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Macs have a thriving ecosystem of software, but some programs still only support Windows. Whether you want to use business software or play Windows PC games, there are many ways to run Windows programs on your Mac.
Some of these methods are similar to the ways you can install Windows software on Linux or run Windows programs on a Chromebook. Virtual machines, dual-booting, the Wine compatibility layer, and remote desktop solutions are all included here.
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Virtual Machines
We recommend using a virtual machine program, ideally Parallels or VMWare Fusion, to run Windows applications on a Mac without rebooting. For maximum performance, which is particularly necessary for gaming, we recommend dual-booting Windows with Boot Camp instead.
A virtual machine is one of the best ways to run Windows desktop software. They allow you to install Windows and other operating systems in a window on your Mac desktop. Windows will think it’s running on a real computer, but it’s actually running inside a piece of software on your Mac.
You don’t have to use your Windows program in the virtual machine window, either—many virtual machine programs allow you to break Windows programs out of your virtual machine window so they can appear on your Mac desktop. However, they’re still running inside the virtual machine in the background.
You’ll need a Windows license to install Windows in a virtual machine. If you already have a product key, you can download Windows installation media for free and install it in a virtual machine program.
How to change the default opening program mac for a type. RELATED:How to Seamlessly Run Windows Programs on Your Mac with Parallels
Popular virtual machine programs for Mac include Parallels and VMware Fusion. Each of these is a paid program, so you’ll have to buy both a Windows license and a copy of your virtual machine program of choice. You can also use the completely free and open-source VirtualBox for Mac, but its 3D graphics support and Mac operating system integration aren’t as good. Parallels and VMWare Fusion both offer free trials, so you can try all these programs and decide which is best for you.
Note:We don’t often recommend paid software, but in the case of Parallels Desktop, it’s something we use at How-To Geek every single day for testing software and running Windows. The integration with macOS is amazingly well done, and the speed blows away VirtualBox. In the long run, the price is well worth it.
There’s one big downside to virtual machines: 3D graphics performance isn’t amazing, so this isn’t the best way to run Windows games on your Mac. Yes, it can work—especially with older games—but you won’t get the best performance, even in an ideal situation. Many games, especially newer ones, will be unplayable. That’s where the next option comes into play.
Boot Camp
RELATED:How to Install Windows on a Mac With Boot Camp
Apple’s Boot Camp allows you to install Windows alongside macOS on your Mac. Only one operating system can be running at a time, so you’ll have to restart your Mac to switch between macOS and Windows. If you’ve ever dual-booted Linux on your Windows PC, it’s just like that.
Installing Windows as a real operating system on your Mac is the best idea if you want to play Windows games or use demanding applications that need all the performance they can get. When you install Windows on your Mac, you’ll be able to use Windows and Windows applications with the maximum possible performance. Your Mac will perform as well as a Windows PC with the same specifications.
The downside here is that you can’t run macOS applications and Windows applications side-by-side at the same time. If you just want to run a Windows desktop application alongside your Mac applications, a virtual machine will probably be ideal. On the other hand, if you want to play the latest Windows games on your Mac, Boot Camp will be ideal.
As with virtual machines, you’ll need a Windows license to install Windows on your Mac.
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Wine
RELATED:How to Run Windows Programs on a Mac With Wine
Wine originated on Linux. It’s a compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on other operating systems. Essentially, Wine is an attempt to rewrite the Windows code that applications depend on so they can run on other operating systems. This means that Wine is nowhere near perfect. It won’t run every Windows application, and will have bugs with many of them. The Wine AppDB can give you some idea of which applications are supported, although it focuses on Linux support.
Nevertheless, Wine is one way to try running Windows applications on a Mac. Because it doesn’t require you actually use Windows, you don’t need a Windows license to use Wine. It’s completely free. Just download Wine or WineBottler for macOS and see how well it works for your application.
CrossOver Mac
CodeWeavers’ CrossOver Mac is a paid application that will run Windows programs on Mac. It uses the open-source Wine code to accomplish this, but CrossOver provides a nice graphical interface and focuses on officially supporting popular programs. If an officially supported program doesn’t work, you can contact CodeWeavers and expect them to make it work for you. CodeWeavers contributes their improvements back to the open-source Wine project, so paying for CrossOver Mac also helps the Wine project itself.
CrossOver offers a free trial it you want to try it out first. You can also view a list of which programs run well on CrossOver before buying. While CrossOver focuses on compatibility, it’s still based on Wine, and won’t work with everything.
