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Filmmaking / Video Editing

Premiere Pro vs DaVinci Resolve – From An Expert

Premiere pro vs davinci resolve
Published 9 May 2023

Are you contemplating which video editing software to choose for your next project? Look no further, as we bring you a comprehensive comparison between two of the most powerful and popular options in the market – Premiere Pro vs DaVinci Resolve.

Dive in for a detailed analysis of their strengths, unique features, and how they cater to different user preferences and needs. From color grading to seamless Adobe ecosystem integration, we cover all aspects to help you make an informed decision that suits your specific requirements and budget constraints.

Join us as we explore these two titans of the video editing world and discover which one is the perfect fit for you in the battle of Premiere Pro vs DaVinci Resolve.

Premiere Pro vs DaVinci Resolve: A Quick Overview

DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro are both popular and powerful video editing software programs, each with its unique strengths and features. While both are widely used by professionals and hobbyists alike in the Premiere Pro vs DaVinci Resolve debate, they cater to different user preferences and needs.

DaVinci Resolve is particularly renowned for its advanced color grading and color correction capabilities, making it a go-to choice for filmmakers and colorists who need precise control over the look of their projects. It also boasts a comprehensive set of editing, visual effects, and audio post-production tools, providing an all-in-one solution for video creation.

Furthermore, DaVinci Resolve offers a robust free version that includes many of its powerful features, making it an attractive option for those on a budget or just starting out in video editing.

On the other hand, Adobe Premiere Pro is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem, which allows for seamless integration with other Adobe software like After Effects, Photoshop, and Audition. This interconnectedness is a significant advantage for users who frequently work with multiple Adobe applications in their projects.

Premiere Pro is known for its versatility and flexibility, offering a wide range of editing tools, effects, and plugins to cater to different styles and preferences. However, unlike DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro requires a subscription-based payment model, which may be less appealing to some users.

In summary, both DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro offer impressive features and capabilities for video editing, with the former excelling in color grading and affordability, and the latter benefiting from seamless integration within the Adobe ecosystem. The choice between the two largely depends on individual preferences, budget constraints, and specific project requirements.

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe premiere pro

Adobe Premiere Pro carries the day as the best video editing software for beginners, intermediates & professionals. The software flaunts a nonlinear editing interface, and a vast range of tools and capabilities that will easily help you make any type of film.

Premiere Pro is a great all-rounder that has some of the most versatile amounts of tools/effects. Pretty much most professional video editors I know use Premiere Pro as their main video editing software.

We also have a range of tutorials for Premiere Pro as well as a beginner’s guide to video editing in Premiere Pro.

Premiere Pro’s key features

  • Native file support
  • HDR support
  • VR support
  • Multi-cam support
  • Edit footage in all formats
  • Part of Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Cross-compatible with Adobe software
  • Free trial for seven days
  • Price starts from $19.99 per month making it accessible to everyone

Pain points

  • Known for crashing a lot. They have a good auto-save feature to avoid losing work
  • Color-grading tools aren’t close to being as good as DaVinci Resolve, and it’s hard to send projects to DaVinci to color grade
  • For better masking and title animations, you will need to get Adobe After Effects

Compatibility

Windows: Premiere Pro runs on Windows 11 and later versions. It is recommended to use the latest version of Windows 11 for optimal performance and compatibility.

macOS: Premiere Pro is compatible with macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or later versions, including macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and macOS 11 (Big Sur). It is advisable to use the latest version of macOS for the best experience and compatibility.

Complete Review of Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro features some professional easy-to-use tools such as Lumetri Color, Blurs, Transitions, Sound mixers, Multi-camera switcher, automatic audio sync, Adobe Fonts compatibility, and much more.

The professional video editing software boasts a wide range of tools for Cinematic Color correcting and grading, which beats much software on the market, apart from DaVinci Resolve. Read more about DaVinci Resolve below Premiere.

Easy-to-use User Interface

Workspaces

Despite its advanced capabilities, this software is amazingly easy to use due to the well-organized application window that uses a series of tabs called Workspaces. Each part offers an exclusive layout to meet your needs. Some notable workspaces are the learning station, introductory tutorials, and video editing workspace, with audio and video effects, graphics and titles, and transitions.

Panels

The workspaces are presented in quadrants known as panels. One panel worth mentioning is the project panel that lets you import and organize all your media, whether it’s titles, graphics, or videos. There are other panels like Source Monitor for previewing your work before importing it into the timeline, Program Monitor for viewing your timeline as it currently stands, and the timeline for displaying the historic view of the project.

You can resize and move these panels anywhere on your screen to match your preferences.

License

Each license gives you 2 computer uses. For example, if you have a MacBook Pro and an iMac desktop computer, you can use a single subscription for both.

Adobe Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud, often referred to as Adobe Cloud, is a collection of software applications, services, and resources offered by Adobe for creative professionals and hobbyists.

It covers a wide range of disciplines, including graphic design, video editing, photography, web development, and more. Instead of being sold as individual, standalone products, these tools and services are available through a subscription-based model.

Syncing across computers

Because you can use 2 computers on one license with Adobe, your projects and data are automatically synced between both computers. This is a lifesaver so you can have all your projects and favorites settings sync between devices.

Automatic backup of data

Adobe Cloud is amazing. Basically, it backs up all your important data to their cloud. You get 1TB of storage with your plan and this is plenty. If you happen to lose your laptop, then all your projects are automatically synced to the cloud and safe.

Great audio tools & flexibility

Premiere Pro also has a wide range of professional sound editing tools. It includes the Audio Track Mixer which is amazing for adding sound effects and adjusting the volume for individual tracks in the timeline.

