When it comes to hiring a video editor, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
It matters whether you’re a business doubling down on video marketing or a professional content creator scaling up your YouTube channel. How you best hire a video editor depends on your unique needs.
Professional editors are a key asset in freeing up your time so that you can focus on doing what you do best – whether that’s planning your next outreach campaign or shooting footage for a new viral clip. And with fast, high-quality video production, you’ll more than earn back the cost.
But should you go for a freelancer? Hire someone full-time? Outsource to a professional video editing company? Or try an AI video editor?
In this article, we’ll break down each of these options and weigh the pros and cons to help you make the best choice for your business. Let’s dive right in.
Quick Facts
- Hiring a professional video editor helps you scale up the quantity and quality of your video production.
- Hiring a freelance video editor is fast, but not always reliable.
- Adding a full-time team member focused on video editing gives you maximum control but takes significant amounts of time and money.
- Outsourcing to a video editing service puts multiple editors at your disposal and comes with quality guarantees.
Keep reading for the full scoop!
Hire a Freelance Video Editor
To start with, let’s talk about the option that jumps to most people’s minds when they first start thinking about how to hire a video editor – finding a freelancer.
Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr make it a breeze to find a dedicated professional offering just the skills you need for your video production plans.
This option has a lot going for it – but also a few critical downsides. Let’s take a closer look.
Pros
No contract – no commitment.
Freelancers are usually hired per project, in this case per video or per video series. You don’t need any complicated contracts or long-term commitments. When you have videos to edit, you just send them over.
Plus, if you don’t like a freelancer’s work, you can just move on to the next one until you find someone who can capture your voice perfectly.
High-quality, professional video editing services.
Some of the best video editors in the game are freelancers. Many editors chose their profession specifically for the freedom that it comes with working on a freelance basis – working from home or travelling while still being productive and earning a living.
As a result, you can find top-notch video editing on freelance job boards and platforms. Given enough time and vetting, you will find them.
Cons
Finding the right person takes time.
A single freelance job proposal can attract hundreds of responses, but the overwhelming majority will be from unqualified amateurs. Increasingly, there are also scammers who try to pass off cheap AI video editing as their own work.
Even platforms like Upwork, which let you see ratings and client testimonials for each freelancer, aren’t 100% reliable – as we found in a recent case study.
The tricky part is winnowing down a huge pool of candidates to the one freelancer that can meet your unique needs. This can take a lot of time. There’s no guarantee that they’ll be a good fit. You’ll only know whether you’ve been lucky after the job is done.
Inconsistent availability.
Freelance video editors depend on a large roster of clients for their living. This means that your job isn’t always going to be their first priority.
You’ll have to get used to waiting in line until they have the time to work on your video. Plus, if your editor is sick or on vacation, you’ll simply have to wait it out. Or vet yet another freelancer.
If you have an urgent project in the pipeline, that can be incredibly frustrating.
Costs.
Some freelancers are ridiculously cheap, but they rarely provide the quality they promise. Freelance editors that can consistently provide top-notch services come with price tags to match, and are typically in high demand.
If you’re looking for a truly high-quality video editor, rates can reach hundreds of dollars per hour. And editing even a short video can take a while.
Verdict
Freelancers are great in certain circumstances. If you plan your content way ahead and can adjust to a freelance editor’s availability, it might be a great fit – especially if you’re lucky and find someone you like working with.
The more videos you publish, though, the less efficient freelancers become. Scheduling can get tricky. If you plan to post videos regularly, then this inefficiency can be a deal-breaker.
Hire a Video Editor Full-Time
Next up, another option for how to hire a video editor is to add one to your team full-time.
Hiring your own full-time video editor is less common, especially if you run a small business, or if you’re an independent creator.
However, it does have big advantages that other options don’t. Let’s break it down.
Pros
Smooth workflows, fast turnaround.
