What is DaVinci Resolve?
DaVinci Resolve bundles an entire post-production pipeline into one application: editing, colour correction, visual effects, motion graphics, audio post and, from version 21, photo editing. It is organised as "pages" — Media, Cut, Edit, Fusion, Color, Fairlight and Deliver — each a dedicated workspace, switched with a click. The free version is genuinely usable rather than a demo: it handles virtually all 8-bit formats up to 60fps at Ultra HD, and includes multi-user collaboration and HDR grading. Studio costs $295 and adds 10-bit video to 120fps, resolutions beyond 4K, the DaVinci AI Neural Engine, noise reduction and dozens of extra effects. It is proprietary software, and it is the tool Hollywood uses most.
Verified product facts
- Type
- video editorEditorially reviewed
- Platform
- macOS
- Apple Silicon
- YesDeveloper-stated
- Pricing
- FreemiumDeveloper-stated
- Price
- USD 295Developer-stated
- Developer
- Blackmagic DesignDeveloper-stated
- Relationship to Nuanyue
- Third-party product — not published by NuanyueEditorially reviewed
- Current version
- 21Developer-stated
- Official website
- www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/
Last updated . Facts marked developer-stated come from the developer and are not independently confirmed; editorially reviewed marks a Nuanyue judgement.
Key features
What DaVinci Resolve does at a glance.
Media page
For importing, managing and delivering projects, with clip syncing, bins and metadata
Photo page, added
In version 21, bringing colour tools to still photos with native RAW support for Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon and Sony
Cut page, a streamlined workspace
Aimed at fast turnaround
Edit page, the professional non-linear editor
With a track layout and dual-monitor design
Fusion page
For node-based 2D and 3D visual effects, motion graphics, tracking, rotoscoping and keying
Color page
With primary and secondary grading, PowerWindows, qualifiers and HDR grading
Fairlight page
For audio post, with up to 2,000 tracks, ADR, Foley, Voice Isolation and Music Remixer
Deliver page
With encoding options and a render queue for multiple export jobs
Over 100 GPU-accelerated video and film effects
In Resolve FX
DaVinci AI Neural Engine
Using deep neural networks for facial recognition, object detection, smart reframing, retiming and colour matching
Real-time multi-user collaboration
On the same project, plus Blackmagic Cloud for hosting projects and media
Open FX and audio plugin support, third-party title and motion graphics templates, and integration with Final Cut Pro, Media Composer and Premiere Pro
What you can use DaVinci Resolve for
- Editing and grading a project end to end without moving between applications
- Colour correcting footage with the same tools used on feature films
- Adding visual effects and motion graphics in a node-based compositor
- Finishing audio in the same session as the picture edit
Who is DaVinci Resolve for?
- Editors, colourists and post-production artists who want one application for the whole pipeline
- Anyone learning post-production who wants professional-grade tools without paying for them
Who is DaVinci Resolve not for?
- Anyone who needs open-source software they can inspect and modify — Resolve is proprietary
- Casual users who want to trim a clip, for whom the breadth of the application is overhead rather than capability
Limitations
- Proprietary software: there is no source code and no open-source alternative to this particular toolset
- The minimum macOS version and the supported Mac models are not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks
- The free version is limited to 8-bit video at up to 60fps and resolutions up to Ultra HD; 10-bit, higher frame rates and larger frames require Studio
- The DaVinci AI Neural Engine, extra Resolve FX and noise reduction are Studio-only
- The Studio licence is a one-time purchase, but the vendor does not state an upgrade policy on the product page
Strengths and trade-offs
What DaVinci Resolve does well, and what to weigh before choosing it. Points marked developer-stated come from the developer’s own material and have not been independently confirmed.
Strengths
- Combines editing, colour correction, visual effects, motion graphics, audio post and photo editing in one application rather than several.Developer-stated
- The free version handles virtually all 8-bit video formats at up to 60fps in resolutions as high as Ultra HD 3840 x 2160.Developer-stated
- Multi-user collaboration and HDR grading are included in the free version, not held back for Studio.Developer-stated
- Resolve FX provides over 100 GPU-accelerated video and film effects, with more in Studio.Developer-stated
- The DaVinci AI Neural Engine is fully supported on Apple M-series Macs, and drives facial recognition, object detection, smart reframing, retiming and colour matching.Developer-stated
- Studio costs $295 as a one-time purchase rather than a subscription.
- Works with Open FX and audio plugins, third-party titles and motion graphics templates, and integrates with Final Cut Pro, Media Composer and Premiere Pro.Developer-stated
- Fairlight handles up to 2,000 tracks with real-time effects, and mixes from stereo through to immersive 3D audio including fifth-order ambisonics.Developer-stated
Trade-offs
- It is proprietary software, so the implementation cannot be inspected, modified or rebuilt.
- The free version is capped at 8-bit video, 60fps and Ultra HD resolution; 10-bit, 120fps and resolutions beyond 4K need the $295 Studio licence.
- Several of the headline AI features — the Neural Engine, extra Resolve FX, temporal and AI spatial noise reduction, magic mask — are Studio-only.
