Premiere pro vs Final cut pro : a comparison
January 30, 2023
3
min read
If you're looking for professional-grade editing software, the choice is clear: Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X. Both programs are used by some of the world's best editors to make commercials, music videos, documentaries, and movies.
But different editors make different choices. Why?
We've created this comparison guide to help you decide which video editor is best for your needs.
Premiere is an Adobe product, and Final Cut Pro is an Apple product. This apparent difference is an essential factor.
Premiere is supported by both Windows and Mac, but Final Cut Pro is only supported on Mac. However, this advantage has a disadvantage: if Apple makes changes to the hardware chipsets, Premiere might take time to catch up.
The price comparison is essential in the Adobe Premiere Pro vs. Final Cut Pro debate. Premiere Pro is available as a monthly subscription that can cost anywhere between $20.99 and $600 per month.
The monthly subscription also provides access to other Adobe products such as Photoshop, Lightroom, After Effects, Audition, Illustrator, and more. Final Cut Pro is a one-time payment of $299.99 which means you own it forever and it's not updated as often as Adobe Premiere Pro; however, whatever is available for free is free.
There are special discounts for educational institutions and qualifying students can get the software for free.
Timelines are one of Premiere Pro's best features. It offers a seamless and logical editing experience. It allows flexibility, works well with many clips, and is excellent for non-linear formats such as vlogs. It is ideal for heavy workflows. Plus, it is highly configurable.
Final Cut Pro's workflow is much faster than Adobe Premiere Pro. It's easier to perform lighter editing work, but it's harder to edit non-traditional timelines because it's not customizable.
Adobe Premiere Pro can integrate with Adobe After Effects, considered the best VFX software to accomplish this. Apple Motion, an efficiently designed motion graphics tool, is compatible with Final Cut Pro. It comes with inbuilt VFX features. Both are great options and it depends on what best suits the workflow of the editor.
Each piece of software has its pros and cons. Final Cut Pro is known for having a fast rendering speed and being stable. Premier Pro, on the other hand, can suffer from occasional crashes, especially while using it on high-resolution platforms like 4K. While Premier Pro offers a cloud-based platform that can be accessed anywhere at any time, there is no seamless way of using shared storage between multiple users in Final Cut Pro. Users should also consider their computer's performance when using editing software; computers that are not optimized will slow down the software and make the editing process difficult.
You could consider a cloud computer and application streaming service like Flaneer, which will improve your device’s performance and reduce render time, making running such complex software a breeze.
When you look at the list of features, you'll realize that Premier Pro can do more things, such as better workflow flexibility and team projects. On the other hand, Final Cut Pro is well known for being faster, easier and snappier.
Each software has outstanding advantages. You might prefer one over the other depending on your needs. Both are exceptional software, and you won't be limited by using either piece of software.
If you're exclusively using a device with Mac OS and rely on Adobe products (such as Photoshop, and Lightroom) and work in a mixed-OS environment, then Premiere Pro is a good choice.
Using a software like Premiere pro can require a significant amount of RAM and CPU power to function properly. This can have a high entry cost for hardware which, in turn, results in a high barrier for entry for students and professionals alike. If you couple this with the fact that these types of hardware often depreciate in value quickly and are susceptible to equipment failure, it can be difficult to get started using techniques like those described in this article.
Having a cloud based solution solves all of these problems. Flaneer can provide high end machines available through a remote connection, meaning you can work as if you were using a top spec computer at a fraction of the usual cost. Flaneer machines are also stable and secure, meaning you don’t need to worry about the unexpected costs hardware failures might cause.
As working from home becomes a more desirable job criteria, cloud computing is becoming more and more common and useful. Security is a big priority for VFX freelancers and studios alike. Any data that you have on a computer at Flaneer is stored in their secure cloud with logged access, so you know who has accessed any of your data at any time.
Here's a list of the best machine to run Adobe Premiere Pro. Don't hesitate to try it, we give a 24h trial to allow you to test!
