Top Video Editing Software: A Head-to-Head Comparison
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Final Cut Pro
- Avid Media Composer
- Adobe After Effects
- DaVinci Resolve
- Lightworks
- Filmora
- Pinnacle Studio
- Sony Vegas Pro
- Blender
1. Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is a video editing software application used by professionals to edit and manipulate video files. It is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of tools and is widely used by filmmakers, television broadcasters, and online content creators. Premiere Pro features tools for editing and trimming video, adjusting audio, adding titles and graphics, and more. It also has a range of advanced features for color grading, motion graphics, and collaborative workflows.
| Name | Adobe Premiere Pro |
| Official Website | https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html |
| License | Trial & Premium |
| Premium Price | $20/Month |
| Operating System | Windows 10 with 64-bit version 1803 (April 2018 Update) or later macOS X 10.13 (High Sierra) or later |
| Hardware Requirements | Windows: 8 GB of RAM, 2 GB of GPU VRAM (4 GB recommended), 8th generation Intel Core i3, or AMD equivalent. Mac: 8 GB of RAM, Metal-capable graphics card, 8th generation Intel Core i5, or equivalent. |
2. Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is a professional video editing software application developed by Apple Inc. It is used to edit, process, and manipulate video files, and is widely used in the film and television industry. Final Cut Pro features a range of powerful tools for editing and trimming video, adding effects and graphics, and color grading. It also has a range of advanced features for audio editing, motion graphics, and collaboration. Final Cut Pro is available exclusively for macOS.
| Name | Final Cut Pro |
| Official Website | https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/ |
| License | Trial & Premium |
| Premium Price | $299.99/Lifetime |
| Operating System | Mac computers with the Apple M1 chip or an Intel processor macOS 10.15.7 or later |
| Hardware Requirements | At least 4GB of RAM (8GB recommended for 4K editing, 3D titles, and 360° video editing) Metal-capable graphics card 1GB of VRAM recommended for 4K editing, 3D titles, and 360° video editing 3.5GB of free disk space. |
3. Avid Media Composer
Avid Media Composer is a professional video editing software application developed by Avid Technology. It is used to edit, process, and manipulate video files, and is widely used in the film and television industry. Media Composer features a range of powerful tools for editing and trimming video, adding effects and graphics, and color grading. It also has a range of advanced features for audio editing, motion graphics, and collaboration. Media Composer is available for both Windows and macOS operating systems.
| Name | Avid Media Composer |
| Official Website | https://www.avid.com/media-composer |
| License | Trial & Premium |
| Premium Price | $239.00/Year |
| Operating System | Windows 10 (64-bit) or macOS 10.14 or later |
| Hardware Requirements | Intel iX-6 processor or later, or equivalent 8 GB RAM minimum (16 GB or more recommended) NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel GPU with at least 1 GB VRAM (2 GB or more recommended) Display with at least 1280×768 resolution Hard disk with at least 1 GB free space for installation A qualified NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel GPU with at least 1 GB VRAM is recommended for hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC encoding and decoding. A USB key or Internet connection for software activation. |
4. Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing software application used in the post-production process of film and television production, as well as in the creation of motion graphics and visual effects for the web. After Effects can be used to create animation, compositing, and visual effects for film, television, video, and the web. It features a range of tools for compositing, keying, rotoscoping, animating, and adding special effects, as well as tools for audio editing and integration with other Adobe software. After Effects is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of tools.
| Name | Adobe After Effects |
| Official Website | https://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects.html |
| License | Trial & Premium |
| Premium Price | $20/Month |
| Opearting System | Windows 10 (64-bit) version 21H1 or later macOS 10.14 or later |
| Hardware Requirements | Intel Core i7 or equivalent with at least 8 GB of RAM (16 GB or more recommended) GPU with at least 4 GB VRAM: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 or equivalent Apple M1 or Intel processor with at least 8 GB of RAM (16 GB or more recommended) GPU with at least 4 GB VRAM: Pro Vega 48 or later, or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 or later 6 GB of available hard-disk space for installation |
5. DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is a color grading and editing software application developed by Blackmagic Design. It is used in the post-production process of film and television production, as well as in the creation of music videos, commercials, and corporate videos. DaVinci Resolve features a range of tools for color grading, editing, and audio post-production, as well as tools for visual effects and motion graphics. It is widely used by professional colorists, editors, and post-production professionals. DaVinci Resolve is available for both Windows and macOS operating systems.
