• Mac For Video Editing Computer
• Best Mac For Video Editing Mac Pro Vs Imac
• Mac Desktop For Video Editing
• Good Mac For Video Editing

The Mac is hugely popular among creative professionals, so it’s no great surprise that there are lots of video editing tools available for it. Whether you just want to add titles, transitions and a soundtrack, or you want to add Hollywood-style effects and access to professional color correction there’s a Mac application that will do the job.

The really great news is that many of these programs are free. You might expect that free video editing software would have fewer features or produce less professional results than expensive software, but many of the free tools featured here are more than good enough to produce professional-looking movies. The only downside is that they tend to have a steep learning curve and they don’t walk you through the process of editing. However, there are plenty of video on YouTube to help you get started. Here are the best free and paid-for video editing applications for the Mac.

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Best free video editing software for Mac

1. iMovie

Apple’s consumer focused video editing tool used to only be free if you bought a new Mac. But now everyone can download it free from the Mac App Store. It’s a brilliantly easy to use application. One of its best features are the movie trailer themes that allow you to create amazing cinema-style trailers in a few minutes.

If you want to create your own movies, there are tons of effects, transitions, sound effects and title styles to help you. And it’s easy to import your own audio tracks and photos and add them to your production. If you’re looking for a free video editor for Mac, iMovie could be the only tool you’ll ever need.

2. DaVinci Resolve

If iMovie isn’t for you, give DaVinci Resolve a try. It’s the free version of DaVinci Resolve Studio, but being free doesn’t mean there aren’t many features. It’s loaded with professional tools like some of the best color correction and image stabilization there is. In the free version, you can work at frame rates up to 60fps and export your movie in SD, HD and Ultra HD.

It has a full digital audio workstation for sound editing, meaning you won’t have to leave the app to get the audio just the way you want it. It’s available on the Mac App Store, but if you want the full features of the free version, download it from the Blackmagic website.

3. Lightworks

While DaVinci Resolve gives away lots of its high end features in the free version, the same can’t be said of Lightworks. There’s still plenty here though, including: effects, multicam editing, titling, and a timeline with multiple layers.

There’s also access to royalty-free video and audio content for you to include in your projects. However, output in the free version is restricted to 1080p on Vimeo and 720p on YouTube. And there are no detailed export options for H.264 or MP4. Also, if you want to use the free version for more than seven days, you’ll have to register.

4. OpenShot

OpenShot is an open source video editor with a user interface that’s much simpler than most. That doesn’t mean it’s short of features, though. It has templates for creating titles, effects, the ability to remove the background from your video, and slow motion and time effects. You can also create 3D animated titles and effects, there’s support for unlimited tracks, and for more than 70 languages. The interface isn’t the slickest you’ll ever use, and there have been question marks over its reliability in the past, but it’s definitely worth trying if you want a free video editor for the Mac.

5. Video Editor MovieMator

Video Editor MovieMator allows you to trim, split, move, and merge clips from a variety of different sources. It handles every consumer file format you’re likely to need and can import directly from your iPhone or GoPro. There are lots of built-in effects and transitions, and, of course, you can add titles too.

The interface is simple enough for most people to get to grips with quickly and the real-time preview makes it easy to see exactly how your video is coming along. There is a significant limitation on the free version of the app — exports are listed to videos that are up to five minutes long. Also, there is only one transition and a handful of effects in the free version.

Best paid-for video editors for Mac

1. Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro has come a long way since it was overhauled a few years ago and lost several features that caused lots of criticism to be directed at Apple. The fact that it’s designed by Apple means that it takes full advantage of hardware on the Mac, particularly the Mac Pro and iMac Pro. It pushes their multi-core CPU and GPUs to the maximum.

Features like the Magnetic Timeline 2 and Enhanced Timeline Index may be beyond the needs of most of us, but if you edit videos for a living, you’ll appreciate them. Support for up to 64 camera angles with automatic audio syncing is another feature that makes video professionals lives much easier. And of course, it supports the formats you would expect of a serious video editor including ProRes, RED, and XAVC, as well as H.264 from digital SLR cameras. When it comes to Mac video editing, Final Cut Pro X has all the bases covered.

2. Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Like all of Adobe’s professional products, Premiere Pro is only available as a subscription package and subscribing for a year will cost you almost as much as buying Final Cut Pro X outright. However, if you prefer your video organisation tools and especially the timeline to look and work like a traditional non-linear video editor, you may prefer Premiere Pro over Final Cut’s Magnetic Timeline.

