Lightworks vs Powtoon
Lightworks
lwks.com
Powtoon
powtoon.comSide by side
| Figure | Lightworks | Powtoon |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $8/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 10 |
| Spec score · Video Editing Software | 8.9 (#16) | 9.2 (#9) |
| Spec score · Video Intro Maker Software | 8.6 (#11) | 8.8 (#7) |
| Editing | Lightworks provides timeline editing, advanced transitions, automatic saving, and simple visual effects. | Its editor supports trimming, merging scenes, captions, transitions, animations, brand assets, stock footage, voiceovers, and soundtracks. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | The privacy policy lists cloud and photo services including Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Photos, OneDrive, pCloud, and IOGates, plus Pond5 and Pexels stock media. | Powtoon lists integrations including Salesforce, Articulate 360, Google Drive, Zapier, Google Slides, Figma, HubSpot, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, Canva, and LMS platforms. |
| Mobile app | No | Powtoon Connect is a free companion app available for Apple and Android devices for uploading media, recording voiceovers, and playing or sharing Powtoons. |
| Support | Lightworks provides in-app searchable help, video tutorials, a community forum, and a user portal for account and licence management. | All paid plans include 24/7 priority support, while Enterprise includes VIP support and onboarding. |
| What it does | Lightworks is a non-linear editor for assembling video, audio, graphics and effects into finished programmes. | Powtoon is a browser-based creation platform built around Powtoon Studio for making animated videos and visual presentations. |
Plans
Powtoon
- FreeFree
- Lite$15 a month
- Professional$40 a month
- Advanced$125 a month
- Education$8 a month
- 125 AI credits$49, paid once
- 300 AI credits$99, paid once
- 450 AI credits$149, paid once
- EnterprisePriced on request
- Institutions & DistrictsPriced on request
In their own words
Lightworks
Lightworks is a desktop non-linear editor for assembling video, audio, graphics, and effects into a finished programme. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with timeline editing, transitions, automatic saving, and simple visual effects. Lightworks supports shared project spaces on network storage, while ShareLinks let users share sequences and collect comments tied to specific moments. The maker describes it for projects ranging from social clips and YouTube videos to documentaries, music videos, and feature films. The Free plan is listed at free; plan details list 720p HD export, while the welcome guide says the Free tier exports up to 1080p, including portrait formats. Create adds 4K export, social media templates, motion graphics, colour controls, audio EQ, LUT support, high-resolution proxy editing, and NewBlue Titler Pro. Pro adds 10-bit support, audio and video plugin support, advanced video effects, export interchange formats, advanced colour scopes, and cloud export or upload. Some Linux functionality may be restricted by third-party limitations.
Powtoon
Powtoon is a browser-based platform for creating animated videos and visual presentations in Powtoon Studio. Its editor brings together scene trimming and merging, captions, transitions, animations, brand assets, stock footage, voiceovers and soundtracks. AI tools can turn documents or text into video and support scriptwriting, speech, avatars, captions, translations and image creation. The platform also lists a stock media library of more than four million items and a character builder for changing appearance and gestures. Powtoon Capture records a screen, webcam or both; recordings can run up to 70 minutes and are deleted automatically after three months. It supports web and Chrome extension access, works in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari, and has a free iOS and Android companion app for uploading media, recording voiceovers, and playing or sharing Powtoons. Plans include a free option and paid plans from $15/mo billed annually. Free videos are limited to three minutes at 720p and carry a Powtoon watermark.