OpenCut vs CapCut: which one should you use?

OpenCut vs CapCut comes down to this: OpenCut is free, open source and runs in your browser with your videos kept on your computer, and CapCut is the one with the paid plans and the AI features. On CapCut's pricing page, Pro was $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year when I checked on October 31, 2026, with AI credits, premium templates and a terabyte of storage, and CapCut says those prices are for reference only. OpenCut costs nothing, needs no account, and its own README says most basic CapCut features are now paywalled, which is the whole reason it exists.

So what I'd do is use OpenCut for the plain stuff: cut a clip, trim the dead air, add text, set it to 9:16 and export an MP4 with sound. If you live on CapCut's templates and AI tools, OpenCut doesn't do that today. The AI agent and batch render parts people are excited about are on the roadmap for the rewrite, not something you can click yet. And OpenCut is desktop only for now, so it's a laptop job, not a phone job. My guide to using OpenCut as a free CapCut alternative has the exact clicks and what breaks.