- What's the best video editing software on Mac right now?
And which video editor is the best for your budget
or for your level of experience?
Here's our roundup from the current landscape
and my recommendations on the best options for you.
(upbeat music)
Hey, it's Justin Brown here from Primal Video.
We release a ton of content to help you
get better results with your videos faster.
If you're new here, then make sure
you click that big subscribe button,
and all the links to everything we mention in this video,
you can find linked in the description box below.
Let's jump into it.
Now, choosing the right video editing software
can be incredibly confusing, no matter what level you're at.
The number of options only seem to be increasing,
which is good for competition, prices,
and driving new features, but not so great
if you're trying to widen your options
and figure out which one is the best one for you.
We do a video like this every six to twelve months
for both Mac and PC with an overview
of the current landscape, and our recommendations
for the best editing software across multiple budgets,
from free software to 200 dollar plus software.
As always, there have been some
big changes since our last video.
Some of my prior recommendations still make the cut,
where as others have fallen behind,
and some new options have stepped in to take their place.
Now just like last time, I'm gonna break this overview
down into multiple pricing categories,
so that you can see what's available at each level,
and hear our recommendations,
and if you're starting out
with one of the lower price brackets,
you can also see what you might be missing out on,
or something that you can upgrade to later on.
And while you're watching, make sure you let us know
what video editing software you're using right now,
and what your favorite feature is down in the comments.
It's always interesting to hear the experiences
that other people are having with their software,
and your suggestions may help others
make the call on to which software is right for them.
And once we wrap up looking at the editing software,
I'll also share my top three tips for editing faster,
no matter what software you're using.
So now, onto the software.
Now we've broken this down into three categories.
The first category is free software.
The second category is sub-$200, or everything under $200,
and the third category is $200+.
So, let's take a look.
Free software.
Now, the options here are really going ahead
in leaps and bounds,
and some of the free software available these days
really beats out a lot of the paid options
available not that long ago.
So in this category of free, you've got software like
iMovie, Shotcut, WeVideo (the free version),
Hitfilm Express, DaVinci Resolve, Lightworks,
and Avid Media Composer First.
Now, after testing all of these,
my top two picks, or my top two recommendations,
are iMovie and DaVinci Resolve.
Now, iMovie, these days, is actually
a really solid option for video editing.
Now with full 4K support,
it's got reasonable color correction and color control,
the ability to easily add and move around
all your elements in your timeline,
it is a seamless interface that's really easy to use
for anyone that's just starting out with video editing.
So anyone that's beginner right through to intermediate.
DaVinci Resolve is an amazing video editing application.
It's really crazy that they're giving this away for free.
This is full-on professional grade video editing software
with everything,
like the latest and greatest color correction controls,
the amount of control that you have over your video editing,
people use these tools to create
actual films and documentaries.
This isn't a toy video editing software,
this is real professional-grade software.
So what you're getting here for free is really unbelievable.
Now, if you're just starting out with video editing,
then this could be a little bit overwhelming for you,
the amount of tools and control and everything in there,
it could just be too much.
So that's where something like iMovie
could be a really solid option for you.
But if you're looking for something really professional
and something that you can use
across the whole range of video editing projects,
from something small right up to a documentary
or even a feature film,
then I would definitely consider looking at DaVinci Resolve.
So, narrowing these two down, if I had to pick a winner,
it's gonna be DaVinci Resolve.
I just can't believe the amount of control and power
that you have in this for nothing, for free.
So, it's definitely worth checking out.
Now, I need to mention here that,
with all of these video editing applications,
they are all just tools to get the job done.
So out of all the video editing applications
that we mention in this video,
what I would recommend is that you try as many as you can
to find the best one that works for you, for your work flow,
and for the types of videos that you're creating,
because they are just tools to get the job done.
So take that approach,
and try as many different ones as you can,
until you find one that works for you.
So my pick for best video editing software
for Mac in the free category is DaVinci Resolve.
So now let's take a look at the video editing software
in the sub-$200 category.
Now, the reason we picked $200 for this category
is because there is a heap of video editing applications
that are sort-of mid-range applications
at around the $150 to $200 price point.
The moment you go over the $200 price point,
there's a bit of a jump.
There's really nothing between $200 and $300,
and then it goes up from there, and that's where, typically,
you're introduced to the more professional applications.
So, in this category, sub-$200 category,
what you would normally expect over the free software
is complete end-to-end solution in most cases.
So this is where you would expect
that there's no features that are held back.
So, you're not having to pay extra for watermark removal,
you're not having to pay extra for things like 4K
or for a full range of export options.
These are normally complete solutions for editing software.
