HitFilm

Video editor and 3D compositor in one application, now owned by Artlist

As of 1 September 2026, HitFilm is free to use. Combines a timeline editor with a 3D compositing environment, so one person can cut and do visual effects without moving between applications. Softwr lists it under Video Production. HitFilm is made by Artlist, available on Windows, macOS.

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Overview

What HitFilm does

HitFilm is a video editor with a compositing environment built into the same application. The timeline behaves like a conventional non-linear editor, and any clip can be sent to a composite shot containing 3D layers, particle simulations, lighting, camera tracking and effects normally found in a separate compositor. It was developed by FXhome in Norwich, England. The commercially significant change is ownership. Artlist, which sells stock music, footage and asset subscriptions, acquired FXhome in 2022. HitFilm subsequently moved to Free, Creator and Pro subscription tiers, and the previous perpetual HitFilm Pro licence was retired. The application is now positioned inside a media subscription business, which is worth understanding before standardising a workflow on it: the product roadmap serves a stock media company, not a software company. Buyers are solo creators, YouTube producers and small studios who want effects work without an After Effects subscription and a round-trip. The trade-off is hardware. Composite shots with 3D layers and particle simulations lean heavily on the GPU, and a laptop with integrated graphics that plays back the timeline fine will crawl the moment effects work starts.

What people use it for

Cutting and finishing an effects-heavy short film without moving between an editor and a compositor
Producing a YouTube channel with recurring motion graphics on one subscription
Learning compositing concepts on the free tier before committing to a paid effects tool
Adding tracked 3D elements to live footage in a one-person production

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about HitFilm.

Editing and compositing share one interface, which suits a single operator and obstructs a team that wants to split the edit from the effects work.
The perpetual HitFilm Pro licence was retired after the Artlist acquisition, so long-standing owners who bought outright must subscribe to receive current versions.
Effects and add-on packs were historically sold separately, and archived projects can open with missing effects if the current plan does not cover them.
Performance falls off sharply on integrated graphics, so a machine that edits comfortably can still be unusable for the particle and 3D work that is the reason to choose HitFilm.
Colour management and delivery options are thinner than DaVinci Resolve, so any project with a broadcast or cinema deliverable ends up round-tripping to another application anyway.

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of HitFilm

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

H
HitFilmvs
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve: If colour and delivery matter and you want a free tier with a professional finishing pipeline
H
HitFilmvs
Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects: If the compositing work is the main job and the edit happens elsewhere
H
HitFilmvs
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro: If the edit is the main job and effects are occasional

Pricing

What HitFilm costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Free

On request

Editing and basic compositing
Limited export resolution
Limited effects set

Creator

On request

Expanded effects
Higher export resolution
Additional export formats

Pro

On request

Full effects set
Highest export resolution
Advanced compositing and tracking

Capabilities

Features

Composite shots
A 3D compositing environment nested inside the edit timeline
Particle simulator
Physically driven particle and force systems for effects work
Camera tracking
3D camera solve for placing elements into live footage
Keying
Chroma key with spill suppression and matte cleanup
Text and titling
Animated titling with 3D extrusion
Export presets
Direct delivery presets for common social and web targets

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Is HitFilm still free?

There is still a free tier with limited effects and export resolution. The perpetual Pro licence is gone; the paid tiers are subscriptions.

What hardware does it actually need?

A discrete GPU with adequate video memory. Integrated graphics will run the editor but stall on composite shots, particles and 3D layers.

Does the Artlist acquisition affect the software?

It puts HitFilm inside a stock media subscription business. The licence model changed after the acquisition, and the roadmap now serves that business.