Movavi builds installed Windows and macOS software for editing video, retouching photos, converting media and recording the screen, aimed explicitly at beginners rather than professionals. It has been shipping since 2004 and is operated by Movavi Software Limited, registered in Limassol, Cyprus.
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Movavi is a software company, not a single app. It has been building desktop programs for working with video, audio and images since 2004, and the range now covers a video editor, a photo editor, a media converter, a screen recorder and a slideshow maker, sold individually, in bundles, or as one all-inclusive pack. The distinguishing choice is stated openly on its own About page: these products are designed for beginner content creators who want to make good-looking content but may lack experience. That is not a hedge — it explains nearly every design decision the company has made, and it is the single most useful thing to know before deciding whether this is the right tool for you.
The flagship is Movavi Video Suite, a three-in-one bundle pairing the video editor with the converter and the screen recorder. Around it sit the individual programs, each with its own price and its own store listing. Everything installs and runs locally on Windows or macOS; this is traditional desktop software with licence keys and version numbers, not a browser tab. That distinction matters more than it might sound, because it shapes the licensing rules, the upgrade economics and the failure modes described further down this page.
The corporate picture is worth stating plainly because it spans several entities. The privacy policy names the registered office as Movavi Software Limited, Office 201, 3 Krinou Street, Limassol, Cyprus, and states the policy is governed by the law of the Republic of Cyprus. Google Play lists the developer as Movavi Software Inc in Wildwood, Missouri; the Mac App Store lists the seller as Movavi Emea LLC; the company's Trustpilot profile gives a St. Louis, Missouri address and describes a business that grew from three founders in 2004 to over 100 employees selling in 150 countries. The lifecycle policy tidies this up by defining "Movavi" as Movavi Software Limited and its affiliates. None of this is unusual for a software vendor of this age, but it does mean the entity you contract with depends on where you buy.
Movavi publishes real prices, and unusually for this category they are readable directly from the store page. Individual annual subscriptions run from $19.95 for the Video Editor or Screen Recorder, $24.95 for Slideshow Maker, $29.95 for Photo Editor or Video Converter, $59.85 for the three-in-one Video Suite, up to $89.85 for the Movavi Effects library on its own. Bundles: Video Editor plus Photo Editor is $79.95 against a $145.95 list, Video Suite plus Photo Editor is $104.95 against $233.95, Video Editor plus Effects is $109.80, Slideshow Maker plus Effects is $114.80, Video Suite plus Effects is $149.70, and the all-inclusive Movavi Unlimited is $155.95 against an $849.15 list. All figures include VAT. Monthly options exist at higher effective rates. The size of those discounts, and the promotional banners the site runs continuously, mean list prices are best read as a ceiling rather than a going rate.
The part that deserves real attention is licence type, and the company documents it clearly enough that nobody needs to be surprised. A subscription gives you all updates and all new versions for as long as it is active; when it lapses, access to paid features ends at the end of the billing period and the program reverts to trial or limited mode. A lifetime licence gives permanent access to exactly one version — the one available when you bought it. Movavi's knowledge base states in plain terms that lifetime licences do not include updates and do not include upgrades to newer versions, and that a newer version must be purchased separately as an upgrade. The lifecycle policy goes further: major updates "are regarded as a separate product," and new versions "must be purchased by the user for an additional fee." Products then move through End of Sales into End of Life, after which support is normally no longer provided. So "lifetime" is accurate about duration and silent about scope — you own that version forever, not the software forever. Note also that the main store page currently lists only subscription options for the software itself; the sole item sold there as a lifetime licence is a $9.95 tutorial course.
Two further costs are easy to miss. Effects are licensed separately — the 6,000+ paid transitions, titles, stickers and overlays are not included in a Video Editor licence and need their own subscription, though free effects bundled with the program remain usable. And a licence covers one computer at a time; simultaneous use on several machines requires the Shared Access service or additional licences.
