Final Cut Pro vs Premiere Pro vs DaVinci Resolve: WHICH Video Editing Software to Use?

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:12 Final Cut Pro
8:26 Premiere Pro
14:54 DaVinci Resolve
20:24 Conclusion
Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, or DaVinci Resolve…which video editing software should you go with? In this video, we go over the three big video editing softwares at a high level to get the overall feel and sense of each one that gives them their own unique characteristics. Whether you’re a beginner video editor or experienced but looking to switch, this is going to give you some top points to help you consider. We’re not going to get too deep into each one but enough to get a feel for what it’s like to edit videos in each one. There’s even a FREE option to go with that will give you the extra brownie points. I hope you find this video helpful!
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#videoediting #videoeditingsoftware #premierepro #finalcutpro #davinciresolve

[@mattchungz]

I know it’s been a while folks and thanks for coming back. I shifted my focus from KZbin to the business side of things but also wanted to give myself enough time to really learn and get comfortable with DaVinci Resolve, since that was the latest software I jumped onto. I have a line up of videos coming up so stay tuned. I’m still finding my overall look and feel for my content on the channel, but let’s try something new. Thanks for all the support all!

[@LifeOfaMatt]

Thanks Matt. At this point in time, would you go back to FCP? I have been using Premiere for a decade like you. Just got a Mac, which I am trialling FCP (I have 30 days left). I really like it, and yes it took some time to get used to it. I like how clean the UI is. I have not tried to resolve and every time I take a look at it, it appears overwhelming. Just my 2 cents, thank you for the awesome video!

[@darreon43]

thank you for making this yo!

[@tomcourtney3153]

A very fair overview of all three editors - nice one!

[@meloniedeguzman]

This video has been the most helpful; thank you! Great information.

[@mattchungz]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ThisGuyRightHere353]

Great video! I really liked your real world experience insights. It’s helpful hearing your workflow and thought process when making the decision. Good stuff man! Also, I love the lighting in this video.

[@mattchungz]

Thanks! I’m glad it was helpful to you!

[@farazkhorasani6325]

What a great video! Thanks very much. I really feel like I got a demo of how each program looks and is like, I've been looking for a video like this!

[@mattchungz]

Awesome, glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching

[@mah.d]

really practical and useful. thanks

[@9XRey]

Bruhhh...good work. Thank you

[@mattchungz]

Glad it was helpful

[@ingridmatschke]

Very informative, thanks.

[@mattchungz]

@ingridmatschke glad it was helpful!

[@linkin-70]

Very nice comparison for a beginner.. thanks yu very much

[@mattchungz]

Yes this was meant to be a high level comparison and for beginners to get a sense of the 3. Thanks for watching and glad it was helpful for you

[@habbakuk83]

@@mattchungz It served it purpose. I'm a beginner too and was wondering where to start. This video shed some light on things I believe are important to me in the first stages of learning the ropes of video editing. Thank you.

[@AaronMoneyMindset]

Keep up the good work Matt. I just finished watching your video (I'm a small Content Creator also) - this is my second attempt at a channel. I use Davinci and I agree, it does have a linking problem. I've been on it for about 3 months (Studio version). I came from Filmora. I have noticed you can do a lot in Davinci!! However, it does take time (even creating effects with a title takes a while to get everything looking professional. It goes slower them Filmora but it's far more professional. Anyway, great video Mat!

[@mattchungz]

Thank you! You’re the first person to relate with me on the linking problem. I’ll let you know if I find a solution

[@filmschoolsucks]

Great video! Been considering switching from Premiere Pro to DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut and this is the perfect video to help me make my decision.

[@mattchungz]

Glad it was helpful!

[@filmschoolsucks]

@@mattchungz do you have an Instagram page? I have 88.3K followers and would love to shout you out

[@user-us3lc1og7v]

DaVinci is new meta❤

[@MarkDHall]

Great video! I liked how you shared personal things that you liked and didn’t like about each. I originally used Premiere but switched to Resolve 6 years ago (version 14) and just got Final Cut last year because I heard it was really fast to edit with. Some things are, but others not so much. Like you, I like the freedom of being able to move clips anywhere and not have them constantly snapping back. I don’t like the audio features at all. I come from a sound background, so Fairlight is awesome. Final Cut’s sound capabilities are surprisingly good, but it’s a weird workflow for me. Roles are confusing. I like to see the tracks. Anyway, getting long winded here. But just wanted to say great video!

