The top AI video editing software:
- Pictory
- VEED.IO
- Lumen5
- Designs.ai
- Synthesia
Making professional-quality videos is now easier than ever. AI-powered video editing tools are transforming the way we create content. They speed up the process and make it more accessible. Whether you’re a marketer, content creator, or business owner, these tools make it easy to edit videos and create high-quality content.
AI video software offers features like text-to-video conversion and automated editing. You can create engaging videos for social media, marketing campaigns, and YouTube without needing advanced editing skills. You can make stunning videos, add music, and optimize content for different platforms in just a few clicks.
This article shares insights on the best AI video editing tools available today. These platforms automate video editing, enhance quality, and simplify content creation. We also discuss how it helps your marketing campaigns.
1. Pictory
Pictory is a cloud-based AI video creator that turns text-based content into videos in minutes. It’s designed for marketers, content creators, and small businesses to quickly repurpose blogs or scripts into engaging videos without advanced editing skills. By automatically matching your text with relevant stock footage and adding AI voiceovers. Pictory streamlines video content creation for social media, tutorials, and promotional content.
Features
- Script to Video & Article to Video: Generate videos by pasting a script or a blog URL. Pictory’s AI summarizes key points and finds relevant visuals from an extensive stock library (Storyblocks, Getty), then adds text overlays and background music. You can edit the AI-generated storyboard if needed.
- Auto Captioning & Text-Based Editing: Pictory can transcribe videos and let you edit videos by editing the text transcript, making it easy to cut out filler words or silences. This also enables automatic subtitle generation for your videos.
- Large Asset Library & AI Voices: Comes with millions of stock video clips and images plus music tracks to enhance videos. Supports 60+ AI voices (with multilingual options) for text-to-speech narration, with more realistic voiceovers available on higher plans via ElevenLabs integration
- Customization: Offers templates, custom branding (logo, colors), and various aspect ratios (16:9, 9:16, 1:1) for different platforms. You can fine-tune scenes, change visuals, or use your own media. However, advanced effects (e.g., complex animations or multi-track overlays) are limited.
Pricing
Pictory offers a 14-day free trial (no credit card required) but no permanent free tier. Paid plans include:
- Standard (Starter) – ~$19/month (when billed annually). 1 user, up to ~30 videos per month, 10-minute text-to-video projects, 10 hours of transcription, and basic features. (Monthly billing is slightly higher)
- Premium (Professional) – ~$39/month (annual). Higher limits (60 videos/mo, 20-min text-to-video, 20 hrs transcription) and advanced features like automatic voiceovers, video highlights, and Hootsuite integration. It also includes more AI voices (up to 60) and branded templates.
- Teams – $99/month (for 3 users). Everything in Premium plus collaboration features, 90 videos/mo, 30-minute projects, and the largest asset access. (Pictory’s plans are subscription-based; the free trial allows up to 3 video projects to test the platform.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Easily converts scripts or articles into videos with minimal effort, saving time for content repurposing. | Pictory lacks granular control for complex edits – you can’t have multiple video/audio tracks or do fine-tune effects and color grading. |
| No editing experience is needed – a simple interface and AI automation let anyone create videos. It’s easy to use and comes with ready templates and stock assets. | The AI sometimes chooses irrelevant visuals that don’t perfectly match the script, so manual adjustments are needed. |
| Access to millions of royalty-free images, videos, and music ensures your video has relevant visuals. Getty Images integration provides plenty of high-quality media choices. | In-app preview can be sluggish – certain animated clips won’t play until you render the full video. |
| Automatically picks highlights from long videos and removes filler pauses or words on demand. It also supports multi-language AI voiceovers for global content. | Only a free trial is available. After 14 days or 3 videos, you must upgrade. |
2. VEED.IO
VEED.IO is an online video editing platform with built-in AI tools that runs entirely in your browser. It’s geared toward beginners and professionals who want to create and edit videos quickly without software installation. VEED is known for features like auto-subtitles, translations, and even AI avatars that assist in content creation. Its primary use cases include social media videos, marketing content, and any project that benefits from quick edits and captions on the fly.