Now moving into this price bracket,
the free options still apply,
and one of them that stacks up is DaVinci Resolve.
It's super powerful, as we've just covered off
when we spoke about it in the free software,
for professional video editing
and for someone looking for the
most advanced piece of video editing software that is free.
But now I'll be looking at the other options here as well
that weren't available in the free space.
We've got pieces of software like
Filmora, WeVideo, Screenflow,
Adobe Premiere Elements, Camtasia and Lightworks Pro.
Now, once again, after testing all of these applications,
my top three recommendations would be
ScreenFlow, WeVideo, and Adobe Premiere Elements.
WeVideo is a fantastic video editing solution.
You actually run it through your web browser,
so there's no software to download and install,
which also means that you don't need to have a
decent computer or a really powerful computer
to be able to use this.
So it runs through the cloud, you upload all your footage,
which means that it makes it easy to work collaboratively
with anyone else anywhere around the world.
You can share projects, you can share files,
and it's all seamless
cause it's all done through the browser.
So, an amazing option for video editing.
Now there's currently two paid plans for WeVideo.
There is a $5 per month subscription,
which will give you access to 720p video.
If you want 1080p or 4K, there's other features as well
but these are the primary ones,
then you'll be looking at $8 per month.
So definitely not gonna break the bank with that one.
ScreenFlow is another really solid
video editing option on Mac.
It's recently at a price rise from $99 to $129,
but I really don't think that's a deal-breaker at all
because what they've released with the newest version
is much better hardware support and hardware integration.
Exporting now, what used to take 20 minutes,
I can now export in less than two minutes.
So, it's insane, the amount of power
and performance you have in ScreenFlow now.
But not only is it really good at video editing,
it's also a really powerful screen recording
or screen capturing program as well.
So, it'll allow you to do full screen recordings
while you're recording full screen webcam as well
on its own separate video track,
and multiple audio sources, so an external microphone
as well as audio from your built-in webcam,
and you can also do recording of things like
your iPhone screen as well, all at once.
So an amazing piece of software.
And Adobe Premiere Elements, which is the cut down version,
or the baby brother of Adobe Premiere Pro,
is, again, another really solid solution for video editing.
The interface is really intuitive.
If you're an absolute beginner and have never edited before,
you'll have no issues jumping in and starting to edit,
but what's really cool about this is it's got the
logical upgrade path to the big brother Adobe Premiere Pro.
So if you learn Adobe Premiere Elements,
it's really easy to step up to Premiere Pro if you need to,
or if you want the more advanced features
that are in the professional application.
But really, as an end-to-end solution,
Adobe Premiere Elements will still do
what most people will want
out of a video editing application.
So if I had to pick a winner in this category,
it's gonna be pretty difficult
because the three are actually totally separate
or totally different offerings.
So you've got WeVideo
which is cloud-based and awesome at that,
you've got SreenFlow which is more than just editing,
it's screen recording as well,
and you've got Adobe Premiere Elements
which is an amazing piece of software
with the logical progression up to Adobe Premiere Pro.
But my recommendation this year,
in this sub-$200 category for right now,
is gonna be to ScreenFlow.
That new update was an absolute game changer.
So at $129, it's definitely worth checking out
for a solid video editing application on Mac
in that price range.
The fact that it does screen recording really, really well,
as well as being a video editor, makes it my pick.
Now remember, if you can, get the trial versions
and try a couple of these different applications
to see which one is going to be the best for you
and the type of videos you're creating.
So now onto the final category, the $200+ category.
So this is where you'll typically see all your high-end
or professional video editing software,
whether they're subscription-based,
or whether they're an outright fee,
these will all cost you $200 or more for the year.
So in this pricing bracket we've got software like
Adobe Premiere Pro, HitFilm Pro, Final Cut Pro 10,
DaVinci Resolve Studio, and Avid Media Composer.
So really the biggest difference with the
video editing applications that you'll find
in this category versus the other two,
is that this is normally the professional grade software.
So, here you'll have the most advanced,
most detailed, in-depth controls and effects
and color correction tools across the board.
So these are the pieces of software
that are used in the film and television industry
for creating everything up to feature films,
so these are, these are the big players.
So, once again, after testing all of these,
narrowing this down to three,
my top three in this category would be
Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro,
and DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Now each one of these, as with almost every other piece of
video editing software that we've mentioned in this video,
definitely have some strengths and weaknesses.
Now, Final Cut Pro was one that, a few years back,
I totally dismissed and didn't want anything to do with.
I thought it was just a toy, bit of a gimmick.
I thought it was iMovie Pro.
But now it's something that I use all the time
and it is really, really powerful.
