Which Video Editing Software is right for you – A Comparison
There are three major video editing software platforms that rule the market. Let’s break down the pros and cons of each.
Video Editing Software for YOUR Content Type
Before you start looking to much into what video editing software you should use, you first need to think about the types of content you create and the types of content you plan on creating in the future. This factor has a large impact on which editing software is going to be the best for YOU. If you’re creating content mainly for website development, you might want a different software than one that’s used more for production video content.
With the three main video editing software being Adobe Premiere Pro, Black Magic Davinci Resolve, and Apple’s Final Cut Pro, you get a fairly decent amount of premium options as well as a few free ones that could suite your needs. In this article I’m going to go over the features each application brings to the table as well as some use cases for each one that makes it stand out from the others.
Your Experience with Video Editing Software
Whether you are a beginner in video editing or a professional video editor, picking one program to use and learn can be a daunting task. Thankfully, there are a ton of online resources to help you through the process.
At Missoula Media Company, with all of our combined experience in video and media creation, we want to use the video editing software that’s going to provide the best quality for our clients. With the constant changes to video editing software, sometimes the one you’ve been using for years just isn’t up to par anymore. That means we are always learning a new software that comes on the market, and even with all of our experience, it’s always a daunting task.
The Big Three – The Best Video Editing Software Platforms on the Market
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe with their Creative Cloud platform brings a lot to the table that you can use with Premiere Pro, like After Effects and Photoshop. Though this is behind a monthly subscription cost of $54.99 if you want access to their entire suite, or $20.99 if you’re just looking to pick up Premiere Pro. When you pick up Premiere Pro, though you’re paying monthly for it, you have access to all of it’s features so you won’t find yourself spending more to get more FX library’s or special plugins to get the work you need to do, done.
With great features like color matching, exporting directly to social channels, a large FX library, and a ton of premade transition effects and animations to choose from, Premiere Pro really does pack a lot into their software. Premier does a great job of delivering for both the classic film maker as well as the modern online content creator, picking up big points for versatility in the process.
So whether you’re a content creator that needs a great video editing software to publish your videos quickly and easily to popular platforms like YouTube, or a documentary filmmaker who is looking to create high-production value films, Premiere Pro might just be the choice for you. However, there are a couple of other options for filmmakers who are looking to provide the top-notch color corrections and post production edits – Davinci Resolve and Resolve Studio.
Blackmagic Davinci Resolve – Studio
For Blackmagic’s Davinci Resolve you don’t need to worry about a monthly or annual cost but instead you can pick up Davinci Resolve for a one time fee of $295.00. Which if you look at the cost of just Premiere Pro for one year, you’re looking at $251.88 which you’ll continue to pay for as long as you’re using it. So in the long term you’re going to save a tremendous amount of money going with Davinci Resolve over Premiere Pro.
Though Davinci Resolve does have a free version that packs in a ton of great features. The main difference being Davinci Resolve Studio (Paid version) brings in the features mainly used by professional post production crews like noise reduction, lens correction, their entire FX library and much more. The main defining feature that Davinci Resolve Studio brings to the table is the immense increase in media quality & delivery.
When you go with the paid version of Davinci Resolve you are able to output video up to 32K at 120fps with HDR delivery. This feature is really geared towards film makers and post production crews, and it will certainly eat up disk space like it’s nobodies business. Lastly – let’s chat about Final Cut…
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut, much like Davinci Resolve is a one time fee application, this one being $299.00. Though there is no free version of Final Cut you do get a ton of features packed into the software. From importing and editing up to 8K video INCLUDING most major professional camera formats like ProRes and ProRes RAW. You also get the option to edit 360 degree video, titles, and graphics, as well as having the ability to do virtual reality playback. You also have the ability to automatically balance your colors as well as match colors, making your work flow faster without compromising video quality.
The one really large drawback for some people is the fact that Final Cut Pro is the only video editing software on this list that is exclusive to Apple products. It also has some wonky saving features. Last we checked, they removed the “Save as” feature…which is a little stressful. So if you’re editing on a PC or looking for more control over your project files, Final Cut Pro isn’t an option. But, if you are using Apple products not only do you have the option of Final Cut Pro, but Premiere Pro and Davinci Resolve are available for iOS as well.
Need a Video to be edited or want some help with a project?
At the end of the day, video editing takes much more than a computer and a program – you need to have extensive experience with timing, color correction, transitions, titles, etc if you want to produce a professional-looking video. If you need some help editing a video you’ve already shot or need help on another project, feel free to contact us below! We have over 2 decades worth of combined experience in professional video production, script writing, and video editing, and we are here to help you get started or finish that new video for your company or that new passion project you’ve been dreaming about.
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