Most people will probably be happiest going for a virtual machine program and a Windows license. With CrossOver, you don’t need to run a Windows virtual machine—but, if you do run a Windows virtual machine, you’ll be able to run almost any Windows program with less risk of bugs. CrossOver does theoretically allow you to run Windows PC games on a Mac with better performance than you’d get in a virtual machine, but you’ll risk running into bugs and unsupported programs. Boot Camp may still be a better solution for that.
Remote Desktop
RELATED:How to Access Windows Remote Desktop Over the Internet
If you already have a Windows system, you could skip running Windows software on your Mac completely and use remote desktop software to access the Windows machine from your Mac’s desktop. Organizations with business software that runs on Windows can host Windows servers and make their applications available to Macs, Chromebooks, Linux PCs, iPads, Android tablet, and other devices. If you’re just a home user who also has a Windows PC, you could configure that Windows PC for remote access and connect to it whenever you need a Windows application. Bear in mind that this isn’t ideal for visually intensive applications like PC games.
If you’re a Chrome user, you can even use Chrome Remote Desktop to connect to a Windows PC running Chrome from your Mac running Chrome.
All these tricks obviously require more work than simply installing a Windows program on a Windows PC. If you have a Mac, you should focus on using Mac software when possible. Windows programs won’t be as integrated or work as well.
You may have to buy a Windows license for your Mac to get the best compatibility, whether you’re using a virtual machine or installing Windows in Boot Camp. Wine and CrossOver are nice ideas, but they aren’t perfect.
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Jul 25,2019• Proven solutions
Many people are looking of free Mac video editing software since they have tons of videos and are eager to edit the videos either for better presentation or preservation. Are there any free video editing software for Mac users that are really good? Many people ask this in forums. Here we compare some great Mac video editors, followed by the detailed information of each editor for your reference, and we also made a comparison table for Mac video editor in terms of video format, pros and cons of the 10 best free video editors for Mac. Check it out!
Updates: Are you also looking for video editors for Windows, Linux, mobile phone, or online? Check our latest post 36 Best Video Editors for All the Platforms.
Part 1: Best Free Video Editing Software for Mac Quick Comparison Table
We’ve summarized the features, pros and cons of these best video editing software for Mac users in the comparison table below. You can choose the best suitable one based on your editing skills and needs at the current stage.
Level | Products | Input formats | Output formats | Pros | Cons |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
For beginners | Apple iMovie | DV, HDV, AVCHD, Apple Intermediate Codec, Motion JPEG/A, iFrame, h.264, MP4, MOV.. | H.264/MPEG-4, MOV, AVI, DV.. | Available on iPhone/iPad; Comptiable well with Apple ecosystem | Audio is copyrighted |
Avidemux | 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, H263, JPEG, MKV, MP4, MPEG, MPEG4, MPG, and OGM | AVI, FLV, M1V, M2V, MKV, MP4, MPEG, MPG, OGM and TS | Clean and easy to use interface; Open source software without built-in purchase | Exporting process is slack | |
OpenShot | WebM, AVCHD, HEVC.. | MP4, AVI, MPEG.. | Provide free built in effects and animations; Support 3D title | Buggy at times; Freeze and crash often | |
ZS4 Video Editor | AVI, WAV, Image Files | AVI, WMV, WAV, Jpg, Png | More than 120 built-in video effects; unlimited tracks | User interface is not friendly | |
HyperEngine-AV | AVI, BMP, Cubic VR, DLS, DV, FLC.. | AIFF, AVI, BMP, DV Stream, FLC, MPEG-4.. | Includes twelve studio-quality effects; Create slide shows | Discontinued to release new version | |
For semi-pros | Kdenlive | AVI, MP4, FFmpeg.. | QuickTime, AVI, WMV, MPEG.. | Open source software | Not friendly for greenhands; Update slowly |
Blender | STL, ABC, FBX.. | FBX, DAE, ABC.. | Fast poly modeling tools; Customizable input | Unintuitive layers system; Animation management is not smooth | |
For pros | Davinci Resolve | MP4, MOV, MTS, AVI.. | QuickTime, AVI, R3D, MXF, DPX.. | Learning curve is not steep; Offer advance color grading | Single screen editing workflow is not friendly |
Lightworks | MPEG-2, AVC, RED R3D, DPX, Apple Pro Res.. | MPEG4/H.264 | Package is lightweight; Only need 3GB RAM to use | Effect library is limited | |
HitFilm Express | H.264, AVCHD, QuickTime, AVI, M2T, M2TS, MTS, MXF | H.264, Apple ProRes, AVI | High level ideo effects compositor | No motion graphics feature |
From the above comparison table, we can see there are so many pros and cons in different aspects. However, you may want to take look at another software - Filmora9- before you decide to use the one you like. It is anexcellnt Mac video editor that can meet your basic and advanced needs.
