FXhome Review (2023)

Who Should Use FXhome?

Anyone who needs an 8K video editor that performs well even on low-spec devices and/or an image editor that can do chroma-key and other basic and advanced edits will find use in FXhome. This includes amateurs, freelancers, students, and also more seasoned video editors who know their way around object tracking, 3D editing, and green screens.

However, FXhome probably isn’t the best option if you want a state-of-the-art editor like Adobe Premiere Pro and a built-in professional library, Adobe Stock.

What Is FXhome?

FXhome is an online toolkit that combines a video editor (HitFilm) and image editor (Imerge) into a powerful combination for visual creators. Since Artlist acquired it recently, the video editor now offers stock music, sound effects, and templates.

There’s also a thriving community of videographers and photographers like yourself with which you can connect on forums, YouTube, Discord, and Twitch, or you can learn more from their blog.

FXhome at a glance

• Video editor (HitFilm) and image editor (Imerge)
• $0.00–$9.99 per month
• Plugins that extend the functionality
• Artlist integrated into HitFilm
• Community of other creatives on various platforms

How Much Does FXhome Cost?

You can get FXhome in three different plans, or a custom plan if you’re an enterprise. The prices start at $0 per month for the free plan and go up to $9.99 per month for the Pro plan. Note that these are special introductory prices, so they’re 20% off what they’ll eventually be.

Free plan

The Free plan is ideal for testing FXhome, but it is too limited for serious work.

• Software: HitFilm Free, unlimited exports of up to HD videos.
• Assets: 10 songs, 25 sound effects, and 5 templates.
• Cost: $0.00 forever.

Creator plan

The Creator plan is a great option for amateurs and beginners who are just getting into video editing, but pros will find themselves needing more. With this plan, you get advanced image and video editing tools. The premium customer support you receive includes an expansive FAQ section as well as priority ticket handling when reaching out to the team.

• Software: HitFilm Creator, Imerge Creator, unlimited exports of up to 4K UHD videos.
• Assets: 100 songs, 100 sound effects, and 25 templates.
• Cost: $6.25/month (temporarily reduced from $7.50/month).

Pro plan

The Pro plan is ideal for advanced video editors because you get access to everything FXhome offers with no limits.

• Software: HitFilm Pro, Imerge Pro, Mocha HitFilm, BorisFX 3D Objects, Foundry 3D Camera Tracker, unlimited exports of up to 8K videos.
• Assets: 200 songs, 200 sound effects, and 50 templates.
• Cost: $9.99/month (temporarily reduced from $12.50/month).

Perpetual plans

In addition to monthly subscriptions, you can also get 12-month plans. However, these are now called “legacy” plans, so they might not be around for much longer. They are a good choice for those who need multiple licenses or already own the software and want to renew.

• HitFilm Pro ($349/ye): a 3-seat license for 12 months. You get HitFilm Pro, 950+ VFX & presets, advanced 3D camera tracking, and other tools.
• Imerge Pro ($199/ye): a 2-seat license for 12 months. You get Hollywood-level composites with flexible layers, 87 professional filters, and reversible changes.
• HitFilm Pro + Imerge Pro ($493.20/ye): a 3-seat license for 12 months. You get a combination of the HitFilm Pro and Imerge Pro plans described above but with a 10% discount.
• HitFilm Pro Renewal ($279.20/ye): This plan allows you to renew your HitFilm Pro license at a 20% lower price.
• Imerge Pro Renewal ($159.20/ye): This plan allows you to renew your Imerge Pro license at a 20% lower price.
• Hitfilm + Imerge Pro Renewal ($394.56/ye): This plan allows you to renew your HitFilm Pro + Imerge Pro license at a 20% lower price.

HitFilm Review

HitFilm is a VFX and video editing software that comes in three versions: Free, Creator, and Pro. The different versions unlock different features, with the Pro version giving you access to all of them. This video editor can export at 8K resolution, has 8-times faster playback speed, 2-times faster exporting speed, and supports 32-bit color depth.

This video editor comes with built-in presets for color grading, transitions, and text. You can also create your own custom presets. We found the transitions to be easy to use compared to other online video editors that have complicated controls or even require you to split videos in order to add transitions.

Like Adobe Premiere Pro, which has an integrated library of Adobe Stock assets, HitFilm gives you access to a library of stock music, sound effects, and templates available at Artlist.

We were very impressed by motion tracking, a must for a modern video editor. It works smoothly but sometimes has issues tracking objects that are not obvious. However, this is an issue we also see with most other video editors.

Other notable features we liked include keying, which can change the background and fix edges in green screen footage, and adding lighting and lens flares. Yet, you should use these sparingly. You can also easily add text (titles, subtitles) and sync audio with one button click.

We found that we could quickly get started with HitFilm, despite using it for the first time, thanks to dozens of short tutorial videos that explain how the editor works. The only downside to educational videos is that you cannot enlarge them, so they are restricted to a small portion of your screen. Thus, sometimes it isn’t easy to see what the tutor in the video is doing, especially if you have a small-res laptop.

Useful plugins

The Pro plan includes three plugins, a great addition for advanced video editors.

• Mocha HitFilm: enables rotoscoping, the technique of tracing a subject to create special visual effects (i.e., glowing lightsabers in Star Wars).
• Boris 3D objects: This text tool lets you animate, warp, and distort texts to create 3D effects. It also includes hundreds of presets and rendering options.
• 3D camera tracker: This plugin lets you track an object even when zooming and panning, where this object might partially get cut out of the screen.

Imerge Review

Imerge reminded us of Luminar Neo, which is like a simplified version of Photoshop powered by AI. It can do basic edits, such as fixing exposure and contrast, but it also has advanced tools such as masks, blurring, and flares.

It has a built-in chroma-key tool that lets you remove the green screen background and add a custom image behind your subject. It also matches the new color, so the results look more realistic.

At the same time, it works with 16-bit color depth and supports RAW files with 38 filters, including color correction, dehaze, and clarity. It is also a non-destructive image editor, so all changes you make are reversible.

Imerge Pro also supports GPU acceleration and multicore processing, which speeds up RAW file processing by up to 2x, so even high-resolution image files won’t slow you down. If you have to adjust a whole album of images, you can use the batch tool that applies the same edits to all of them.

Although it isn’t as powerful as Lightroom or Photoshop, it’s easier to learn and can be less specs-demanding. And at $9.99 per month, it’s equally priced.

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About your guide

Matic Broz is a multifaceted creative professional, with experience as a photographer, graphic designer, and business owner. He has a decade of experience in helping other creatives improve their craft and start their own businesses. His writing and research have been featured in notable publications such as The Guardian, PetaPixel, and USA Today. Additionally, his scientific research has been recognized with a cover feature in the prestigious MDPI-owned journal. In his leisure time, he enjoys photography, hiking, and spending time with dogs. Read more