Best video-editing software for Mac in 2024

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October 8, 2024

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Mac devices are well-known for enhancing creativity and making digital artistic projects accessible to everyone. Whether you write music or edit videos, there is a ton of programs available for all your needs. If you want to edit a video on Mac and are looking for the best Apple video-editing program, you may feel a little lost as there are so many options. Read this guide to learn more about the best video editors for Mac. Hopefully, it’ll make your choice easier!

Quick summary

Best for beginners: Movavi Video Editor
Got little to no experience in video editing? With this program, anyone can create clips that look professional. There’s a variety of samples, transitions, effects, and filters to spice up your videos. Experienced users will love Movavi Video Editor, too, for features like motion tracking, Chroma Key, and keyframe animation.
Download for Free
Download for Free
Best for professionals: Adobe^® Premiere^® Pro CC
Adobe^® Premiere^® Pro CC is a powerful video-editing software, widely used by professionals and enthusiasts alike. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools that enable high-quality video creations, from simple video clips to complex productions.
Best video-editing software on a budget: Hitfilm Express
Looking for a decent video editor on a budget? HitFilm Express is a free, feature-rich video editing software for both beginners and professionals. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for creating high-quality video content, from simple social media videos to complex movie scenes.

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When selecting products to include in our reviews, we research both demand and popularity.
All products mentioned in this article have been tested by Movavi Content Team.
When testing, we compare key parameters, including video and audio trimming, visual effects, stabilization, video quality adjustments, saving and sharing videos, and other significant features.
We study user reviews from popular review platforms and make use of this information when writing our product reviews.
We collect feedback from our users and analyze their opinions of Movavi software as well as products from other companies.

App

Features

Download

Best for beginners: Movavi Video Editor

Includes all popular features and effects

Trial version has limited functionality

Download for Free

Best for professionals: Adobe^® Premiere^® Pro CC

Advanced tools and settings for professional editing

Hard to learn

Best for Mac loyalists: Final Cut Pro X

Clean and powerful interface

Complex interface

Best for beginners: Apple iMovie

Free for all Apple users

Limited to two timeline tracks

Best for color correction and audio processing: DaVinci Resolve

Full free version

Unintuitive for beginners

Best enthusiast-level video editor: CyberLink PowerDirector

Stable performance

Overwhelming number of options in the interface

Best video-editing software on a budget: Hitfilm Express

Built-in library of effects and animations

High system requirements

Best basic video-editing software with motion tracking: Adobe^® Premiere^® Elements

Artificial intelligence features

High price

Mac's are built with the user in mind, which makes for a seamless video-editing experience. As a professional video editor, I have personally switched editing software's numerous times and found that core editing skills are transferrable from software to software, choose whichever software works for you from the list below!

Sam P Dunn

Best video-editing software for Mac

Movavi Video Editor

Download for Free

Features

Built-in filters, titles, and transitions
All popular video and audio formats available for export
Direct upload to YouTube, Google Drive, and Vimeo
Unlimited number of tracks on the timeline

Movavi Video Editor is fast and powerful video-editing software for Mac and Windows devices. The program is designed for creating engaging content with minimum effort. It offers basic video-editing features as well as advanced tools such as Chroma key, keyframe animation, and motion tracking. The clean interface with intuitive controls makes video editing on your MacBook, iMac, or iPad pure joy.

Movavi offers regular updates and releases of new content and features based on feedback from its users. This and all the above mentioned advantages make Movavi Video Editor one of the best movie editing apps for Mac.

PCMag review: 4 out of 5

Pros:

Free download
Simple interface
24/7 technical support
A lot of helpful tutorials

Cons:

Trial version has limited functionality

Adobe^® Premiere^®Pro CC

Features

Advanced tools and settings for professional editing
Automation functionality

Adobe^® Premiere^® is the program widely considered to be the industry standard. With a rich interface and a wide range of editing features, it is the go-to video-editing tool for many editors. Due to the program’s popularity, you can find a video tutorial to solve any problem you come across. While an overwhelming number of settings makes it quite intimidating for a beginner, it is definitely one of the best video-editing software for Mac and Windows.

PCMag review: 4.5 out of 5

Download Adobe^® Premiere^® Pro

Pros:

Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem
Hundreds of video tutorials available

Cons:

Hard to learn
Expensive monthly subscription

Final Cut Pro X

Features

8k resolution support
360-degree movie editing

Final Cut Pro X is Mac video-editing software available for free on iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and other Apple computers. It is a professional-level program with a clean, powerful interface and many built-in effects. Suitable for beginners and professionals alike, it offers everything you need to get started as well as the opportunity to grow. However, its price tag is rather high.

