Macs and video editing have long been up a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Professionals were editing in Avid back in the late 1980s, and iMovie debuted in 1999 alongside the FireWire-enabled iMac DV. Today’s Macs are much more powerful than their ancestors, and that means even free apps are capable of doing some amazing things with video.

It’s surprising how much you can do without spending any money: in some cases the only difference between free apps and their extremely expensive siblings is a handful of features only pro editors will need. That’s a smart business strategy; the tinkerers of today could be the pros of tomorrow. There’s one video editor we’re disappointed not to include: (VLMC).

It's based on the VLC video editor – one of our must-have apps – but it’s still in alpha, which means it’s not reliable enough or finished enough for prime time just yet. Free editors don’t get better than this.

Lightworks puts professional video editing tools within the reach of all Mac owners, regardless of budget might look a bit frightening if you’re not used to high-end editors. And that’s about the only negative thing we can say about it, because Lightworks is one of the most powerful free video editors you can download.

The same technology that’s been used in proper films like Pulp Fiction and 28 Days Later is completely free for home use. Lightworks can be as light or as complex as you want: it’s as happy trimming a single clip to size as it is adding real-time effects, correcting colours or adding voiceovers. It’ll happily output in a format and resolution suitable for YouTube and Vimeo, but the highest quality options – 4K, 3D, Blu-Ray – and massive list of supported file formats are only for paying customers.

TechRadar readers can get 40% off a monthly license using the voucher code TECHRADARLWPROMONTH2017. Apple’s own movie app is easy to master and ideal for simple video editing Apple's own video editor used to be free with new Macs and chargeable for everybody else, but these days it’s completely free for anyone who wants it (provided they have OS X 10.11.2 or later).

It’s fairly simple to learn and packs a lot of useful features including audio editing and colour correction, and since last year it’s supported 4K video too. Don’t expect blisteringly fast 4K performance on a low-end Mac though, as it’s very demanding. IMovie isn't Final Cut Pro and it doesn’t pretend to be: it’s designed for home and small business users who want to make or edit videos and who don’t need complex, expensive apps, and it’s great for beginners.

Another professional video editor that's free to install on your Mac Here’s another app you’ll find in professional toolkits. Is a US$299 (£299, AU$499) app designed for post-production and packed with tools for adjusting, editing and correcting both audio and video. The free version, is almost identical, with some limits you probably won’t notice. Its 4K tops out at UHD 3,840 x 2,160, whereas the paid product goes up to 4,096 x 2,160. Filters for film grain, lens flare and lens blur aren’t available to free users without watermarking; you don’t get the extensive collaboration and workflow tools of the Studio version, and the really complex audio and video filtering is greyed out.

That sounds like a lot of omissions, but it really isn’t. DaVinci Resolve delivers a serious set of pro tools for free. Perform quick edits and take total control over video and audio encoding is a handy app for simple editing tasks, so if you’re looking for something you can use to make quick edits and cuts this may well be the free video editor for you. Unlike most video editors for Macs, there’s no timeline with multiple tracks to cut between and you don’t get any flashy wipes or transitions. What you do get is an exceptionally quick way to trim footage and rearrange sections.

Avidemux also includes practical filters for removing noise and other irritants. Its most useful feature is its superb exporter, which gives you total control over the video and audio encoding rather than just asking you to pick a file format.

The audio options are particularly good. Surprisingly powerful without being a pain to learn is an interesting alternative to better known video editing apps, and while it takes a bit of setting up (for example, to use animated titles you’ll need to install the free app too) it’s surprisingly powerful. OpenShot offers transitions with real-time previews, timeline-based editing, 3D titles and special effects, audio mixing and editing, and a range of visual effects including color correction and chroma key compositing. As is often the case with open source software, the interface isn't as slick as commercial alternatives, but don’t let that put you off. OpenShot is an excellent free video editor for macOS, and it’s really easy to get to grips with.

Brilliant for beginners, but also powerful enough for more advanced users Some video apps put every single feature on screen at once, which is enough to make even experienced users feel a bit lost. Not – its interface stays out of the way, bringing up what you need when you need it without filling the screen with things you don’t want. Shotcut covers all the essentials, but our favourite feature is its filtering.

There are stacks of audio and video filters that you can layer to create interesting effects. There’s no preview before you apply your filter, but it’s non-destructive editing so you can easily roll back if it doesn’t do what you hoped. There are lots of export options, and while there aren’t presets for specific devices (something that’s handy if you’re making movies for mobile) it’s easy to fine tune settings and codecs. Much more than just rendering – Blender is also a capable free video editor We know what you’re thinking:? Isn’t that a 3D rendering app? Yes, it is, but it’s also a really good free video editor too. It cuts, splices and masks, mixes audio and has up to 32 slots for adding items, masks and effects.

There’s a good selection of file formats, with AVI, MPEG and QuickTime as well as the various 3D file formats. The interface can be as simple or as complex as you like, and because the app is in constant development it’s constantly getting better and better. Blender might be overkill for basic home movies, but if you’re keen to learn new things it’s a fantastic tool for doing so.

3D capabilities help Sony's consumer-grade video editing software to stand out, and the precise editing and solid rendering speed make this an excellent option for consumers. Other features include YouTube sharing, DVD and Blu-Ray compatibilities, and an excellent Picture in Picture preview. The downside? The interface feels a little outdated, and definitely seems like a watered-down version of Sony's Pro software, as opposed to a product developed with the consumer's needs in mind.

Price: $39.99. As the industry leader in video editing, Adobe Premiere Pro CC comes with a redesigned timeline and Paste Effects, which allows you to copy and paste the effects you need from one clip to another, making your editing faster and more efficient. Other new features include new sync settings, the ability to browse through your projects to find and combine clips faster, closed captioning features and improved multicam editing. And as part of the Creative Cloud, it’s backed by the Adobe Creative Suite, integrated with and can be synced across multiple workstations.

Price: $49.99 per month. Avid Media Composer's latest version comes with a wealth of new and improved features, such as accelerated high-res-to-HD workflows and automated media management to handle background media tasks while you focus on your creative vision. The $999 price tag is steep for amateurs, but worth it if you're looking for a professional-grade software. As the editing software of choice for summer blockbusters like Star Trek and The Great Gatsby, Avid Media Composer 7 can handle any editing challenge with ease. See also: As with any software, it's best to consider which features you'll need before you make a purchase.

Small business owners or designers who want to create videos for professional use will have very different needs than consumers editing their home videos. Be realistic about what you'll use, so you don't end up paying for software you don't need. You'll also want to consider which video formats you'll be shooting in, and therefore what the software's formatting capabilities are. This is important, as not all raw footage will work with every program.

Do your homework before clicking 'buy.' Finally, you'll want to pay attention to sharing capabilities. In the past, you only needed to worry about saving your videos to a DVD or a highly compressed video file, but the rise of and has resulted in new sharing options. If you're looking to share your videos to your social network, make sure that your software is capable of doing so. Our picks for the best video editing software on the market are in the gallery above, from beginners' options such as to the creative powerhouse that is the. You'll find software for any level of expertise and interest.

Don't see your favorite software here, or use one of these and love it? Share your recommendations in the comments section below.

Best Video Creation Software For Mac

Editor's note: The original article has been updated to reflect a more comprehensive list of software platforms. Homepage image: Flickr, Every product here is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our work.