Are Unlimited Video Editing Services Worth It?

So you’ve decided to hire a video editor? Fantastic!

Maybe your channel is taking off and you have to increase your content output. Or maybe you’re taking more time to focus on your core tasks, outsourcing others.

In any case, you’re now on the hunt for the video editing offer that best suits your needs — and your budget.

In this context, unlimited video editing services sound pretty great, right? But are they worth it in the long run?

In this article, we’ll walk you through what unlimited video editing subscriptions actually are, what their pros and cons are, how much they cost, and whether they’re right for you.

What are unlimited video editing services?

Unlimited video editing services are basically editing subscriptions.

In traditional video editing orders, you’d pay for a single video to be edited — usually with several revisions and a limit on the length of the source footage.

With unlimited video editing, you pay a recurring subscription. Typically on a monthly basis. In return, you get to submit a — theoretically — unlimited number of video orders.

What are the pros of unlimited video editing subscriptions?

There are two major advantages to this kind of monthly video editing service.

The first is that they make budgeting easier. You’ll know exactly how much you’ll be paying every month to have your video editing taken care of.

Often, this is harder with per-project pricing. Especially if your content output varies in terms of video numbers, source footage and video length, and the complexity of edits, your video editing budget is much harder to calculate in advance.

The second big upside of unlimited video editing services is that you could end up paying less in total for your video editing than with per-project pricing, especially if you typically produce numerous videos on a monthly basis.

What are the disadvantages of unlimited video editing services?

There’s got to be a catch, eh? Unfortunately, yes.

In short, it’s the fine print.

Once you dive into the details, unlimited video editing services aren’t actually unlimited.

Invariably, you’re going to have a cap on the number of videos you can submit at the same time, final video length, source footage size, or revisions.

Combine that with the company’s standard turnaround time, and you actually end up with restrictions on how many videos you can publish per month.

For example, say your goal is to create five videos to schedule on your YouTube channel for next month. But because you’re caught up with writing scripts, getting the products you want to review, and actually filming the clips, you’ll need the five videos to be edited in the space of two weeks.

That shouldn’t be an issue with unlimited video editing services, right?

Except that you can only submit one project at a time, and there’s a standard 48–72 hour turnover time to get the first draft. Add to that common business hours from Monday to Friday, and you realistically end up with a two-video max per week.

If you aren’t happy with the first draft, and you have to circle back around for revisions, your output could stay capped at one video per week.

Because of that, unlimited video editing might actually end up costing more per video than regular project-based orders.

A typical example of “unlimited” video editing pricing (in this case by Cut Yeti), with restricted turnaround times and video length.

How much does unlimited video editing cost?

The more flexible you want to be with unlimited video editing, the more you’ll end up paying.

Be Creatives, for instance, offer basic video editing services for $699 per month. For more complex edits and faster turnaround times, you’ll have to pay $1,999 per month.

Similarly, “unlimited” video editing at CutYeti starts at $597 per month. However, here you have a 72 h turnaround time for a 60 second video, and a video length limit of 2 minutes. For $2,397 per month, you can at least have parallel projects, each with a 48 h turnaround to see an initial draft. But video lengths are still limited to 5 minutes.

Over at Dava Marketing, unlimited video editing plans start at $1495 per month, with 2–3 day turnaround times per project. Again, because you’re only able to submit one video at a time, that equates to receiving only 1 or 2 videos per week maximum (not including revisions.)

Is unlimited video editing right for you?

To figure out if this kind of video editing service is right for you, you’ll have to take a close look at your budget and your content output.

Do you have a very regular content production rhythm? Do you need total predictability for your video editing budget? In that case, a monthly video editing subscription could be a great fit for you.

Does the length, complexity, and number of your videos vary? Do you sometimes need a fast turnaround of multiple videos at the same time? If that sounds like you, then you’re probably better off with per-project video editing services. Some services, like Tasty Edits, also offer bulk discounts for these orders, so you can estimate your monthly editing budget in advance.

Before you decide either way, take the time to narrow down your selection of editing services, and make the effort to compare the fine print on different offers.

That way, you’ll be able to pinpoint the video editing service that can best help your channel flourish — whether it’s unlimited or project-based.