| Name | DaVinci Resolve |
| Official Website | https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve |
| License | Trial & Premium |
| Premium Price | $295.00 |
| Operating System | macOS 11 Big Sur or later Windows 10 or later CentOS 7.3 |
| Hardware Requirements | 16 GB of system memory (32 GB for intense graphics work) intel core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 CPU Integrated or discrete GPU with at least 2GB of VRAM and supports OpenCL 1.2 or CUDA 11 and the Latest driver Blackmagic Design Desktop Video 10.4.1 or later A fast Solid State Hard Drive (SSD) |
6. Lightworks
Lightworks is a professional video editing software application developed by EditShare. It is used to edit and manipulate video files, and is widely used in the film and television industry. Lightworks features a range of powerful tools for editing and trimming video, adding effects and graphics, and color grading. It also has a range of advanced features for audio editing, motion graphics, and collaboration. Lightworks is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems.
| Name | Lightworks |
| Official Website | https://lwks.com/ |
| License | Free & Trial |
| Premium Price | $99.99/Year |
| Operating System | Windows 10. macOS 10.15 and later |
| Hardware Requirements | CPU. 2GHz (multicore / multiprocessor recommended) RAM. 4GB required (8GB recommended) GPU. NVidia or AMD with OpenGL 2.1. 902Mhz base clock (1506Mhz recommended) 1GB VRAM required (4GB VRAM recommended) |
7. Filmora
Filmora is a video editing software application developed by Wondershare. It is designed for consumers and amateur video editors, and offers a range of tools for editing and manipulating video files. Filmora features a user-friendly interface and a range of tools for trimming and splicing video, adding effects and graphics, and color grading. It also has a range of pre-designed templates and effects for creating professional-looking videos. Filmora is available for Windows and macOS operating systems.
| Name | Filmora |
| Official Website | https://filmora.wondershare.com/ |
| License | Trial & Premium |
| Premium Price | $79.99/Lifetime or $59.99/Year |
| Operating System | Windows & macOS |
| Hardware Requirements | Processor : Intel i5 or better multicore processor, 2GHz or above (Intel 6th Gen or newer CPU recommended for HD and 4K Videos). Memory : 8 GB RAM (16GB required for HD and 4K videos). later; AMD Radeon R5 or later. 2 GB vRAM (4GB required for HD and 4K videos). |
8. Pinnacle Studio
Pinnacle Studio is a video editing software application developed by Corel. It is designed for consumers and amateur video editors, and offers a range of tools for editing and manipulating video files. Pinnacle Studio features a user-friendly interface and a range of tools for trimming and splicing video, adding effects and graphics, and color grading. It also has a range of pre-designed templates and effects for creating professional-looking videos. Pinnacle Studio is available for Windows operating systems.
| Name | Pinnacle Studio |
| Official Website | https://www.pinnaclesys.com/ |
| License | Trial & Premium |
| Premium Price | $59.95 or $129.99 |
| Operating System | Windows 11, Windows 10, 64 bit only |
| Hardware Requirements | Processor*: Intel Core i3 or AMD A4 3.0 GHz or higher. … RAM: 4 GB or higher, 8+GB highly recommended for Multi-camera. Graphics card: Minimum resolution: 1024 x 768, minimum 256MB VGA VRAM, 512MB or higher recommended for hardware decoding acceleration. |
9. Sony Vegas Pro
Sony Vegas Pro is a video editing software application developed by Magix. It is used by professionals to edit and manipulate video files, and is widely used in the film and television industry. Vegas Pro features a range of powerful tools for editing and trimming video, adding effects and graphics, and color grading. It also has a range of advanced features for audio editing, motion graphics, and collaboration. Vegas Pro is available for Windows operating systems.
| Name | Sony Vegas Pro |
| Official Website | https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/ca/vegas-pro/ |
| License | Trial & Premium |
| Premium Price | $16.67/month for 12 month |
| Operating System | Microsoft® Windows 10 | 11 |
| Hardware Requirements | CPU. 6th Generation Intel Core i5 (or AMD equivalent) or better with 2.5 Ghz and 4 Cores. GPU. NVIDIA® GeForce RTX or GTX 9XX series or higher with 4GB. … RAM. 16GB. Hard drive. 1.5GB hard-disk space for program installation. |
10. Blender
Blender is a 3D computer graphics software application used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, motion graphics, interactive 3D applications, and computer games. Blender features a range of tools for modeling, texturing, lighting, and animating 3D graphics, as well as tools for compositing, video editing, and game creation. It is widely used by professionals in the film and television industry, as well as by hobbyists and students. Blender is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems.
| Name | Blender |
| Official Website | https://www.blender.org/ |
| License | Free |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1, 10, and 11 macOS 10.13 Intel · 11.0 Apple Silicon Linux |
| Hardware Requirements | 64-bit quad core CPU with SSE2 support. 8 GB RAM. Full HD display. Mouse, trackpad or pen+tablet. Graphics card with 2 GB RAM, OpenGL 4.3. |