On refunds, the window is 14 calendar days, with money returned within 10 working days of approval — but eligibility is conditional, not automatic. The listed grounds are: a technical problem support could not resolve within 14 days; an accidental duplicate purchase within 14 days; an activation problem not answered within 24 hours; or an Effect Set that turns out to be incompatible with any Movavi program you own, provided you have not activated it. Since paid Effect Sets have no trial version, that last clause is worth reading twice before buying one.
As video editing software goes, the realistic framing is this: Movavi competes on approachability and on selling you exactly the piece you need, not on capability. If free-and-powerful appeals more than paid-and-simple, Resolve is right there.
No, but every program has a free trial with its own limitations, which the company frames as the way to evaluate before buying. The one thing you cannot try is a paid Effect Set — those offer only a demo video. Free effects bundled with the programs remain usable without an Effects subscription.
Annual subscriptions start at $19.95 for the Video Editor or Screen Recorder and run to $89.85 for the Effects library alone; Video Suite is $59.85 and the all-inclusive Unlimited pack is $155.95. Bundles fall in between: Video Editor plus Photo Editor at $79.95, Video Suite plus Photo Editor at $104.95, Video Suite plus Effects at $149.70. All prices include VAT and are heavily discounted from much higher list figures, so check the current offer rather than assuming these are permanent.
The access is permanent; the version is fixed. Movavi's knowledge base states that a lifetime licence provides permanent access to one specific version, includes no updates and no upgrades, and that newer versions must be purchased separately. The lifecycle policy adds that major updates count as a separate product requiring an additional fee. So you keep what you bought indefinitely, but staying current means buying again.
It depends on how you use software. A subscription includes every update and every new version while it is active, and reverts the program to trial or limited mode when it lapses. A lifetime licence never expires but freezes you on one version. If you would happily use the same version for years, lifetime wins; if you want each year's improvements, the subscription is the cheaper route to them.
No. Movavi Effects is licensed separately and is not part of the Video Editor licence by default. Paid transitions, titles, stickers and overlays require their own subscription, listed at $89.85 a year on its own or bundled with programs at reduced rates. Free effects shipped with the program stay available regardless.
Not simultaneously by default. A Movavi licence — subscription or lifetime — is intended for one computer at a time. You can reinstall on the same machine freely, moving to a different machine requires contacting support to transfer the licence, and using it on several computers at once requires the Shared Access service or additional licences.
There is a 14-calendar-day window, with money returned within 10 working days of approval, but eligibility is conditional rather than automatic. The qualifying grounds are a technical issue support could not fix within 14 days, an accidental duplicate purchase within 14 days, an activation problem unanswered within 24 hours, or an unactivated Effect Set incompatible with any Movavi program you own. This is why the trial matters — it is your real evaluation window.
It depends on the channel and the caveats matter. Trustpilot shows 3.5 from 22,077 reviews, with 78% five-star but a middling aggregate; the profile is claimed, the company pays for a Trustpilot subscription and actively invites reviews, so the sample tilts positive by construction. Google Play shows 4.4 from around 276,000 reviews for the mobile editor. The Mac App Store listings have no ratings at all. Positive themes centre on a simple, intuitive interface and responsive support; negative themes centre on billing, cancellation and activation rather than on editing quality.
Movavi Software Limited, registered at Office 201, 3 Krinou Street, Limassol, Cyprus, with its privacy policy governed by Cypriot law. Related entities appear elsewhere: Movavi Software Inc in Wildwood, Missouri on Google Play, and Movavi Emea LLC on the Mac App Store. The company's own account describes a business founded in 2004 by three people, now over 100 employees selling in 150 countries, with a US office in St. Louis.
Possibly, and the company essentially says so. Its About page states these products are designed for beginner content creators who may lack experience — an unusually candid positioning statement. For family videos, tutorials, social clips and slideshows it is well matched. For multi-cam projects, advanced colour work or professional delivery pipelines, you will hit its ceiling, and DaVinci Resolve is free.
