Apple computers have long been aimed at artistic professionals, particularly when it comes to photo and video editing. Unfortunately, manufacture-leading packages like Adobe Premiere, Afterward Effects, and Apple's ain Final Cut Pro aren't inexpensive.

But all is not lost. There'due south a selection of capable, gratis 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 gratuitous, consumer-class video editor. Information technology's well optimized for Apple tree hardware and suitable for most personal projects.

iMovie is gratuitous 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-rails editing.

Despite the linear editing and basic UI, iMovie is a highly optimized slice of software that can handle 4K video and green screen compositing. Information technology also supports picture-in-film video and slow-motion or fast-forward visual furnishings. iMovie lets you generate titles, elevate-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 consign straight to YouTube and Vimeo at up to 4K resolution. If yous were looking for an all-in-one, free video editor for your Mac, this is it.

Download: iMovie (Gratis)

2. DaVinci Resolve

Summary: A powerful, professional-grade video editor that unfortunately lacks the colour-grading tools the developers are famous for.

The Studio version of DaVinci Resolve costs nearly $1,000, but the basic version is completely costless. Better nonetheless, it includes the same high-quality image-processing abilities as the pricier version. Y'all get a powerful video editor, some of the all-time color correction capabilities around, and fifty-fifty support for external hardware panels to enable faster editing.

There are limitations, of course. The primary ane is that Resolve can but output in SD, HD or Ultra Hard disk drive, 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 i of the about powerful video editing suites on the planet, and y'all get a lot for costless. Come across our comparing 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. Nonetheless, the interface is outdated and may put some users off.

OpenShot is a cross-platform, open-source tool that's been effectually since 2008. It was built with the aim of providing a stable, free, and accessible video editor. The projection receives several major updates per year, in line with the expectations for an open up-source project with a small team.

OpenShot's feature listing has grown over the years to include bang-up support for a variety of formats, blitheness keyframes, and unlimited video or audio tracks. Information technology also packs in transition and compositing support, titles, and a heap of extra features you'd expect from a modernistic video editor.

Past criticisms accept panned OpenShot's reliability, simply it's still worth a shot for free.

Download: OpenShot (Complimentary)

iv. Shotcut

Summary: A capable, open-source editor with an interface that'due south superior to OpenShot.

Here'southward another free, cantankerous-platform, open-source video editor. Shotcut's characteristic listing is just as impressive as OpenShot, but Shotcut features a prettier interface. It more than 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 back up for working with audio, an impressive list of video effects (including compositing and transitions), and a flexible UI.

Of note are back up for advanced features like 5.one environs sound, three-way color correction, and a huge number of video and audio filters. There's fifty-fifty a full prepare of official video tutorials on the Shotcut website that y'all can picket to get yous upwards to speed with the editor.

Download: Shotcut (Costless)

5. Blender

Summary: Not a purpose-congenital video editor, but nevertheless a powerful, free tool.

Blender is a free, 3D-modeling and compositing app used in some high-contour productions. Yet, many don't realize Blender is also a capable non-linear video editor, provided y'all're willing to take the time to learn how to utilise it.

You tin use Blender to cutting and splice video, mix and sync audio, or apply aligning 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. Bank check out Daniel Pocock's quick guide to editing video in Blender to learn more than.

Download: Blender (Free)

half-dozen. Lightworks

Summary: A powerful editor with enough of features, but some seriously restrictive output options make the free version feel more than like a trial.

Lightworks is one of the most powerful apps on this listing. 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, equally well as the usual multi-layered timeline approach you lot'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 yous lose H.264, MP4, and even DVD export options.

Then 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 fourth dimension.

Download: Lightworks (Free, premium version available)

7. Avidemux

Summary: A capable freebie, but lacking in smoothen and features.

Avidemux as well made our listing of the best Linux video editors. Though it'south basic in nature, information technology works well for simple editing tasks. The app supports a broad diversity of input and output formats. The projection also undergoes several updates a yr, with development continuing at a steady pace.

