Adobe Premiere Pro vs Lightworks Pricing | Costbench
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25 seats

Adobe Premiere Pro vs Lightworks

Video Editing pricing comparison · 2026

Adobe Premiere Pro pricing ranges from $19.99–$34.49/month, while Lightworks ranges from $0–$27.99/month. Lightworks is typically 38% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

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See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Compare
2 products · Video Editing
Side-by-side · live
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is the industry-standard video editing software used by professionals w
verified 7w ago
$297 $8.4K
View pricing →
L
Lightworks
Lightworks is a Hollywood-pedigree non-linear video editor (used on Pulp Fiction, The Wolf
verified 11w ago
$297 $8.4K
View pricing →
Verdict · list-price math · year 1
Adobe saves $1.5K vs Lightworks · 25 seats
Cheapest $6.9K
Spread 18%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Annual, Paid Monthly
$6.9K/yr
year 1 license · $23/seat
Pro
$8.4K/yr
year 1 license · $28/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$297/yr
Vendr · n=155
No Vendr data
Not in Vendr's deal flow
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 17 sourced facts
12 hidden-cost · 3 contract · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 7 sourced facts
5 hidden-cost · 1 contract · 1 review platform
Last verified 2mo ago
Confidence Limited confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
4 documented
  • Early Cancellation Fee
    $90-$165
    4 sources
  • Unexpected Charges After Free Trial
    $22-$34/user/month
    4 sources
  • Upsell Add-Ons During Checkout
    5-15% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Annual Price Escalation Risk
    5-10% of license costs
    2 sources
5 documented
  • Retraining Costs
    1 source
  • Integration with Existing Systems
    1 source
  • Plugin and Feature Gaps
    1 source
  • Hardware Requirements
    1 source
  • Perpetual License Upgrades
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

Adobe
Lightworks
Auto-renewal
Yes
Yes
Cancellation
14 days from subscription start for full refund; after 14 days, early termination fee applies
Users can cancel their subscription via their account portal, which stops the next renewal, and access to paid features continues until the end of the current paid billing period.
Commitment
1 year (for Annual, Paid Monthly plan)
One month for monthly subscriptions, one year for annual subscriptions.
Price escalation
Price subject to change at renewal per Adobe checkout terms
Can downgrade
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
Trustpilot
1.2out of 5 (25)
Best for
Short-term users or those wanting monthly flexibility
Watch out
Early cancellation fees on annual plans trap users who want to cancel
G2
3.6out of 5 (30)
Best for
Beginners or those who want to try Lightworks for an unlimited period
Watch out
Steep Learning Curve and Non-Intuitive Interface
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Video Editing

Adobe Premiere Pro

$19.99–$34.49
/month
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Video Editing

Lightworks

$0–$27.99
/month
3 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Adobe Premiere Pro Lightworks
Monthly Subscription $34.49 /month Free /user/month
Annual, Paid Monthly $22.99 /month $13.99 /user/month
Annual, Prepaid $21.99 /month $27.99 /user/month
Student & Teacher $19.99 /month

What Users Say

Adobe Premiere Pro

Trustpilot
1.2out of 5 (25)
Top complaints
  • Early cancellation fees on annual plans trap users who want to cancel
  • Unexpected charges after free trials — cancellation process is confusing
  • No confirmation emails for subscriptions or monthly invoices

Lightworks

G2
3.6out of 5 (30)
Top complaints
  • Steep Learning Curve and Non-Intuitive Interface
  • Limited Features in the Free Version and Lack of Advanced Tools
  • Occasional Crashes and Freezing

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Adobe Premiere Pro 4 hidden costs

high
Early Cancellation Fee $90-$165
high
Unexpected Charges After Free Trial $22-$34/user/month
medium
Upsell Add-Ons During Checkout 5-15% of license costs
medium
Annual Price Escalation Risk 5-10% of license costs
See all Adobe Premiere Pro hidden costs →

Lightworks 5 hidden costs

high
Retraining Costs
medium
Integration with Existing Systems
medium
Plugin and Feature Gaps
medium
Hardware Requirements
medium
Perpetual License Upgrades
See all Lightworks hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Adobe Premiere Pro Lightworks
Auto-renewal Yes Yes
Cancellation 14 days from subscription start for full refund; after 14 days, early termination fee applies Users can cancel their subscription via their account portal, which stops the next renewal, and access to paid features continues until the end of the current paid billing period.
Minimum commitment 1 year (for Annual, Paid Monthly plan) One month for monthly subscriptions, one year for annual subscriptions.
Price escalation Price subject to change at renewal per Adobe checkout terms

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