Apple computers have long been aimed at creative professionals, particularly when it comes to photo and video editing. Unfortunately, industry-leading packages like Adobe Premiere, After Effects, and Apple’s own Final Cut Pro aren’t cheap.
But all is not lost. There’s a selection of capable, free video editing apps for Mac to sink your teeth into. Some are made for beginners, while others will satisfy seasoned video editors thanks to the impressive feature sets on offer.
These are our favorite free video editors for Mac.
1. iMovie
Summary: A free, consumer-grade video editor. It’s well optimized for Apple hardware and suitable for most personal projects.
iMovie is free for anyone who owns a Mac. Plus, the iOS version is free to all iPhone and iPad owners. The software is aimed at consumers who want to quickly create videos with footage stored in their Photos library. To facilitate this, iMovie uses a simplified timeline editor that doesn’t allow for multi-track editing.
Despite the linear editing and basic UI, iMovie is a highly optimized piece of software that can handle 4K video and green screen compositing. It also supports picture-in-picture video and slow-motion or fast-forward visual effects. iMovie lets you generate titles, drag-and-drop transitions, and add motion graphics like 3D globes or travel maps.
The app comes with built-in music and sound effects that are ready to go. It can generate Hollywood-style trailers using footage that you supply. Additionally, the app allows you to export directly to YouTube and Vimeo at up to 4K resolution. If you were looking for an all-in-one, free video editor for your Mac, this is it.
Download: iMovie (Free)
2. DaVinci Resolve
Summary: A powerful, professional-grade video editor that unfortunately lacks the color-grading tools the developers are famous for.
The Studio version of DaVinci 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. You get a powerful video editor, some of the best color correction capabilities around, and even support for external hardware panels to enable faster editing.
There are limitations, of course. The main one is that Resolve can only output in SD, HD or Ultra HD, although that is likely more than enough for most users. Also, the app places limits on some advanced grading and tracking tools. However, these restrictions are mainly in place to convince professional users to upgrade.
The app might have quite a steep learning curve, but DaVinci Resolve is one of the most powerful video editing suites on the planet, and you get a lot for free. See our comparison of DaVinci Resolve and HitFilm Express for more on how it stacks up.
Download: DaVinci Resolve (Free)
3. OpenShot
Summary: An open-source video editor for Mac, with an impressive list of features. However, the interface is outdated and may put some users off.
OpenShot is a cross-platform, open-source tool that’s been around since 2008. It was built with the aim of providing a stable, free, and accessible video editor. The project receives several major updates per year, in line with the expectations for an open-source project with a small team.
OpenShot’s feature list has grown over the years to include great support for a variety of formats, animation keyframes, and unlimited video or audio tracks. It also packs in transition and compositing support, titles, and a heap of extra features you’d expect from a modern video editor.
Past criticisms have panned OpenShot’s reliability, but it’s still worth a shot for free.
Download: OpenShot (Free)
4. Shotcut
Summary: A capable, open-source editor with an interface that’s superior to OpenShot.
Here’s another free, cross-platform, open-source video editor. Shotcut’s feature list is just as impressive as OpenShot, but Shotcut features a prettier interface. It more closely resembles a pro-tier application than a free one.
The app supports a wide range of video files and formats, including 4K, ProRes, and DNxHD. Shotcut also includes great support for working with audio, an impressive list of video effects (including compositing and transitions), and a flexible UI.
Of note are support for advanced features like 5.1 surround sound, three-way color correction, and a huge number of video and audio filters. There’s even a full set of official video tutorials on the Shotcut website that you can watch to get you up to speed with the editor.
Download: Shotcut (Free)
5. Blender
Summary: Not a purpose-built video editor, but still a powerful, free tool.
Blender is a free, 3D-modeling and compositing app used in some high-profile productions. Yet, many don’t realize Blender is also a capable non-linear video editor, provided you’re willing to take the time to learn how to use it.
You can use Blender to cut and splice video, mix and sync audio, or apply adjustment layers, transitions, and filters. You probably won’t edit a whole film together in Blender, but for basic editing tasks, it might suffice.
Blender isn’t the easiest system to learn, but underneath the hood is a powerful non-linear video editor. Check out Daniel Pocock’s quick guide to editing video in Blender to learn more.
Download: Blender (Free)
6. Lightworks
Summary: A powerful editor with plenty of features, but some seriously restrictive output options make the free version feel more like a trial.
Lightworks is one of the most powerful apps on this list. We’d happily recommend it above all the other packages if it wasn’t so restrictive for free users. The free version includes video effects, multi-cam editing, and 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 to Vimeo and 720p output to YouTube. You can also render to Lightworks Archives, but you lose H.264, MP4, and even DVD export options.
So while the toolkit is vast, Lightworks isn’t a very appealing free editor for Mac users, unless you’d like to thoroughly try it out for free and upgrade at a later time.