Features
- AI-Powered Editing Tools: VEED’s standout “Magic Cut” feature uses AI to automatically remove silences, pauses, and filler words from your footage – great for polishing vlogs, interviews, or tutorials. It also generates automatic subtitles and can translate them into multiple languages with a click.
- Text-to-Video & AI Avatars: VEED offers a Text-to-Speech and AI avatar system where you can generate videos with digital presenters from text input. This allows the creation of talking-head explainer videos without appearing on camera. (It includes a library of avatar characters and voices to choose from.)
- Standard Editing and Effects: Beyond AI, VEED provides a full suite of editing tools: trimming, cropping, filters, adding music/images, progress bars, transitions, and more, all via a simple drag-and-drop interface. It also supports screen and webcam recording, a teleprompter for recording scripted videos, and other handy utilities directly in the browser.
- Collaboration & Cloud Storage: As a cloud-based app, projects are stored online (with shared workspace options on higher tiers). Teams can collaborate by sharing project links, adding comments, and editing in real-time. VEED also provides project templates for different use cases (social media ads, product demos, etc.), and everything is accessible from anywhere via web login.
Pricing
VEED.io has a freemium model with four main tiers.
- Free: $0 – Basic editing features with limitations. Exports up to 720p with a VEED watermark. 2 GB storage, 10-minute max video length, and 250 MB upload limit. You can use auto-subtitles for up to 30 minutes of audio per month. It is suitable for trying out the platform, but the watermark and low resolution are major constraints.
- Basic: ~$12/month per user (billed annually). Removes watermarks and raises export quality to 1080p. Increases storage (20 GB) and export length (25 min). Suitable for individuals who need higher quality output and more storage. Includes unlimited uploads and access to “Audio Cleaner” (background noise removal).
- Pro: ~$24/month per user (annual). Geared towards heavy users – 4K video export support, extended auto-subtitle allowance (~1,440 minutes/year), longer video length (up to 2 hours), and 100 GB storage. Adds brand kit features (custom fonts, colors, logos), premium stock media, and custom watermarks. It is ideal for content creators needing professional output and branding.
- Business: ~$59/month per user (annual). For teams and businesses – includes everything in Pro, plus 200 GB storage and collaboration tools for multiple users. Offers priority support and engagement analytics on video content and can accommodate larger teams with shared workspaces. (Enterprise custom plans are also available for large organizations.)
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| VEED has an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface that lowers the learning curve. Beginners can quickly edit videos or add subtitles without technical knowledge. | The free tier only allows 720p output with a watermark and 2 GB of storage. It’s okay for testing but not practical for actual use unless you upgrade-tuned effects and color grading. |
| Combines powerful editing tools with AI extras like auto-captioning, translation, and one-click silence removal. This all-in-one approach means you don’t need multiple apps. It covers recording, editing, and publishing (compression, conversion, etc.) in a single platform. | As a cloud editor, heavy projects or slow internet can make editing sluggish. Uploading large files and rendering all happen online, which might be slower than offline editors for some users. |
| It allows easy sharing and teamwork. Multiple editors can work on a project, add comments, and access videos from anywhere online. | Auto-subtitles and translations, while helpful, might require manual corrections (common with any AI transcription). Likewise, the Magic Cut may occasionally cut something you want to keep, so you must review the edits. |
| Compared to some pro editors, VEED’s pricing is reasonable; the Basic and Pro plans are priced for individuals and small teams (and there’s a functional free tier) | For professional video editors, VEED may feel limiting – it doesn’t have the granular timeline control or plugin ecosystem of desktop software like Adobe Premiere Pro. |
3. Lumen5
Lumen5 is an AI-driven video creation tool that turns blogs, articles, and text into engaging videos. Marketing teams and content creators often use it to repurpose written content (like blog posts, press releases, or reports) into short videos for social media and presentations. The platform emphasizes ease of use – no video editing experience needed – by providing automated scene generation and a simple storyboard interface.
