cinemaOS, CUTROOM, and invideo Compared – Mac Studio App, Free Open-Source Editor, Cloud AI Agent

Editing Software

by Johnnie BehiriToday

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A growing number of video editors are now built around AI and open-source components, some of them by small teams or a single developer. Three current examples take very different routes: cinemaOS is a Mac subscription app with an on-device assistant, CUTROOM is a free open-source editor that runs locally, and invideo puts an AI editing agent and dozens of generative models in the browser. We look at each platform and then compare them.

The three products target overlapping users but differ in where the software runs, how AI is used, and how users pay. cinemaOS from Momentum Studios is a Mac-native application for Apple Silicon that combines editing, color, sound, design, and delivery for $9.99 per month. CUTROOM is a free desktop editor under the MIT license, currently in a 1.2 public beta for Windows and Mac, with optional local or bring-your-own-key AI. invideo is a web-based “agentic video editor” with mobile apps, sold in credit-based plans that start at $10 per seat per month on annual billing.

We have previously reported on ArtCraft’s free, open-source Adobe alternatives, which developer Brandon Thomas says he wrote with the help of an AI coding model, and on Adobe’s settlement with the US Department of Justice over its subscription practices. The established editors are adding AI as well, as we covered with DaVinci Resolve 21.1 and the new color tools and Firefly models in Premiere.

cinemaOS: one Mac app for every room

cinemaOS is made by Momentum Studios BV, founded by Julien Hayet-Kerknawi, and is currently at version 0.2 (build 9). The application divides work into “rooms” that share one live project. The Sequencer is a multitrack timeline for picture and sound that imports XML or EDL, exports FCPXML or EDL, and supports cutting from a transcript. The Finisher covers color grading with scopes and Shot Match, a 16:9-to-9:16 reframe function that tracks the main subject, plus subtitles, translation, and delivery. Atelier handles posters, photos and brand kits, and a Sound mode called Spatial Theatrics shows the mix as a 3D theater in which tracks become objects, with DX, MX, FX, and AMB buses and scene loudness measured against a target.

The built-in assistant, J.A.R.E.D., takes plain-language requests via Command-J. According to Momentum Studios, transcription, translation, and looks run on the Mac, need no credits, and subtitles can be translated with Wi-Fi off. The company does not name the AI models, and it does not publish supported codecs, RAW formats, or a minimum macOS version.

CUTROOM: free, open source and local

CUTROOM is published on GitHub under the account of Vano Peradze, and the website names no company. It is a desktop editor in a 1.2 public beta for Windows and for macOS 15 or later on Apple Silicon or Intel. Linux users can run it from source, without a packaged download. Setup installs Python 3.12 and media dependencies, and the Mac version uses FFmpeg 7 through Homebrew. The project states that the Mac build is not a signed app.

CUTROOM offers six workspaces: Media, Edit, Layout, Audio, Captions, and Output. Editing covers independent tracks, cuts, trims, and track locks; Layout adds crop and picture-in-picture for camera and screen recordings, and the audio mixer has live meters, mute, and solo. Captions can be imported as SRT or VTT. Export is MP4 in landscape or vertical, up to 4K and 60fps, without a watermark. AI is optional: manual editing needs no models or account, local transcription and drafts use downloadable models and Ollama, and users can connect their own API key for a cloud provider, which then charges them directly. The project itself notes that AI drafts “may miss context or have weak endings.”

invideo: an AI agent in the browser

invideo calls its product “the agentic video editor for serious creatives.” The workflow is to upload footage, describe the edit to the Agent Two assistant, review the cut, and export. According to the company, the agent watches and logs every clip, and users can take over the multitrack timeline at any frame. Custom agents carry roles such as scriptwriter, editor, cinematographer, sound designer, and colorist, and invideo lists multiplayer editing, storyboarding, and the option to connect outside agents such as Claude Cowork, ChatGPT Codex, Grok, and Gemini.