In other respects, Premiere Pro is very similar to its Apple rival, offering a full range of audio editing and color correction tools, as well as effects, support for multiple formats (including Apple’s ProRes) and all the output options you’re likely to need.

One area where Mac users will notice a difference is in rendering performance, particularly on a high-end Mac like a Mac Pro or iMac Pro. Adobe’s application is designed for Mac and PC and so optimized or for the Mac’s multi-core CPU and GPU the way that Final Cut Pro is.

3. Adobe Premiere Elements 2018

The simplest way to describe Premiere Elements is that it is to Premiere Pro what iMovie is to Final Cut Pro. But Elements and iMovie are two very different apps. For a start, while iMovie is free, Elements costs $100. The other main difference is that Elements is set up to automate much of the process of creating your movie masterpieces. So, for example, Quick mode takes the clips and other media you’ve imported and throws them together on the timeline, you can then re-order them, trim them and add transitions and other effects. Even here, however, the emphasis is on letting Elements do the hard work for you. So, press the Fix button and it will apply image stabilization and other ‘fixes.’ If you want to be more involved, a guided mode prompts you with onscreen tips. Of course, if you’d rather work completely manually, you can. Elements doesn’t make it as easy to import media as iMovie does, and you’ll have to download much of its additional content, like music scores, individually.

4. Filmora

FIlmora allows you to import clips from your Mac’s hard drive, a camera, and even from social media accounts. It has a somewhat quirky interface, that may take some getting used to if you’ve used other video editors. But it has plenty to commend it including lots of effects, titling options, and audio controls. It’s neatest feature could be the lighting preset options that allows you to emulate the look of Game of Thrones, Star Wars, or House of Cards at the click of a button.

How to make space for video on your Mac

Working with video editing software means you need lots of free space on your Mac’s main drive — video clips use several gigabytes of space for every hour of content, and that’s before you export the final version. You should also make sure your Mac is running at its optimal speed, you’ll need every ounce of power to render video.

One quick and easy way to both improve your Mac’s performance and clear space on its hard drive is to use CleanMyMac X. CleanMyMac identifies “junk” files that sit on your Mac’s drive, taking up space and slowing it down. It makes removing the files very easy and could claw back tens of gigabytes of space. You can download it free here.

The best video editing software for Mac is, ultimately, the one that does what you need to do in a way that you enjoy working. There’s lots of Mac video editing software, and much of it is free. Take time, try out as many applications as you can and choose the best one for you.

Mac For Video Editing Computer

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Mac Tips

Before we start

Whichever device you choose to purchase after reading our article, please remember that you need to keep it safe—from malware, viruses, junk, and so on. It’s best to take care of it from the very beginning to minimize any future risks.

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If you are a film-maker or regularly perform video editing, you need to look into specific specs of your computer to make sure it is powerful enough to sustain video editing software and high-resolution movies. In this article we will look into everything you need from a Mac as a media creator.

To sum it up, here’s the list of the best Macs for video editing in our review:

• Ultimate best:Mac Pro with 96GB RAM and an 12-core processor
• Best price/performance ratio: 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display
• Best alternative: 16-inch MacBook Pro
• Best for beginners: Mac Mini with a 6-core Core i7 CPU and 32GB RAM

Why Use a Mac for Video Editing

Today, the variety of tech available for film-making is astonishing and can be a source of confusion. Out of all the options, why Apple?

The changes that have been introduced to MacBooks and iMacs in the past couple of years made them truly great tools for creators. Here are some of the important features that make them a good fit for video editing:

1. Screen. Video editing requires a large, high-definition screen, and the 27-inch iMac is the perfect example of that. The 5K Retina display offers 500 nits display and 99% of the DCI-P3 color space, running at 60MHz.
2. RAM. Film-making requires a lot of free memory and storage space even with the lightest software. With the basic 8GB you won’t get further than HD (720p), while 16GB will allow you to edit a Full HD (1080p) video. 32GB is ideal for Ultra HD 4K. Finally, 64GB is required for the most advanced editing tasks such as 8K, 3D modeling and animation.
3. CPU. Professional video editors will benefit from a powerful multi-core processor such as i7 or i9. Recently, the number of cores in Intel processors has increased to as much as 28 with Intel Xeon W in a Mac Pro, which guarantees smoother sessions.
4. Graphics. Most recent models of Mac Pro have gained an extensive array of graphics cards with up to 64GB of HMB2 memory in each of the two modules. For video editing, you’ll need a discrete graphics card with a separate memory slot.
5. Storage. Despite a popular misconception, storage is not the same thing as RAM. For a comfortable process, you’re looking at 512GB minimum, and it must be a solid state drive (SSD), so older Macs are out of the picture right away. Luckily, iMacs offer up to 8TB of storage space.
6. Ports. When editing a video, you’ll inevitably need to plug in multiple peripherals, whether it’s your camera, microphone or other gadgets. Apple computers are quite convenient in this sense—even a simple MacBook has four USB 3 ports, compared to a more advanced Mac Pro which can have up to 12 Thunderbolt/USB-C ports.

