- Best Paid Apps For Mac 2018
- Mac Apps 2018
- Best Paid Apps For Mac 2018 Holiday
- Mac App Store
- Best Paid Apps For Ipad
- Best Paid Apps For Mac 2018 Update
- Best Paid Apps For Android
- Best Apps For Mac 2018
Please contact me if you have any suggestions for best Mac OS apps! I haven't included any of the default apps that come with Mac OS. I haven't included any of the default apps that come with Mac OS. All of these apps are actually used by me.
There are a bunch of great apps you can install on your Mac—no question there. Separating amazing apps from must-have apps is the hard part, and we don’t want you to spend hours analyzing the Mac App Store (or scouring the web) to find the very best and most useful apps. We’ve made a list of champions across four categories: productivity; Internet and communications; music, photos, and video; and utilities.
The Lifehacker Pack is an annual snapshot of our favorite, essential applications for each of our favorite platforms. For our always-updating directory of all the best apps, be sure to bookmark our App Directory, where we profile amazing apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS each week—browser extensions, too.
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Alfred (free-ish)
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You can do a lot with Spotlight in macOS, but Alfred is still our favorite application launcher for yourMac. This easy-to-use tool can do so much more than pull up apps, files, and and keyword-driven automation. Plunk down £19 for the Powerpack, and you’ll get a clipboard history, access to workflows (that you can use to combine different actions, hotkeys, and keywords to do even more), hotkeys, 1Password integration, and even text expansion. In other words, paying for Alfred covers a number of activities that you’d have to download separate apps for—some featured in this very Lifehacker Pack. If you’re a new Alfred buyer and feeling little overwhelmed, be sure to check out our beginner’s guide to the app to get a handle on all the amazing things you can do with it.
If you don’t want to pay anything for an app launcher that has similar (but fewer) features under the hood, check out LaunchBar 6: free, if you don’t mind a little bother here and there. That, or consider tricking out Spotlight.
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Bear (free-ish)
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This cutely named app is one of the best note-taking apps you can get, with one small caveat—to synchronize notes between your devices or use custom themes, you’ll need to pony up $15/year for the app’s subscription. Otherwise, Bear is completely free to use (and looks great).
Within the app, you organize your notes by hashtags rather than unwieldy folders. You can also link notes to one another, which makes it a lot easier to chain together related thoughts instead of having to dump everything into one giant Super Note or remember that you had a few things to say, split into different notes, about a particular topic. Install Bear’s browser extension for Safari, Chrome, or Firefox, and you’ll be able to create new notes from whatever portion of a webpage you select. Also, Bear makes it easy to import notes from other services, including Apple Notes, so you really have no reason to not give it a spin.
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If you need to sync notes and don’t feel like paying for it, consider apps like OneNote, Google Keep, or Simplenote—all good choices, but none that can beat our Bear for usability and looks.
aText ($5)
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Who would have thought that text expansion, otherwise known as typing shortcuts, would be so expensive? While it’s true that you can create these kinds of shortcuts yourself directly within macOS, a full-fledged text expansion app is going to save you a lot of time and trouble. We like aText if for nothing else than its price—$5—given that much-loved alternatives like Textexpander ($3.33/mo on an annual plan; $45 for an older standalone) and TypeIt4Me 6 ($20) are anywhere from a bit to a lot more expensive.
As for aText, using it is simple. You set it up so that whenever you enter little words or phrases, the app drops in something else. So, you can finally correct that annoying “ducking” issue forevermore,
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Text expansion, also known as typing shortcuts, can save you hours of typing each day. You type a small word or combination of characters and it’ll expand into full, complex sentences that you often use. We love aText because it offers so many great features and only costs $5. If you haven’t yet jumped on the text expansion train, it’s time.
Todoist (free-ish)
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For simple note-taking and note-organizing, you can’t go wrong with Todoist. The app is completely free—unless you want to pay $39/yearly for more advanced features like automatic reminders, backups, themes, and an activity overview, to name a few features. Otherwise, the basics are great. It’s easy to create and synchronize tasks (and subtasks) across all of your Todoist-using devices, and browser extensions (including a Gmail addon) will help you make Todoist, and your growing task list, an ever-present part of your daily life. You won’t have that same kind of experience with plain ol’ Notes, especially if you’re trying to access your items on multiple platforms.
