Are you unhappy with Premiere Pro’s monthly subscription fee? Are the Premiere Pro crushes driving you mad? Check out these free and paid alternatives to Adobe’s video editor. Take a look at their strengths and weaknesses to make informed decisions when you’re ready to switch from Premiere Pro.
If you are reading these lines, you’re probably looking to try a new video editing software to replace your Premiere Pro. The reasons may be different: high monthly price, bugs, curiosity. We will not go deep into why you’d want to make the switch. Instead we will talk about the alternatives. The market of professional video editing software is not too large, but it’s still worth exploring and trying new programs.
Before you give up on Premiere Pro, consider the factors as the type of projects you will be working on, your level of experience, and your budget (if the software is not free). By learning more about the key features, strengths, and weaknesses of each software option, you’ll be able to make a more informed decision.
Some popular alternatives to Adobe Premiere Pro include Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, DaVinci Resolve, Vegas Pro, HitFilm, iMovie and Clipchamp. Yes, we included video editors with different pricing models, features, and for different skillsets.
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DaVinci Resolve
Price: Free
DaVinci Resolve Studio: $295
DaVinci Resolve comes first in our list of Premiere Pro alternatives. It is a professional video editing software used for film and video post-production. It is a free and open-source program. It also offers a paid version with additional features under the name of DaVinci Resolve Studio.
DaVinci is known for its advanced color correction and grading tools used by professional colorists in the film and video industry. It also has a wide range of editing features which will be handy for both beginner and pro video editors.
Even though DaVinci Resolve stands out for for its color correction tools, you can do everything else in it like edit footage and audio, add visual effects, and more. The big advantage is its large and active user community, which can provide support and resources for users. DaVinci tutorials are also aplenty to learn with and from. You will find a lot of tutorials for beginners, but you can also stumble upon more advanced ones.
On the flip side, DaVinci Resolve’s main weakness is that it may have a steep learning curve for some users, particularly those who are new to video editing. You may also need a powerful computer to run DaVinci smoothly, especially when working with high-res footage and complex visual effects.
In short, DaVinci Resolve is a powerful and versatile video editing software that is suitable for both beginner and professional video editors. Its advanced color correction tools make it particularly useful for color grading, and its wide range of features make it suitable for a variety of video editing projects.
Our rating of Premiere Pro alternatives: #1
Here is a quick introduction to DaVinci Resolve:
Final Cut Pro
Price: $299.99
Free Trial: 90 days
Final Cut Pro comes second in our rating of Premiere Pro alternatives. FCP is a professional video editing software developed by Apple for Mac computers. Video professionals and filmmakers use it actively for editing and post-production jobs.
For both beginner and professional video editors the program offers a wide range of features including editing, color correction, audio editing, and VFX.
FCP is often the tool of choice for editing and post-production of feature films, commercials, music videos, and documentaries. FCP, in particular, is known for its advanced color correction and visual effects capabilities, which make it ideal for high-end video projects.
Final Cut Pro’s main strength is its seamless integration with other Apple products and service. FCP also boasts of third-party plugins and effects which can enhance its video production capabilities.
Its main weaknesses is that it is only available for Mac computers. FCP is also a paid software, which can be an obstacle for some users and its learning curve can be steep for beginners.
Overall, Final Cut Pro is a professional-grade video editing software that is suitable for both beginner and professional video editors. Its advanced capabilities make it ideal for high-end video projects, and its seamless integration with other Apple products makes it a great choice for Mac users.
Our rating of Premiere Pro alternatives: #2
Here is how to get started with Final Cut Pro:
Avid Media Composer
Price: from $239 per year
Free trial: Yes
Avid Media Composer is another professional video editing software used widely in the film and television industry. It offers a wide range of advanced editing and post-production tools and is considered to be one of the industry standards.
Avid is designed for professional video editors. Its interface can be complex and difficult to work with for beginners. But you can always find tutorials and resources to learn and master the software.
Avid Media Composer is used for editing and post-production of feature films, commercials, music videos, and television shows. Its advanced editing tools, such as multi-camera editing, make it particularly useful for large scale projects and fast-paced editing environments.
Avid Media Composer is known for its robust and stable performance, which makes it well-suited for high-pressure and high-volume editing environments. It also has a wide range of third-party plugins and effects which can enhance its capabilities.
At the same time, Avid Media Composer is a paid software. Its cost can be a barrier for some users.
Our rating of Premiere Pro alternatives: #3
Interested in Avid Media Composer? Here is how to get started:
Vegas Pro
Price: $199 – one-time fee
Vegas Pro is a professional video editing software developed by MAGIX for Windows computers. It is another name known for professionals in the film and video production industry when it comes to editing and post-production.
