Adobe Premiere Pro vs Apple Final Cut Pro
The top spots in mid-level video editing are held by Apple and Adobe, and many people are looking for a specific comparison between Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro (FCP).
PLEASE NOTE: This page will be updated shortly to include more information about the latest version of Final Cut X.
Traditionally FCP has been more popular amongst professional editors, although this can also be attributed to the popularity of Mac vs Windows in the same market. For a number of years Premiere was only available on the PC and FCP only available on the Mac. From version CS5 Premiere Pro was again available for the Macintosh.
It is often said that FCP is more stable and/or faster than Premiere, but this may have been more a reflection on the operating system than the software, dating back to the days when Windows was noticably less stable than Mac. In my experience Premiere is very stable on a well-configured Windows system.
Both Premiere and FCP are standalone video editing applications, and both are available as part of larger software bundles. The bundles are highly recommended in both cases, giving you much more power and flexibility over things like audio, graphics, etc.
The practical differences between Premiere and FPC are minor. It's also worth noting that when one application has a feature the other lacks, the gap is often closed in the next round of releases. Don't base your decision on a feature of one product unless you are sure it isn't going to be introduced or upgraded by the other product in the near future.
If you want the best and money is no object, FCP is usually the way to go. On the other hand, you can get essentially the same functionality from Adobe for a lot less money. This is especially true if you already own a PC capable of running Premiere but would have to buy new hardware for FCP.
One fact in Premiere's favour that is that it integrates very well with After Effects (video compositing) and Photoshop (for graphics). Both these products are very highly regarded, industry standard software. When purchased as part of a software bundle, Adobe products form a seamless package that operates almost like a single application.
Summary
- The feature sets of both products are very similar.
- FCP was more the "professional's choice" than Premiere, until Final Cut X. Now Premiere is considered more professional.
- Premiere has the advantage of association with After Effects and Photoshop.
- FCP is in a precarious position and we're all waiting to see whether it can bounce back from the FCX debacle.