If you’re a big Google fan, we also love Google Tasks, which you’ll find directly integrated into the latest version of Gmail (and as a direct app for iOS and Android). You can also add to-do items into our note-taking app, Bear. The app Things 3 is a super-comprehensive task manager, but it costs quite a bit: $50 for Mac, $10 for iPhone, and $20 for your iPad. If the first item on your to-do list is “rob a bank,” however, it’s a gorgeous, fully featured app. And if you want to harass yourself about things you have to get done on your Mac, consider giving the quicky Effortless a try—which drops a countdown timer for your tasks directly into your Mac’s menu bar.
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Google Drive and Office Online (free)
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We don’t really have to introduce Google Drive, because Google’s offerings should be pretty well-known by everyone at this point. Docs and Sheets are great, free tools for creating and collaborating on documents and spreadsheets (of course), so much so, that a number of businesses solely rely on Google’s offerings instead of anything fancier or pricier.
If you’re a Microsoft convert, or you really love Word and Excel, you can access basic, online versions of both programs directly from Microsoft—no Office 365 subscription needed. If you’d rather work offline, Apple’s Pages and Numbers are the obvious, free choices, and LibreOffice is still the best open-source office app around.
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Airmail ($5)
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If you really don’t feel like fussing around with Mail, which is fine enough for most macOS users, consider giving Airmail a try. It’s been our favorite third-party mail app for some time given its low price and ample customization. It also hooks into a ton of other third-party apps and services, including Trello, Evernote, your favorite cloud storage service, and Apple’s mighty Workflow app (on iOS, that is).
If you don’t need power options and want easy, simple email, the free Spark is definitely worth checking out—especially since it can help you automatically sort your inbox to make it feel less like an ever-growing pile of things you’ll never read. Boxy 2 is great if you’re a Gmail user who wants the powers of its Inbox app on your desktop (and don’t mind paying $5 for it), and Mailplane 4 ($30) is a solid app if you prefer an interface that looks like the regular ol’ Gmail. Power users might want to investigate Wavebox ($20/year), which lets you access Gmail, Inbox, Outlook, and all sorts of other amazing web apps directly from one, easy-to-use interface.
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Internet and Communications
Google Chrome and Firefox Quantum (free)
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The browser you use is likely going to be dictated by the browser you’ve been using. In other words, if you’re a Google Chrome loyalist, it’ll probably take a lot to get you to switch over to Firefox Quantum (if you’re at all intrigued). And if you’ve been with Firefox from day one, you’re probably a lot less likely to want to move all of your bookmarks, extensions, and other settings over to Chrome.
So, which browser is best? It’s not so much that one excels over the other; it’s more important to say that both, finally, are pretty competitive. Depending on the benchmarks you look at—here are a bunch from ZDNet, for example—the browsers appear evenly matched for speed. I haven’t gone through and assessed the most-recent version of each, but I have used both Firefox Quantum and Google Chrome, and they both feel, well, fast. That said, Chrome still feels a bit like a hog when you’re trying to load a ton of tabs at once, but it’s pretty good about using less of your CPU and memory than other browsers.
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If you don’t like either, Opera is a viable alternative that’s actually pretty speedy in its own right—and we can’t complain about its built-in VPN, either, nor its awesome integration of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram directly into an easy-to-launch sidebar.
Goofy and Franz (free)
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Years ago, it felt like everyone used one chat client to cover a bunch of services (ICQ, AIM, IRC, Jabber, et cetera). Most people nowadays probably have their favorites locked in: Messages for texting, Facebook Messenger for everything else, WhatsApp for sending government secrets or expiring pictures of your booty, Discord for any and all things gaming, Slack for all things not-gaming, et cetera. So, rather than go into detail with all the more obvious apps, we’ll highlight two unique ones.
Facebook Messenger, as you know, requires you to be on Facebook to use it. If I’m correct, you used to be able to essentially connect Facebook’s service to Messages itself, so you could send and receive your Facebook chats without having to have your browser open all the time. And if I’m right (again), you can no longer do that. Instead, you’ll want an app like Goofy, which basically drops the Facebook Messenger interface into a simple application that you can access from your desktop.