[@mattchungz]

Thank you! Great finding people you can relate with about similar experiences

[@MarkDHall]

@@mattchungz I just realized that my comment said I didn't like the Audi features. I edited it to correctly say I didn't like the "audio" features. I think the crux of it is what you start with and get used to. I've heard people who start in FCP can't work in other editors and for you and I, it seems like we're the opposite. FCP is great, but it's just very different than what we learned on.

[@AtaurRahman-jt8bd]

Thanks for the detailed video! Being a premiere pro using, those crashed are really unpredictable and as my PC is getting older, I am here searching for alternative s/w. Just downloaded DaVinci, let's see how it goes...

[@mattchungz]

Good luck with the switch! It’s not easy transitioning to another editor but once you get the hang of it, it’ll be great.

[@MIN_Tech]

The video is so much info! thanks for sharing awesome video! I do not like premiere pro (sub payment) and FCPX on iPad Pro (sub payment too). FCPX on Mac and Davici Resolve are the best way to edit video for me!

[@mattchungz]

Thanks for sharing and glad you found the video helpful!

[@tlh1588]

YES

Final Cut Pro user here. Very honest review. Several things: The movies you mentioned about Final Cut was made with Final Cut Pro 7. A completely different program. Final Cut Pro X was nicknamed "iMovie Pro" by professionals until a couple of years ago and Premiere Pro was nicknamed "Final Cut 8" Adjustment layers can be somehow mimicked with "Save preset" and it will be saved as an effect. I do that all the time to drop the same color grading for different takes of the same subject. Again, I don't know if you still would find it a step backwards. In the information clip you can access all the effects including color grading. Personal opinion. One of the things I wish all video editors had is that you can connect Final Cut Pro with Apple Compressor, a separate program, that lets you do batch jobs so you can still be working in different projects while compressor is exporting. And if you quit Final Cut Pro or crashes the exports keeps going until completion. Thanks for the video. I am finding myself transitioning to Davinci Studio

[@mattchungz]

Thanks for sharing! I’m least experienced with FCP so this was all new to me

[@BeerinBeautifulPlaces]

thanks!

[@mattchungz]

No problem!

[@brettsherman7810]

It’s easy to do adjustment layers in FCP X. You just need an empty text clip on top of the timeline. Any effect you put on that clip affects everything below it, just like an “adjustment layer” I made my own title called just that that has the text hidden.

[@GregorPQ]

No, FCP is not limited, just different. FCP has adjustment layers. You can rename the colour correction layers now.

[@roggio.wildlife]

Hey Matt, very great video - For years I have used Final Cut. I love photography and I make some videos. I’m an enthusiast wildlife photographer - What would you recommend in terms of iMac Mini, the M2 (16GB RAM +500GB) or the M2 pro version same settings? I’m curious to start using DaVinci to upgrade my editing skills. Thank you

[@mattchungz]

If you’re doing light editing like just cutting and grading, the M2 with 16gb of memory is enough. But if you think you’ll get to a point where you’re doing graphics like titles and then multi layer clips, go with the M2 Pro.

[@sammycollinsmakokha4395]

Great review. I would prefer a using FCPX and After Effects

[@mattchungz]

Still top tier

[@akyhne]

Depends on the kind work you do. For motion graphics, AE is the winner. For VFX and more complex compositing, AE can't compare with Fusion. Not the slightest.

[@johngodwin3838]

There are various easily searchable folks who provide free adjustment layers for FCP (which are typically just empty titles), or you can just use a title and type in a letter and make that letter transparent, then apply whatever effects you want over the clips you want to affect. And you can rename the adjustment layers as you wish.

[@mattchungz]

Definitely lots of different hacks, work arounds, and third party offerings but I think for someone coming from Premiere and totally new to FCP, it’s something they’ll run into and have to figure out. Especially for something that plays a major role in their editing workflow and a feature that was just there and built in. Thanks for sharing your tip with the empty titles!

