How much does it cost to edit a video?
Hiring it out: freelance editors typically charge $50–150+ per hour, which lands most social videos at $100–300 each and polished long-form YouTube videos at $300–1,000+. Agencies charge multiples of that. Doing it yourself: software ranges from $0 (EseCut, DaVinci Resolve) to roughly $23/month (Premiere Pro) — plus your time, which the rules of thumb put at 30–60 minutes of editing per finished minute.
The practical middle path for most creators and small businesses: DIY the routine content (clips, captions, promos) in a free editor where presets and auto captions do the heavy lifting, and hire out only the flagship pieces where production value visibly pays for itself.
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