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We’re also fans of Franz, which offers the same treatment for a variety of other services (as well as Facebook Messenger). If you don’t want to keep 20 programs open to chat with people, Franz lets you access apps like Slack, WeChat, WhatsApp, Skype, Google Hangouts, and Facebook Messenger all from one, single interface.
Skype (free)
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Everyone also probably has a video chat app they love to use. And there are plenty to pick from: FaceTime, which comes baked into macOS by default; the aforementioned WhatsApp; Google Hangouts; Houseparty; and even good ol’ Facebook Messenger itself.
If you’re looking for a standalone messaging app that can do it all—for personal and business use, too—we still recommend Skype, which Microsoft recently overhauled. Its interface feels cleaner (and comes with a dark mode), it’s still as easy as ever to send text messages, video messages, and files to contacts, and you can even @ message your friends to get their attention.
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That said, we live in an time where most messaging apps have some kind of video or calling component—or so it feels. So if you need that human contact beyond simple texting and emoji, odds are good that you can already do it in the chat app you love.
Music, Photos, and Video
VLC (free)
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VLC is the best media player you can put on your Mac, period. It works perfectly with minimal fuss once you install it, and it can play almost any file you throw at it. If you’re a power user, it has a sea of options that would take the entire rest of this article to describe to you.
We enjoy all the improvements VideoLAN tosses VLC’s way, including its new support for 10-bit color depth and HDR, 360 videos, and improved decoding that allows less-powerful systems to play full 4K videos—even if that’s overkill for your Mac’s display resolution. You can drop a number of plug-ins and extensions into VLC to extend its functionality, and you can even use the app to stream videos to your Chromecast, if you’ve allowed Google to get a foothold into your Apple-only household.
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HandBrake (free)
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HandBrake is a free video conversion tool that, when coupled with an app like MakeMKV, will turn you into a ripping and converting powerhouse. HandBrake is pretty easy to use, but there are still plenty of settings that might give you a little anxiety when you first load the app. We have a guide to help out with that. Once you’ve mastered the basics, queuing up multiple videos and converting them to all kinds of different formats will feel second-nature. Also, don’t forget to grab VLC, mentioned above, so you can actually watch all of your creations.
Adobe Bridge CC, digiKam, and Google Backup and Sync (free)
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Apple’s standard Photos app does a pretty decent job organizing your sprawling photo, thanks to collections, tags, and the ability to view photos by when (and where) they were taken. You can even do a little light editing, too.
Best Paid Apps For Mac 2018
If you need a little more organizational oomph, consider Adobe Bridge CC—completely free to use, even though you might have assumed it was a paid app. You can’t do a lot of editing in Bridge (well, any retouching, really), but what it lacks in tools, it makes up for in data. You can easily see all sorts of compelling metadata about the images you’ve taken, and organizing them via ratings, keywords, and labels is easy. Well, setting it up is easy. Actually organizing your sprawling photo library might take a little time, but it’ll be worth it in the end, trust me.
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The open-source app digiKam has organizing, editing, and a UI that’s fairly similar to what you’d find in Adobe Bridge CC. If you’re not used apps like Adobe’s Lightroom, digiKam might feel a bit advanced—possibly even overkill for your needs—but it’s a powerful app for pro users that would rather spend their cash on camera hardware than more software.
Google Backup and Sync isn’t a photo organizing app itself, but it’s what you’ll want to use to get your photos uploaded into Google Photos—a great online tool and compelling alternative to iCloud as a result of the unlimited storage space you get for photos. It’s easy to create collections and share photos with others (Google will even make suggestions for you based around where and when you’ve taken your shots). And we also like that you can get pretty creative with your searches when sorting and organizing your sprawling photo library.
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Spotify ($10) and Amazon Music Unlimited ($8)
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Which music streaming service you pick is largely a matter of preference: one might carry your favorite band, one might have an app interface you greatly prefer, one might have all your friends on it. If you aren’t into Apple Music for these, or any other valid reasons, Spotify is the next obvious choice (sorry Tidal). It has a huge library, its social features are great, and we love the thought it puts into its playlists—human-curated and automatically generated.
If you’re already an Amazon Prime subscriber, you should also consider checking out the company’s Amazon Music Unlimited service. You’ll have to pay $8 on top of your Prime subscription, but that still makes it slightly cheaper than an Apple Music ($10) or Spotify Premium ($10).
