The Mac is hugely popular among creative professionals, so it’s no great surprise that there are lots of video editing tools available for it. Whether you just want to add titles, transitions and a soundtrack, or you want to add Hollywood-style effects and access to professional color correction there’s a Mac application that will do the job.
The really great news is that many of these programs are free. You might expect that free video editing software would have fewer features or produce less professional results than expensive software, but many of the free tools featured here are more than good enough to produce professional-looking movies. The only downside is that they tend to have a steep learning curve and they don’t walk you through the process of editing. However, there are plenty of video on YouTube to help you get started. Here are the best free and paid-for video editing applications for the Mac.
CyberLink PowerDirector is the best video editing software for Windows users, in that it offers a dazzling array of fun, advanced video editing features wrapped in a stunning, easy-to-use package.
The video editing process largely depends on the amount of RAM in your computer. The most time-consuming process is the export of the finished video. For comfortable video editing on a Mac, you need at least 8GB of RAM (16GB is required for 4K editing, 3D work, and 360 ° video editing). SSD Capacity. Apr 07, 2020 Though Mac users don't have the sheer number of software choices available for PCs, Apple fans interested in editing video are well served, by four products in particular.
Best free video editing software for Mac
1. iMovie
Apple’s consumer focused video editing tool used to only be free if you bought a new Mac. But now everyone can download it free from the Mac App Store. It’s a brilliantly easy to use application. One of its best features are the movie trailer themes that allow you to create amazing cinema-style trailers in a few minutes.
If you want to create your own movies, there are tons of effects, transitions, sound effects and title styles to help you. And it’s easy to import your own audio tracks and photos and add them to your production. If you’re looking for a free video editor for Mac, iMovie could be the only tool you’ll ever need.
2. DaVinci Resolve
If iMovie isn’t for you, give DaVinci Resolve a try. It’s the free version of DaVinci Resolve Studio, but being free doesn’t mean there aren’t many features. It’s loaded with professional tools like some of the best color correction and image stabilization there is. In the free version, you can work at frame rates up to 60fps and export your movie in SD, HD and Ultra HD.
It has a full digital audio workstation for sound editing, meaning you won’t have to leave the app to get the audio just the way you want it. It’s available on the Mac App Store, but if you want the full features of the free version, download it from the Blackmagic website.
3. Lightworks
While DaVinci Resolve gives away lots of its high end features in the free version, the same can’t be said of Lightworks. There’s still plenty here though, including: effects, multicam editing, titling, and a timeline with multiple layers.
There’s also access to royalty-free video and audio content for you to include in your projects. However, output in the free version is restricted to 1080p on Vimeo and 720p on YouTube. And there are no detailed export options for H.264 or MP4. Also, if you want to use the free version for more than seven days, you’ll have to register.
4. OpenShot
OpenShot is an open source video editor with a user interface that’s much simpler than most. That doesn’t mean it’s short of features, though. It has templates for creating titles, effects, the ability to remove the background from your video, and slow motion and time effects. You can also create 3D animated titles and effects, there’s support for unlimited tracks, and for more than 70 languages. The interface isn’t the slickest you’ll ever use, and there have been question marks over its reliability in the past, but it’s definitely worth trying if you want a free video editor for the Mac.
5. Video Editor MovieMator
Video Editor MovieMator allows you to trim, split, move, and merge clips from a variety of different sources. It handles every consumer file format you’re likely to need and can import directly from your iPhone or GoPro. There are lots of built-in effects and transitions, and, of course, you can add titles too.
The interface is simple enough for most people to get to grips with quickly and the real-time preview makes it easy to see exactly how your video is coming along. There is a significant limitation on the free version of the app — exports are listed to videos that are up to five minutes long. Ccleaner download for mac free. Also, there is only one transition and a handful of effects in the free version.