This is quite impressive, although not all Macs have an ideal combination of a big screen, large RAM and a powerful graphics and CPU. To choose the one that will suit your needs, consider the system requirements for your software, which is what we are getting into in the next section.

Video editing apps require a lot of space, so remember to keep your memory free from useless programs, duplicates, and junk files.

Download MacKeeper and free up gigabytes of memory in a couple of clicks. Try for yourself and see how a clogged up Mac can turn into a clean one in just a few seconds.

Recommended System Requirements

When choosing the best Mac for video editing, you need to identify what projects you are planning to work on. You should consider the type of footage, complexity of the job, output formats, as well as whether you will be editing online or offline. That last aspect is especially important as offline editing requires more storage space and time to complete an edit, though it is easier to access the files.

To edit videos comfortably on a Mac, you will need at least 4GB of RAM. For heavier tasks, such as 4K editing, working with 3D, and 360° video editing, 8GB is the required minimum. Other demands include an up-to-date macOS, as well as an Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later. As the majority of editing programs support GPU rendering, CPU has become less important than it used to be.

Most of all, your storage needs will depend on the size of source footage you expect to work with. In general, your Mac will require three to four times the size of the source footage for your project.

The Best Macs for Video Editing

We have conducted thorough research and talked to professional video editors from our team to make a list of the best Macs to use for video production.

Mac Pro for Video Editing

As you have probably guessed already, Mac Pro is the ultimate Apple device for video editing and, probably, any other purpose. Starting at $5,999 for the most basic configuration, it’s a major investment. For an upgraded version that includes all of the most powerful, high-tech components you will pay as much as $51,399—this may seem shocking at first, but it’s not actually that different from what a PC manufacturer would charge for a computer of an equal level.

The Mac Pro offers the most in terms of every single specification—CPU, RAM, graphics, storage, you name it. The base model provides an 8-core Intel Xeon 3.5GHz processor with 32GB RAM, 256BG SSD and Radeon Pro 580X graphics card. This configuration has almost a limitless upgrade potential. However, a 12-core processor and 96GB of RAM seem optimal for video editing needs.

Mac Pro comes without a screen, which needs to be purchased separately. There is no point in buying Apple’s own display that is available at a price similar to that of an iMac Pro—you can get a cheaper model with almost identical benefits, such as Dell Ultrasharp U3219Q.

iMac Pro for Video Editing

With iMac Pro, you can enjoy the massive 27-inch screen and the exceptionally fast 8-core Intel Xeon W processor to edit 8K videos and create audio effects. The processor can be upgraded up to 18 cores for a smoother editing experience. Other base components include 256GB RAM, storage capabilities of up to 4TB, and the superb Radeon Pro Vega graphics card.

Overall, the most recent model of iMac Pro is the second best option for video editing after Mac Pro with all the specs being entirely on the level. It offers an additional advantage of a 5K retina display, eliminating the need to purchase it separately. However, bear in mind that the model hasn’t been updated in two years—look out for news from Apple to get a newer version.

Best Mac For Video Editing Mac Pro Vs Imac

iMac for Video Editing

The new 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display is the third best computer for video editing. It has the most attractive price/performance ratio and enables editing 4K videos in full size with visible controls. We recommend this model to less dedicated video editors who are still aiming to produce top quality content but don’t use highly demanding software.

The base model is on the lower side of the price range, being only $1,799, but that is for less advanced specs. Serious editors will need to make a few custom changes:

• The RAM in a 27-inch iMac is only 8GB, which will need to be upgraded ideally to 32GB—an extra $600 right off the back. The top iMac has 128GB on-board memory.
• 3.1GHz 6-core i5 processor and an AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (4GB memory) are also not the perfect option and require improvement. We recommend getting a discrete graphics card with as much memory as you can afford.
• The default 256GB SSD can be replaced with a 512GB one for $300.