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Pixelmator ($30) and Affinity Photo ($50)
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Pixelmator is one of the best image editors on the Mac, but it’s no longer the only game in town. Though its $30 asking price might seem high, it’s a bargain considering all the incredible editing tools you get to play with—rivaling more comprehensive apps like Adobe’s Photoshop CC for a fraction of the price. (And if you want features like Touch Bar support, automatic color adjustments, and advanced compression—as well as HEIF exporting—you’ll want to pick up the pricier Pixelmator Pro for $60)
Affinity Photo is a compelling, albeit costlier alternative to Pixelmator that’ll set you back $50 for a professional-grade suite of tools, including full RAW editing and a UI that looks a lot like the Photoshop you might prefer (but don’t want to pay a subscription to get). That includes support for “Personas,” which mimics Photoshop’s Workspaces feature by allowing you to set your screen’s many options and buttons based on whatever it is you’re working on—if you prefer one set of tools for a simple editing and another set of tools for something more complex, like pre-processing images for print.
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If you’re looking for basic image editing and your Mac’s built-in Photos app isn’t enough, you can always give the open-source app GIMP a try. What it lacks in polish, it makes up for in price.
Utilities
Dropbox, Google Drive, and Mega (free-ish)
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These cloud storage services should all be household names at this point. We’ve covered their costs, and their peers’ pricing models, pretty extensively. Which one you go with depends on your budget, preferences, and needs. Dropbox is a great, all-encompassing solution for cloud storage, but you’ll need to get creative to get more than 2GB of free space with the service. Google Drive is a no-brainer, since you get 15GB of space and can easily synchronize files to your laptop or desktop to work on them offline.
With Mega, you get 50GB of free cloud storage to play with and a handy app (MEGAsync) that you can use across your Windows and Mac computers. Mega does have an annoying transfer quota of around 1GB or so in a 24-hour time span, but that’s a small price to pay for a free 50 gigs. Take that, thumbdrives
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qBittorrent or Deluge (free)
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Ever since Transmission had all those malware issues some time ago, and uTorrent filled its installer full of crap and cryptocurrency miners, we’ve been on the hunt for a simple BitTorrent app, and we’ve settled on qBittorrent. It’s an open-source downloading tool that should look pretty familiar for anyone who has used an app like uTorrent or Transmission previously. No big surprises with qBittorrent’s UI or features. We like that the app is ad- and crap-free, is completely open source, and can automatically quit or shut down your PC when your download is done. Deluge is a good BitTorrent app alternative, but the app hasn’t been updated since May of 2017 (when we wrote this), and we prefer something with more active development.
Backblaze ($5/mo)
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If you want to keep your important files on the cloud, rather than a Time Machine backup, that’s fine—you might not have spare storage sitting around, after all. Backblaze is our new top pick for backup services, since it costs half the price of Crashplan (previously great) and does all the same things. Install the app, pick the files and folders you want to back up (encrypted, no less), and hope you never have to use the service’s restoration features.
The Unarchiver (free)
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If you have file archives that your Mac can’t open, give The Unarchiver a shot at them. It’s free, it’s quick, and it does a good job of opening that which your Mac cannot open itself. It also works directly out of Finder, so you won’t have to (annoyingly) open up a separate app before you take a crack at your archives.
A good alternative is Keka, which is also free, also opens a bunch of different archive formats, and can even be faster than The Unarchiver depending on the archive format and size. If you have issues with one app, try the other, and you might find that it does a better job extracting your files.
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(This story originally ran in July 2016, written by Alan Henry. It was updated in July 2018 by David Murphy.)
Video editing has become a very popular and coveted skill. Since the success of many YouTube entrepreneurs, everyone seems to be trying their hands on it. If you are one of those people or someone who is truly looking to make career out of it, you will need a good video editing software as your companion. Depending on your goals and budget, the software you choose will differ from person to person. If you are just starting out as a beginner, you might prefer a free video editing software over the paid ones. Also, the editing software for a Windows user might differ from someone using a Mac or Linux computer. Some of you might even be into motion graphics and 3D-rendering. What I want to say is that there’s no one video editor which will suit everyone in this world. Hence, we have created a list which we think will cover most of the needs of people. So, ready to find out the best video editing software for you?