Thankfully, the team maintains parity amidst all three major versions, so you lot won't miss out on any features if yous opt for the Mac package.

Avidemux is best reserved for simple tasks like cutting a video downwardly to size, applying video or sound filters, and transcoding. If you lot're willing to dig a lilliputian deeper, you lot'll find a highly capable script editor to automate many of these mutual tasks.

Be sure to check out the Avidemux Wiki for learning materials, and the Avidemux forum tin can help in case y'all go stuck.

Download: Avidemux (Free)

8. HitFilm Express

Summary: A gratis Mac video editor with over 410 effects and presets, second 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 ii versions. We'll focus on the free version, HitFilm Limited, which y'all tin can use to manage all your basic editing needs.

The tool is suitable for beginner and mid-level editing. The software's dwelling house interface gives yous all the superlative industry news and too 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 correct abroad. The congenital-in clipper is leap to come in handy likewise.

Even meliorate, information technology also offers VFX editing. Merely 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 information technology piques your involvement, you tin can find out more nigh it from the HitFilm website.

Download: HitFilm Express (Costless, 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 substantially means is that you can edit your videos right from your browser and avert all the tussle and clutter that comes with offline tools.

With over 35,000 video templates and over three 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 exist watermark free?

Yous can create a lot with InVideo: Facebook templates, YouTube intros, memes, slideshows, and much more. With the complimentary edition, you'll also go perks like 1GB of costless cloud storage, automatic text to speech, and more than.

If the deject is your thing, yous can't do much ameliorate than InVideo. All y'all need to do to get started is create an account on the official website.

Register: InVideo (Free, premium version bachelor)

10. Terminal Cut Pro

Summary: An like shooting fish in a barrel-to-pick-up tool for video editing beginners and pros akin.

Final Cut Pro is seen as the natural progression for an iMovie user, or at least those in the Apple tree ecosystem. Although this is a paid tool, Apple offers a whopping xc-mean solar day costless trial period. That'southward about three months, give or have.

For those of you who are only stepping into the earth of video editing, or just take a few projects that yous accept to take care of, the Terminal 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 too 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 inventiveness.

Download: Last Cut Pro ($299, costless trial bachelor)

Summary: A powerhouse for all your Mac video making needs.

Cyberlink PowerDirector is, as its proper name suggests, a powerful video editing software for Mac.

What defenseless our attention, when we get-go encountered it, are the wealth of solid features that come packed with this tool—well-nigh of them available free.

This Mac flick maker houses more 3,000 furnishings and templates, and to top information technology off it also offers around 6 one thousand thousand stock videos and photos.

A host of other features that deserve a special mention include:

  • Back up 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 at that place's a so much more than to explore in PowerDirector. Our just gripe with it—if nosotros can call it that—would be the watermark that'south left with the gratis version. Simply really, would it exist off-white to ask this much from a freeware version? Probably non, and that's why it made to our listing on best video editing apps for YouTube as well.

cyberlink-powerdirector

Give PowerDirector a run; encounter if information technology floats your boat. If information technology does stand up to your expectations, you can purchase the full version direct from the app itself (from the shopping cart icon in the top-right corner).

Download: Cyberlink PowerDirector (Gratis, premium version available)

Those Are All the All-time Complimentary Mac Video Editors

Then, which is the best video editor for you lot? If y'all're but getting your feet wet, iMovie will probably conform you the almost: it's free, piece of cake to use, and carefully optimized for Apple hardware.

There are enough of features in iMovie to satisfy beginners and mid-tier users. However, information technology lacks the raw power to compete with Concluding Cut or Premiere Pro.

If yous 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.

The 7 All-time Video Converter Apps for macOS

Read Side by side

Near The Author

Shaant Minhas (97 Manufactures Published)

Shaant is a Staff Writer at MUO. A graduate in Estimator Applications, he uses his passion for writing to explain complex stuff in plain English. When not researching or writing, he tin can exist found enjoying a expert book, running, or hanging out with friends.

More than From Shaant Minhas