Part 2: Best Free Video Editing Software for Beginners: Wondershare Filmora9 for Mac (Video Tutorial)
Wondershare Filmora9 for Mac offers some persuasive advantages over other video editing tools available for Apple Mac. It not only includes basic video editing tools but also provides various advanced video effects for you to apply. Below are some features that can help you understand the best Mac video editor. Download it now to have a try!
- Supports almost all kinds of video formats, including MP4, AVI, MOV, AVCHD, MKV and more.
- Complete all classic video editing like crop, trim, cut, split and combine in a few clicks.
- Make your footage look like Hollywood film with color tuning tool.
- Make good use of your music with Audio Mixer and Audio Equalizer.
- Exclusive Action Cam Tool allows you to cut and merge large action cam footages within minutes.
- Advanced video editing tools like Tilt Shift, Face off, Mosaic, Jump Cut, etc for you to explore.
- Convert your edited to any popular video format or fit video to mobile devices.
- Burn your own DVD collection or upload to YouTube and Vimeo instantly.
- Up to 100 audio and video tracks to organize your project and layer media.
- Make exciting GoPro/action cam videos with precise speed controls.
How to Edit Videos with Wondershare Filmora9 (originally Wondershare Video Editor)
Import Media Files
Upload media files from your computer or transport from all kinds of cameras, smart phones and elsewhere. Or directly drag-n-drop them to the program.
Edit Your Video
Easily complete basic video editing by clicking the icons above the timeline. Add different video effects and filters to personalize it. For advanced video editing, you can easily create green screen effects.
Save & Enjoy
Save your video in different formats, share via Vimeo, YouTube, burn to DVD and more.
Part 3: Top 10 Best Free Mac Video Editors for Beginners/Semi-pros/Professionals
We’ve done some research and found out the following free video editing software for Mac users. Some of them are for video editing novice, while some free video editing software are for professionals (but if you need to use the professional features, you may need to purchase the Pro version). Hope you can find the right video editor based on your needs from the following list.
Best Free Video Editing Software for Mac [Beginners]
1. Apple iMovie
iMovie comes with every new Mac (OS X) and you don't need to pay extra money for it. The latest iMovie 11 is a great and free video editor for Mac with many great features such as movie trailer, one step effect, audio editing, etc. And in just a few steps, you can share your movies to YouTube or export videos for your iPhone, iPad, etc. However, iMovie is only free if you buy a new Mac. And when getting started with iMovie, you will find it hard to master this software. All in all, iMovie is one of the best free video editing software for Mac users and receives good reputation. You can learn some iMovie video editing tips and trick at how to use iMovie.
Features:
- Supports editing 4K video
- You can also use it on iPhone/iPad
- 10 video filters are for you
Pros: Available on iPhone/iPad; Comptiable well with Apple ecosystem
Cons: Audio is copyrighted, so you need to download royalty-free music by yourself
2.Avidemux
Avidemux is another great free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux and BSD under the GNU GPL license and supports a variety of video, image and audio formats, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4, MOV, ASF, JPG, AAC, AC3, etc. High compatibility with many video formats is the highlight of this free video editing software for Mac. You can also cut ads from a TV recording, or just save a small part of the video.
It also offers some filters to use, such as color correction. You can apply these filters to your video to make it more beautiful.
Features:
- It supports AVI MP4 and ASF
- Based on H.264 encoder
Pros: Clean and easy to use interface; Open source software without built-in purchase
Cons: Exporting process is slack, which means it will take longer time
3.OpenShot
OpenShot is a free, simple to use open-source video editor for Mac, Windows, and Linux. It is a good video editor for beginners to learn and train video editing skills. If you just want to mae some basic editing without having to spend too much time, OpenShot can be one of your best choices.
Apart from doing basic video editing, you can also render 3D animation. This free editor for Mac also supports more than 70 languages. No need to worry about the language barrier to stop you from editing video.
Features:
- You can trim/slice video quickly
- Show waveforms while editing
- Offer templates to edit titles
Pros: Provide free built in effects and animations; Support 3D title
Cons: Buggy at times; It freezes and crashes often
4.ZS4 Video Editor
ZS4 Video Editor is a free video editor for Mac which provides media experts with a facility to combine a variety of media types into one (or more) output file(s). Besides Mac, it is also available for Windows and Linux. ZS4 Video Editor comes with over 150 built-in video effects which can help you bring your videos to the next level instantly.