15 Best Video Editing Software 2018
Because there are so many good options out there, to make it easier for you, in this article, we have divided the video editing software into several categories. Now, one thing to note here is that the categorization is not hard and fast, and hence, editing software mentioned in one category can be used for other categories also. However, if a video editor is mentioned in one category, it means that it is more suited for that work. With that out of the way, let’s begin.
1. Adobe Premiere Pro
When it comes to video editing software, Adobe Premiere Pro is the first one that you will hear and that too for good reasons. Think of a feature, any feature that you might need in a video software, and I will bet that Premiere Pro has it. The editor is not only powerful but also has a clean and familiar interface. But, the best part about using Adobe Premiere Pro is the ecosystem that it supports. Every other tool that Adobe offers you connects seamlessly with Premiere Pro. Whether you are using Photoshop for photos, After Effects for animations, or Adobe Audition for audio editing, everything plays nicely with the Premiere Pro. When you are buying the Premiere Pro, you are not just buying a video editor rather you are entering an ecosystem which gives you access to some of the best creative tools out there. For that reason alone, I recommend Premier Pro over any other video software in the world.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS
Supported Input Formats: MP4, MPEG, MPE, MPG (MPEG-1, MPEG-2), M2V (DVD-compliant MPEG-2), MTS (avchd), MOV, FLV, AVI
Supported Output Formats: H.264: AAC, 3GP, MP4, M4V, HEVC (H.265), MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, among others
Price: $19.99/month (Billed annually)
2. Final Cut Pro X
If you are a Mac user, I don’t think you should even consider buying any other editing software other than Final Cut Pro X. The only reason to choose any other software like Premiere Pro over the Final Cut is if you had already invested considerable time in learning some other video editor and just switched to Mac. However, if you are just starting out, Final Cut Pro is the best option for you as it is a beast on a Mac. Apple’s software are just so in sync with their hardware that you get the best possible performance. However, performance is not only the play here, as Final Cut is as powerful as any other video editor on this list. Not only that, if you are a beginner and ready to invest time and money in this software, you will find that it is one of the easier video editing software to get used to. As I said, if you are on a Mac and you can afford it, buy this one without hesitation.
Supported Platforms: macOS
Supported Input Formats: H.264, Apple Animation codec, Apple ProRes (all versions), AVHCD, DVCAM, DVCPRO, and more
Supported Output Formats: Apple Pro-res, H.264, HDV, MPEG, and HDV among others
Price: $299.99
3. Avid Media Composer
Generally I don’t suggest Avid Media Composer to anyone because it’s such a high-end product, however, recently the company has released a free version of their video editor called the “Avid Media Composer | First” and it’s a great news for all the budding video editors out there. If you have not heard about Avid before, it’s because it is a software used by professionals taking on big projects. Your favourite movies and tv-shows are edited on Avid. Movies like the Guardian of Galaxy (vol. 2), the Martian, and Baby Driver have been edited using Avid. So, know this, if you are trying to take on a big project, like a feature film or a tv-series Avid is the industry leader here. That being said, the pro version of Avid costs you $49.99/month and there’s that. However, since they have released a free version with restrictions which will only affect users who want the full power of the editor, it has become accessible to normal customers. So, if you want to experience a true professional grade video editor give Avid Media Composer | First a try.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS
Supported Input Formats: MPEG, DV, DVPRO, H.264, XDCAM, MPEG-4, AVCHD, and more (click here to learn more)
Supported Output Formats: MPEG, DV, DVPRO, H.264, AVC, AVC-Intra, MP4, and more (click here to learn more)
Price: (Free, $49.99/month)
Best Editing Software For YouTube
Any of the above video editors will work great for budding YouTube editors, however, every one of them will also cost you a lot that is if you don’t go for the free version of Avid Media Composer. That being said, if you are just starting out, you should start with a software which is not only fairly cheap but is also easy to learn. The video editors mentioned in this section are cheap and easy to learn than those mentioned above. Again, if you want the best of the bunch, choose one from the above, however, I would suggest first you start with any of these and then upgrade yourself as get more comfortable with video editing.
