Exports to H.265 (HEVC)
Motion Tracking
Multicam Editing
Number of Video Tracks
100
Supports 360° VR Content
Supports 4K XAVC-S Format
Get It Now
Learn MoreCyberLink PowerDirector 365 Review
Best for Family Memory Makers
3.5 Good
Pros & Cons
- Interface resembles that of Premiere Pro
- Ample video effects and control
- Cross-platform support
- Good rendering speed
- Latest update removes many features
- Three-year limit on product license
- No multicam support
Why We Picked It
Premiere Elements lets hobbyists easily produce effects that would take significant time and effort in a <a s For
If you want to produce lovely, charming home movies with compelling effects, Premiere Elements is the way to go. A recent pricing change means a license lets you use the software for just three years (there was no limit in the past), but that’s still a better deal than for most competing products. If you need to render long, complex projects quickly, however, alternatives perform better.
Specs & Configurations
Keyword Tag Media
Motion Tracking
Number of Video Tracks
Unlimited
Supports 360° VR Content
Supports 4K XAVC-S Format
Get It Now
Learn MoreAdobe Premiere Elements Review
Best for Studio Work and Color Correction
DaVinci Resolve
4.0 Excellent
Pros & Cons
- Plenty of editing tools for precise control
- Clear, well-designed interface
- Includes motion graphics and audio editing
- Fast render performance
- Requires a lot of system resources
- Complex software takes time to learn
Why We Picked It
DaVinci Resolve is at the forefront of professional digital video post-production. It’s more of a suite, rather than a single application, as it combines video editing with motion graphics, color coding, and audio production. Spiffy AI tools have been appearing in the software recently. DaVinci Resolve has been used on many movies and TV shows, including Dune,Jurassic World Dominion, and Top Gun: Maverick. Clearly, any effect or edit that can be done in the medium, you can do with Resolve.
Who It’s For
DaVinci Resolve is a standard in professional video editing, but for the consumer audience, it offers technology that powers more advanced effects.
Specs & Configurations
Exports to H.265 (HEVC)
Keyword Tag Media
Motion Tracking
Multicam Editing
Number of Video Tracks
Unlimited
Supports 360° VR Content
Supports 4K XAVC-S Format
Learn MoreDaVinci Resolve Review
Credit: Apple
Best for Serious Amateurs and Professionals
Apple Final Cut Pro
4.0 Excellent
Pros & Cons
- Superb organization tools
- Fast performance
- Magnetic, trackless timeline
- Supports 360-degree footage and wide color spaces
- Excellent multicam editing
- Powerful masking and chroma keying
- Import and export experiences could be clearer
- Some techniques require extra software (Motion and Compressor)
- Runs only on Apple hardware
- Fewer collaboration and AI features than Premiere Pro
Why We Picked It
Final Cut Pro is one of the pioneering nonlinear video editing programs. Before a revamp several years ago, it was a daunting beast of a program, only suitable for dedicated professional editors. It has become far more intuitive since then, but it remains among the most powerful and feature-packed applications available. It leads in support for new standards like 8K RED RAW, ProRes 422, VR, and wide-gamut color spaces. It also offers slick tools for color grading, multicam editing, and intelligent motion tracking. Its unconventional but brilliant “trackless timeline” is unique, and workflow features for media management and collaboration are aces up its sleeve.
Who It’s For
Though it’s a thoroughly professional-level application, Final Cut is nevertheless also suitable for amateurs who want to perform impressive feats with their video projects. It’s also great if you shoot video with an iPhone or iPad since it supports multicam with those devices. In addition, Final Cut won’t break the bank and doesn’t require an ongoing subscription like Adobe Premiere Pro.
Specs & Configurations
Exports to H.265 (HEVC)
Keyword Tag Media
Motion Tracking
Multicam Editing
Number of Video Tracks
Unlimited
Supports 360° VR Content
Supports 4K XAVC-S Format
Get It Now
Learn MoreApple Final Cut Pro Review
Credit: Apple
Best for Entry-Level Users
Apple iMovie
4.0 Excellent
Pros & Cons
- Beautifully simple interface
- Great chroma-keying tool
- Unique support for iPhone video features
- Excellent movie templates
- Extremely easy to use
- Does not support media tagging
- Lacks multicam and motion tracking capabilities
- Limited to two video tracks
Why We Picked It
Apple iMovie comes free with every Mac and offers some nifty video editing capabilities in a clear, usable interface. Despite its simplicity (it shares Apple’s unique trackless timeline interface with Final Cut Pro), you still get advanced tools for chroma-keying, color-matching, and working with audio. The Storyboard and Trailers features are unmatched for giving amateurs guidance on how to create compelling productions.