[@cataloger1]

It’s easy to find, or add, adjustment layers in FCP.

[@mattchungz]

I’m guessing through plugins? If natively, please share! As far as I’m aware, it can be done through plugins but not natively built in.

[@technovangelist]

Don’t even need to use a plugin. Just make it in motion.

[@jasoncblackwood]

@@technovangelist this is the way, but that's not native nor is it "easy to find." Apple wants you editing things at the clip level, which is why this is so, I'd imagine.

[@johngodwin3838]

If you google “free FCPX adjustment layer” you should find a number of them. They’re basically empty titles you put above you clips and then add whatever effect you want to. And you can rename and copy them easily.

[@ryankavanaugh8301]

Re: importing XMLs in Davinci, try bringing all the footage into your Media Pool, then when you import the XML choose NOT to automatically search for clips.

[@mattchungz]

Thanks! Will give it a shot

[@Relativizor]

I tend to say you want to lean into the NLE you use. Using Final Cut Pro? You want to lean into the magnetic timeline and its ripple editing. Enjoy doing lots of pancake editing? Premiere is excellent for that. Use traditional 3(4)-point edits with lots of meta-dataed footage? Resolve is excellent for that. Trying to work "against" the NLEs way of working is going to become a headache in the long run.

[@mattchungz]

Excellent take! So true

[@MarkDHall]

Great tip! For me, I like sound editing, so Fairlight is wonderful and Final Cut confusing. But, if you want to drag clips all over quickly and have them snap into place without any unexpected gaps, Final Cut is great. I like your idea - work to each program’s strengths.

[@jeffarballo1881]

My experience is, it depends on what kind of projects you are doing. If you are doing long form documentaries, Movies or TV commercials, I would say Resolve for sure because it has just about everything you need and if you need to take it to a post house for anything its probably what most post house studios already know. If you are doing you tube videos or social media, FCP is the way to go it's just the fastest editing platform between the 3. Premiere is probably in the middle of Both of the programs and can handle most everything but it's also a paid subscription and I've had it crash on me the most out of the 3. But it does have After Effects so if that's something you are looking for then for sure Premiere would be the best. I do think resolve is starting to dominate in many ways so 2024 will be an interesting year.

[@akyhne]

Depends on what you need AE for. If it's for motion graphics, then yes, AE has the edge. For anything complex like compositing, Fusion is far superior.

[@luizsaha]

18:39 You know you can apply audio effects to tracks in premiere too right?

[@mattchungz]

I’ve been using Premiere forever and learned this now lol. Even though I’m fully on Resolve now, it’s good to know. Thanks for sharing

[@Elrevisor2k]

Only issue with Davinci is to be patient the learning curve is more steep just be patient but once you pass that everything will be smooth

[@mattchungz]

Totally agree!

[@harrywstephen]

I have a base model M2 Mac Mini and I want to create videos for KZbin but I don't know which editor I should use. Final Cut Pro will probably run smoother (seeing as I am on a Mac), but what would you suggest? I've used Davinci Resolve before and liked it a lot but I'm not sure how well my computer will be able to handle it. Would you happen to have any suggestions on which editor I should use?

[@mattchungz]

The base M2 Mini will run any of the editors just fine. Check out the latest video I put out, I actually put my M2 Macbook Air to the test with Resolve. Though my Air is upgraded to 16gb of RAM. FCP is likely better optimized for your Mini but Resolve should also run just fine. Hope that helps

[@akyhne]

Don't worry about performance. There's a clear trend between content creators that do tests on NLEs, that it should run smoothly or you need to upgrade your computer or switch NLE. Guess what, professional studios use +$20.000 machines, but they have the same issues. Fix? Enable caching/proxies/half or quarter playback/lower timeline resolution. NLE = Non linea editor = Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro etc.

[@Spidouz]

22:00 You’re not only getting a Video NLE, you’re getting the equivalent of Premiere Pro, After Effect (Fusion), Protools (Fairlight) and Media Composer (Color Grading). It’s really 4 Apps in one… and you don’t have to bounce files back and forth, it’s all under the same app… making it easy to work on a project from A to Z.