Features
- Blog/Article to Video Conversion: Lumen5 can automatically fetch content from a URL or text input and generate a video outline. Its AI will highlight key sentences and suggest corresponding stock images or footage for each scene, essentially storyboarding a video for you. This makes going from a blog post to a video summary incredibly fast.
- Extensive Stock Library: All plans include access to millions of stock photos, video clips, and audio tracks. Higher tiers unlock more significant libraries (up to 500M assets). The AI will pick from these to match your text, but you can also search the library manually. This built-in media library means you don’t have to source visuals elsewhere.
- Templates and Brand Settings: Lumen5 offers a variety of video templates tailored for different platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) and industries. You can customize colors and fonts and add your logo/watermark to maintain brand consistency. Higher-tier plans allow saving multiple brand profiles and custom templates for large teams.
- AI Text-to-Speech and Captions: The platform can generate voiceovers from your script using AI voices (with Basic plans allowing longer voiceovers). It also supports auto-generating captions for any added voiceover or video narration. While the voice quality is serviceable, it may sound somewhat robotic compared to dedicated voice AI tools. Many users opt to upload a recorded voiceover, and Lumen5 will automatically align the text captions to it.
- Social Media Optimization: Lumen5 makes it easy to create videos in different aspect ratios and lengths optimized for social feeds. It can recommend the ideal video length for engagement on various platforms. You can quickly switch your project to square, vertical, or horizontal formats and tweak the content layout.
Pricing
Lumen5 offers a range of plans (including a free tier) with increasing capabilities.
- Community (Free): $0 – Create up to 5 videos/month with Lumen5 branding. Videos are limited to 720p resolution and use a limited selection of assets. It is suitable for testing and personal non-branded content, but the watermark and lower quality apply.
- Basic: ~$19/month – Removes Lumen5 watermark on videos and allows unlimited video projects. Stills are capped at 720p resolution on this tier. Includes access to millions of stock clips, voiceovers, and longer AI-generated voiceovers than free. It is suited for individuals or students who occasionally need simple, unbranded videos.
- Starter: ~$59/month – Exports in 1080p HD and significantly more extensive stock library (50M+ assets). Removes branding and offers more customization (e.g., custom fonts/colors). This plan is aimed at freelancers or small businesses who regularly create video content.
- Professional (Business): ~$149/month – Meant for marketing teams. Enables advanced features like custom watermarks, multiple brand kits, the biggest stock library (500M assets), and priority rendering. It also adds analytics for videos and the ability to save custom templates.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing – Includes everything in Professional plus enterprise-level security, team collaboration tools, and dedicated support. Also offers unlimited videos and possibly bespoke integrations. Suitable for large organizations requiring volume scaling and custom solutions.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Lumen5 excels at turning written content into videos quickly. Just input a blog link or text, and it auto-generates a storyboard with relevant visuals. | Because Lumen5 relies on templates and AI automation, your ability to fine-tune videos is limited. You can rearrange scenes and make basic edits but can’t freely design scenes or add complex effects. |
| It’s very user-friendly with drag-and-drop editing. The automation handles most of the heavy lifting so that non-editors can produce decent videos. | Heavy reliance on preset layouts means many Lumen5 videos have a similar style. |
| The subscription includes many stock footage, images, and music. Users don’t have to pay extra for stock media; the searchable library is conveniently built-in. | Lower tiers only support up to 720p resolution and include Lumen5 branding. For full HD (1080p) or higher, you need to be on a higher plan. |
| You can customize videos to match your brand (colors, fonts, logos) and quickly adapt the format for different social platforms. | The automatic media selection sometimes picks visuals that aren’t contextually ideal. You may have to manually swap out some images or clips that feel off-message, which takes additional time (negating a bit of the AI speed advantage). |
4. Designs.ai
Designs.ai is an all-in-one creative suite that uses AI to help generate graphics, videos, logos, and more. Its Videomaker tool focuses on AI-powered video creation, allowing users to produce videos with stock footage, animations, and AI voiceovers by simply providing text input or using templates.