Who It’s For
Apple iMovie is clearly not intended for professional video editors. Home users and hobbyists who want to make appealing mini-movies of their vacations are the perfect audience for this app. It’s also a great choice for iPhone users, since it ties in with the video capabilities of that device.
Specs & Configurations
Exports to H.265 (HEVC)
Keyword Tag Media
Number of Video Tracks
2
Supports 4K XAVC-S Format
Learn MoreApple iMovie Review
Buying Guide: The Best Video Editing Software for Macs in 2025
What Kind of Mac Is Best for Video Editing?
The best MacBooks for video editing range from the MacBook Air to the 16-inch MacBook Pro. These MacBooks have standout features, most notably terrific displays with accurate, wide-gamut colors. You can also use an iPad as a touch-screen peripheral
Some iMacs in recent years let you upgrade your RAM, but that’s no longer possible in light of Apple’s move to its silicon architecture. You’re stuck with the specs you chose at the time of purchase. Nor can you upgrade your SSD, though that’s been the case for MacBooks since 2016. As such, make sure you’re willing to pay extra for more memory and storage before you buy a Mac for video editing.
Your desktop choices range from the entry-level Mac mini for $599 to the Mac Pro video-editing powerhouse, which will set you back anywhere from $6,999 to over $12,000, depending on the configuration. A sweet spot in between is the Apple Mac Studio (2025, M4 Max). With any of these, you need to spring for a monitor designed for photo and video editing.
What Kind of Mac Video Editing Software Is Available?
There are roughly three tiers of video editing software for macOS: beginner, enthusiast, and professional. Here’s a quick rundown of each level.
Beginner
The best-known entry-levelvideo editing application for macOS is Apple’s iMovie. It comes with Macs and is impressively capable. iMovie ties in well with the iOS version of the app, letting you pick up on the Mac where you left off on the iPhone. Other entry-level options are
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Enthusiast
The old standby in this category is Adobe Premiere Elements, which offers a clear interface and great tutorials for special effects. Another choice in this space is our longtime Editors’ Choice-winning video editing application for Windows PCs, CyberLink PowerDirector. The program has great support for new formats and technology, and it was among the fastest at rendering our test project. The only caveat is that you get more of the new flashy AI features with the Windows version.
Professional
At the professional level, choices for video editing software on the Mac shine, particularly because it’s the only platform on which you can run Apple’s excellent Final Cut Pro. Adobe Premiere Pro has taken over much of Final Cut’s market share usage by professionals after Apple completely revamped the traditional Final Cut interface, however. The current version of Final Cut Pro is a boon to enthusiasts and those moving up from iMovie, however, because of its trackless timeline and simplified interface. Don’t think that means Final Cut Pro isn’t usable for pros, however. It can match and even sometimes beat Premiere Pro on deep editing tools, format support, and performance.
Other pro-level editing software available for macOS includes the far more expensive and complex
<p>If you want to go deeper into the intricacies of the craft, I recommend the free version of DaVinci Resolve, which encompasses the full range of professional video editing. A couple of other free options include the open-olve
(Credit: Black Magic Design/PCMag)
Don’t ignore the final stage of editing: output. Does the program make it easy to format your project for your target platform? For most hobbyist video editors these days, that means online social video—Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube—but you may also want to share an HD or 4K file privately or upload it to the pro-minded Vimeo. You may even want to embed it on your website, in a presentation, or in a Zoom session. Some programs let you create a DVD or USB key with your video to share as a physical gift or promotion.
The video editing software you choose must be able to output to your specifications, whether that’s a phone screen or a wall-sized 4K TV. Maybe you even want to output for VR headsets. Whatever the output, you don’t want to be waiting around for long periods while the program processes your project, and that’s what our next section discusses.
How Fast Is Video Software on macOS?
Rendering a project with all your media, edits, and effects is one of the more computationally intensive processes that today’s computers perform. If you want to create complex videos that are <a s on the low end of power for video editing, but it highlights performance differences more than a high-end Mac would.
Surprisingly, Apple’s software doesn’t take the lead in video rendering performance. The crown goes to CyberLink PowerDirector, with DaVinci Resolve close behind. Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro hold the middle of the pack. Although Adobe Premiere Elements is faster than ever on Windows PCs, its performance on macOS still isn’t competitive. Your mileage will vary, of course, depending on your hardware, the format of your
Can You Edit Video From Your iPhone?
Since many Mac users also have an iPhone, you should know that you have plenty of options for editing video on your phone. Some are mobile versions of desktop apps, though you can also find capable mobile-only apps like CapCut and InShot.
