Free vs Pro

Hance works out of the box on the free tier. Pro unlocks additional codecs, batch processing, and premium looks.

Note

Pro is coming soon. The features below outline what a pro license will include. It’s not yet available for purchase.

Feature comparison

Feature	Free	Pro
All effects (color, halation, bloom, grain, etc.)	✓	✓
40+ built-in film stock looks	✓	✓
Custom .hlook files	✓	✓
Browser UI (hance ui)	✓	✓
Config file (.hancerc.json)	✓	✓
H.264 codec	✓	✓
H.265 codec	✓	✓
ProRes codec	—	✓
Batch processing (multiple inputs)	—	✓
Premium looks	—	✓
AI depth of field (coming soon)	—	✓
DaVinci Resolve plugin (coming soon)	—	✓
Mac app (coming soon)	—	✓

Pro codecs

The free tier supports H.264 and H.265 output. Pro unlocks:

• ProRes: near-lossless 4:2:2 10-bit output for professional editing workflows

Using a pro codec on the free tier will show an error:

Codec "prores" requires a pro license — upgrade at hance.video/pro

Export presets and codecs

Some export presets select pro codecs automatically:

Export preset	Codec	Tier required
low	H.264	Free
medium	H.264	Free
high	H.265	Free
max	ProRes	Pro

You can override the codec on any export preset with --codec h264 to stay on the free tier:

hance video.mp4 --export high --codec h264

Batch processing

Processing multiple files in one command requires a pro license:

# Pro only
hance clip1.mp4 clip2.mp4 clip3.mp4 -o graded/

# Or use a glob pattern
hance clip*.mp4 -o graded/

On the free tier, process one file at a time.

Premium looks

Some looks in the presets/premium/ directory require a pro license. These are marked with "premium": true in the .hlook file.

AI depth of field

Pull focus after the shot. AI estimates scene depth from a flat clip so you can deepen or soften the background. Coming soon as part of Pro.

DaVinci Resolve plugin

The hance look engine inside Resolve as an OFX plugin, so there’s no round-trip through the CLI. Coming soon as part of Pro.