The short version
Which one to start with.
If you only use CapCut for captions and quick cuts, start with Concat. If you want to learn real editing, go with Kdenlive. If you don't want to install anything, OpenCut runs in your browser.
All three are free and open source, and none of them puts a watermark on your export. None of them is made by or affiliated with CapCut or ByteDance.
What CapCut costs
Why people are looking.
On CapCut's pricing page, Pro is USD 179.99 a year or USD 19.99 a month. Newsweek reported in February that the yearly price went from around $77 to $179.99.
Concat
The closest thing to CapCut.
Where it runs
Mac, Windows, Linux. A free, open source editor for macOS, Windows and Linux, with an Android build too. Code under AGPL-3.0.
Captions
On your computer. Auto-captions made on your computer. The models download once and then work offline, so your footage never leaves your disk.
Background removal
No green screen. Cut out a person or an object, or paint the mask yourself. No green screen needed.
Export
Up to 4K. 4K export with no watermark, no account and no paid tier.
Works with Claude
Built-in MCP. Concat has an MCP server built in, so Claude can create a project, import your clips, cut them and add captions. Claude edits a project of its own that you open afterward; editing inside the window while you watch is planned, not out yet.
Connect Concat to Claude Code
On a Mac, from Concat's own docs.
- 1
- 2
Add it to Claude Code
Run this once in Terminal.
claude mcp add concat -- /Applications/Concat.app/Contents/MacOS/concat --mcp - 3
Ask for an edit
Ask Claude to cut your clips or add captions, then open the project it made in Concat. Windows and Linux paths, and Claude Desktop's settings, are in Concat's MCP guide.
OpenCut
Nothing to install.
In your browser
opencut.app. OpenCut calls itself the privacy-first video editor, and it runs right in your browser at opencut.app.
On GitHub
Almost 100,000 stars. Its repo describes it as the open-source CapCut alternative, and close to 100,000 people have starred it.
What's next
Being rebuilt. The team is rebuilding it so desktop, mobile and the browser all run from one codebase.
Kdenlive
The one you grow into.
Editing
Multicam. A non-linear editor with multicam and 3-point editing, made by KDE.
Color
LUTs and scopes. Apply LUTs, grade your footage, and check it with a histogram, vectorscope, RGB parade and waveform.
Older laptops
Proxies. Proxies give you smooth playback even on low-end systems.
Updates
26.08.3. Kdenlive 26.08.3 came out on November 7, 2026.
Download
From each project's own page.
Mac, Windows, Linux, Android
Get it from its own site or GitHub releases. Its site is concat.standalones.org, not concat.app, which is a different company.
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