1. Shotcut
If you are a budding YouTuber and you need a software which is not only free but also doesn’t cut down on features, look no further than Shotcut. Shotcut is an open source and free video editor which provides you with all the editing tool you will ever need. Since the editor is open source and completely free, if you are just starting out, it’s a great place to learn the basics of video editing without investing any money. Most of the video editors follow the same editing basics, hence once you are ready to move to a professional grade editing software like Premiere Pro or Final Cut, the switch won’t be that hard. The best part about using Shotcut is that despite being free it doesn’t cut down on too many features. The editor supports a wide variety of video and audio formats with a good selection of effects and color correction tools. Also, Shotcut is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux, so no matter which OS you are running, you can install and use Shotcut on your device.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Supported Input Formats: Based on FFmpeg hence supports most of the video formats
Supported Output Formats: H.264, WebM, ProRes, MPEG-2, and others
Price: (Free)
2. Hit Film Express
If you are looking for a full professional grade video editor which is also free, Hit Film Express is your best bet. The only con of using this software is the one which is same for any professional grade software, that is, you will have to invest a considerable amount of time in learning it. On the scale of video editor learning process, this one falls on the harder side. However, if you are ready to invest your time, Hit Film Express can become the only editing software that you are ever going to need. It has everything that you will need to support your expanding editing skills. The editor supports almost every know video and audio format and has over 180 visual effects which you can use. The company also keeps a great selection of free tutorials which can get you started. However, as I said earlier, you will need to invest a considerable amount of time in learning this one. Also, the editor is a little heavy on the resources so you will need a good system to run it smoothly.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS
Supported Input Formats: MP4, H.264, AVCHD, QuickTime Import, AVI, M2T, M2TS, MTS, MXF (DVCPro HD), DV, HDV, and WMV among others.
Supported Output Formats: MP4, H.264 among others
Price: (Free – Can add extra functionality at $349)
Best Video Editing Software For Beginners
1. iMovie
iMovie is my favourite video editor to I recommend to beginners. It’s a shame that the software is exclusive to macOS and hence neither Windows nor Linux user can enjoy this editor. However, If you do own a Mac, you must know that iMovie comes pre-installed with your Mac which essentially makes it free. But that’s not what makes it best for beginners. The best part about iMovie is its simple and intuitive interface which is really easy to figure out, even without help. Also, Apple’s optimisation makes iMovie a really snappy editor which can be used even on older Macs without any problem. As a beginner, iMovie is the best video editor you can use on a Mac. I say this especially because iMovie acts as a really good primer for Final Cut Pro, which you are essentially going to use as you get more and more comfortable with video editing and iMovie no longer satisfies your requirements.
Supported Platforms: macOS
Supported Input Formats: DV, HDV, AVCHD, Apple Intermediate Codec, Apple Animation Codec, Motion JPEG/A, iFrame, h.264, some, but not all, varieties of MP4, MOV.
Supported Output Formats: H.264, HDV, Apple Pixlet Video, Apple VC H.263, MPEG, and HDV among others
Price: (Free)
2. Adobe Premiere Elements
If you are a Windows user and looking for a good video editing software which is capable yet beginner friendly, Adobe Premiere Elements is to the software to go for. I know at $99.99, it is not exactly cheap, however, I still think that it is good for beginners who are willing to spend a little money. Those looking for a free alternative should go for Shotcut, which I mentioned earlier (best video editors for YouTube). I prefer Premier Elements because of a few reasons. Firstly, just like iMovie acts as a great primer for Final Cut, Premiere Elements is the stepping stone to Premiere Pro. If you see yourself as a professional video editor few months down the line, you should start in such a way that you can reach there. You will have to switch to a professional grade video editing software in the future, so why not start with something which will help you do just that. For me, that alone is a reason you should consider this one. You will also love it sleek interface along with its natural and intuitive editing environment. It also comes with all the horsepower that you will need as a beginner. if you are serious about video editing, you should start with this one.
Supported Platforms: macOS, Windows
Supported Input Formats: H.264 (.mp4, .m4v), H.264-encoded QuickTime (.mov, .mp4, .m4v), MPEG-1 (.mpeg), MPEG-2 (.m2v, .mpg) and others.
