DaVinci Resolve AI
Pro-grade editing with a complete free tier — and AI tools in the $295 Studio licence
Overview
Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve is a professional edit and colour suite with a capable free version; its Neural Engine AI tools — magic mask, facial recognition, smart reframe, text-based editing, voice isolation, UltraNR and SuperScale — come with the $295 one-time Studio licence, now also rentable. Version 21.1 adds an MCP server.
Pricing
Pricing shown for reference only. These figures reflect RECATOOLS research as of 1 Oct 2026 and may be out of date or incomplete. This is not financial or purchasing advice — always confirm the current price on the provider’s official website before making any decision.
- Edit, colour, Fusion and Fairlight pages
- Up to Ultra HD at 60fps
- Manual subtitles
- Magic mask, smart reframe and facial recognition
- UltraNR and SuperScale
- Voice isolation and dialogue separator
- Up to 32K at 120fps
Use cases
What you can produce with DaVinci Resolve AI
- Magic Mask object isolation (Studio)
- Text-based editing and transcription (Studio)
- Facial recognition, smart reframe and scene-cut detection (Studio)
- Voice isolation and dialogue/music separation (Studio)
- UltraNR noise reduction and SuperScale AI upscaling (Studio)
- IntelliSearch, CineFocus, UltraSharpen and motion deblur (Resolve 21)
- MCP server for driving Resolve from AI tools such as Claude (21.1)
DaVinci Resolve's AI layer doesn't feel bolted on — magic mask, smart reframe, text-based editing, voice isolation and a dialogue/music separator sit inside a professional colour-and-edit suite that colorists already use for grading. But the AI is mostly a Studio feature: Blackmagic says its Neural Engine tools are exclusive to the $295 Studio licence, while the free version is a complete editor for up to Ultra HD without them. Studio remains a one-time purchase with free updates through 21.1, now also available as a rental through Blackmagic Cloud, and 21.1 adds an MCP server so assistants like Claude can drive it. G2 reviewers give it 4.7/5 from 221 reviews and call it strong value. The tradeoff is a genuinely steep learning curve — Resolve's multi-page interface overwhelms editors coming from simpler tools — and the AI tools want a strong GPU.
What we found
DaVinci Resolve is a professional colour, edit, effects and audio suite whose free version is a genuinely complete editor rather than a trial, which is why it shows up on so many shortlists. The AI story, though, sits mostly in the paid version: Blackmagic says its Neural Engine features — magic mask, facial recognition, smart reframe, object removal, scene-cut detection and text-based editing among them — are exclusive to DaVinci Resolve Studio, alongside UltraNR noise reduction, SuperScale upscaling, AI voice isolation, a music remixer and a dialogue separator.
Studio still costs $295 as a one-time purchase, and existing owners got versions 21.0 and 21.1 free. Blackmagic now also lets companies and individuals rent Studio licences through Blackmagic Cloud, so "no subscription" is no longer the whole picture; it publishes no rental price on the pages we could read. The free version handles projects up to Ultra HD at 60 frames a second; Studio goes to 32K at 120.
The current release is 21.1, from September 2026. Version 21, stable since June, added a Photo page and AI tools including IntelliSearch, CineFocus, face ageing, blemish removal, slate identification, UltraSharpen and motion deblur, and 21.1 added an MCP server so external AI tools such as Claude and Codex can drive the software.
Reviewers rate it highly — 4.7 out of 5 from 221 reviews on G2 — and praise the colour-grading toolset, the free version's completeness and the integration with Blackmagic's cameras and hardware. The recurring criticism, which G2's own summary repeats, is a steep learning curve: the multi-page interface (Cut, Edit, Fusion, Color, Fairlight, Deliver) overwhelms editors coming from simpler tools, and the AI features want a strong GPU. Blackmagic's company-wide Trustpilot profile, which it has not claimed, sits much lower, at 2.7 from 101 reviews.
Compiled by RECATOOLS from public sources: vendor documentation and pricing, code repositories and published reporting.
About this listing
This entry was compiled from publicly available data including DaVinci Resolve AI's official website, press releases, documentation, and reputable third-party publications. RECATOOLS is not affiliated with DaVinci Resolve AI unless explicitly stated.
Third-party AI tools update their pricing, features, availability, and policies frequently. Information here may be outdated by the time you read this — we make reasonable efforts to keep listings current, but cannot guarantee absolute accuracy.
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