Video editing · Comparison
DaVinci Resolve vs Premiere Pro in 2026: Price, Features and Which to Pick
They’re the two editors everyone compares. Premiere Pro is the subscription standard in agencies and newsrooms; DaVinci Resolve is free, or $295 once, and the reference for color grading. Here’s how they stack up in 2026, with real prices.
The short answer
- Pick DaVinci Resolve if you want a complete editor for free, care most about color, or don’t want a subscription.
- Pick Premiere Pro if you work with Adobe teams, agencies or newsrooms, or use After Effects and Photoshop alongside it.
- Look further if you want to make animated or 3D films: neither one is built for character animation.
What they cost over three years
Premiere Pro at $34.49 a month with no commitment or $22.99 a month on an annual plan. DaVinci Resolve Studio is a one-time $295. Before tax.
Premiere Pro is sold only by subscription: stop paying and you stop using it. Resolve’s free version is a full editor, and Resolve Studio is a one-time purchase that Blackmagic Design has kept at $295 for years.
Side by side
| DaVinci Resolve | Premiere Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, or $295 once for Studio | From $22.99 a month |
| Runs on | Windows, Mac, Linux | Windows, Mac |
| Timeline editing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Color grading | The industry reference | Lumetri, very capable |
| Visual effects | Fusion, built in | Basic; After Effects is separate |
| Audio post-production | Fairlight, built in | Good; Audition is separate |
| AI tools | Mostly in Studio | ✓ |
| Team collaboration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tutorials and job demand | Large and growing | The largest |
| Character animation and 3D scenes | — | — |
Where DaVinci Resolve wins
- The free version is a complete editor with color, effects and audio, with no watermark.
- Color grading is the best you can get, with a high-precision pipeline for log and RAW footage.
- Fusion (effects and motion graphics) and Fairlight (audio) are built in, not separate purchases.
- Studio is a one-time price, and it runs on Linux as well as Windows and Mac.
Where Premiere Pro wins
- It’s what most agencies, broadcasters and editing jobs expect, so it’s the safer skill to learn for work.
- It pairs with After Effects, Photoshop and Audition, and has a huge library of templates and plugins.
- Transcript-based editing and other AI tools are built in.
- Many find it gentler to learn than Resolve’s page-based layout.
What neither one does: animation and 3D storytelling
Both are editors first. If your project needs characters that act, like 2D puppets that lip-sync or 3D characters on a set with cameras and lights, you would normally add Adobe Character Animator, Blender or Unreal Engine and move files between apps.
That gap is why we built Movie Maker Hollywood Pro: a timeline editor plus a 3D studio, 2D animation and a script-to-screen pipeline in one Windows app, for $20 once. It’s lighter than Resolve on color and audio post, and it isn’t the industry standard that Premiere is. See our honest side-by-sides: vs Premiere Pro and vs DaVinci Resolve.
Prices change. These were checked in October 2026 on Adobe’s and Blackmagic Design’s U.S. sites; check theirs before you buy.