Best paid-for video editors for Mac
1. Final Cut Pro X
Final Cut Pro has come a long way since it was overhauled a few years ago and lost several features that caused lots of criticism to be directed at Apple. The fact that it’s designed by Apple means that it takes full advantage of hardware on the Mac, particularly the Mac Pro and iMac Pro. It pushes their multi-core CPU and GPUs to the maximum.
Features like the Magnetic Timeline 2 and Enhanced Timeline Index may be beyond the needs of most of us, but if you edit videos for a living, you’ll appreciate them. Support for up to 64 camera angles with automatic audio syncing is another feature that makes video professionals lives much easier. And of course, it supports the formats you would expect of a serious video editor including ProRes, RED, and XAVC, as well as H.264 from digital SLR cameras. When it comes to Mac video editing, Final Cut Pro X has all the bases covered.
2. Adobe Premiere Pro CC
Like all of Adobe’s professional products, Premiere Pro is only available as a subscription package and subscribing for a year will cost you almost as much as buying Final Cut Pro X outright. However, if you prefer your video organisation tools and especially the timeline to look and work like a traditional non-linear video editor, you may prefer Premiere Pro over Final Cut’s Magnetic Timeline.
In other respects, Premiere Pro is very similar to its Apple rival, offering a full range of audio editing and color correction tools, as well as effects, support for multiple formats (including Apple’s ProRes) and all the output options you’re likely to need.
One area where Mac users will notice a difference is in rendering performance, particularly on a high-end Mac like a Mac Pro or iMac Pro. Adobe’s application is designed for Mac and PC and so optimized or for the Mac’s multi-core CPU and GPU the way that Final Cut Pro is.
3. Adobe Premiere Elements 2018
The simplest way to describe Premiere Elements is that it is to Premiere Pro what iMovie is to Final Cut Pro. But Elements and iMovie are two very different apps. For a start, while iMovie is free, Elements costs $100. The other main difference is that Elements is set up to automate much of the process of creating your movie masterpieces. So, for example, Quick mode takes the clips and other media you’ve imported and throws them together on the timeline, you can then re-order them, trim them and add transitions and other effects. Even here, however, the emphasis is on letting Elements do the hard work for you. So, press the Fix button and it will apply image stabilization and other ‘fixes.’ If you want to be more involved, a guided mode prompts you with onscreen tips. Of course, if you’d rather work completely manually, you can. Elements doesn’t make it as easy to import media as iMovie does, and you’ll have to download much of its additional content, like music scores, individually.
4. Filmora
FIlmora allows you to import clips from your Mac’s hard drive, a camera, and even from social media accounts. It has a somewhat quirky interface, that may take some getting used to if you’ve used other video editors. But it has plenty to commend it including lots of effects, titling options, and audio controls. It’s neatest feature could be the lighting preset options that allows you to emulate the look of Game of Thrones, Star Wars, or House of Cards at the click of a button.
How to make space for video on your Mac
Working with video editing software means you need lots of free space on your Mac’s main drive — video clips use several gigabytes of space for every hour of content, and that’s before you export the final version. You should also make sure your Mac is running at its optimal speed, you’ll need every ounce of power to render video.
One quick and easy way to both improve your Mac’s performance and clear space on its hard drive is to use CleanMyMac X. CleanMyMac identifies “junk” files that sit on your Mac’s drive, taking up space and slowing it down. It makes removing the files very easy and could claw back tens of gigabytes of space. You can download it free here.
The best video editing software for Mac is, ultimately, the one that does what you need to do in a way that you enjoy working. There’s lots of Mac video editing software, and much of it is free. Take time, try out as many applications as you can and choose the best one for you.
These might also interest you:
Summary
When we say basic video editors, we simply refer to easy video editors for beginners. These easy video editors provide basic video editing functions like cut, trim, merge, crop, etc. People often choose these programs only for simple video editing and prefer their small sizes for installation and use quickly.
Anyone can use the easy-to-use video editing software because their learning curve is pretty short. So, learning those functions won't take more than few minutes.
