Jul 12, 2018 - The best paid for and free video editing software for Mac. Video Editor MovieMator allows you to trim, split, move, and merge clips from a.

Advertisement Apple computers have long been aimed at the creative professional, with emphasis on photo and video editing. The only problem is that industry-leading packages like, and Apple’s own series aren’t cheap.

Since iMovie is no longer free, decent Mac video editors are hard to come. Nothing is quite going to match the premium might of Adobe and Apple’s in-house software, but there are a few free video editing applications to sink your teeth into. The Studio version of Da Vinci Resolve costs nearly $1,000 — but the basic version is completely free. Better still it includes the same high quality image processing abilities as the pricier version, a powerful video editor, some of the best color correction capabilities on the planet and even works with external hardware panels for faster editing.

There are limitations of course, the main one is that Resolve can only output in SD, HD and Ultra HD (only!) which is likely going to be more than enough for most users. There are limitations on some of the more advanced grading and tracking tools too of course, but these limitations are mainly in place to convince professional users that they need to upgrade. There may be quite a learning curve, but Da Vinci Resolve is one of the most powerful video editing suites on the planet and you get a hell of a lot for free. Verdict: Powerful, feature-rich, with limitations that are mostly aimed at professional commercial users. Definitely worth a shot for free. Built with the aim of providing a stable, free, and accessible video editor, OpenShot is a cross-platform open source video editor that’s been around since 2008. The project last received an update in August of 2016, with version 2.1 being released to the public. The has grown over the years to include great support for a variety of formats, keyframes for animation, unlimited video and audio tracks, transition and compositing support, titles, and a heap of extra features you’d expect from a modern video editor.

Past criticisms have cited OpenShot’s reliability, but it’s still worth a shot for free. Verdict: A great cross-platform open source option, with an impressive list of features. The interface feels a bit old-hat, which may put some users off. Another free, open source, cross-platform video editor; Shotcut is still very much under active development. The features are just as impressive as OpenShot, but Shotcut also features a great-looking interface that more closely resembles a pro-tier application than a free open source effort. In addition to supporting a wide range of video files and formats (including 4K video), Shotcut also includes great support for working with audio, an impressive list of video effects including compositing and transitions, and a flexible UI from which to work. Verdict: Shotcut is definitely worth a look if you want a free and feature-rich video editor but can’t afford to drop hundreds on a premium package.

Blender is a free 3D modelling and compositing application that’s been used in some Just like its previous short films online, the Blender Foundation used only open-source or free software to produce movies of at least 10 minutes. What many don’t realise is that it’s also a capable non-linear video editor, provided you’re willing to take the time to learn. We’ve Completely free, and a tool that has dozens of applications allowing you to try your hand at the challenging world of computer-generated artwork. Did I mention it's free? At MakeUseOf, though with a focus on the 3D modelling aspect with only a brief mention of Blender’s potential as a. It might not be pretty, it’s not exactly easy, and it won’t match the top-tier packages — but it’s not bad at all for free.

Verdict: Not purpose built, but powerful if you have the time to learn. Lightworks is one of the most powerful apps on this list, and I’d happily recommend it above all other packages if it wasn’t so restrictive for the free user. The free version includes video effects, multicam editing, titling, as well as the usual multi layered timeline approach you’d expect from a comprehensive editor. Unfortunately rendering (exporting your project) is limited to 1080p output on Vimeo, and 720p output to YouTube. You can also render to Lightworks Archives, but there’s no proper H.264, MP4, or even DVD export options.

So while the toolkit is vast, Lightworks isn’t a very appealing free editor unless you’d like to thoroughly try it out for free and upgrade at a later time. Verdict: A powerful editor with plenty of features, but rendering is restricted to 1080p on Vimeo and 720p on YouTube until you rent for $24.99 per month or buy outright at over $400. Better known for its compatibility with Linux (of which it’s one of the better video editors), Kdenlive is a free and cross-platform video editor that will probably mean more to your average Linux user than Windows or Mac types. If you're searching for a decent, all-in-one solution for editing video on. can be compiled to run on macOS from source, with packages available via. While developed has moved full-steam-ahead on Linux, the Mac packages available are currently over a year out of date. Kdenlive has developed quite a bit over the years, and now looks more like a professional editing suite than the it used to.