[Editorial] The newest Windows 11 inbox app is a shameless cash grab

Earlier this month, Microsoft released a new Windows 11 preview build with bug fixes and a new tabbed interface for File Explorer (it is not available by default, but you can enable tabs in File Explorer using our guide). Microsoft also mentioned that Windows 11 now comes with a new stock video editor, Clipchamp. Although the idea of having a stock video editor is neat, the reality is beyond disappointing.

Microsoft acquired Clipchamp in late 2021. The app has more than 17 million registered users, plus many businesses and companies use Clipchamp for their video-editing needs. In a nutshell, Clipchamp is a progressive web app that can use hardware acceleration for processing and rendering video. It is also available as a standalone program on Windows, Chromebook, and iOS.

Simple, no-frills video editors are not a new concept for Windows users. Windows Movie Maker is one of the most legendary Windows apps Microsoft used to bundle with its operating systems. Unfortunately, in 2017, Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows Movie Maker in favor of the “modern” Microsoft Photos app. The company took a beloved tool and replaced it with crippled and lame software that offers little to no value compared to the good-old Movie Maker. Now it seems that Microsoft is back with offering Windows users a capable inbox video editor. This time, though, you need to pay for it. And pay a lot.

Although Clipchamp is a free app, you need to sign up for a monthly subscription to get all of its capabilities. One may rightfully argue that Microsoft could have made Clipchamp free for Windows 11 users after acquiring the company. A stock Windows 11 app that requires a separate subscription simply looks like a slap in the face.

Please make no mistake; I am not against premium software and subscriptions. After all, developers are also humans, and they have got families to feed. However, Windows 11 is not free. OEMs pay fees to Microsoft for selling Windows devices, and those fees directly increase the price you pay for a computer. Also, the OS is quite expensive to purchase separately for DIY systems. Finally, Microsoft uses many other ways to monetize Windows 11 users with various ads in the OS, Edge, and other software products.

Still, Microsoft is not your friend. This company is here to earn money, and there is a reason why it is one of the wealthiest businesses. The issue with Clipchamp is not the mere fact that Microsoft asks you to pay. The price is what triggers the most.

Clipchamp offers four “tiers” with different capabilities and prices.

The basic tier is available for free, and it generously offers 480p video export. In a world with 4K displays and 8K video recording in smartphones, Microsoft thinks limiting video to pathetic 480p is fine.

Pay Microsoft $9/mo or $72/year (yay, 30% discount) for the Creator plan, and you get 720p video export, unlimited access to cloud storage, and audio stock. Quite a questionable offer considering even YouTube no longer marks 720p as an HD format. True, many users still watch YouTube videos on their smartphones at 720p or even lower, but paying $9 per month for 720p at best is just offensive. And for reference, Microsoft 365, a suite full of professional tools for office work, costs just $7/mo. Does Clipchamp offer more to justify the price?

If you want to export video in FullHD, step up and pay $20/mo or $156/year for the Business plan. Finally, Business Platinum will get you the same 1080p export bundled with unlimited video/image stock and a brand kit. Amazing!

In a vacuum, those prices might have sense. Again, creating and maintaining video editing software is not a simple process. Besides, Clipchamp offers convenient options, such as editing videos in a browser without downloading the app. But the thing is that Clipchamp is not the only video editor you can use. Adobe, for example, offers professional video editing software, Premiere Pro, for $21/mo. Alternatively, you can use free options like DaVinci Resolve or iMovie on macOS or iOS.

Clipchamp may be a better option for an average user who does not want to learn how to use professional-grade software. A simple app with basic edits will be the preferred choice for many, which is the reason why people love Windows Movie Maker so much. But again, it should not be that expensive, especially considering Windows Movie Maker was 100% free, and Clipchamp does not offer that many advanced video editing tools (it is not the most stable piece of software either).

It seems that the best option for Microsoft is to include Clipchamp in the Microsoft 365 subscription. It will increase the value proposition for existing subscribers and draw more people to the service. Besides offering Office apps, Microsoft 365 provides other productivity tools, such as Teams, Microsoft Family, Microsoft Editor, OneDrive, ad-free Outlook, etc. Clipchamp can fit perfectly in there.

Unfortunately, for now, what Microsoft does with Clipchamp and other products (imposing Edge and showing ads in Windows) looks like a user-hostile cash grab. Seven years ago, Microsoft released a solid operating system that placed the foundation for Windows 11 and future releases. Now it seems that Microsoft wants to ruin everything by continuously trying to suck out every dollar from every user.

The newest Windows 11 inbox app is a shameless cash grab