Clipchamp is a genuinely good free option: Microsoft's pricing page lists up to 1080p with watermark-free exports, plus screen and camera recording. The catch on a Mac is that it is browser-first - Microsoft's own site does not advertise a Mac app - it needs a Microsoft account, and Premium comes only with Microsoft 365 from $9.99 a month (checked 2026). Zella is native, runs offline with no account, never watermarks a free export, and is capped at 2 minutes and 1080p until an $89 one-time unlock.
Clipchamp is Microsoft's video editor, and it is a better free offer than most people expect. Its own pricing page lists a free tier with "Up to 1080p HD video resolution" and "watermark-free video exports", along with screen, camera and voice recording, AI editing tools, animated text and free stock assets (checked 2026). That is a lot to give away, and on Windows 11 it is already in the Start menu.
Zella is an on-device screen recorder and AI video editor for Mac, iPhone and iPad. If you are searching this comparison you are almost certainly on a Mac, wondering whether the free browser tool is enough. Here is the answer, including the parts where Clipchamp is the better pick.
Clipchamp or Zella: the quick verdict
- Choose Clipchamp if you work on Windows, you already pay for Microsoft 365, you want zero install, or you need to edit from a machine you do not control.
- Choose Zella if you are on Apple hardware, you want a native app that works offline with no sign-in, and your video starts as a screen recording that needs captions and a vertical cut.
What Clipchamp is genuinely better at
It is free and watermark-free at 1080p. Microsoft states this plainly on its own pricing page, and it matters. Both tools give you a clean 1080p export for nothing, which is rarer than it should be.
No install, anywhere. It runs in a browser. On a locked-down work laptop, a Chromebook, a borrowed machine, or a machine where you cannot install software, Clipchamp works and Zella does not.
Windows. It is built into Windows 11 and available from the Microsoft Store on Windows 10. Zella has no Windows version and never will.
Microsoft 365 integration. If your organisation already lives in OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams, Clipchamp sits inside that. Zella sits outside every ecosystem on purpose.
Premium comes with a subscription you may already have. If you pay for Microsoft 365 Personal or Family, Clipchamp Premium's 4K export, premium stock, premium filters and brand kit are included at no extra cost. That is a real advantage over paying separately for anything.
Where Zella is different from Clipchamp
It is a native app, not a tab. Zella runs on macOS, iOS and iPadOS as a real application. It works with no internet connection, it does not depend on a browser tab surviving, and long recordings are crash-safe.
No account, ever. Clipchamp needs a Microsoft account. Zella needs nothing: no sign-in, no email, no cloud. For client work and anything confidential, that difference is the whole decision.
Recording with no time limit, straight to the timeline. Zella captures screen, camera, system audio and microphone and hands it to a full editor in the same app - see recording modes.
Captions transcribe on device. 9 presets on iOS and 10 on Mac, with translation into 19 languages on iOS 18 and later, and none of the audio leaves your machine.
Cleanup that runs itself. On iPhone and iPad, a verbatim WhisperKit pass finds filler words so they can be cut, and silences come out automatically.
Background removal with no green screen in the free tier. See background removal.
One-tap vertical. Make Vertical reframes a wide edit to 9:16 with subject tracking - see reframe - and on Pro, Clip Series turns one long recording into up to six captioned vertical shorts.
An assistant with 51 actions on iOS and 80 on Mac, in the free tier, with no credits. See the AI Assistant.
Clipchamp pricing vs Zella pricing
- Clipchamp Free: $0. Microsoft's pricing page lists up to 1080p, watermark-free exports, AI editing tools, screen and camera recording and free stock assets (checked 2026).
- Clipchamp Premium: not sold on its own. Microsoft's pricing page presents it as "Premium features with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family", adding up to 4K UHD, premium stock, premium filters and effects, and a single brand kit. Microsoft 365 Personal is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year and Family is $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year (checked 2026 on microsoft.com).
- Zella Free: $0 with no account and no watermark: the complete editor, all the AI, unlimited recording, exports up to 2 minutes at up to 1080p, and 1080p is free forever.
