Before we jump into tools, understand this: the video editing software world is massive and growing fast as online video explodes. The global market for audio and video editing software was valued at $7.03 billion in 2024 and is still expanding with demand from creators, businesses, and social platforms like YouTube. In 2032, it is expected to grow to $20.08 billion, at a CAGR of 14.02% from 2025 to 2032.
Something that you should know is that most YouTube creators converge on the same handful of video editing tools:
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Adobe After Effects (not exactly an editing tool, but an important part of Adobe)
- Final Cut Pro
- DaVinci Resolve
What is the best editing software for YouTube?
Premiere Pro – the industry standard?
When someone asks “What is the best editing software for YouTube?”, Premiere Pro is always top-3 in every survey. The pros at big agencies use it. Hollywood editors use it. Every seasoned YouTube editor has used it at least once in their editing life. It’s the professional video editing software most people learn first because it’s basically everywhere in the market.
It’s been the market leader for years and integrates tightly with After Effects and Audition, making it a total toolset if you want advanced visual effects or audio editing. However, we must say that there’s a love-hate relationship with this tool.
It’s powerful, flexible, integrates with other Adobe video editing tools, and has everything from multicam editing to advanced color grading, motion graphics templates, audio editing tools, video stabilization, advanced editing features, and plugin support.
What is Adobe Premiere Pro great at (and where’s not)
The advantages or strengths of Premiere Pro:
- Massive video editing features (multi-camera editing, motion tracking)
- Tight integration with advanced audio editing tools
- Unlimited video tracks and effects
- Solid for long-form YouTube content
Where it feels like a struggle?
- It’s expensive -seriously expensive if you’re a beginner or not earning yet.
- It’s complicated – and not just “steep learning curve.”
Many people start and quit because they don’t know what half the panels even do. - Can be slow on older machines compared to rivals.
- Subscription model means ongoing cost.
Also…that’s why many search “video editing software free” or “best free video editing software” , not because they want something good, but because they don’t want Premiere’s price tag.
Something else that we forgot to mention is that Adobe Premiere Pro sometimes trails in performance compared with Final Cut and DaVinci Resolve… sometimes by multiple times longer render times.
In simple words, Premiere is powerful, but not always efficient!
See also: What Do Most YouTubers Use to Edit Their Videos?
Adobe After Effects- the motion king?
Adobe After Effects is not a traditional video editor the way Premiere Pro or Final Cut are. It’s more like the spice rack for motion graphics and visual effects.
You want:
- Cinematic intros?
- Animated graphics that look like pro commercials?
- Titles that actually make people stop scrolling?
Then after Effects is unmatched. That’s why it’s often paired with Premiere Pro, not used on its own.
The real value of Adobe After Effects lies in its:
- Incredible motion tracking
- Professional animated titles
- Effects you won’t find in Premiere
- Seamless integration with Premiere
The big downside
- It’s not intuitive for newbies (that’s why only the most experienced video editors use it)
- It’s expensive (part of Adobe Creative Cloud).
- You don’t need it until you really want to level up.
Most YouTubers skip it at first. Then come back when they want to make their videos look crazy good.
Final Cut Pro- The Mac favorite?
If you’re on a Mac, Final Cut Pro is like the Lamborghini of editors. It’s ridiculously fast and designed specifically for Apple silicon chips.
It’s fast, efficient, intuitive, and ruthless in one area most people don’t like to forget: it doesn’t waste your computer’s power. Because Apple made it optimized for its processors, so rendering and exporting is real-world way faster than Premiere or DaVinci on many systems.
The real advantage of Final Cut Pro
- Fast exports & playback – very important for creators with big channels and long videos.
- Extremely smooth multicam editing
- One-time purchase – no subscription forever. You buy it once and get free lifetime updates as well
- Lots of built-in features – like motion graphics, templates, multicam editing, and advanced tools.
- We’ve also heard video editors/users say FCP is actually more fun to use than Premiere Pro.
But it’s limited by
- Mac only. Windows users are out of luck unless they emulate or use alternatives like DaVinci Resolve.
- Still not super easy if you’ve never edited before. Bayonet-style workflow means the learning curve is weirdly different from everyone else’s.