But the biggest problems with some free video editing software are that they aren't capable of processing large videos, they seriously lack performance, they don't have many advanced video editing tools except one or two, and they don't support in-demand video formats. So, if you are anything serious, you should look for an advanced video editing software. But if your video editing demand and environment are basic in nature, you can rely on these software and can save a fortune.
Below you can find a well maintained list of 10 best basic video editors in 2020 with their pros and cons. Majority of these software applications are available to download for both Mac and Windows 10. Let's get started.
1. OpenShot
Openshot is an open source and free video editor which packs several basic and advanced video editing features. It pretty looks like iMovie but is more versatile than it. You can use OpenShot to resize, crop, cut, trim, scale your videos. It also supports 3D animated subtitles and watermarks.
Pros
- It is open source so it has a good scope of further developments in future.
- Packs good video editing tools.
Cons
- Beginners need to take a while for getting used to it.
- Not much tutorials are there for learning.
2. VideoPad
VideoPad is a nice and free video editor for those people who look for visual and transition effect along with footages editing toolkits. It also featured with a sound effects library which you can utilize to apply professional sound effects to your recordings. VideoPad also supports 3D video editing.
Pros
- Easy to use UI and beginner friendly.
- Lets you export videos directly to social platforms.
- Built-in transitions and sound effects library.
Cons
- Advanced features are missing.
3. VideoProc
VideoProc is an all-in-one powerful video editing software from Digiarty. The most astonishing feature of this software is the killer level-3 GPU acceleration which processes 4K/HD videos at fast rates. You can access all kinds of basic video editing tools in VideoProc including the most advanced tools like multi trim, multi split, advanced crop, merge, rotate etc. VideoProc has several advanced tools like MKV maker, GIF maker etc. which can't be found in most free video editors. You can download VideoProc to Mac and Windows from the links given below.
Pros
- Nice UI with powerful video editing tools.
- The advantage of dealing with 4K and HEVC videos, big size videos, high frame rate videos.
- Integrated with video audio DVD conversion, video resizing downloading, recording, etc.
- Powerful performance and GPU acceleration powered by Intel, AMD , and Nvidia.
- Short learning curve.
- Highly reliable.
Cons
- Linear video editing software.
- Cannot add music to footages.
4. FreeMake
FreeMake is a professional video converter, but before the conversion, it allows video joining, cutting, and rotating. But it is also one of the most basic video editor for beginners. It comes with a straightforward UI which allows you to find most of the options in a single window. Freemake can be used by beginners for essential video editing projects like adding watermarks, adding subtitles, merging, and clipping footages.
Pros
- Easy to use UI and doesn't have confusing options.
- Powerful to convert and resize 4K videos.
Cons
- Purchase required for several video editing features.
5. VSDC
VSDC is only available for Windows 10 users. With VSDC you can learn several cool video editing features like editing the audio, adding shapes, animations, images etc. It can export the edited video to your desired video format.
Pros
- Provides option to download screen recorder.
- Built-in wizard which helps in video editing.
Cons
- Not so user friendly.
- Advanced features are paid.
6. Windows Movie Maker
This was used to be the all time and the default video editor for Microsoft Windows users. Windows movie maker was the best free video editor for Windows until Microsoft pulled it off. You can use it for all types of basic video editing, apply watermarks, create intros and outros for your videos. It was very good for vlogger and tutorial makers. There is no official way left to download the Windows Movie Maker. But some trusted and reliable sources can provide you the installation files. But make sure not to download any kind of malicious software which may pretend to be Windows Movie Maker.
Pros
- Best free video editor on windows for beginners.
- Easy to use and learn.
- Good options to add voice-over, external audios.
Cons
- May be risky to download from unofficial source as the file may contain malicious codes.
7. GoPro Quik
You might know that GoPro has developed a series of video editing app for mobiles, but do you notice they also stretch it to desktops? GoPro Quik has a desktop version for users who need to edit videos with templates, transitions and filters. You can also import photos and music to your video. For basic video editing, it is quite well-designed.