The platform is aimed at entrepreneurs, marketers, and agencies who want to streamline content creation (not just videos but also banners, logos, and copy) under one subscription. In essence, Designs.ai’s Videomaker lets you create promotional videos or social media clips quickly, even if you have no design or editing experience.
Features
- AI video generator: It takes a script or set of keywords and automatically generates a video sequence. It offers industry-themed templates; when you choose one, it auto-fills scenes with appropriate stock footage or motion graphics and places your text in animated layouts. You can then adjust the text, swap media, or rearrange scenes in a simple timeline.
- Huge Asset Library: As part of the Inmagine ecosystem (which includes stock library 123RF), Designs.ai gives access to over 115 million stock images and video clips for use in projects. It also includes thousands of music tracks and sound effects. This library is integrated into the editor, and the AI will suggest relevant visuals for your content.
- AI Voiceover (Speech Maker): The Videomaker tool can generate voiceovers in 15+ languages with various voices. You can script your video’s narration and choose a language/voice, and the AI will create a lifelike voiceover to narrate the scenes. Higher-tier plans increase the number of voice options (e.g., 10 voices on Basic, 30 on Pro). You can also upload a voiceover or record your voice if preferred.
- Multi-Tool Integration: The value of Designs.ai is in its suite of tools. Alongside Videomaker, you have: Logo Maker, Design Maker (for graphics), AI Writer, and more. They all share assets and brand settings. For example, you can generate a logo with Logo Maker and then quickly use that logo in your video or use AI Writer to draft a video script. The Brand Kit feature lets you store your brand colors, fonts, and logos to apply across all project types.
- Editing and Customization: Within Videomaker, you have a straightforward editing interface. You can cut or trim scenes, add text overlays, change fonts/colors to match your brand, and include images or video clips if desired. It also provides a wizard mode for quick video creation and a manual mode for fine-tuning. However, it’s not a complete timeline editor – it’s template-based, so customization beyond the provided layouts is somewhat limited (similar to Lumen5’s paradigm).
Pricing
Designs.ai uses a subscription model that covers all its tools in one plan (rather than pricing Videomaker separately). The plans differ in the amount of content you can create and the feature access.
- Free: $0 – A limited free account allows you to try the platform with certain restrictions. Free users get access to some templates and an AI content “wizard” but are given a small number of credits and lower-priority resources. (Also, Designs.ai offers a 7-day free trial of the Basic plan for new users.)
- Basic: $19/month (or $228/year) – Unlimited projects (no cap on number of videos, designs, etc.) Access to the standard asset library (115M+ stock items) and standard licensing for content. Includes 10 AI voiceover options and supports 20+ languages for text-to-speech. This tier is aimed at individuals or small businesses needing quick content creation on a budget. Some advanced features like “video creation services” (a concierge/help feature) are not included.
- Pro: $49/month (or $588/year) – Everything is basic but with more premium features and higher limits. You get 30 voiceover options, more AI Writer credits (for generating copy), and enterprise licensing on assets (for broader business use). It also allows up to 5 user seats, making it suitable for small teams. Pro users can create longer videos and have access to “batch” content creation (e.g., bulk-generating multiple designs).
- Enterprise: $169/month (or $2,028/year) – Meant for agencies or larger teams. Offers 50 voice avatars, the ability to create custom voiceovers, bulk design, and video creation features, and enhanced sharing/collaboration (more team members). Essentially, it is unlimited usage with priority support and possibly a dedicated account manager. Enterprise also lifts most limits (e.g., higher resolution outputs, priority rendering, etc.).
