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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Adobe Express

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AAdobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is a task-based, web and mobile product used to create and share rich multimedia content – from social media posts and stories to invitations to marketing materials like logos, flyers and banners.

    $0

    Camtasia

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/ACamtasia is a video editor and screen recorder. Camtasia offers a range of plans designed to meet varying video creation needs, and enables users to produce professional-looking videos. Its features include Camtasia Rev, script generation, text-to-speech, translations, and avatar videos, to streamline the video creation process. The editions available are Free, Essentials, Create, or the Pro plan.

    $179.88

    per year per user

    Lightworks

    Score10 out of 10
    N/ALightworks is a video editing tool from LWKS, including dynamic video and audio editing, vibrant colour, visual effects, and sharing features.

    $9.99

    per month per user

    Pricing
    Adobe ExpressCamtasiaLightworks
    Editions & Modules
    Free
    $0.00
    Premium
    $9.99 / $99.99
    per month
    Teams
    $9.99
    per month per user
    Camtasia Business
    $198
    per year per seat
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Adobe ExpressCamtasiaLightworks
    Free Trial
    YesYesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesYesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsContact Adobe directly for Enterprise pricing plan details.*Discounts available for purchases supporting a large volume of users.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Adobe ExpressCamtasiaLightworks
    Considered Multiple Products
    Adobe
    No answer on this topic
    TechSmith
    No answer on this topic
    LWKS
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    93%
    Would buy again
    238 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    33 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    219 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    31 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    235 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    33 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    158 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    27 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    178 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    28 Answers
    No answers on this topic
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    Adobe ExpressCamtasiaLightworks
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    Score9.7 out of 10
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    Score10 out of 10
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    Adobe PhotoShop
    Score9.2 out of 10
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    Score9.7 out of 10
    Adobe Premiere Pro
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Adobe ExpressCamtasiaLightworks
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.8
    (255 ratings)
    8.4
    (75 ratings)
    9.8
    (2 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.5
    (17 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.2
    (29 ratings)
    7.0
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (13 ratings)
    8.6
    (14 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    6.4
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    9.5
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Professional Services
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Adobe ExpressCamtasiaLightworks
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Adobe
    It works amazing for the creation of attention grabbing, clean, and professional looking flyers or infographics. Especially when you need to create a few graphic organizers, like a workflow, or a reference sheet for new members, it is awesome. I have created a few in one day, and honestly, even though you can utilize AI tools to do so, I love that I get to choose what the end product looks like during the process, and it's still easy and fast. It falls short with multi-page brochures, and while illustrator can take on branding quite well, it needs to be pre-made and imported to work in Express.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    TechSmith
    Camtasia is so easy to use that I recommend it over Adobe Premiere, Captivate, Storyline, and other tools. The only problem is the price. Due to the fact that I purchased this for education purposes, and educational prices have gone up exponentially, it has been difficult even at $179 to upgrade, as an educator and the organization is not always willing to reimburse the purchase, it would have been more economical. It was less than $100 (Black Friday) when I bought our updated version in 2019. Camtasia profile accounts aren't the best setup, however. My profile account does not reflect when I was a user or show past invoices, and I wanted to see how long ago I was a user.
    Incentivized
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    LWKS
    Lightworks is a great tool for a non-designer to use because it provides a number of tools and capabilities that can be quickly learned. For someone who is an advanced video editor, it may not provide every tool they will need. Given how much can be accomplished through the free version, I think it's a great tool for making simple videos for social media, YouTube and other basic applications.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Adobe
    • Scheduling posts. OMG, it is one place on the web and app for me to schedule upcoming posts.
    • Posting to several platforms at one time. From FB, to IG, to TikTok, and LinkedIn. It's a great assistant to have by your side every day.
    • Editing on the go with the app on my phone, capturing and editing content in real time.
    Read full review
    TechSmith
    • Very intuitive controls. You don't need to be a pro at video editing
    • Seamless control of assets (separates video from still images)
    • Great library of annotations and gestures
    • Easy to integrate audio/video edits
    • Custom formats that suit my needs (web, mobile, tablets)
    Incentivized
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    LWKS
    • Drag and drop all videos easily.
    • Easy to split videos and strip.
    • You can work with multiple sequences.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Adobe
    • The only improvement that I wish that Adobe Express could make would be to increase the number of video and audio tracks their Video application could have. Even adding one extra track for both would totally increase the overall professional output of the video, while allowing for a more engaging and memorable product.
    Incentivized
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    TechSmith
    • USB Microphones can sometimes cause a problem if they become accidentally unplugged during a recording session. This can corrupt some of the files that the Camtasia Recorder application uses to capture directly to .avi mode.