The final price comes out as approximately $5,000, nearing that of a Mac Pro. Professionals have to think of whether it’s really worth the hassle—you might as well just buy a device that has all the required tech built in. But is the base model enough for an amateur film-maker? That’s up to you to figure out.

MacBook Pro for Video Editing

If you’re looking for a portable computer that maintains those powerful video editing capabilities, MacBook Pro is a solid and reliable option.

If you've ever tried running Final Cut or Adobe Premiere on a generic Mac, you are most certainly familiar with the frequent crashes and kernel panics. This is not an issue with a MacBook Pro.

However, you need to be conscious of the fact that the power potential of a laptop is undeniably inferior to that of a desktop computer. The small scale of the device makes heat management a harder task, not to mention the size of the display which is significantly smaller in MacBooks than in iMacs.

If you do wish to buy a MacBook Pro, go for the 16-inch version due to a better graphics card, a more powerful 2.6GHz 6-core i5 processor and RAM of up to 64GB. In addition, the starting capacity of the SSD is 512GB, which is exactly what you’re looking for. These components can be further improved at an additional cost, but the base model will come to $2,399.

Beginners can opt for a cheaper and lighter 13-inch option with a 2.0GHz processor. It’s a slower model that lacks integrated graphics, but this can be fixed with an upgrade to an eGPU. A new 13-inch MacBook Pro will cost $1,799.

Mac mini for Video Editing

This is the cheapest device produced by Apple that can be used for video editing, being only $799 for the basic model. With this option you get a selection of surprisingly good characteristics: 3.6GHz Quad-Core processor that can be upgraded to a 6-core one, a default SSD with 256GB memory that can go up to 2TB, and 8GB RAM that you can boost up to 64GB. The final product in this case will come at $3,099—still cheaper than an upgraded MacBook Pro.

Despite the fact that the slow graphics card is a typical disadvantage of a Mac Mini, it can easily be upgraded to a better eGPU. The small screen size can be compensated by an external display of high resolution.

Overall, beginners and film enthusiasts will find this laptop their best option due to affordability combined with reasonable specs and agility of the device.

How to Optimize your Mac for Video Editing?

If you've been video editing for a while you must have encountered problems with your Mac being slow and overloaded with tons of unneeded files or duplicated videos and images. As a highly resource-consuming process, video editing does require some extra steps towards minimizing memory overload and maximizing disk space. So, what can be done for more efficient work?

Whenever your Mac's performance lags— MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner can help you get rid of that annoying spinning wheel. This way your Mac's RAM memory will be cleaned automatically with just a click. Another cool perk of the Memory Cleaner feature is that you can monitor which apps are the ones eating up the most RAM memory.

Besides, it's a good practice to track down old junk files, duplicates, and other files taking up your Mac's valuable space for no reason whatsoever. Here, MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup and Duplicates Finder come to rescue. These comprehensive scanning tools delete duplicates, leftovers, caches, logs, and more. Safe Cleanup even empties the Trash! And that's all before you know it.

Simply put MacKeeper in charge of your Mac's cleanup and optimization and get extra time for video editing!

Wrapping Up

When making a decision, think about the level of video editing you want to undertake. The choice will differ for amateurs and professionals that use specialized software on an everyday basis.

A Mac Pro will return the investment fast if you make a living out of film-making. An iMac Pro or iMac with Retina 5K display are also great for professional video editors who are in need of a large screen. If you have a more dynamic lifestyle, MacBook Pro will be perfect for your needs. Finally, a Mac Mini is ideal for those who don’t run demanding software and simply edit videos as a hobby.

Depending on the types of tasks you usually do, you might need a particular set of computer specs. Therefore, before you buy a Mac, check the system requirements of the programs you’re planning to use. The most popular video editing software for Mac, Adobe Premiere and Final Cut, mention all the details on their websites.

Mac Desktop For Video Editing

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It doesn’t matter which app you choose for video editing, but make sure that you check for viruses and malware on all the apps that you download from the internet.

Good Mac For Video Editing

In fact , MacKeeper offers you all the tools you need for this—no malicious component will be able to sneak into your Mac. The app will even notify you if you are about to enter a potentially malicious website—download MacKeeper and see for yourself.