EASY VIDEO EDITORS FOR MAC

Take the next step on your movie-making journey

Apple gives iMovie away for free, and while it’s a great app for making quick and simple movies, it’s not designed for more in-depth projects. That’s not to say, however, that you have to step up to a much more complex system to achieve great things. The apps on test offer a convenient middle-ground, with significantly more powerful editing tools and more features, while retaining a sensible price point and, for the most part, not placing too high a technical burden on you.

Some of these apps focus more on guiding you through the process of movie-making and using effects, while others provide in-depth tools for creating complex edits. Each has a selection of downloadable content including clips, music, graphics and sound effects that you can use (and, in some cases, include more expert capabilities such as 3D motion). All enable you to export to social media as well as movie files, though your choice of app may depend on how heavily you lean towards one type of destination for your content.

How we tested

Importing footage from a range of devices and locations, we considered how well each app dealt with conforming it to a project, as well as the general performance and workflow of the app itself. Ease of use was a major factor, with some apps requiring more effort to learn than others. Comparing each app with iMovie, we assessed its likely target user and how much further they might want to go in terms of processing and editing their footage. Pricing models were also a key criteria.

Things to consider…