Free Video Editing Software for Mac: 7 Options Compared

DaVinci Resolve (Blackmagic Design's editing, colour, audio and effects application) is the free editor I would choose for a YouTube channel. Blackmagic's product page states that the free version handles 8-bit formats at up to 60fps in resolutions up to Ultra HD (the 3840x2160 resolution YouTube labels 4K), with no watermark. That covers almost every YouTube upload.

The free version also includes Fairlight, Resolve's built-in audio page, which matters for a voice-led channel: you can clean up and level a voiceover without leaving the editor. The paid DaVinci Resolve Studio adds the DaVinci AI Neural Engine tools (magic mask, AI noise reduction, text-based editing) and 10-bit footage up to 120fps. Blackmagic sells Studio as a one-off licence rather than a subscription.

Check your Mac first. According to the DaVinci Resolve Club's 2026 requirements guide, Resolve 21.1 needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 15 Sequoia or later, with 8 GB of RAM (16 GB if you use the Fusion effects page). Intel Macs stop at Resolve 20.3.2, and a project opened in 21.1 will not reopen in 20.3.2, so keep everything on one version.

iMovie (Apple's free consumer video editor) is the quickest route from footage to a finished video. The Mac App Store listing shows version 10.4.5, 4K editing, 29 trailer templates, and green screen, picture-in-picture and side-by-side effects. It needs 4 GB of RAM and 3.5 GB of disk space.

Its best trick for a growing channel is the hand-off: an iMovie project can be sent to Final Cut Pro (Apple's paid professional editor) if you outgrow it, so nothing you start is wasted. The 10.4.5 update also added editing of Cinematic mode clips recorded in Final Cut Camera, Apple's capture app for iPhone.

The limits are about control rather than quality: the timeline, audio tools and export settings are deliberately simple. For talking-head clips or a short tutorial, none of that matters. The current version needs a recent macOS release, so check the App Store's compatibility line before relying on it on an older Mac.

Shotcut (a free, open-source, cross-platform editor) edits footage natively, so there is no import or transcode step before you start cutting. Shotcut's site lists support for hundreds of audio and video formats through FFmpeg (the open-source media library behind many video tools) and resolutions up to 4K.

Version 26.9 added Auto Duck, which lowers music automatically under speech, and Adjustment Clip, which applies one effect across every clip beneath it. Auto Duck in particular suits a voiceover channel, where background music has to sit under the narration.

The interface is more utilitarian than iMovie's, with panels you open as you need them. Expect an evening of tutorials before it feels natural.

OpenShot (a free video editor released under the GPLv3 open-source licence) is the friendliest of the open-source options. OpenShot's site states there are no subscriptions, watermarks or project limits, and version 4.1.1 runs on the Mac.

The feature list is longer than its reputation suggests: colour wheels, curves, LUTs (preset colour looks you apply in one step), video scopes, chroma key for green screen, interactive masks and keyframes. That is enough for a tidy tutorial or product video.

It is the one I would point someone at who finds iMovie too limited and Resolve too much, especially on an Intel Mac that cannot run the newest Resolve.

Lightworks (a long-running professional editor from LWKS) has a free tier, Lightworks Free (the no-cost plan of the same editor), that exports up to 1080p, according to its pricing page. Create raises that to 4K and Pro to 8K. The same page states files carry no overlays or watermarks, and the free plan includes YouTube and Vimeo upload presets.

The 1080p cap is the deciding factor. If you film and publish in Full HD, Lightworks Free gives you a professional editing model at no cost. If you film in 4K, Resolve or Shotcut export it free, which makes them the better starting point.

CapCut (ByteDance's video editor, widely used for TikTok) has a free desktop app for macOS 10.14 or later, per its desktop editor page. Its pricing page puts Pro at £21.99 a month or £199.99 a year at the time of writing, and that tier carries the AI features and premium templates.

The trouble with CapCut as a free editor is the mix: Pro features and templates sit alongside free ones in the same menus, so it is easy to build an edit that then asks you to upgrade before export. Primal Video left it out of its free editor round-up for that reason. Use it for vertical Shorts if you like its captions and templates, but check what is free before you build a long edit around it.

Clipchamp (Microsoft's online video editor) runs in a web browser on a Mac, so there is nothing to install. Its pricing page states that free exports go up to 1080p with no watermark, and you sign in with a personal Microsoft account. 4K export is a premium feature included with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans.

It suits a quick edit on a Mac you cannot install software on. For a regular channel, a desktop editor handles long projects and large files better than a browser tab.