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Subscribers get an array of tools (video, design, logos, copywriting) under one roof. This is cost-effective and convenient if you need more than just video content. | While it’s versatile, Designs.ai doesn’t allow the deep customization that specialized tools do. |
| The interface is simple, and many tasks can be automated. For example, machine learning algorithms can suggest the best layouts or content based on your preferences. | The AI-generated outputs (whether a logo suggestion or an auto-assembled video) sometimes miss the mark. You might need to manually adjust designs or edit the AI’s choices for a polished result. |
| Designs.ai provides a huge collection of clips, images, and audio to use freely in projects. | While $19/month is fair for regular use, casual users might find it steep if they only want occasional videos. Also, certain premium features (like many voice options or team collaboration) are locked behind higher tiers, which could force an upgrade. |
| It natively supports voiceover generation in 15+ languages, which is excellent for creating multilingual content. | The automatic media selection sometimes picks visuals that aren’t contextually ideal. You may have to manually swap out some images or clips that feel off-message, which takes additional time (negating a bit of the AI speed advantage). |
| Being cloud-based, all projects are saved online and can be accessed from anywhere. Team collaboration (especially in Pro/Enterprise) is a plus – you can invite team members to work on projects together and share assets in a centralized workspace. | Videos are rendered via the cloud and based on credits/limits. Very complex or long videos might not be supported as well as a dedicated video editor would. |
5. Synthesia
Synthesia is a pioneering AI video generation platform that lets you create videos with realistic AI avatars (virtual presenters) simply by typing a script. Instead of filming a person, you choose from a library of digital actors who will speak your script in a lifelike manner. Synthesia is widely used for corporate training videos, how-to tutorials, marketing explainers, and personalized video messages – anywhere you need a talking-head style video without the cost of studios and actors. Its key advantage is that it supports 120+ languages and many accents, making it easy to produce localized video content at scale.
Features
- AI Avatars: Synthesia provides 90+ pre-made AI avatars (presenters) of various ethnicities, ages, and styles. You pick an avatar, and that virtual actor will appear in your video, reciting your script. Enterprise users can create custom avatars – a digital clone of a real person (e.g., yourself or a spokesperson) by recording a short sample of them. This custom avatar feature (for a fee) allows a genuinely personalized digital presenter.
- Multilingual Text-to-Speech: Synthesia supports 140+ languages and voices. You can input your script in English or any supported language (or translate it) and have the avatar speak it with a convincing accent and proper lip-sync. This is extremely useful for companies creating training or marketing videos for global audiences – one video can be duplicated into many languages quickly.
- Templates & Scenes: The platform includes over 200 templates for various video types (corporate training, social media, sales pitch, etc.). You can start with a template that has preset backgrounds, text layouts, and animations. You’re not limited to a single static talking head – you can create slides or scene cuts in a video with different backgrounds or supporting text/media alongside the avatar. However, the editing is simple (add text boxes, images, shapes, or screen recordings next to the avatar).
- Micro Gestures and Expressions: To make avatars more natural, Synthesia allows adding “micro gestures” – small movements like nodding, smiling, eyebrow raises, etc., at specific points in the speech. While the avatars automatically have basic facial expressions and lip-sync, these manual gestures help emphasize points and reduce the robotic feel.
- AI Script Assistant & Screen Recorder: Synthesia has an AI to help generate or improve your video script if needed (you give a topic, and it drafts a script). It also recently introduced an AI screen recorder feature that can capture your screen and overlay an avatar, which is helpful for software demos (this feature is evolving). Additionally, automatic closed captioning is provided for all videos, and enterprise users get a one-click translation of a video into different languages.
Pricing
Synthesia’s pricing is based on video credits (minutes of video) rather than traditional editing software licenses. They offer:
- Free Plan: $0 – A limited free tier that lets you create a short video (up to ~3 minutes/month with a few avatar choices). This is a recent addition and is meant for trial and personal tinkering. The free plan includes 6 basic avatars and core features but excludes things like the AI script assistant. No credit card is required to try it.
- Starter (Personal) Plan: ~$30/month (or ~$22.50/month, paid as $270/year). This gives around 10 minutes of video per month (120 minutes/year) with 1 user seat. You get 70+ avatars and 120+ languages, plus the ability to add 3 guest collaborators to your projects. It includes the AI video assistant and the option to buy more minutes as needed. This plan is best for individual content creators or small teams making a few videos monthly. (Note: Billed monthly, it’s $30 for 10 min; billed annually, it’s effectively $22.5/mo for 120 min/year.)