In terms of workflow and speed, hiring a full-time editor is fantastic. They become part of your business, with established SOPs, and intimately familiar with your brand, voice, and working rhythm.
They will work according to your schedule, giving you a finished product in as little time as possible. If you need a video ready to upload by evening, then you can have a full-time editor prioritize it to ensure that it gets done on time.
You have greater control over the end product.
An editor who’s focused entirely on your business is much more attuned to your needs. This means that they’ll know just what style of editing you like. They’ll grow skilled at bringing your visions to life.
You can direct them to pick up new skills where needed, and you will have more input on how they do their work. Their priorities are clear, and you won’t ever have to fight for their time and attention.
Cons
Hiring a full-time team member is costly and complicated.
Of all the options on this list, in-house video editors are the most expensive by far. A high-quality video editor can demand a hefty salary. On top of that, hiring your own employees involves considerable tax and legal obligations.
In many cases, you’ll have to provide full-time employees with benefits like health insurance and paid time off. Part-time employees, on the other hand, will have a strict cap on the hours they can work in a week.
Finding the right person takes time and energy.
Finding the right person will always be a challenge, but at least with freelancers, it’s easy to cut ties and move on.
Hiring a dedicated internal editor, though, can easily set you back weeks if you do it right. And if you get it wrong, months. Firing someone on your payroll, after all, is more complicated than switching to another freelancer or video editing service.
Verdict
Hiring a full-time video editor is an excellent option if you are pumping out dozens of videos a month, but it requires deep pockets and a lot of commitment. If you don’t have the volume, the budget, or don’t want to be tied down, steer clear.
Outsource to a Dedicated Video Editing Service
The third major option is to outsource your editing to a professional video editing agency. Video editing companies typically offer a wide range of services and put a skilled team of professional editors at your disposal.
Like the other options, there are cons to this approach. Still, working with a dedicated company has significant advantages.
Pros
They’re efficient industry professionals.
Video editing companies are industry specialists. Typically, they have large teams of thoroughly-vetted editors, with systems in place to work with multiple clients.
Often, though not always, you’ll get a dedicated editor who handles your orders and who can attune to your style. Even if they’re taking time off, the company has a whole roster to ensure things still get done on time.
Plus, many companies provide clients with a video manager to oversee orders and go through an internal quality control workflow.
You benefit from a wide range of editing services, thumbnail design, and channel management.
Video editing agencies build up a lot of experience with all kinds of editing demands. Their teams will have people who excel at different types of edits – from real estate walk-throughs, over travel vlogs, to online course content.
Going further, many agencies offer services that go beyond video editing.
Most video editing services will, for example, also have thumbnail artists on their team to enhance your CTR. Some also offer channel management services: This takes a lot of routine tasks off your hands, from scheduling and SEO-optimizing videos over engaging your audience to deep-diving into video analytics.
Predictable costs and value for your money.
In terms of the value you get for your money, video editing companies tend to hit the sweet spot.
Their consistent pricing will give you clarity on how much the edits you are planning will cost. You don’t have to sign any complicated contracts, either, but still get the dedication of a full-time employee.
All things considered, outsourcing to a video editing company is the most cost-effective strategy.
Cons
The risk of opting for the wrong company.
There are still some risks involved when you outsource to a video editing agency. The biggest is that you choose the wrong one.
Over the past few years, as the creator economy has expanded, more and more video editing companies have flooded the market. Not all of them are reliable.
Before you choose a company to outsource to, be sure to carefully check their website, their portfolio, and testimonials from past clients. Checking out ratings and reviews on Google My Business and Trustpilot can also give you a great glimpse on what it’s like to work with individual companies.
Finally, have them do a test edit.
Falling for hidden costs.
A second downside of some video editing companies is their pricing model. A prime example of that are companies offering “unlimited video editing”. In return for a monthly subscription – often paid on a quarterly or annual basis – they promise you an unlimited number of video edits.
