CapCut vs DaVinci Resolve: moving your edits to Resolve

DaVinci Resolve is the better editor once your videos get longer or need real color work and a proper audio mix. CapCut is still faster for short vertical video with templates and auto captions. The free version of Resolve has no watermark and edits footage up to Ultra HD at 60 fps.

You don't have to rebuild your old edits. Drop a CapCut project's draft_info.json on the CapCut to DaVinci Resolve converter, and Resolve opens it with the cuts, speed changes, framing, volume and text in place.

DaVinci Resolve is the better editor once your videos get longer than a minute or two, or need real color work and a proper audio mix. CapCut is still faster for short vertical video, because of its templates, effects library and one-click captions. The free version of Resolve has no watermark and no time limit, so trying it costs nothing. You also don't have to start over. Your CapCut projects can come with you, with the cuts in place.

CapCut vs DaVinci Resolve at a glance

The free version of Resolve edits footage up to Ultra HD at 60 frames per second. Studio adds the AI tools, extra effects, 10-bit video and higher resolutions. Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve page lists the full split. Most people switching from CapCut never need Studio.

Where CapCut is still the better tool

If you make 30-second vertical videos for TikTok, Reels or Shorts, CapCut is hard to beat. Its templates, trending effects, stickers and auto captions are built for exactly that, and Resolve has nothing like its effects library. CapCut also runs on your phone, and Resolve doesn't.

Resolve also asks more of your computer. It leans on the graphics card far harder than CapCut does. Check Blackmagic's system requirements before you commit an older laptop to it.

Reasons to switch to Resolve

• Longer edits. Resolve's timeline, bins and trim tools hold up on a 20-minute video in a way CapCut's don't.
• Color. Matching two cameras, fixing skin tones or grading log footage is what Resolve is famous for.
• Audio. Fairlight gives you a real mixer: noise reduction, EQ and loudness metering for YouTube.
• Working with others. Editors, colorists and post houses can open Resolve projects. Nobody outside CapCut can open a CapCut project.
• Your projects stay on your machine. Resolve keeps them in a local project library unless you choose Blackmagic Cloud.

Plenty of people do both: shorts in CapCut, everything longer in Resolve.

Bring your CapCut projects into Resolve

Resolve can't open a CapCut project, and CapCut can't export one Resolve reads. CapCut has no XML export at all. The project file converts, though.

1. Find the project file. In CapCut's drafts folder (Mac: ~/Movies/CapCut/User Data/Projects/com.lveditor.draft, Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\CapCut\User Data\Projects\com.lveditor.draft), open your project's folder and take draft_info.json. Where CapCut saves your projects covers the folder in detail.
2. Convert it to a .drp. Drop it on the CapCut to DaVinci Resolve converter. If you shot on a camera, add your media folder too, so the clips keep their timecode. CapCut doesn't save it, and Resolve looks for camera clips at their timecode.
3. Import it. In Resolve's Project Manager, choose File > Import Project, pick the .drp and open the new project. The timeline has CapCut's frame size and frame rate, so a 9:16 edit stays 9:16.
4. Relink anything offline. Clips you moved since editing show as offline, and so do CapCut library music and stock clips. Right-click them in the media pool and relink, or swap in your own files.

We tested this in the free DaVinci Resolve 21. The cuts, speed changes, position, scale, crop, volume and text land where CapCut had them.

What you'll rebuild by hand

CapCut's effects, filters, stickers, masks and text animations belong to CapCut. They don't exist in Resolve, so they can't come across. The conversion report names each one and the clip it sat on. Here's where to rebuild each in Resolve:

• Filters and color looks go on the Color page.
• Blurs, glows and shakes are Resolve FX, in the Edit page's Effects Library.
• Animated text is a Text+ title, or a Fusion title for anything with real motion.
• Speed curves are a Retime Curve. The converted clip keeps its average speed and its in and out points.

Captions come across as titles with the same words and timing. If you'd rather have them on a subtitle track, convert the same draft with CapCut to SRT, then follow adding SRT subtitles in Resolve.

Getting comfortable in Resolve

Start on the Cut page. It's the closest thing in Resolve to CapCut: one timeline, big thumbnails, quick trimming. Move to the Edit page when you want more tracks and finer control. Learn J, K and L for playback early. They make Resolve feel quick once your hands know them.

Open one of your converted CapCut projects to learn on. Footage you already know makes Resolve's tools easier to learn than a sample project does.

FAQ

Is DaVinci Resolve better than CapCut? For long-form editing, color grading and audio mixing, yes. For quick vertical videos with templates, effects and auto captions, CapCut is faster. Plenty of people cut shorts in CapCut and everything else in Resolve.

Is DaVinci Resolve free? Yes. The free version has no time limit and no watermark, and edits footage up to Ultra HD at 60 fps. Resolve Studio is a one-time $295 purchase that adds the AI tools, more effects, 10-bit video and higher resolutions.

Can I import a CapCut project into DaVinci Resolve? Not directly. Neither app reads the other's projects. Convert the CapCut project's draft_info.json to a .drp, then import it in Resolve's Project Manager. The free version of Resolve opens it.

Do my CapCut effects come across? No. CapCut's effects, filters, stickers, masks and text animations don't exist in Resolve. The conversion lists each one by name so you can rebuild what you need with Resolve FX or Fusion.

Can DaVinci Resolve edit vertical video? Yes. Set the timeline resolution to 1080 x 1920 in the project or timeline settings. A converted CapCut project already uses your CapCut canvas size, so a 9:16 edit stays 9:16.

Will my CapCut captions come across? Yes, as titles on the timeline with the same words and timing. If you'd rather have them on Resolve's subtitle track, convert the same draft to SRT and import that into Resolve.