    • You'll sometimes get a message when you next try to record that .avi mode isn't available and the only way to fix this is by completely uninstalling and reinstalling Camtasia (with a reboot in the middle of these two actions).
    • This bug only manifested after Camtasia 8 was released, but still seems to cause an issue right up to and including Camtasia 2021.
    • I'd like to see more standard Annotation options. The existing ones are pretty good, but variety is a little lacking.
    • More 'Behaviours' would also be really welcome as these are a great feature and make Callouts a bit more interesting and lively. I've not seen any new Behaviours over the past few versions (since Camtasia 2018).
    Incentivized
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    LWKS
    • I have had it crash on me while using; thought content is saved
    • The user interface could be updated/modernized
    • Hot-keys commands are not always intuitive
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Adobe
    I foresee Adobe Express becoming the "go-to" platform for everyone except professional, high-level designers. It is a relatively easy-to-use tool that allows users to create a wide variety of visuals quickly. Because it is a template-driven tool, the in-house design team has the ability to make brand kit available to keep visuals on point
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    TechSmith
    Each release of Camtasia has added just enough functionality to justify the upgrade to the new version. I like that Camtasia is not a subscription-based product as we have more flexibility and control over our spend on the product. We can also purchase support packages that include the next version when released.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    LWKS
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Adobe
    The user interface is pretty straightforward to use. It has easy to navigate navigations, and the canvas UX is also pretty good. One thing i would like to add it to use shortcuts to add elements on canvas. Like if I am on canvas and I press 'T' on my keyboard the text box should be added automatically
    Incentivized
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    TechSmith
    I haven't used another video recording and editing tools that is as comprehensive and straight-forward as Camtasia. Typically, if you want a user-friendly video editing tools for novice users, you have to compromise on features. Camtasia solves this problem by offering extensive editing features in a simplistic, user-friendly environment. Highly recommend
    Incentivized
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    LWKS
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Adobe
    Overall, the Adobe Creative Cloud Express is worth a try and may be a good fit for many organizations and businesses. At a monthly rate, the cost is not prohibitive, but the tools are somewhat limited and not necessarily worthwhile when compared to standard applications and software that are often available free or through a package of services commonly found on workplace computers.
    Incentivized
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    TechSmith
    With the latest version (Camtasia 2020), I actually had problems with an Imac with HighSierra, but from the first moment they answered and guided me to solve the problem, even before making the purchase (with some doubts I had). And they have support in English and Spanish, I really liked that.
    Read full review
    LWKS
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Adobe
    I think Adobe Express is a bit behind Canva, but as an Adobe Community Expert, I try to provide as much feedback as I can to help improve Adobe Express. ADobe Express does a better job than InShot and a few other apps, but isn't quite there against Canva, I'm sorry to say!
    Incentivized
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    TechSmith
    I've tried several freeware recorders, too. If all you want to do is literally record your screen, and nothing else, you don't need Camtasia. There are literally dozens of apps that will do that. If you want an app that will record your screen while capturing mouse clicks, follow you, record your voice while you capture, and annotate when you're done, Camtasia has no equal. Plus, it doesn't stop there. You can add professional intros and outros (many already created to choose from), lower thirds, etc., leading to videos with very high production value. This is THE program to buy if you want to produce training videos of very high quality.
    Incentivized
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    LWKS
    Adobe is a great tool that is very competitive and I still use it depending on what PC I have on hand and how fast the job needs to get done but I selected Lightwork because I think that it is less complicated to browse and was able to learn the shortcuts fast, making my time more productive.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Adobe
    Adobe Creative Cloud Express is included with an Adobe Creative Cloud account. Our company has a corporate team membership so it is nice to have a professional and powerful tool that anyone on our team can use for free. The pricing structure of giving the tool away for free will be fundamental to users utilizing the tool. Similar tools, such as Canva, cost significantly more but do not offer the same features
    Incentivized
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    TechSmith
    No answers on this topic
    LWKS
    No answers on this topic
    Professional Services
    Adobe
    The professional services for Adobe Creative Cloud Express is top notch and should be highly commended. I am thoroughly impressed with how far Adobe has come. In the past, I had several issues with how something were handled, but in the past few years things have been better than ever and they get no complaints from me
    Incentivized
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    TechSmith
    No answers on this topic
    LWKS
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Adobe
    • Positive: Time and working for a nonprofit with minimal staff this is essential.
    • Negative: There are certain features that I need to find in other Adobe products like layer masking.
    • Positive: It makes content creation less intimidating for our newer staff.
    Incentivized
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    TechSmith
    • Many faculty members used it because it was easy to use and accomplish what they needed.
    • No need for a lot of training or follow-up training due to it being very to use.
    • Account management within our system and assigning permissions required a few steps when granting access.
    Incentivized
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    LWKS
    • It has helped us create more video content that we had not been able to do in the past
    • Given that we can use the free version in almost every situation, there has been no direct cost to use
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Adobe Express Screenshots

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    Camtasia Screenshots

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