Hance vs Alternatives
There are several tools for adding film looks to video. Here’s how hance stacks up.
Feature comparison
Section titled “Feature comparison”| Hance | Colourlab AI | Dehancer | FilmBox | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLI, scriptable & batchable | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Runs without an NLE | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Browser-based UI | ✓ | — | — | — |
| AI agent integration | ✓ | — | — | — |
| AI auto-grading / shot match | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Film stock emulation | 40+ looks | Neural Looks | 60+ stocks | 90+ stocks |
| Optical effects (halation, bloom, aberration, vignette) | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| Film grain | ✓ | ✓ (Pro) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Camera shake | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Split toning | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Pricing | Free / $49 Pro | $15/mo+ | $99–$399 | $89–$129 |
| NLE plugin (Premiere, Resolve, etc.) | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
When to use hance
Section titled “When to use hance”- You want to apply film looks without opening an NLE: process clips from the terminal and import them already graded.
- You need batch automation: script it, cron it, or plug it into a CI/ingest pipeline.
- Your editor doesn’t support plugins: CapCut, iMovie, ScreenFlow, and browser-based editors have no plugin system. Hance works upstream of any editor.
- You want a single tool that combines colour grading and film texture (halation, grain, bloom, aberration, shake) in one pass.
- You’re a developer building an app that needs film effects programmatically.
When to use alternatives
Section titled “When to use alternatives”- You need real-time preview inside your NLE: Colourlab AI, Dehancer, and FilmBox integrate directly into Premiere, Resolve, and Final Cut as plugins.
- You want AI auto-grading and shot matching: Colourlab AI balances and matches shots across a timeline for you.
- You want a larger library of film stocks: Dehancer and FilmBox offer more stock emulations.
- You need per-clip adjustments within a timeline: NLE plugins let you tweak each clip on the timeline without round-tripping.
What about AI color tools?
Section titled “What about AI color tools?”Hance can be AI-driven too. The /hance agent skill runs a render, read, adjust loop: it picks looks and tunes parameters by inspecting preview stills.
Other tools use AI for color in different shapes:
- Colourlab AI (in the table above) auto-balances and matches shots inside an NLE, locally.
- Imagen goes further into automation. It is a cloud auto-editor: you upload footage and a hosted model makes the grading and editing calls for you.
The real difference isn’t “AI or not.” It’s how you run it:
- Hance is a headless CLI and agent that runs upstream of any editor.
- It is scriptable and batchable, with no GUI or timeline required.
- It bundles a broader film-texture set (halation, bloom, aberration, shake) alongside grading and grain in one pass.
Reach for a GUI colorist app when you’re grading shot-by-shot inside an NLE. Reach for hance when you want grading and texture applied programmatically, in batch, or by an agent.