You might also like: Monetize AI Video Content While Following YouTube Rules
DaVinci Resolve & its powerful and fully-featured free version
If you’ve ever thought “I want Premiere or Final Cut, but don’t want to pay for anything yet,” this is your big answer. DaVinci Resolve is a great video editing software platform available today, and it has a fully featured FREE version that’s shockingly capable:
- Advanced color correction and color grading
- Fairlight Audio Suite – a full professional-level audio workstation
- Fusion visual effects and motion graphics (similar to After Effects)
- Cut Page for faster editing
- Video stabilization
- AI tools like Smart Reframe and Voice Isolation
- Proxy workflows for smoother editing on weaker PCs
Resolve stands out because
- You get professional color grading, audio editing, and motion graphics all in one.
- The free version has some great tools
- It’s cross-platform: Windows, Mac, even Linux support
- There’s also a built-in media management system, so you can sort, preview, and tag your clips without needing other apps. An important feature for YouTube creators juggling dozens of files per project.
Where it lacks?
But while the page-based system is intuitive, professional features in Fusion/Fairlight are more complicated and again have a steep learning curve. For quick social media edits, it’s sometimes slower than simpler apps or browser editors. It’s also not great for mobile editing.
Still, for real YouTube content with quality, depth, and professionalism, it’s a serious and real contender.
Resolve compared to other video editing tools
|
Feature |
DaVinci Resolve Free |
Premiere Pro |
Final Cut Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Free version |
Yes |
No, but has a 7-day free trial |
No, but has a free trial of 90 days |
|
Audio tools |
Pro-level |
Solid |
Solid |
|
Easy for beginners |
Medium |
Hard |
Medium |
|
Export speed |
Medium-fast |
Fast |
Very fast (on Mac) |
Don’t forget about the learning cost
You could pick the “best” editing software in the world and still feel frustrated and stuck. Because not always does power equal productivity. Many creators hit a wall because:
- They don’t have time to learn all the advanced features.
- They don’t enjoy slogging through tutorials.
- They just want to edit videos and ship content.
That’s where hiring professional video editors at Vidpros comes in.
For creators who:
✔ Hate learning complex tools
✔ Don’t have time for the endless editing process
✔ Want mind-blowing professional-looking YouTube videos without the headache (and without the year-long contracts)
… bringing in pros to edit YouTube videos can be worth 10× the cost of software subscriptions.
Because no matter what tools you use, if your editing process is dragging your channel growth… that’s a productivity problem, not a software problem.
Free video editing software: what else is out there?
Not everyone wants premium tools right away. Some creators just want to edit YouTube videos without paying a cent, because maybe they’re just getting started.
Here are options worth considering:
- iMovie- dead simple, great for basic editing and Mac users.
- CapCut / Mobile editors – wildly popular on mobile devices, even though CapCut has limited its free features
- Web-based video editors – like Veed, which you can use in a browser.
These tools aren’t as powerful as Premiere, Final Cut, or Resolve, but they’re fast, beginner-friendly, and useful when you want to get a video out today.
So, how to decide which tool really fits you?
Here’s a quick rule of thumb for what is the best editing software for YouTube channels, right now.
If you want professional control ➡ edit videos on Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve
If you want speed and efficiency ➡ edit videos on Final Cut Pro (for Mac users)
If you want power without paying ➡ edit videos on DaVinci Resolve (free version)
If you want intro graphics and effects➡ edit on After Effects (paired with a real editor)
If you want done-for-you➡ Just hire professionals at Vidpros
Capping off: What is the best editing software for YouTube?
There isn’t a single best answer to which is the best software for YouTube videos.
The best video editor tool depends on:
- Your editing skills
- Your goals
- Your budget
- Your platform(s)
- Your time
However, remember one thing – you’re not editing Hollywood movies, you’re editing content to hook viewers in the first seconds. So here’s what matters for YouTubers specifically:
For rendering speed, FCP wins because Apple silicon blitzes through exports.
For stability, Resolve can be more stable if your hardware is decent.
For workflow simplicity, DaVinci Resolve’s free version gives you powerful tools that no one else offers without paying. But the UI is less straightforward than FCP’s or Premiere’s.
For a learning library, Premiere Pro probably wins here because it’s been around so long that there are tons of tutorials and community help.
Don’t want to deal with editing software at all?
If reading all this made you realize you don’t actually want to learn another complex tool, that’s fair. Most YouTubers don’t quit because of bad software — they quit because editing eats up too much time.
That’s where Vidpros comes in. We offer a $100 trial for 1 week of professional video editing, where you can choose 10 short-form videos or 1 long-form YouTube video — fully edited by real pros, no long-term commitment.