However, this comes with sneaky fine print. For instance, most of these “unlimited” plans only let you submit one video at a time. Combined with turnover times and revision requests, this often limits the realistic number of videos you can have edited to four or five a month. This can put a serious dampener on your productivity, and often ends up costing you more than per-video pricing.
Verdict
Outsourcing to a professional video editing company is a solid option for most creators and business owners. No other option balances the cost savings, efficient workflows, and quality of editing this well.
AI Video Editors
Finally, no list of video editing options would be complete in 2025 without a look at AI video editors. Since the rise of generative AI, these editors have proliferated, offering increasingly elaborate editing options. AI companies are promising you the world. But can they deliver?
Pros
AI is becoming more powerful
AI is becoming increasingly powerful, there is no doubt about it. And most professional video editing software includes AI tools – including Premiere Pro, the software our editors work with at Tasty Edits. These tools put amazing effects at the disposal of skilled editors and help them edit more efficiently.
Even the fully automated AI video makers that turn text prompts into animations or entire videos now deliver much better results than they did even six months ago.
It doesn’t get any cheaper.
If you’re on a tight budget, an AI video editor is definitely the cheapest option out there! Some providers offer plans for as little as $20 a month. That is an order of magnitude less than a single video edited by a human professional costs.
Cons
The results are sub-par.
Despite the fast improvement in AI models, videos edited entirely by AI typically turn out clumsy and unpleasant to watch. Cuts often occur in wrong places, the background music is not in sync, and stock footage is painfully generic.
It can’t recognize your voice.
Whether you’re a creator or a business owner, you have your own voice. Your videos have a style and a pace that is uniquely your own and makes your content instantly recognizable.
While some AI video editors do offer a sort of personalization – such as uploading a brand kit – they cannot learn to attune to your voice the way a human editor can. At its core, video editing is an art form that takes years to perfect, and truly good editors will invest their heart and soul into each project. No AI model, however sophisticated, can keep up with that.
Verdict
Freelancers are great in certain circumstances. If you plan your content way ahead and can adjust to a freelance editor’s availability, it might be a great fit – especially if you’re lucky and find someone you like working with.
The more videos you publish, though, the less efficient freelancers become. Scheduling can get tricky. If you plan to post videos regularly, then this inefficiency can be a deal-breaker.
How to Hire a Video Editor? Outsource to an Agency!
All things considered, the best way to hire a video editor for your YouTube channel is to find a dedicated, professional video editing company and outsource your work to them. They’ll produce quality results in a timely fashion, and all at a price that won’t break the bank.
But don’t just take our word for it. Check out what our clients have said before.
Working with a company like Tasty Edits will streamline your entire workflow. This gives you back time – and cash – you can use to recharge, get inspired, and create.
FAQs
There are three main ways to hire a video editor – finding a freelancer, adding an in-house editor to a team, or outsourcing to a video editing agency.
If you want to hire a video editor, the best strategy is to find a solid video editing company. It’s cheaper than hiring an in-house editor, and offers more security than working with a roster of freelancers. Video editing agencies have teams of thoroughly-vetted editors, internal quality control, and additional team members to handle thumbnail design and channel management.
For some simplistic projects, AI video editors can be a solid choice – for instance, if you want to turn a blog post into a simple voiceover video with stock footage. However, it’s best to stick with human editors for anything more complex. They’ll be able to tune in on your unique needs and match your brand voice.
How much you pay for a video editor depends on how you hire them. Some freelancers offer services for as little as $50 per project. However, these are usually low-complexity (and often low-quality) edits. Professional pricing starts at around $180 per video.
The fastest way to find a good video editor is to look at ratings and client testimonials. On freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, you have access to extensive reviews for each editor. For video editing agencies, you can check out Trustpilot and Google Business. (Pro tip: Video editing agencies come with an extra quality filter: the editors they hire are thoroughly vetted before they can make it onto the team!)
