Apple’s emphasis on design and style makes its devices and software appealing to creative types, including video editors. The company has long been at the forefront of the category with Final Cut Pro for professionals and iMovie for amateurs, but plenty of capable third-party Mac video editors stand ready to serve you, too. We’ve been testing and reviewing video editing software for nearly 20 years. To determine which apps are best on macOS, we consider their standard and advanced video editing tools, breadth of effects, interface, output options, and speed. Our Editors’ Choice winners are Adobe Premiere Pro for professionals, CyberLink PowerDirector for enthusiasts, and iMovie for beginners. Check our other top picks below to find which works best for you. We also explain what you need to consider before committing to a program for your Mac video editing needs.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
December 26, 2025: With this update, our lineup of recommended video editing software for Macs remains unchanged. We have vetted the existing picks for currency and availability.
- Clear, flexible interface
- Responsive performance and fast rendering
- Auto-transcribing and text-based editing
- Excellent stabilization tool
- Unlimited multicam angles
- Many organization and collaboration tools
- Some techniques require external applications
Premiere Pro is a powerhouse among professional video editing applications, and Adobe continues to add more pro-level features, including generative AI tools that enhance your clips. You get top-notch color grading, effects, motion graphic templates, multicam, speech-to-text, and VR editing capabilities. Another significant reason to choose Premiere Pro is its tight integration with other Adobe products, such as After Effects. If that’s not enough, it supports a wide range of third-party plug-ins. Finally, thanks to Adobe’s acquisition of frame.io, Premiere Pro also offers unmatched collaboration features.
Enthusiastic amateurs and YouTubers with a big budget: Adobe continues to make Premiere Pro more accessible to nonprofessionals. But its recurring subscription price means it’s not a good choice for amateurs on a tight budget.
Professional video editors: Premiere Pro has all the collaboration features, editing tools, and integrations that studio pros need. It’s also a good choice if you aspire to become a professional, as it provides plenty of ease of use and help.
Number of Video Tracks
Unlimited
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Adobe Premiere Pro Review
- Fast project rendering
- Clear, usable interface
- Loads of effects and AI tools
- Multicam and motion tracking support
- Screen recording
- Number of options can be overwhelming at times
CyberLink PowerDirector, which has long been an Editors’ Choice winner among video editing software for Windows, also excels on Macs. Standout features include Mask, PiP, and Title Designers, as well as a beefy selection of templates and stock content. The Audio Designer allows you to experiment with sound, offering denoise options, pitch shifts, radio effects, and wind removal. LUT support enables you to apply a studio-like color language to your movie, while seamless motion graphics, speech-to-text transcription, and transitions create captivating YouTube posts. The latest version incorporates generative AI, featuring anime video creation, auto-captioning, and text-to-speech tools. One-time purchase and subscription options are both available, with the latter getting feature updates, frequent content, and stock media.
Instagrammers, TikTokers, and YouTubers: Creators for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube should enjoy the ever-growing palette of whizbang effects and editing techniques. They can go a long way in captivating their audiences.
Serious amateur video enthusiasts: If you want to create impressive videos without taking a postgraduate course in editing and production, PowerDirector can serve you well. Despite its depth of features, the software is fairly simple to use.
Small business marketers: The app includes the templates and stock media (in the subscription version) that make it easy for marketing professionals to create promotional video posts on social media.
Number of Video Tracks
100
Learn More
CyberLink PowerDirector 365 Review
- Simple interface
- Good chroma-keying tool
- Unique support for iPhone video features
- Excellent movie templates with shot guidance
- Lacks multicam and motion tracking capabilities
- Limited to two video tracks
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 in providing guidance to amateurs on how to create compelling productions.
Home users and hobbyists: If you want to make appealing mini-movies of your vacation, you are the perfect audience for this app. It’s exceptional intuitive and surprisingly capable.
iPhone users: iMovie supports the special video capabilities available on iPhones, such as Cinematic Mode video. Otherwise, you have to move up to Final Cut Pro to take advantage of them.
Number of Video Tracks
2
Learn More
Apple iMovie Review
- 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
Final Cut Pro is one of the pioneering nonlinear video editing programs. Before a revamp several years ago, it was a daunting program, suitable only 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 superb.
Amateurs moving up from iMovie: Despite being a thoroughly professional-level application, Final Cut is still suitable for amateurs who want to perform impressive feats with their video projects well beyond what’s possible in iMovie. Also of interest to amateurs is the reasonable one-time pricing.
Professionals: Final Cut includes a wealth of in-depth features that make the lives of pro video editors easier, including Auditions, Compound Clips, and Media Stems. As noted, it also supports the latest video hardware and standards.
Number of Video Tracks
Unlimited
Learn More
Apple Final Cut Pro Review
- Plenty of editing tools for precise control
- Includes motion graphics and audio editing
- Deep color-grading tools
- AI features to automate processes
- Fast render performance
- Requires a lot of system resources
- Takes some time to learn
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 can also be done with Resolve. The paid version adds temporal and spatial noise reduction, stereoscopic 3D, optical blur, mist effects, and the Neural Engine machine learning technology that powers more advanced effects.