It's amazing how fast and seamless you can edit
high-res video footage, like 4K video files,
multiple 4K video files, 6K video files,
even on lower spec systems.
So, Final Cut is an amazing video editing application.
It's actually what we're currently using
to edit our YouTube videos.
Adobe Premiere Pro is another really solid option,
it's what we use for all our corporate work.
So, the built-in color grading is amazing,
the amount of tools you have,
the ability to easily share and work with a team remotely
is really the biggest feature, as far as I'm concerned.
But also the fact that it's got really good integration
with the rest of the Adobe Suite.
So things like Photoshop and After Effects
and Speed Grade and Audition.
If you're purchasing this as the complete set
and you're getting access to all of those tools,
then that's really where you'll get
the most out of Adobe Premiere Pro.
And DaVinci Resolve Studio,
as we said with Davinci Resolve, the free version,
is just an amazing piece of software.
I can't believe what they're giving away in the free version
but the pro version, or the paid version,
DaVinci Resolve Studio, you can pick up for $299.
So again, definitely not gonna break the bank,
and what you get there
is more advanced settings for color correction,
more advanced GPU rendering, so your GPU rendering
is going to increase the speed and performance
of editing and of exporting and of the effects.
So, you're gonna get more power and more performance,
there's a heap of other stuff in there as well,
but it's definitely worth considering if you're looking
at the pro end of the video editing software.
So, if I had to pick a winner,
or pick a recommendation out of those three,
right now my recommendation would be for Final Cut Pro 10.
Now, I think that may change in the next video
because DaVinci Resolve is doing some amazing stuff
and the power and performance in that
is really, really awesome,
but right now it's what we use, it's Final Cut Pro 10.
We're using it for all of our YouTube videos,
we are starting to use it
for some of the corporate projects as well,
but really the fact of how fast you can edit and
how seamless you can edit 4K video files and 6K video files,
even on lower spec computers,
the fact that it's a one-off $299 fee
and not an on-going subscription,
it just makes it the perfect solution right now.
Okay, so I know that that's a lot to take in
but before we wrap up
with my top three tips for editing faster,
let's do a really quick recap.
So for free video editing software on Mac,
I narrowed it down to two.
It was iMovie for an absolute beginner up to intermediate,
or DaVinci Resolve,
with my recommendation going to DaVinci Resolve.
For the sub-$200 video editing category,
I narrowed it down to three, and they were
WeVideo, ScreenFlow and Adobe Premiere Elements,
with my recommendation going to ScreenFlow.
It is a really powerful solution.
And the final category of $200 plus,
I narrowed it down to three.
DaVinci Resolve Studio, Adobe Premiere Pro,
and Final Cut Pro 10,
with my recommendation going to Final Cut Pro 10.
So now for my three tips
to help you edit your videos faster.
Tip number one is to remember that your video editing
actually starts while you're filming.
So, while you're filming, make sure that
you're not creating a heap of extra footage
that you know that you're not going to use.
The more footage you have,
the longer the editing process will be.
But also, if you're doing videos like this
where you're talking to a camera,
then ensuring that the last take that you do is the best one
will also help you speed up your video editing.
So whether it's your last stop point,
last sentence, last paragraph,
make sure that the last one is the best one,
and that way you don't have to go searching through
all the previous takes to find the best one.
Only move on when the last take is the best one.
And that leads us to tip number two.
So, if you've done what we just mentioned in tip number one,
and only moved on to the next section or the next paragraph
once you're happy with the last take,
so the last take is the best take,
then all you need to do when you're editing,
is to edit backwards.
And that way, you're gonna hit that best take first.
So instead of editing from left to right,
which is the standard way to do it,
edit from right to left,
then you'll always hit the best take,
the one that you know you want to use, first.
So it's gonna make it so much quicker
to cut down a huge amount of footage to just the bits,
just the best bits, really, really fast.
And tip number three is to focus on
cutting down all your video content first.
So, what a lot of people will do is
jump straight in and start applying color correction effects
or any sort of effects or transitions
to try and make their videos look good
before they actually start editing the content down.
So all this does, not only waste a heap of time
because you're probably gonna tweak and change those later,
but also slows down the rest of the process
because you're now putting your editing system under load.
Because everything you do is then gonna have to
process and render those effects or those transitions
for everything that you're doing.
So focus on cutting down the content first and then worry
about dressing it up and making it look good afterwards.
And these were just three tips from our full
video editing process guide, the Primal Video Method.
Check out the links on screen now
to the Primal Video Method video,
taking you through the entire process,
and check out the direct link
to download the guide as a PDF.
I'll see you soon.