Is CapCut free? What the free plan includes, where the watermark comes from, and what Pro costs

Is CapCut free? Yes. CapCut has a free plan with basic editing tools and free templates, on phone, desktop and the web, and its help center says videos "can usually be exported without a watermark". The paid plan, CapCut Pro, unlocks premium templates and effects, monthly AI credits and 1 TB of cloud storage. For most people the real limit of free CapCut isn't the watermark; it's what you're allowed to do with its music and templates once money is involved. Checked Nov 15, 2026.

CapCut Free vs Pro at a glance

From CapCut's pricing page. We read the US$ prices on Nov 14, 2026; on Nov 15 the same page showed the same plans in our local currency, with the note "Displayed pricing is for reference only. Sign in to see final pricing, taxes, and any applicable offers for your account."

CapCut's help page on Pro pricing adds that the price "can vary depending on your region, device, and available promotions". The US App Store listing (read Nov 15, 2026) shows in-app prices of US$19.99 for Pro monthly, US$89.99 for a yearly subscription and US$9.99 for "Standard" monthly, so the app and the website don't always charge the same. CapCut Standard is a cheaper tier that its help center says works only in the mobile app and only in some regions.

Does free CapCut put a watermark on your videos?

Not if you edit with free items. CapCut has three help articles on this, and together they give the rule:

• The ending clip. "In most cases, the watermark comes from a default ending clip or built-in template element—not from the export itself." That's a clip on your timeline, and you can delete it.
• Premium items. "Certain advanced templates, effects, and stock elements add a watermark when used in the free version." Swap premium stickers, transitions or filters for free ones and the watermark goes.
• Some exports. CapCut's "Why am I prompted to purchase CapCut Pro" page lists 4K/60fps export and "no watermark" among Pro features, and says on mobile that choosing 1080p or higher, or no watermark on longer videos, may bring up the Pro prompt.

So for a clean free export:

1. Edit in the normal editor, or use free (not Pro-tagged) templates, effects and stickers.
2. Scroll to the end of the timeline and find the ending clip with the CapCut logo.
3. Delete it (and any logo layer a template added).
4. Export below 4K. On a phone, if the Pro prompt appears, try a lower resolution.

CapCut's help page says to contact support if a watermark is still there after you remove every visible element and premium item.

This is the biggest difference from Filmora, whose free version stamps a watermark on every export, per Wondershare's support page. The full Filmora rule is in Filmora's free version and its watermark.

What actually costs money in CapCut

The free plan is a real editor. The things CapCut lists under Pro, not Free, are:

• Premium templates and effects. Pro lists "All premium templates" and "All premium Pro features". The free plan lists free templates and basic tools.
• AI credits. Pro includes 1,200 monthly AI credits; CapCut says Pro can "Generate up to 240s at 720p or 600s at 480p with Seedance 2.0 Mini". The free plan has no credit allowance on the pricing page.
• Cloud storage. 1 TB on Pro, Ultra and Teams.

Auto captions are an exception worth knowing: CapCut's auto-caption page says videos "may be automatically converted to text free of charge".

• 4K/60 fps export. CapCut's help center lists it as a Pro feature; its web export panel reads "Upgrade to CapCut Pro to export in 4K without a watermark."

If you try a Pro-tagged item on the free plan, CapCut's help page says you can preview it but it "remains locked" until you subscribe.

The real catch: commercial use

If you post for fun, free CapCut is fine. If the video sells something, read this part.

CapCut's Materials License Agreement (last updated January 22, 2026) splits CapCut's own templates, effects and music into two kinds:

• Non-commercial Use Materials: personal posts, including "ordinary video templates under the Template tab".
• Dual Use Materials: marked on the platform with a "commercial use" or "commercial" label, and allowed for limited commercial use such as promoting goods or services online.

Two rules from the same agreement catch people out:

1. Music. "You shouldn't use a Sound for any commercial purpose." Sounds are for personal, non-commercial use. A separate set of "Commercial Sounds" exists for commercial accounts, limited to CapCut, TikTok and TikTok for Business.
2. Mixing. If a video combines commercial-use and non-commercial material, the whole video is personal, non-commercial use only.

One caveat: that agreement says users in the US are covered by a separate CapCut US Materials License Agreement instead. We couldn't find that document on capcut.com, so if you're in the US and the video earns money, check the label on each template and track in the app.

Your own footage. CapCut's terms say "We don't own your User Content", but by uploading it you give CapCut and its affiliates "a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, perpetual and worldwide license to use your User Content" to operate and develop the service. Our Filmora vs CapCut comparison puts both companies' ownership terms side by side.

Is CapCut Pro worth paying for?

Worth it if you make short-form videos every week, lean on premium templates, and use the AI credits. The 7-day trial (no credit card needed, per CapCut's pricing FAQ, though it says availability varies by region and platform) is long enough to find out.

Not worth it if you only need clean cuts, text and captions: the free plan does that, and the watermark is usually just a deletable ending clip.

Cancel before renewal. CapCut's cancellation help page says that if you don't cancel "at least 24 hours before the renewal date, your account will be charged", and that "generally, purchases do not support refunds". Its terms do allow a refund within 14 days of a new subscription if you haven't used it. In the app, subscriptions bill through your Apple or Google account, so you cancel there.

Free CapCut vs free Filmora vs free DaVinci Resolve

Want a free editor with no watermark at all and pro tools? Read whether DaVinci Resolve is free; it needs a much stronger PC. All the free options and their limits are in the best free video editors.

When Filmora is the better buy

CapCut Pro is a monthly product at heart: US$179.99 a year at the yearly rate. Filmora's individual plans are yearly or one time, and cost less over a year, per Wondershare's buy page (read Nov 14, 2026): Basic US$49.99 a year, Advanced US$59.99 a year, Perpetual US$79.99 one time. If you edit on a Windows PC or Mac and mostly make longer YouTube videos, that's the cheaper route. The full breakdown is in Filmora vs CapCut, and every Filmora plan is in Filmora pricing explained.

Making videos for TikTok or Reels?

CapCut edits footage you already have. If you need the shots themselves, generated from a prompt or a photo, that's an AI video generator; start with AI generators for TikTok clips, or see the best free AI video generators if you want to stay free.