Motivated editors on a budget: DaVinci Resolve is the most advanced video editing software you can get for free. That said, its learning curve is significant, so you should expect to spend a significant amount of time figuring out how its interface and processes work.
Studio pros: DaVinci Resolve is a standard choice within the professional video editing industry, so you will benefit from knowing how it works. Its features for colorists, in particular, are top-tier.
Number of Video Tracks
Unlimited
Learn More
DaVinci Resolve Review
- Interface resembles that of Premiere Pro
- Ample video effects and control
- Cross-platform support
- 360 VR editing tools
- Good rendering speeds
- Three-year limit on product license
- No multicam support
Premiere Elements enables hobbyists to easily produce effects that would typically require significant time and effort in a professional-level application. It offers standard timeline and keyframe editing tools, but Guided Edits and other usability features make them manageable and effective. Another benefit is the upgrade path to Adobe Premiere Pro; although the interfaces are different, a recent update has brought them much closer together. The latest version of the software supports 360-degree VR editing. 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.
Premiere Pro aspirants: In recent versions, Premiere Elements has evolved to closely resemble its pro-level sibling. If you want to commit to Adobe’s system but don’t feel ready to jump in with Premiere Pro, Premiere Elements is a good first step.
Memory keepers: Do you want to produce lovely, charming home movies with compelling effects? If so, Premiere Elements is an excellent choice. It can help you make that family event or vacation even more memorable!
Number of Video Tracks
Unlimited
Learn More
Adobe Premiere Elements Review
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The Best Video Editing Software for Macs in 2026
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Buying Guide: The Best Video Editing Software for Macs in 2026
What Kind of Mac Is Best for Video Editing?
The best MacBooks for video editing range from the $999 MacBook Air to the $2,500 16-inch MacBook Pro. These laptops have standout features, most notably terrific displays with accurate, wide-gamut colors.
Some iMacs used to allow you to upgrade your RAM, but that’s no longer possible due to Apple’s shift to its own silicon architecture. You’re stuck with the specs you chose at the time of purchase. Nor can you upgrade your SSD, so 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, priced at $599, to the Mac Pro, a video-editing powerhouse that costs 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’ll need to invest in a monitor specifically 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-level video 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, allowing you to pick up where you left off on the Mac from the iPhone. Other entry-level options are Lightworks and NCH Videopad.
iMovie (Credit: Apple/PCMag)
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 offers excellent support for new formats and technologies, 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 Pro’s market share among 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 transitioning from iMovie due to its trackless timeline and simplified interface. Don’t think that means Final Cut Pro isn’t usable for pros; it matches and sometimes even beats Premiere Pro in terms of deep editing tools, format support, and performance.
Other pro-level editing software available for macOS includes the far more expensive and complex Avid Media Composer ($259.99 per year) and the excellent and powerful DaVinci Resolve ($295 one-time, with a free version available).
What Is the Best Free Video Editing Software for Macs?
Beginners and dabblers in Mac video editing who just want to join clips, add transitions between clips, overlay text, and apply basic effects need look no further than iMovie. It comes with every Mac and is very good for beginners.
If you want to delve deeper into the intricacies of the craft, I recommend the free version of DaVinci Resolve, which encompasses the full range of professional video editing capabilities. A couple of other free options include the open-source ShotCut and Kdenlive, both of which are powerful but lack some usability features.
What Should You Look for in Mac Video Editing Software?
The basics of video editing—joining, trimming, and splitting clips and then outputting the result as a single file—are possible in all the software here. But there’s so much more that you can do with your video. Fun effects, text titles, and captions, as well as transitions, all come in limitless variations. You might also want features such as chroma keying, picture-in-picture, motion tracking, and speed-changing effects, like slow motion or fast forward.
Entry-level and enthusiast-level programs include templates that help you organize your content for a compelling and coherent presentation. iMovie’s Storyboard and Premiere Elements’ Smart Trim tools and templates are standouts among these capabilities.
And then there’s audio. Most video editing apps for Mac let you add background music and effects, make adjustments, and record voice-over narration. Want to make it sound like you recorded your video in a concert hall or stadium? This software can do that.
Recommended by Our Editors
DaVinci Resolve (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 allow you to create a DVD or USB drive with your video to share as a physical gift or promotional item.
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 longer than a few minutes, you need a powerful computer with high-end components. Better video software utilizes your GPU to enhance rendering.
To test rendering, I created a five-minute project in each app consisting of a mix of 8K, 4K, and HD clips with cross-fade transitions between each. I render it at 1080p60 using H.264 High Profile and target a 20Mbps bit rate. I set the audio quality to 48KHz AAC at 192Kbps. I test on a 2021 MacBook Air with an M1 processor and 8GB RAM. That’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 does not 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 ground. 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 source media, and the output settings you use.
Can You Edit Video From Your iPhone?
Since many Mac users also own an iPhone, you should know that you have several options for editing video on your phone. Some are mobile versions of desktop apps, while others are capable mobile-only apps, such as CapCut and InShot. A new entrant in this space is Adobe’s version of Premiere Pro for iPhone. You can also use Apple’s Final Cut Camera app on your iPhone to shoot multicam footage for editing on your Mac.