Pros
- It is quite easy to learn.
- Mobile and desktop versions satisfy all your basic editing needs.
- It is free.
Cons
- Users report that it quits randomly when you’re editing large files.
8. Shotcut
Shotcut is another open source basic video editing software for Mac, Windows, and Linux. It is quite a good option for the beginners. Shotcut supports a lot of output video formats, lots of filtre effects and chroma keys. The interface is also very good and not a confusing one. You can use Shotcut if you don't want to spend a single penny on paid video editors. Tutorial - how to use Shotcut
Pros
- Multiple video format support.
- Video filter effects.
- Supports 3D titles and texts.
Cons
- Less intuitive as compared to paid video editors.
- No 3D video support.
- Transition effects are only a few.
9. Avidemux
Another free and open source basic video editing software for beginners is Avidemux. It is also available for multiple platforms. Avidemux doesn't have any difficulty to work with popular video formats like AVI, MP4, MPEG etc. It fully support non-linear video editing, and multiple visual effects. Can be used to resize, deinterlace a video along with chroma shifts and addition of black borders.
Pros
- Has many video editing features.
- Automatically estimates the output file size.
- Clean user interface.
- Most trusted free video editor.
Cons
- Unprofessional user interface.
- Extra codecs required for non-common video formats.
10. iMovie
iMovie is only available for Mac users. Good thing about iMovie is that it can process 4K videos with ease. Apart from editing videos you can edit audio too with iMovie. iMovie is pretty porttable as you can start editing a video on your iDevice and can choose to finish on your Mac computer.
Pros
Cheap Video Editing Software For Mac Computer
- Easy to use interface.
- Has a nice set of audio and video editing tools.
Cons
- Not available for Windows users.
- Lacks performance and advanced features and tools.
Free Editing Software For Mac
Tips for Choosing the Right Basic Video Editor
Want to know how we wrap up such a list for top basic video editing software? And desire to pick out a video editor that suits You most? Now, at the end of this article, we decide to release the hints of how to choose the right video editor for your basic video editing needs.
1. Choose the one that is lightweight and safe.
Searching on the Internet, you'll get millions of results for basic video editors. But among these results, some are not safe to download, and some are downloaded with virus plug-ins. So be cautious when downloading software. And basic video editors come without too many functions, so it is not worth too much computer space.
2. It should be easy to learn.
Basic video editor users tend to simply organize videos by trimming and cutting and then add some filters and texts. If a video editor makes these operations too complicated, why not turn to an advanced editing software in which you can get more features after a long term learning. So choose the basic video editor with an intuitive interface and easy learning curve.
3. Don't invest too much money in a basic video editor.
Obviously, basic video editors are not as robust as professional video editing software like Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas, or DaVinci Resolve. They are created for quick editing and instant SNS sharing, so packed with fewer features. It is not a wise move to spend much money buying a basic video editor. There are many cheap or even totally free open-source video editors responding to your calls.
4. Take into account your extra editing needs.
Besides basic video editing, like cutting, merging, and rotating, different users have different extra needs. For example, most vloggers prefer video editors with numerous templates and themes so that they can arrange their daily video materials accordingly. For traveling video creators, they want UHD 4K videos to present stunning scenery to their audiences. Now they need a basic video editor that is capable of 4K video processing, like say VideoProc. A special video editing feature is also a crucial standard for basic video editor picking. Free video editing software mac color adjustment.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has saved your time which you might have invested in doing further reasearch about basic video editing software. But now you have got a compiled list of 10 such software therefore you should not need to continue your research further. Out of these 10 free video editing software tools for beginners, you can choose the one which best suits your needs. We recommend you VideoProc which is an all-in-one video editor with many other features like video conversion and downloading. However, as per your requirements you can also make a choice between shotcut, iMovie, and the other video editors listed above.