- Zella Pro: $89 one time, a Universal Purchase across Mac, iPhone and iPad, adding unlimited export length, 4K and 8K on Mac, transparent-background export, 60 fps, custom bitrate, Clip Series, the multi-aspect export queue, saved templates and the depth toolset. Founder is $299. See pricing.
- Pro Week: every new Zella install gets the full Pro set free for seven days, no card, nothing to cancel.
Worth being fair here: if you already pay for Microsoft 365, Clipchamp's 4K is effectively free to you and Zella's 4K is $89. If you do not, the comparison is a $99.99-a-year subscription against an $89 one-time purchase.
Clipchamp vs Zella, feature by feature
| Clipchamp | Zella | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Browser and Windows; no Mac app advertised | Mac, iPhone, iPad only |
| Where the work happens | Browser plus Microsoft account | On device |
| Account required | Yes, a Microsoft account | No |
| Watermark on free exports | Never, Microsoft states watermark-free | Never |
| Free export resolution | Up to 1080p HD | 1080p, free forever |
| Free export length | No published cap | Up to 2 minutes |
| Screen recording built in | Yes | Yes, unlimited |
| Automatic captions | Yes | Yes, on device |
| Background removal, no green screen | Yes | Yes, in the free tier |
| One-tap vertical reframe | Switch aspect ratio | Yes (Make Vertical) |
| Price model | Free, Premium via Microsoft 365 | Free, or one-time unlock |
| Paid price (checked 2026) | Premium via M365 Personal $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr, Family $12.99/mo or $129.99/yr | $89 once (Pro), $299 (Founder) |
Which one fits you?
The Windows user. Clipchamp, without further thought. Zella is not available to you at all.
The Mac user who edits occasionally. Clipchamp in a browser tab is a perfectly reasonable free option, and its 1080p export is clean. If you make a video a month, you may never need more.
The Mac user who records the screen weekly. Zella. Recording, cutting, captioning, callouts, colour and the vertical cut all happen in one native app, offline, with no sign-in and no upload.
Anyone handling confidential footage. Zella, because the account-based model is the point of difference. If the footage cannot go to a cloud service, a browser editor tied to a Microsoft account is the wrong shape of tool.
Anyone already paying for Microsoft 365. Try Clipchamp Premium first. You have already bought it.
Zella's honest limits
- Apple only. No Windows, no Android, no browser version. On a machine where you cannot install software, Clipchamp works and Zella cannot.
- Free exports cap at 2 minutes and 1080p. Clipchamp's free tier does not publish a length cap.
- No Microsoft 365 or Teams integration, and no cloud storage of any kind.
- It edits what you record, not scenes generated from a prompt. Auto b-roll makes generated cutaway cards with no API key required.
- The iPhone and iPad app is not on the App Store yet. It is built and native and the listing is on its way - see the iOS page. The Mac app ships today at download.
FAQ
Is Clipchamp free? Yes. Microsoft's pricing page lists a free tier with up to 1080p and watermark-free exports (checked 2026). Premium is bundled with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family rather than sold separately.
Does Clipchamp work on a Mac? It is a browser editor, so you reach it from a browser. Microsoft's own site names the browser and Windows and does not advertise a Mac app, so there is no native Mac experience the way there is on Windows 11.
Does Zella need an internet connection? No. Zella is a native app that records, edits, captions and exports entirely on device, offline, with no account.
Which one gives me 4K for less? If you already subscribe to Microsoft 365, Clipchamp Premium's 4K costs you nothing extra. If you do not, Zella Pro at $89 once is cheaper than a year of Microsoft 365 Personal at $99.99.
Do either of them watermark free exports? Neither does. Microsoft states Clipchamp's free exports are watermark-free, and Zella never watermarks on any tier or platform.
Can I move a project between them? Not as project files. Export MP4 from one and import it into the other; Zella will give you the full timeline, captions, colour, Beat Sync and reframe on that file.
The bottom line
Clipchamp is the right free editor for Windows, for locked-down machines, and for anyone already inside Microsoft 365. Zella is the right one for Apple users who record their screen regularly, want a native app that works offline, and want their footage to stay on the device with no account attached to it.
The Mac app is at download; the iPhone and iPad app is coming to the App Store.
Make your next video with Zella.
Record, edit and ship on Mac, iPhone and iPad - local, private, free to start.
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