Download: Lightworks (Free, premium version available)
7. Avidemux
Summary: A capable freebie, but lacking in polish and features.
Avidemux also made our list of the best Linux video editors. Though it’s basic in nature, it works well for simple editing tasks. The app supports a wide variety of input and output formats. The project also undergoes several updates a year, with development continuing at a steady pace.
Thankfully, the team maintains parity among all three major versions, so you won’t miss out on any features if you opt for the Mac package.
Avidemux is best reserved for simple tasks like cutting a video down to size, applying video or audio filters, and transcoding. If you’re willing to dig a little deeper, you’ll find a highly capable script editor to automate many of these common tasks.
Be sure to check out the Avidemux Wiki for learning materials, and the Avidemux forum can help in case you get stuck.
Download: Avidemux (Free)
8. HitFilm Express
Summary: A free Mac video editor with over 410 effects and presets, 2D and 3D compositing, and many more features.
HitFilm Express is a free video editing software that’s available for Mac and Windows machines. It comes in two versions. We’ll focus on the free version, HitFilm Express, which you can use to manage all your basic editing needs.
The tool is suitable for beginner and mid-level editing. The software’s home interface gives you all the top industry news and also a slew of tips and tricks for using the tool. You can drag videos, images, and music files to the software panel to get going right away. The built-in clipper is bound to come in handy as well.
Even better, it also offers VFX editing. But what if the free version doesn’t have a particular functionality? Yeah, they’ve got that covered, too. You can buy the additional features right from the home workspace. If it piques your interest, you can find out more about it from the HitFilm website.
Download: HitFilm Express (Free, premium version available)
9. InVideo
Summary: A free online video editor that can hold its own against any offline tool.
InVideo is the Canva of video editing. For the uninitiated, Canva is a free online graphic design tool. So, what this essentially means is that you can edit your videos right from your browser and avoid all the tussle and clutter that comes with offline tools.
With over 35,000 video templates and over 3 million images in the standard media library, this is one beast of a free video editing software for Mac.
Also, did we tell you that the videos will be watermark free?
You can create a lot with InVideo: Facebook templates, YouTube intros, memes, slideshows, and much more. With the free edition, you’ll also get perks like 1GB of free cloud storage, automated text to speech, and more.
If the cloud is your thing, you can’t do much better than InVideo. All you need to do to get started is create an account on the official website.
Register: InVideo (Free, premium version available)
10. Final Cut Pro
Summary: An easy-to-pick-up tool for video editing beginners and pros alike.
Final Cut Pro is seen as the natural progression for an iMovie user, or at least those in the Apple ecosystem. Although this is a paid tool, Apple offers a whopping 90-day free trial period. That’s about three months, give or take.
For those of you who are just stepping into the world of video editing, or just have a few projects that you have to take care of, the Final Cut Pro free trial could be your best option.
There’s a basic drag-and-drop space, a slew of editing effects, and a powerful media organization tool with Smart Collections and Auto-Analysis. It also supports 360-degree content and has functionality for the best VR headsets.
All in all, Final Cut Pro is another piece of beauty from Apple that celebrates artists and their creativity.
Download: Final Cut Pro ($299, free trial available)
11. Cyberlink PowerDirector
Summary: A powerhouse for all your Mac video making needs.
Cyberlink PowerDirector is, as its name suggests, a powerful video editing software for Mac.
What caught our attention, when we first encountered it, are the wealth of solid features that come packed with this tool—most of them available free.
This Mac movie maker houses more than 3,000 effects and templates, and to top it off it also offers around 6 million stock videos and photos.
A host of other features that deserve a special mention include:
- Support for 4K video resolution
- Audio Denoising
- Monitor Tracking
- Compatibility with a massive list of video formats
- Video Collage Designer
- PiP Designer
- Speed Designer
These features are just the tips of the iceberg, as there’s a so much more to explore in PowerDirector. Our only gripe with it—if we can call it that—would be the watermark that’s left with the free version. But really, would it be fair to ask this much from a freeware version? Probably not, and that’s why it made to our list on best video editing apps for YouTube as well.
Give PowerDirector a run; see if it floats your boat. If it does stand up to your expectations, you can buy the full version straight from the app itself (from the shopping cart icon in the top-right corner).
Download: Cyberlink PowerDirector (Free, premium version available)
Those Are All the Best Free Mac Video Editors
So, which is the best video editor for you? If you’re just getting your feet wet, iMovie will probably suit you the most: it’s free, easy to use, and carefully optimized for Apple hardware.
There are plenty of features in iMovie to satisfy beginners and mid-tier users. However, it lacks the raw power to compete with Final Cut or Premiere Pro.
If you want a simple video conversion app instead of a full-fledged video editor, though, have a look at our guide for top macOS video converters.
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