creators.

DaVinci Resolve is a professional-grade video editor that has a lot of advanced features like color correction. It also offers some nice effects and transitions as well as supports all the formats you could ever need. The program is available for free with limited functionality but it’s still pretty powerful. If you need more features, you can purchase the full program for $259.

DaVinci Resolve supports a wide range of HDR formats, advanced audio editing tools with real-time effects, equalizer, and 3D audio support. 

As a professional video editing program, DaVinci Resolve provides you with color wheels and a spectrometer that allows fine-tuning of every smaller detail in your video.  It also provides Fusion nodes and keyframes for even more detailed color correction. You can also use LUTs. Besides manual and semi-automatic color correction, you can also take advantage of the AI that does color matching for you.

DaVinci Resolve includes the coolest targeted grading not available in most other one-time payment video editors. It works on a basis of the DaVinci Neural Engine and uses a Magic mask to track specific objects in your video clip. It is easy to create a special mask on a specific object such as a person and color correct the skin for example.

If you need Multicam editing, DaVinci Resolve is a great tool for this. It supports projects with 4, 8, 16, and more cameras.

You can get a free version of DaVinci Resolve, and take advantage of most of the professional tools. A free version does not include features like DaVinci Neural Engine, stereoscopic 3D tools, dozens of extra Resolve FX filters, and Fairlight FX audio plugins plus. Advanced HDR grading and HDR scopes are also only available with a one-time purchase license. The price is just $295, which is significantly lower compared to how much money you will spend with subscription-based video editing products.

Main highlights:

Get DaVinci Resolve

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Filmora X

This one-time purchase video editor from Wondershare is a lightweight version of FilmoraPro. If all you want is just create a stunning video project real quick and simple, then give Filmora a try. The best part is you don’t need a powerful video editing rig. Filmora X works on most low-end and medium machines.

Filmora X is a beginner-oriented video editor with a user-friendly interface and advanced features. It has tons of royalty-free music, sound effects, motion graphics that you can use in your projects without any additional payments. The program also supports LUTs (lookup tables) to quickly apply color correction presets.

Filmora X is available for a one-time payment of just $70. If you want to get full access to Filmstock downloads, senior technical support, and one year of updates – check their subscription for $100 per year (much cheaper than other subscription video editors).

This video editor comes with advanced audio editing tools, motion tracking, color matching, and animations via keyframes.

The video maker has stellar video and audio editing features such as motion tracking, audio ducking, color matching, and keyframing animations. It is a perfect choice if you are a beginner but want a professional-looking video created right now. With a stylish user interface geared towards novice video makers, Filmora X is a solid beginner’s choice without any subscription needed.

Filmora X offers a lot of presets for color filters but without precise color controls. You can adjust contrast, color temperature, brightness, and others using convenient sliders. There is also a way to let Filmora choose the color adjustment settings and white balance automatically. There is also a color matching tool that allows you to adjust the color of one clip based on the color scheme of another clip automatically.

When it comes to audio editing. Filmora can boast different EQ presets, denoiser, and pitch. The overall volume of a project can also be adjusted. Another amazing audio feature in Filmora X is audio-ducking which allows you to lower the volume of background music  so the voiceover becomes more audible

Filmora X offers a well-working motion tracking feature, keyframe animations, split-screen layouts, and a green screen feature. Overall a nice set of tools that are easy to use but yield attractive results. All this is just for $70 one-time payment.

Main highlights:

Get Filmora X

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Movavi Video Editor Plus

This video editor is a competitor to Filmora and is also available via one-time purchase.

Movavi Video Editor Plus is a broke-beginner-oriented video editor that everyone can learn in under 5 minutes. Even though it is simple and is targeted at broke beginners, Movavi has some nice features to offer.

Like any other modern video editor, Movavi Video Editor plus boasts with modern UI with big control elements that are easy to use. You can have instant access to popular tools such as Chroma Key, Motion Tracking, Picture-in-Picture, and Advanced video stabilization.

Movavi Video Editor plus offers an impressive selection of Filters. You can add blur, adjust colors, add vignettes, and color filters. You can combine all of those with sample videos and audio. It is easy to find each built-in media or effect via a search box.

If you want more effects or transitions, they are available via the built-in effects store which resembles the one from Filmora.

Movavi allows some control over audio tracks via sound effects like fad-in and fade-out, denoiser, and equalizer. There is also a Synchronization option that allows you to combine audio from two different cameras. You can also record the screen and microphone if you want to create an explainer video or a tutorial.

Of course, Movavi allows adding cool transitions, zooming and panning, and automatic color correction. You can edit and render full HD and 4K videos without the need of having a powerful computer.

Main highlights:

Get Movavi Video Editor Plus

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Is Filmora a one-time payment?

Filmora is offered as both a one-time purchase and a subscription-based video editing software. You will pay from $70 to $150 when opting for a one-time payment license of Filmora. The price depends on which edition you want to buy. Filmora is offered as Filmora X and FilmoraPro. The latter is more expensive.

Filmora X is an entry-level version of Filmora that provides fewer customizations and fine-tuning, but, offers a Filmstock store.

FilmoraPro, in contrast, is a more professional video editor that does not offer an effects store but allows for a greater level of customizations and better keyframing animations.

Is Movavi a one-time payment?

Movavi Video Editor is only offered as a one-time payment software. The price for a one-time purchase of Movavi Video Editor is just $70. They do also offer a $50 per year subscription if that’s your cup of tea. However, it is recommended to get a one-time purchase Movavi license. You will receive all the benefits for just a single payment and will be able to save a lot of money in the future. Updates are still available within 1 year period.

You can also purchase a Movavi Video Suite and get a built-in screen and voice recorder and conversion tools for just a single $89.95 payment.

Is Sony VEGAS one-time purchase

A VEGAS Pro (formerly Sony VEGAS) is a one-time purchase of video editing software and costs just $400 per license. You can also get a subscription option of just $12 per month and receive some benefits like royalty-free stock content, text to speech, and Mobile to timeline. You will also be getting free updates for longer with a subscription.

Is Adobe Premiere a one-time purchase?

Unfortunately, Adobe Premiere Pro is not available via one-time purchase. You will have to pay a monthly or annual fee if you want to keep using it. The price for a subscription would be from $21 up to $32 per month depending on if you choose to pay every month or if you pre-pay for one year.