The other major part of invideo is generative media. The site lists video models including Google Veo 3.1, Sora 2, Kling, Wan, Pixverse, Hailuo and Seedance, image models such as Nano Banana Pro, Ideogram, Seedream and Flux Kontext, and audio from ElevenLabs and MiniMax. Generations use monthly credits that do not roll over, and invideo states that it can change credit costs without notice. Plans include 4K export of the user’s own footage, storage from 200GB to 2,000GB, and premium stock footage. invideo runs in the browser, with iOS and Android apps.

Where the work runs

The clearest difference between the three is the location of media and processing. cinemaOS keeps projects, media, and versions on the user’s disk and runs its assistant on the Mac. CUTROOM also edits, previews, and exports locally, and it sends audio or transcripts to a cloud provider only when the user connects one and gives consent. invideo is a cloud service: footage is uploaded, and the agent and generative models run on invideo’s side. For productions with confidentiality requirements, that difference may matter more than the feature lists.

AI as assistant or as editor

The role of AI also differs. In cinemaOS, J.A.R.E.D. carries out looks, transcription, and translation on request inside a conventional editing application. CUTROOM treats AI as an option for transcripts and first drafts, with the timeline remaining manual. invideo puts the agent at the center of the workflow and adds generation of new shots, images, voices and music, which the other two do not offer.

Platforms, formats and maturity

cinemaOS is Mac only until a Windows version arrives in November 2027, according to the company. CUTROOM supports Windows and Mac now, while invideo works in any browser and on phones. On interchange, only cinemaOS lists XML, EDL, and FCPXML, which gives a path to and from other editors; CUTROOM documents MP4 output and SRT or VTT captions, and invideo does not list project interchange formats on its main pages. Both cinemaOS (version 0.2) and CUTROOM (public beta) are early releases, and CUTROOM’s own page lists acceptance testing that is still pending.

A threat to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve?

On the evidence of their own documentation, none of the three is a direct replacement for the established editors in professional film and television work today. Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve support camera RAW formats, broad codec lists, plugin systems and round trips to audio and VFX departments, and Resolve and Premiere add multi-user collaboration. cinemaOS publishes no codec or RAW support list and is at version 0.2, CUTROOM exports MP4 only and is in beta, and invideo is built around uploading footage to a cloud service. For a feature film or a broadcast series with a post house, an online edit and a deliverables list, those gaps are significant.

The pressure is stronger in two other areas. The first is price. Momentum Studios builds its whole pitch on the gap between $9.99 per month and $104.99 per month for Adobe Creative Cloud Pro on the US month-to-month plan, and CUTROOM costs nothing. That argument is mainly aimed at Adobe, because DaVinci Resolve already has a free version and Final Cut Pro is available as a one-time purchase or as part of Apple Creator Studio, which costs $12.99 per month. The second area is short-form and social content, where speed counts for more than finishing depth. Vertical reframing, automatic captions, transcript-based cutting, and AI first drafts are central features in all three newcomers, and invideo adds generative shots, voices, and music on top. Creators and small marketing teams who never needed a conform or an EDL are the most likely users to switch.

The established platforms are not standing still. DaVinci Resolve 21.1 added AI assistant integration via MCP, Premiere now includes Firefly with Kling 3.0 models, and Apple has added generated captions, edit detection, and Auto Mask to Final Cut Pro. That narrows the feature gap from the other side. What the new tools show is how quickly a small team, or a single developer, can now ship an editor with a full timeline, color, sound, and AI features. ArtCraft’s FilmCraft and Cutroom are open source, so other developers can build on them. For the established vendors, the more immediate effect may be pressure on subscription pricing and on how they charge for AI, rather than a loss of their professional users.

Price and availability

cinemaOS is available now for macOS on Apple silicon at $9.99 per month excluding VAT after a 60-day free trial without a card, or $8.99 per seat per month for teams of 2 to 50 seats. CUTROOM is free and open source under the MIT license and is available as a download for Windows and Mac, with cloud AI charges paid to the user’s chosen provider. invideo’s Starter, Plus and Max plans cost $10, $30 and $75 per seat per month on annual billing, or $20, $60 and $150 on monthly billing, with 400, 2,000 and 5,000 credits per seat per month. For more information, please visit the cinemaOS, CUTROOM, and invideo websites.

Would you trust one of these new editors with a real project, or do you stay with Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!