- Creator Plan: ~$90/month (or ~$64/month billed annually) for 30 minutes of video per month (360 minutes/year). It comes with 90+ avatars (some exclusive ones) and allows more branding customization – e.g., you can use your own logos and custom backgrounds on video share pages. Also, features like adding your own custom avatar (for an extra fee) are available. Up to 10 seat licenses can be included. This plan suits businesses that regularly produce content (e.g., a training department releasing multiple monthly videos).
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing – Provides unlimited video minutes and the complete feature set. Enterprise users get 140+ avatars (all current options), priority support, access to the most advanced features like one-click translation for entire videos, and often a dedicated account manager. It also allows you to create a custom avatar and voice for your organization. Pricing depends on scale and specific needs (generally negotiated case-by-case).
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Synthesia dramatically reduces the cost of video production – no need for cameras, studios, actors, or post-production editing. | The avatars still cannot fully mimic the warmth and charisma of real human presenters. Facial expressions can appear somewhat “plastic” or emotionless at times, leading to an uncanny valley effect for some viewers |
| It’s incredibly easy to make videos in different languages. With support for 120+ languages and accents, you can localize your content without hiring translators or voice actors. | The pricing, though cost-effective compared to filming, limits how many video minutes you get. For example, ~10 minutes per month on the basic plan can be used up quickly (two 5-minute videos and you’re done for the month). |
| Synthesia is excellent for scaling video content. Every video will have consistent quality (same backdrop, same avatar style) that is useful for branded content or courses. | You cannot have multiple avatars interacting in the same scene (each scene is one avatar at a time). Also, the avatars have a formal, somewhat corporate style by default |
| Despite using AI actors, you have much control – you can choose different avatars or even get one that looks like you or your company’s representative. You can also insert your own images or video clips as a B-roll next to the avatar, add text overlays, and use your brand colors and logo, giving a polished, branded result. | The AI will speak exactly what’s written, so you won’t spontaneously get the nuances a human might add. Humor, sarcasm, or emotional storytelling may not come across well. |
| Synthesia is at the forefront of AI video; they regularly add new avatars, gestures, and features. For example, the micro gestures make avatars more engaging by adding subtle human-like motions. | You cannot just clone anyone – Synthesia (responsibly) has restrictions like not allowing famous people’s likenesses or voices, and their avatars will not say disallowed content. Also, voice cloning for your avatar is an add-on. |
How AI Video Editing Tools Enhance Marketing Campaigns
AI video editing tools help marketers create high-quality videos with just a few clicks. These tools simplify the video creation process by automating routine editing tasks, such as:
- Trimming video clips
- Syncing background music
- Adding captions
As a result, brands can produce engaging videos for social media posts and digital marketing with minimal effort.
Using machine learning, AI video editors analyze content and suggest smooth transitions, effective cuts, and optimal screen recording segments. This user-friendly interface enables even those without video editing experience to generate professional-looking videos. The tools support text-to-video conversion and audio editing, which allows the production of marketing videos that match current social media trends.
The simplified editing process benefits marketing campaigns by reducing production time and costs. Marketers can experiment with different video ads, explainer, and tutorial videos while maintaining consistent quality across campaigns. This approach improves social media optimization and helps brands connect with audiences across various platforms.
Simplify Video Marketing with AI Tools and Modern Video Marketing Strategies
As we look to the future, the advancements in AI technology will continue to shape the digital marketing landscape. Staying updated with these developments and adopting best practices for using AI video editing tools will be crucial for marketers to remain competitive and effective in their strategies.
That’s why at Web Search Marketing. Our video marketers quickly adopt these modern tools, ensuring your business benefits from up-to-date methods that improve your online presence. Book a consultation with us today and see how our team can help your business grow with modern video marketing strategies.