There are also a bunch of effects tools such as Denoiser, Dehummer, Equaliser, Channel mixer, and much more.

Color tools & effects

There is a huge library of color effects with Premiere Pro. Featuring the most used effect Lumetri Color, which includes all sorts of basic color tools you need to get going. There are also tools such as Scopes, Levels, and Lumetri Color Presets.

There have also been some new additions in recent years that have really helped professionals get work done faster. This includes Captions, Adobe Stock, Colour Matching, and Reframe. Read more about Premiere Pro effects here.

Captions and auto reframe
Adobe stock colour matching

Masking

The masking features are quite basic with this software. They allow you to do the job in a basic way, but if you want to add bezier keyframe edges and create more precise masks, you will need to get Adobe After Effects too.

Latest file format support

Adobe is always on top of the latest updates and file formats. They need to be because they are so huge and play a massive part in all content creators’ worlds.

Support & updates

Constantly updated by Adobe so there’s no worry about it not getting the latest support for new things. The support is incredible with Adobe too, so if you ever need any help, you can get it super fast.


Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve

Davinci resolve 16

DaVinci Resolve was designed to provide the much-needed deviation from the visually complicated interfaces of other video editing software. The software allows effortless use, letting you trim a film or add footage without heading to the edit page.

DaVinci Resolve key features

  • It’s got a free version – It’s plenty for beginners & intermediates
  • It supports all the latest video and audio formats
  • It allows you to export multiple video and audio formats
  • It integrates well with Linux, macOS, and Windows
  • Come with a free version, premium packages start from $299 per year.
  • Supports Dolby Vision License
  • Change the bit-depth & color space of your timeline

Pain points

  • Hard to transfer projects between users
  • Keyboard shortcuts are different from the rest of the established editing software

Compatibility

Windows: DaVinci Resolve runs on Windows 11 and later versions.

macOS: DaVinci Resolve is compatible with macOS 10.14.6 Mojave or later versions, including macOS Catalina and macOS Big Sur.

Linux: DaVinci Resolve supports CentOS Linux 7.3 (64-bit) or later versions.

Please note that system requirements and compatible operating systems may change with newer releases of DaVinci Resolve. It is always a good idea to check the official Blackmagic Design website for the most up-to-date information on compatibility and system requirements.

Complete review of DaVinci Resolve

Users also love the DaVinci Resolve color correction toolset that ranks among the best in the industry. The software’s cut page capability is great for people working on TV news or commercials. The page allows you to import, add titles, transitions, trim, match color, and mix audio in a single place.

There are other features in this software like Dual Timeline for fast navigation, and source tape that lets you see all clips in a bin. There is also a dedicated trim interface that lets you see all sides of the edit. The tool is made for TV and film recording, mixing, editing, sweetening, and finishing options.

View a list of our extensive DaVinci Resolve tutorials.

User interface

DaVinci Resolve has a great user interface. One of the best UIs for color grading by far. But for video editing, it’s not the easiest out of all of them and will take some getting used to, especially if you are trying to convert from Premiere Pro. But everything is laid out nicely with plenty of spacing.

It’s got amazing dual monitor support, learn here how to use your second monitor as a video feed.

The Best Coloring Software

One of the main features of DaVinci Resolve is its color-correcting and grading tools. Used by most TV shows and movies in recent years to color their shows. Blackmagic Design has crafted the best color grading tools on the market – DaVinci Resolve. It’s superior to Premiere Pro and any other software on this list, so if color grading is your thing, DaVinci is the route to take.

All-in-one editing software

DaVinci Resolve stemmed mostly from color grading. Over the years, an insane amount of development has been pumped into it and it now features an incredible amount of tools for video editing.

When you use this software, you pretty much won’t need to use other software because it does most things you need for a full project.

Effects library

It’s got a lot of templates and presets which are actually great. Usually, templates are pretty lame in video editing so this makes a difference.

Free version

The free version is perfect for most people. Usually, free versions of software, in general, are quite limited in terms of flexibility and use cases, but Blackmagic Design has really thought about the user here.

The free version of DaVinci Resolve features pretty much most settings apart from the top-end professional settings such as custom resolutions, Dolby Vision, and other things you would only need if you’re a pro. There’s a great blog here if you want to read more about free vs. paid DaVinci Resolve.

Latest file format support

Just like Adobe, Blackmagic Design is on top of the latest technology and formats. There’s no need to worry if DaVinci supports specific formats, they pretty much support everything. Read our blog on all the DaVinci Resolve supported file formats.

Audio tools

DaVinci Resolve has a huge range of audio tools for professionals. It’s got everything you need such as DeNoiser, EQ, and much more.

Control surfaces

There’s a range of useful control surfaces that Blackmagic Design has created such as the Micro Panel, Mini Panel, and the Advanced Panel.

Micro panel
Mini panel
Advanced
Davinci trackballs

Video Overview

Conclusion

Selecting the ideal video editing software between Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve ultimately depends on your specific needs, preferences, and budget.

As you weigh the advantages of each, consider the importance of factors such as the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem, pricing models, and color grading capabilities.

By carefully evaluating your project requirements and long-term goals, you can confidently choose the software that will best support your creative vision and empower you to produce high-quality, professional-grade content.

About Author

Will is a professional Ecommerce Shopify expert (7 years experience) & a professional Filmmaker/Video Editor (17 years experience). Now living between the Isle of Man & Brighton, UK. Highly experienced in Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Shopify, WordPress & SEO. Owner of Teckers, Bounce Color, Stunt Camera Crew & more.