Supported Output Formats: H.264 (.mp4), H.264-encoded QuickTime (.mov, .mp4),MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and others
Price: ($99.99)
Best Software Available for All Platforms (Windows, macOS and Linux)
In a world which is dominated by Windows and macOS, Linux users are often neglected when it comes to creative software such as video editors. While, it is true that most of the mainstream professional grade video-editing software doesn’t offer a Linux counterpart, there are some really good options available for Linux users. We already covered one such option in our YouTube subsection which is Shotcut. Here are some more options that you can look at:
1. Lightworks
If you are looking for a professional-grade video editing software for Linux, it doesn’t get better than Lightworks. What best about Lightworks is that it offers a free version along with its paid version. So, if you are just starting out you can start with the free version and then upgrade to the paid version, once you are comfortable with your video editing skills. The company also offers a good selection of tutorial videos to get you started on your video editing journey. When it comes to features, Lightworks doesn’t disappoint. The editor natively supports almost all the video formats you can think of. When it comes to exporting the software comes with a dedicated web export (MPEG4/H.264), so your videos are share-ready as soon as you complete your editing process. It also supports multi-cam editing and can support 4K content really well. The bottom line is, this is one of the best professional-grade video editing software you can get on Linux, Period.
Supported Platforms: Linux, Windows, and macOS
Supported Input Formats: MPEG-2 I-Frame SD, Apple Pro Res, DVCAM / DVCPRO 25, AVCHD (M2T, M2TS, MPEG4, H.264) and others
Supported Output Formats: Web-compatible file (MPEG4/H.264), WebM, Blu-ray and others
Price: (Free, $24.99 to $437.99)
2. OpenShot
The best part about using Linux is that most of the software available for Linux are open-source and free. So, if you are just getting started OpenShot can be a very good option for you. OpenShot is an incredibly good free video editing tool. Its interface is clean and easy to get around and is backed by a great set of professional video editing tools including 3D-rendering, video effects, animations, keyframes, and more. Despite being open source, the software is constantly updated to bring you new features and smooth performance. The software is built on powerful FFmpeg library hence it can read and write most video and image formats. For a Linux user, OpenShot is a great place to start.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Supported Input Formats: Based on FFmpeg hence supports most of the video formats
Supported Output Formats: H.264, WebM, ProRes, MPEG-2, and others
Price: (Free)
Best Editing Software For Color Correction
DaVinci Resolve
While all the other video editing software do offer built-in color correction tools, none of them offer as extensive control over color correction as DaVinci Resolve. This video editor started its journey as a color correction tool which slowly evolved into a full-fledged video editor. Needless to say, color correction still remains its biggest weapon that it can hold over other professional grade video editing software. In fact, its color correction tools are so good that it’s the default choice for film and tv-series makers for color grading purposes. Apart from its extensive color correction toolset, DaVinci resolve offers a familiar multi-track timeline with quick edit pop-up and customisable keyboard shortcuts. It also offers a plethora of video transitions and effects along with features like multi-cam editing, keyframes, speed effects and more. DaVinci Resolve is a very competent video editing software, with the best color correction tools to go with it.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS
Supported Input Formats: QuickTime, AVI, R3D, MXF, Prores, DNxHD, MXF, DPX, CIN, EXR and others
Supported Output Formats: H.264, HDV, MPEG, and others
Price: (Free, Pro-version is sold through offline stores – for more info click here)
Best Software For Motion Graphics and Visual Effects
Adobe After Effects
Okay, I know that this is not strictly a video editor, however, I still wanted to include this on the list for people who are mainly looking to create graphics and visual effects for videos. In fact, learning Motion Graphics and Visual Effects has become a required skill set for any video editor. If you call yourself a video editor, you need to learn at least the basics of motion graphics, and there is no software better than Adobe After Effects which can help you do that. Whether you use Final Cut or Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects is the go-to tool for editors who want to add motion graphics and visual effects to their videos. Whether you are a beginner or a Pro video editor, if you want to get into things like motion graphics, visual effects, animations, and special effects, this is the place to start.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS
Supported Input Formats: MPEG, MP4, M4V, M4A, MOV, AVI, WAV and others.
Supported Output Formats: MOV, OMF, AVI, 3GP, 3G2, AMC, and more.