Vegal Pro is designed for both beginner and professional video editors as it offers a lot of features including editing, color correction, audio editing, and visual effects. It has a user-friendly interface which makes it easy to use for beginners, but also offers advanced tools and features for professional editors.
Video editors use Vegas Pro for editing and post-production of feature films, commercials, music videos, and documentaries.
Vegas Pro’s main strength is about its effects and compositing tools that allow for greater flexibility and creativity in post-production. It also supports a wide range of video and audio formats and also has a large and active user community which provides support and resources.
The main drawback is that Vegas Pro is only available for Windows computers, which can be a limitation for some users. Vegas Pro is not as widely adopted as other video editing software, which can make finding support or tutorials harder.
Still, you may consider Vegas Pro due to its features and ability to handle high-resolution video and complex visual effects.
Our rating of Premiere Pro alternatives: #4
Here are the two basics things to start with in Vegas Pro:
HitFilm
Free: HitFilm Express
Price: $299 for the Pro version
HitFilm is another video editing and compositing software that both beginner and pro editors may consider. It’s a paid software, but it also offers a free version with limited features (you can download HitFilm Express for free here).
HitFilm includes the same features: editing, color correction, audio editing, visual effects and compositing. It is best used for editing and post-production of feature films, commercials, music videos, and documentaries. Its advanced visual effects capabilities make it particularly useful for adding special effects to your video or film.
HitFilm’s distinguishing aspect is about its wide range of visual effects, 3D compositing and advanced compositing capabilities.
On the other hand, HitFilm’s main weakness is that it may have a steep learning curve for some users. Additionally, its free version is limited in terms of features, and some of the advanced features are only available in the paid version.
Our rating of Premiere Pro alternatives: #5
Here is how to get started with HitFilm for free:
Simple Video Editors & Tools
The above 5 alternatives to Premiere Pro are clearly of the professional grade. If you don’t need all the pro features, you may take a look at these 2 more video editors best for simple editing tasks.
iMovie
iMovie is a free video editing software developed by Apple for Mac computers and iOS devices. iMovie is the perfect choice for amateur and beginner video editors who want to create videos easily and quickly.
The software offers several basic video editing features, including cutting, trimming, and adding transitions, music, and basic effects. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy for beginners to quickly create and edit their videos.
iMovie is best for creating home videos, short films, and simple projects such as vacation videos, birthday videos, or presentations. iMovie may not be a good fit if you’re planning to use it for more professional video editing or large scale projects.
iMovie has an intuitive interface, making it easy for beginners to quickly create and edit videos. It also offers a variety of templates and themes to enhance the look of your videos. Additionally, it’s free and comes pre-installed on Apple devices.
Unfortunately, iMovie is only available on Mac and iOS devices.
Clipchamp
Clipchamp is a light online video editing and compression software that can be used to create, edit, and compress video files. It is designed for amateur and beginner video editors, and it offers a range of basic editing features like cutting, trimming, and adding music and effects.
Clipchamp is a web-based software, making it accessible on any device with an internet connection. Since Clipchamp is part of the Microsoft family of apps, you will need to log in with your Microsoft email or Gmail to use it.
You can use Clipchamp for creating home videos, short films, and simple projects. This software is also useful for compressing large video files to make them easier to share or upload.
Clipchamp will not replace a professional video editor, but it’s pretty useful for small editing tasks.
Handbrake
We’ve included Handbrake not as another alternative to Premiere Pro, but as an addon to your video editing toolset. Handbrake is a video transcoder that will help you convert video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs. It’s a handy utility that any video editor will be happy to install on their machine and use to transcode footage or ready videos.
Summary
When it comes to professional video editing, the options to replace Adobe Premiere Pro are not too numerous, but you have several good choices. From Final Cut Pro’s seamless integration with other Apple products, to DaVinci Resolve’s advanced color correction tools, from Vegas Pro’s wide range of effects tools, to HitFilm’s advanced compositing capabilities, from iMovie’s user-friendly interface and basic features to Clipchamp’s online access and video compression options, you can find the software you need.
Each video editor has its pros and cons, and the best one for you will depend on your specific needs, project types and your experience level. For beginners, free software like iMovie and Clipchamp can be a great way to start learning video editing, while professionals may want to consider paid options such as Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer or DaVinci Resolve for their powerful features and capabilities. The bottom line is, no matter your skills or experience, there’s a video editing software out there that’s perfect for you.
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