When you are just starting to learn the video-making business, you will be faced with the decision of which editing software to buy. There are TONS of video editing software out there, and it can be overwhelming. Some of the two most common choices, however, tend to be Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X. Each is great in their own ways, so today we are talking about some of the pros and cons of each.
Integration
One of the most helpful aspects of Adobe products is their integration with each other. If you have assets you are working on in Photoshop, After Effects, or many of the other Adobe services, you can pull it into Premiere with all aspects intact through dynamic link. This means that when you make changes to the asset in its respective program (and save), Adobe Premiere will automatically update where you can see the changes in the timeline. Final Cut Pro X unfortunately doesn’t have this kind integration, which will lead to the need of exporting assets every time you want to make changes to see them in your video timeline. Though, both apps do have some integration with third party applications. For example, Final Cut Pro X can be integrated with Frame.io, Shutterstock, CatDV, and Simon Says. Depending on what you use, this could be a game changer for some editors.
Customization VS User-friendliness
Another big advantage to Adobe Premiere when compared with Final Cut Pro X is the inclusion of more customization options. Premiere will often let you customize the characteristics of each effect, title, and transition you use, giving the editor more control over the final look of the product. This, however, comes with a bit of a learning curve, as the layout of Premiere is not completely intuitive for beginners. If you have used other Adobe products before, it may not take you as long to learn how to use Premiere. On the other hand, Final Cut Pro X is very intuitive and easy to pick up and edit with relatively no prior knowledge of editing software. There are many pre-made templates to help you create customized titles and cool effects, but you will most likely not be able to change how the effect works. Overall, if your projects do not need extremely customized graphics, this will not be an issue for you.
Availability
It is also worth noting that Adobe Premiere Pro can be used on both Mac and Windows, while Final Cut Pro X is Mac only. This is actually one of the main deciding factors if you have multiple people working on a project with various operating systems. For this reason, as well as some others mentioned above, at Aaramba we use Adobe Premiere Pro for our editing.
Cost
Adobe Premiere Pro:
Single App:
Annual plan (paid monthly) - $20.99/mo
Annually plan (prepaid) - $239.88/yr
Monthly plan - $31.49/mo
Full Creative Suite:
Annual plan (prepaid) - $599.88/yr
Annual plan (paid monthly) - $52.99/mo
Monthly plan - $79.49/mo
Final Cut Pro X:
One-time Fee: $299.99
Takeaway
While these were just a few aspects to look at, there are many more reasons why each editing software is great in its own right. Fantastic videos are made every day with both of these programs, so the choice is simply what’s right for you.