Price: ($19.99/month – billed annually)
Best Editing Software For 3D Modelling
Blender
Just like After Effects, Blender is also not your normal video editing software, rather it’s a tool for creators who want to get into 3D Modelling Field. Truth be told, Blender does come with a full-fledged built-in video editor and theoretically you can create and produce a full movie just using Blender, however, I would not recommend that. However, if you want to get into 3D modeling, Blender is the software to do it with. The primary reason I suggest Blender over any other 3D Modelling software is because it is an open source software and is totally free. If you have done your research you might know that a 3D modeling software along with their various plug-ins doesn’t come cheap, hence, not many of us can afford them. Secondly, Blender is a cross-platform app with support for Mac, Windows, and, Linux. However, Blender also has a weakness. It has a very steep learning curve and hence you might find the software a bit intimidating at first. However, if you are ready to invest time to learn this software, you won’t find any missing feature here.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Supported Input Formats: OBJ, FBX, 3DS, PLY, STL, and more
Supported Output Formats: OBJ, FBX, 3DS, PLY, STL, and more
Price: (Free)
Mac Apps 2018
Beginners and Professionals
We have already covered a lot of video editing software, however, if for some reason none of them satisfy your needs, these are some other popular and good video editing software that you might want to consider. I know people who don’t like to buy Adobe products as they employ a subscription-based price. Many people don’t own a Mac, hence Final Cut is out of the picture. Basically, if there is any reason which is stopping you from investing time and money on any of the above-mentioned software, here are some other great options for you.
1. Sony Vegas Pro 15
Sony Vegas Pro has always been one of the best video editing software in the market. I love Sony Vegas Pro because of its built-in audio editing features. While other editing software like Final Cut and Premiere Pro provide some control over audio editing, Vegas Pro brings a full-fledged audio editor. It allows you to edit high-res multi-track audio to match with your video quality. The Vegas Pro 15 is bringing numerous new features including support for high-end graphics cards, a totally flexible workflow environment, powerful new tools and other minor improvements to make your editing journey as smooth as possible. The software comes in 3 different versions with each of them asking for a one-time payment. There’s no subscription-based pricing here.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS
Supported Input Formats: DV, HDV, AVCHD, NXCAM, MOV, MP4, WMV, MPEG-1/2/4, H.264/AVC, and more.
Supported Output Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, AVCHD Disc, (DV-)AVI, MJPEG, MXF, MOV, WMV, XAVC, XAVC S, MPEG-1/2/4, H.264/AV, and more
Price: ($399 to $799)
2. Cyberlink Power Director 16
If you can’t afford to pay for the Sony Vegas Pro 15, you should look at the Cyberlink Power Director 16 which provides you with a great editing environment at almost 3rd of a price. Despite being cheap, Power Director 16 is no slouch when it comes to video editing. It is regularly updated and adds the newest feature as soon as possible. It was one of the first video editing software to add support for 360-degree video editing. Like DaVinci Resolve, this one also focuses heavily on color correction and provides you with a plethora of tools to get that perfect tint on your videos. Other features include support for a wide variety of audio, video, and image format along with support for multi-cam editing.
Supported Platforms: Windows
Supported Input Formats: H.265/HEVC, MVC (MTS), MP4 (XAVC S), FLV (H.264), MPEG-4 AVC, and more.
Supported Output Formats: H.264 AVC, WMV, H.265 HEVC, XAVC S, and more.
Price: (Starts at $99.99)
3. Pinnacle Studio
It is one of the cheapest full-fledged video editing software out there. The software focuses more on effects, transitions, and color correction. It provides with a precise multi-track editing environment with customisable workspaces. It also supports both 4K and multi-cam video editing along with power audio-editing tools with royalty-free music, voice-over effects and more. Just like others, it also supports most of the popular video and audio formats, so whatever format your footage is in, you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues. Basically, if you are looking for a cheap video editing software with lots of cool features, this one is the one to get.
Best Paid Apps For Mac 2018 Holiday
Supported Platforms: Windows
Supported Input Formats: AVCHD; DivX; MKV; MPEG-1, 2, and 4, QuickTime, WMV, XAVC S and others.
Supported Output Formats: MP4, MOV, AVI, and others.
Price: (Starts at $59.95)
SEE ALSO: 15 Best Cameras for YouTube Videos You Can Buy
Best Video Editing Software To Get You Started
At last, you have reached the end of the article and hopefully, now you have a fairly good idea which video editing software you should go for. The choice really depends on your need, skills, and budget. Don’t just the most popular ones, pick the one which is good for you. If this article helped in the choosing your favourite video editing software, do let us know which one you’re picked in the comments section below. Also tell us, if you are already in love with some other video editing software which is not on our list.