by 
The answer for YouTube creators
The best effect search plugin for Premiere Pro 2021 is BetterFX. Press one shortcut, type a couple of letters and press Enter. The effect lands on your clip and you are still in the timeline.
BetterFX works in Premiere Pro 2021 (version 15) on Mac and Windows. It costs $29.99 one-time, with lifetime access, free updates and a commercial license.
If you publish on YouTube every week, you already know the routine. A talking head needs a grade, the B-roll needs a blur behind the title, a shot needs a quick reframe. Each one means another trip through Video Effects folders. BetterFX turns every trip into two keystrokes.
Watch the intro
Why it suits a YouTube workflow
The star of BetterFX is its search. You don't need to remember where an effect lives or even how it is spelled. Type the way you think and it finds the effect you mean.
- Intelligent search. Type a name, an abbreviation or a few remembered letters. gb finds Gaussian Blur, lmc finds Lumetri Color and wrp stb finds Warp Stabilizer.
- One shortcut. Press one key combination to open BetterFX, search and apply, without reaching for the mouse.
- Recent effects. Open BetterFX with an empty search and your last five effects are waiting, newest first.
- Unified search. Built-in effects, your custom presets and third-party effects from plugins like Sapphire and Boris FX share one search bar.
- Usage-based ranking. BetterFX learns what you reach for on every video and moves it to the top.
- Custom presets. Save your own presets, keyframes included, and apply your channel look as fast as any built-in effect.
Version 15 of Premiere Pro also brought the new Captions workflow, built right into editing. If you caption your uploads, our guide on how to make subtitles in Premiere Pro walks through it.
Step 1: Install BetterFX
Your download appears right after checkout and arrives by email too. Run the installer for your operating system. It sets up the BetterFX app and the Premiere Pro plugin for you, so there is nothing to copy by hand.
Then open Premiere Pro 2021 and your project, just as you normally would.
Step 2: Press Option + Space over your timeline
Select the clip you want to change. Press Option + Space on a Mac or Alt + Space on Windows.
The BetterFX search bar opens right over your edit. It is a focused overlay, so your timeline and Program Monitor stay exactly where they were.
Step 3: Type an abbreviation and press Enter
Say your talking head needs a grade. Type lmc, and Lumetri Color is the top result. Press Enter and it is applied, ready to adjust in Effect Controls.
Next, the B-roll behind your title: gb, Enter, and Gaussian Blur is on. A shaky handheld clip? wrp stb brings up Warp Stabilizer. You stay in the edit the whole time, which is what keeps a weekly upload schedule realistic.
When the video is cut, our guide on how to export video for YouTube in Premiere Pro takes it the rest of the way.
The more you upload, the faster it gets
YouTube channels have habits: the same grade, the same zoom, the same title blur. BetterFX notices which effects you use most and ranks them first, so after a few videos one or two letters are usually enough.
Want the full tour of every setting? Read the complete BetterFX guide. Editing long-form too? See the best effect search plugin for Premiere Pro 2022.
FAQ
Does BetterFX work with Premiere Pro 2021?
Yes. BetterFX works with Premiere Pro 2021 (version 15) on both Mac and Windows. It supports every Premiere Pro version from 2021 to 2026.
Is there a shortcut to search effects in Premiere Pro 2021?
With BetterFX, yes. Press Option + Space on a Mac or Alt + Space on Windows, type a few letters and press Enter to apply the effect to the selected clip.
Do I need to type the full effect name?
No. BetterFX understands abbreviations and skipped letters. gb finds Gaussian Blur and lmc finds Lumetri Color.
How much does BetterFX cost?
BetterFX is $29.99 as a one-time purchase. That includes lifetime access, every future update and a commercial license for your channel.
Spend upload day editing, not searching. Get BetterFX for Premiere Pro 2021.