More importanly, you can use it to combine various media files into one, like video, audio and photo. With this all-in-one editor, no more needs to install too many annoying apps.
Features:
- You can edit photos, videos, and audio files
- It is easy to use
Pros: More than 120 built-in video effects; unlimited tracks
Cons: User interface is not friendly
5.HyperEngine-AV
HyperEngine-AV is a free video editing software for Mac used to capture, edit, organize process, and export video, audio, and text to create DVD quality movies and slide shows. It comes with twelve studio-quality effects from Arboretum's Hyperprism suite of audio processors. Besides, it offers text features to display credits, section titles, or karaoke lyrics with fully editable font, size, type, color, style, alignment, and scroll direction. Definitely, HyperEngin-AV is really a good free video editor for Mac users.
Features:
- You can use it to create slide shows
- Supports capturing desktop and editing video
Pros: Includes twelve studio-quality effects; Create slide shows
Cons: It is discontinued to release new version
Best Free Mac Video Editing Software for Semi-pros
1.Kdenlive
Although the development team has moved full-stream-ahead on Linux, you can still use this excellent free video editor on Mac with packages available via MacPorts. Kdenlive supports almost all popular media formats, and you can easily add the files to software's multitrack timeline.
You can create 2D titles to light up project like aligning texts and rotating. For editing huge size of video file, it offers proxy to make the editing experience smoother.
Features:
- It allows you to edit several audio and video tracks
- You can customize shortcuts easily
Pros: It is open source software
Cons: Not friendly for greenhands; Update slowly
2.Blender
Like Avidemux, Blender is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD and OpenBSD. It's a free 3D graphics application and considered as one of the best free video editor for Mac. It can be used for modeling, rigging, texturing, UV unwrapping, skinning, animating, rendering, water and smoke simulations, particle and other simulations, non-linear editing, compositing, and creating interactive 3D applications, animated film, video games, or other visual effects. Blender has lots of advanced features like powerful character animation tools, modifier-based modeling tools, a node-based material and compositing system, Python for embedded scripting and so on.
Features:
- It is a 3D creation suite
- It supports CPU and GPU rendering
- It has various sculpting tools and brushes
Pros: Fast poly modeling tools; Customizable input
Cons: Unintuitive layers system; Animation management is not smooth
Best Free Mac Video Editing Software for Professionals
In our impression, professional-thing costs a lot. But it isn’t true when coming to video editing software like DaVinci Resolve, Lightworks and HitFilm. There are two versions for those video editing software, and the lite version or the free version usually costs no money with limited features which makes them good choice for people who are looking for professional video editing solution to some degree.
1. Davinci Resolve
Blackmagic Design's Davinci Resolve has been growing from an advanced color-grading tool to an video post-production solution. If you are an experienced video maker and want to apply a high quality color correction/grading to your footage, Davinci Resolve's free basic version can be your choice.
Timeline curve function is a powerful feature for you to add keyframe if you want to edit a specific scene. Also it offers full 3D editing particle systems to let you release creativity.
Features:
- Multi track timeline you can choose
- Trimming video is easy to use
- You can adjust constant or variable speed
Pros: Learning curve is not steep; Offer advance color grading
Cons: Single screen editing workflow is not friendly
2.Lightworks
Lightworks is a professional video editing software for Windows and Mac, its free version offers you limited export option. It includes video effects, multicam editing, titling, as well as the multi layered timeline approach which is perfect for advanced video editing needs.
Features:
- It is a rewarded editor in the world
- It offers Proxy for 4K
- Compatible well with Mac
Pros: Package is lightweight; Only need 3GB RAM to use
Cons: Effects library is limited
3.HitFilm Express
HitFilm Express is more like a compositing video editor, compared with Adobe After Effects, it's more easy-to-use and friendly to semi-pros. People who are not familiar with the video editing process may find using HitFilm Express difficult.
Features:
- Various courses are available
- It offers Proxy for 4K
- More than 400 video effects
Pros: High level ideo effects compositor
Cons: It lacks motion graphics feature
Conclusion
You may have found the best video editor for Mac after reading this article. I’ll try my best to keep the list up to date, but if your favorite free video editor for Mac isn’t listed above, please leave a comment and let me know. This article is for mac version, click here to get more info about free video editing software for Windows.
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- Choosing Video Editing Software
- Video Editing Tips