PCMag review: 4.5 out of 5

Download Final Cut Pro X

Pros:

Clean and powerful interface
Built-in library of professional effects

Cons:

Complex interface
Expensive

Adobe® Premiere® Pro CC

Editor’s rating

4.8/5

Bestseller

Movavi Video Editor

Editor’s rating

4.8/5

Download for Free

Hitfilm Express

Editor’s rating

4.3/5

Features

Basic video editing tools
High-fidelity filters
Built-in sound effects

iMovie is basic video-editing software for Mac available to all Apple users for free. With a simple interface and a good set of features, this app is among the best video editors for Mac for beginners. However, it lacks the more advanced features needed for professional work. So if you want to take your video editing to the next level, have a look at more advanced programs.

PCMag review: 4.5 out of 5

Download iMovie

Pros:

Preinstalled on OS X
Free for all Apple users
Simple interface

Cons:

Limited to two timeline tracks

DaVinci Resolve

Features

Detailed color correction
Audio post-production tools

Unlike other professional video-editing programs for Mac in this list, DaVinci Resolve offers a fully functional version for free. Its powerful color correction and audio processing tools make it possible to produce high-quality videos. This program is a good option for experienced users. Beginners, however, may find it hard to make sense of the complex interface.

PCMag review: 4 out of 5

Download DaVinci Resolve

Pros:

Full free version
Powerful features for professional editing

Cons:

Complex interface

CyberLink PowerDirector

Features

Masking and blending
Chroma key
Keyframing
Motion tracking

PowerDirector by Cyberlink is another video maker for Mac designed for creative editing. Its smart AI-powered tools such as masking and blending, keyframing, and motion tracking offer precise control over each frame and make it possible to create stunning cinematic effects.

PCMag review: 4.5 out of 5

Download CyberLink PowerDirector

Pros:

Free editing software for Mac
Stable performance

Cons:

Overwhelming number of options in the interface

Hitfilm Express

Features

Effects and animations
Free learning resourses
GPU acceleration

Hitfilm Express is video software for Mac with a focus on visual effects. It offers a free basic version as well as paid Pro options. However, the most attractive parts of the program – VFX content packs with pre-made animations and toolkits – are sold separately and for a relatively high price.

PCMag review: 4.5 out of 5

Download Hitfilm Express

Pros:

Free version available
Built-in library of effects and animations

Cons:

Complex interface
High system requirements

Adobe^® Premiere^® Elements

Features

Smart automation tools
A good selection of effects

Adobe^® Premiere^® Elements is a simplified version of Adobe^® Premiere^® Pro. This program is much easier to navigate and still offers many useful features. There are few tutorials available for it, but even beginners will find it easy to use. If you only need some basic editing tools, you might want to consider a cheaper alternative, however, this is still one of the best video editors for Mac.

PCMag review: 3.5 out of 5

Download Adobe^® Premiere^® Elements

Pros:

Artificial intelligence features
Helpful video-editing tutorials

Cons:

Limited functionality
High price

Best video-editing software FAQ

What do most YouTubers use to edit their videos?

Choosing a video editor for YouTube depends on your video-editing needs. Most YouTubers stick to the classic — Adobe Premiere Pro. Another popular choice is iMovie, which comes preinstalled on macOS and includes all basic editing tools, and has intuitive controls. While Adobe Premiere Pro is too complicated for beginners and iMovie lacks advanced features, Movavi Video Editor is a good middle-ground option. It provides tools and effects for creating high-quality content and its interface remains clean and easy to use, which makes it one of the best video editors for Mac.

Which video-editing software is best for beginners?

The best video-editing software for Mac for beginners is one with a simple interface and useful tutorials that will help you get the first result quickly and with little effort. Movavi Video Editor, iMovie, and Adobe Premiere Elements have all the qualities of the above. They are the easiest Mac video editors to master and have everything you need to make videos. If you are just getting started, give one of them a try!

Is iMovie good enough for YouTube?

The basic iMovie features are enough to make a good-quality video to post on your YouTube channel. However, if your goal is creative film editing with many effects and transitions, try a program with more precise control over the editing process, such as Movavi Video Editor.

Final thoughts

Now you’ve had a look at the best video-editing software for Mac. If you still find it difficult to choose the right program, here are a few more tips.

Most video-making software offers at least basic editing features. So, if you don’t plan on doing anything more complicated than cutting, cropping, or rotating, don’t overthink this. You might as well start from the top of the list.

Many of these programs are free to use or offer a free trial. So if you’re unsure, pick one of the free Mac video editors. Even if you are unhappy with your choice later, at least your money will remain safe.

Download Movavi Video Editor now and start making videos at once!

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*The free version of Movavi Video Editor may have the following restrictions depending on the build: watermark on exported clips, 60-second video or 1/2 audio length limit, and/or some advanced features unavailable when exporting videos. Learn more

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