[@mattchungz]

💯 Getting so much value at a fixed price

[@avdcam]

On the Linking front, were the clips from Sony cameras? And was the XML from FCPX? There is a weird bug with how FCPX reads the timecode from Sony cameras (fcpx doesn't read the real timecode), and since Resolve does and the timecode doens't line up, linking will never work. Command Post does have a fix for this, but it has to be done in FCPX. Just finished the video! I think the xml issue might be the Sony cameras fault, sorry.

[@mattchungz]

Yep from Sony. They XML was from LumaFusion though. I uploaded the file into FCP and Premiere and they were fine, just DVR had issues. I’m noticing DVR has bugs when it comes to media linking. Sometimes randomly it’ll show offline even though they’re there and linked. Just need to reboot DVR. Interesting though regarding the Sony footage. I’ll test out footage from another cam and see if it’s still happening. Will report back once I get around to it. Thanks for the tip

[@avdcam]

I have experienced the issue you were mentioning where the drive letter on mac os seems to change randomly and is fixed upon a reboot. I think its a MacOS bug. Where Resolve is seeing the drive lettter with a number 1, 2 or 3 depending. This doesn't seem to occur on the OS level though. This is very new, hoping a mac os update fixes it.@@mattchungz

[@mattchungz]

Thanks for sharing!

[@NuestraNuevaVida_Vital]

At the moment we have been working with Davinci Resolve for over 2 years, but we will switch to osx when we buy our new mac book pro then we will try finalcut pro, we have heard that it runs pretty fast and we hope to be able to edit our videos faster and especially on the go and on our travels

[@mattchungz]

Both are great but it will take getting use to. I’ve actually noticed videos render and export much faster on DVR than on FCP. Every time I go back to FCP, I just feel so restricted. Only time I go back and use FCP, is if my project only needs to be cut with no grading or anything else needed. It’s faster for that because by default it ripple edits and so I just pop in, cut and snap, and done. Good luck with the transition!

[@NuestraNuevaVida_Vital]

@@mattchungz the only thing we don't know yet is if we should get the pro or the max with 36gb, can you give us a recommendation which one we should buy?

[@brycemorgan6708]

@@NuestraNuevaVida_Vital I bought the 16 inch M3 pro MacBook Pro It works great

[@mchungcinematography]

@@NuestraNuevaVida_Vital if you have the budget for it, go with beefier specs. It’ll last you longer and expand your limits when you start to either upgrade your camera or editing capabilities. Rendering times will be faster and you’ll just be able to do more.

[@NuestraNuevaVida_Vital]

@@mchungcinematography I think we will go with the m3 max 16 core 30 GPU

[@barssillusion]

Please help me. What should I choose? Mac mini M2 24G SSD with 1TB capacity or Mac mini M2 Pro 16G SSD with 512 GB capacity? Video editing in Full HD and 4K 8-10 bit formats. In Adobe Premiere. The speed of the timeline is important. The price for both computers is the same.

[@mattchungz]

I’d recommend the option with the Pro to give you the extra performance boost to future proof you a bit since you mentioned you’re editing in 1080 and 4k. Even if you were exclusively editing in 4k 10 bit, the Pro will hold up

[@rogalaphotography]

I was a FCPX user for 5 years and recently switched to Davinci. You do know you can turn the Ripple off don’t you? I loved the snap timeline and use it on Davinci. Final Cut is GREAT for beginners because it’s simple! Trying Davinci after only a year of video editing was daunting and overwhelming! Way too hard for a beginner to comprehend! However once you have the experience of editing under your belt, Davinci is by far the BEST editor to use!

[@mattchungz]

Yep, I covered it in terms of realizing how to turn off ripple. But you mention that FCPX is great for beginners because it’s more simple. Since I started on Adobe, that’s why I felt going on to FCPX felt like a step backwards but it’s a good choice if you’re just starting with editing. But yeah I agree, DVR has been great.

[@annebokma4637]

Went from razor to première, but it became more unstable over time so I went to resolve a long time ago. Never looked back. Specially not since subscription became a thing

[@mattchungz]

💯

[@AskJoe]

FCPX was a game changer for me when I started using it around 2011. It was the 1st video editing program that I could trust to simply not crash. Back then, there were a ton of editors and they simply weren't reliable. The software companies would blame the video drivers, and the video card companies blamed Microsoft for their bad drivers. Apple eliminated all that and made sure FCPX worked flawlessly with their hardware. What I did to overcome the linked clips in the Final Cut Pro timeline was lay down an empty placeholder like a black screen from the Generator for the entire length of my project. That basically became the main story. Then anything I put on top was free to move around independently. What draws me into the DaVinci platform is how well it works when you shoot live using their ATEM ISO models and use their cameras. I LOVE the project file it creates automatically to tweak the cuts after you stop recording. I ignored them at first, but then decided to give it a try and now I can't do without them. If the ATEMs could push out FCPX projects instead of DaVinci projects with everything as a multi-cam clip, I'd definitely stick with FCPX. I still use FCPX for anything that I didn't create on the ATEMs or my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras (4K and 6K G2).

[@mattchungz]

Great take, thanks for sharing. Although I use DaVinci as my primary editor now, I still from time to time will jump into FCP if I need to make quick cuts and arrangements, especially if I don't need to get too deep into the grading.

[@sambonilla416]

I’m a Luma Fusion user but I want to move to FCP or DaVinci?

[@mattchungz]

FCP will feel more familiar with Luma. DaVinci is great to learn and expand on in the long term. No harm in downloading the free version of DaVinci and trying it out

[@sambonilla416]

@@mattchungz Thanks for the quick response. I really appreciate it.

[@mattchungz]

No worries, good luck with whichever you decide to switch to.

[@MatteoGamingYT]

What’s the best one for KZbin 😅

[@mattchungz]

@MatteoGamingYT all of them are good for KZbin 🙂

[@MatteoGamingYT]

@@mattchungz well for gaming video essays

[@brucestrauss]

If u have a mac, Final Cut is the way. That is all.

[@DanielleKingdjdinosaur]

final cut keeps crashing

[@mattchungz]

What Mac are you using and what footage are you trying to edit?

[@MiniMovies-lw3vn]

Solid video but u may need to have more technical information to compete with larger KZbinrs. A lot of personal specifics but not a lot of general information.

[@mattchungz]

Thanks for the feedback. What kind of information or points would you say was lacking? This would help me understand a bit more about what to cover.

[@rei18nov]

😂 every time I see people say Final Cut is cheaper, dude the cheapest apple device for a proper edit costs 3K and you cannot even game on it 😂

[@mattchungz]

Not true when it comes to the cheapest Apple device to edit on being 3k and Apple machines don’t cater to gamers, Apple users aren’t gamers. If you’re a gamer and need to create, it’s best to get a PC for that, which I’m going to cover 4K editing on my gaming PC next.

[@vz3_]

The MacBook Air is more than capable of running Final Cut these days

[@Spidouz]

LOL… you don’t buy a Mac to play games. If I want to play games, I just turn on my Xbox Series X and I’m good. I got a MacBook Pro to work, and guess what? It does that PERFECTLY and it’s already been paid off for the work I do on it. They’re tools, if you can’t understand that, you probably never work for a living…

[@SebastianSas88]

A Mac Mini with M2 pro is amazing for video editing and it costs 1.3K You don’t know what you are talking about.

[@akyhne]

I have a pretty powerful PC. MB DKK 1800 64GB ram DKK 1800 CPU DKK 3200 PSU DKK 800 GPU DKK 3200 Tower DKK 500 That's a total of DKK 11.300 or $1643. But I could easily have built a PC at half of that and still be good. This machine can do anything an Apple computer can and more. While the Apple M chips are great, I'll never be switching for anything. I'll stick to a Windows PC, with its buggy OS.

[@Tony-rz4ks]

which one gives you the most templates to work with?

[@Tony-rz4ks]

premiere pro and after effects is too difficult to learn and not very user friendly...Camtasia is so so simple to use

[@mattchungz]

Between these 3, they’re mostly more or less pretty similar when it comes to the interface in their own way. Try CapCut