- The breadth of the application is itself a barrier: eight separate workspaces with their own tools is a lot to learn for a simple edit.Editorially reviewed
- The minimum macOS version and supported Mac models are not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks.Editorially reviewed
First-use experience
What the app asks of you when you set it up. Only established facts appear here; anything we could not confirm is left out rather than guessed at.
- Installation
- Downloaded from Blackmagic Design's support centre, which publishes a single macOS build alongside the Windows and Linux ones.
- First launch Derived
- The free version needs no account or licence key. Studio is unlocked with an activation key, and the vendor also sells a USB dongle, so the same installation can be licensed either way.
- System integration Developer-stated
- Works with external storage including hard drives, NAS and SAN, supports Open FX and audio plugins, and drives Blackmagic's own editor keyboards, colour panels and Fairlight consoles.
- Apple Silicon Developer-stated
- Supported
What it does
DaVinci Resolve is an attempt to put the whole of post-production in one application, and the vendor claims it is the only product that combines editing, colour correction, visual effects, motion graphics, audio post production and photo editing in a single tool. It is organised as “pages”, each a dedicated workspace: Media for importing and organising footage, Cut for fast turnaround, Edit for full non-linear editing, Fusion for node-based visual effects and motion graphics, Color for grading, Fairlight for audio, and Deliver for export. Version 21 added a Photo page, bringing the same colour tools to still photographs with native RAW support for Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon and Sony.
The claim to Hollywood is not marketing padding — the vendor states that high-end professionals working on feature films and television use Resolve more than any other solution. The image pipeline is built on DaVinci’s 32-bit float processing, YRGB colour science and a wide-gamut colour space for HDR work, and Resolve FX adds over 100 GPU-accelerated video and film effects on top.
What the free version does and does not do
The free version is unusually complete. It works with virtually all 8-bit video formats at up to 60fps in resolutions as high as Ultra HD 3840 x 2160, and — unusually for a free tier — multi-user collaboration and HDR grading are included. The vendor’s stated reason is that the best creative tools should not be limited to Hollywood.
The limits are specific and worth reading before committing. Studio, at $295, adds the DaVinci AI Neural Engine, dozens of additional Resolve FX, temporal and AI spatial noise reduction, text-based editing, magic mask, film grain and optical blur, and raises the ceiling to 10-bit video at up to 120 frames per second and resolutions beyond 4K. In other words, the free version is a complete editor for 8-bit work, and Studio is what you buy when the footage or the AI tools require it. The $295 is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription.
Working with others, and on a Mac
Collaboration is built in: the vendor describes Resolve as the only application that lets everyone work together in parallel on the same project and at the same time, with real-time local and remote collaboration and Blackmagic Cloud hosting projects and media so collaborators can reach them from anywhere. Fairlight handles up to 2,000 tracks with real-time effects and mixes from stereo through to immersive 3D audio including fifth-order ambisonics.
On the Mac, the DaVinci AI Neural Engine — the machine-learning system behind facial recognition, object detection, smart reframing, retiming and colour matching — is stated to be fully supported on Apple M-series processors. The minimum macOS version and the specific Mac models supported are not stated on the pages Nuanyue checked. Resolve is proprietary software; there is no source code to read and no way to rebuild it.
Questions about DaVinci Resolve
Is DaVinci Resolve really free?
Yes, and the free version is not a demo. It works with virtually all 8-bit video formats at up to 60fps in resolutions as high as Ultra HD 3840 x 2160, and includes multi-user collaboration and HDR grading. The vendor's stated reason is that the best creative tools shouldn't be limited to Hollywood.Developer-stated
What does DaVinci Resolve Studio add?
Studio, at $295, includes everything in the free version plus the DaVinci AI Neural Engine, dozens of additional Resolve FX, temporal and AI spatial noise reduction, text-based editing, magic mask, film grain and optical blur. It also supports 10-bit video up to 120 frames per second and resolutions beyond 4K.
What are the pages in DaVinci Resolve?
Resolve is divided into pages, each a dedicated workspace for one task, switched with a single click: Media, Photo, Cut, Edit, Fusion, Color, Fairlight and Deliver. Fusion is the node-based visual effects and motion graphics page, Color is the grading page, and Fairlight handles audio post production.Developer-stated
Does DaVinci Resolve support Apple silicon Macs?
Yes. The vendor states that the DaVinci AI Neural Engine is fully supported in Apple M series processors, which are the chips in Apple silicon Macs.Developer-stated
Can several people work on the same project at once?
Yes. The vendor describes it as the only application that lets everyone work together in parallel on the same project and at the same time, supporting real-time local and remote collaboration, with Blackmagic Cloud for hosting projects and media so collaborators can reach them from anywhere.Developer-stated
Alternatives to DaVinci Resolve
Apps that could replace this one — the same job, a different trade-off.
Shotcut
Free open-source video editor with 4K, 8K, HDR and 10-bit support.
Both are video editors that run on macOS, but Shotcut is free and open-source software aimed at straightforward editing, while DaVinci Resolve is a proprietary suite covering colour, visual effects and audio post in one application.
Works well with
Not a replacement — apps commonly used alongside this one.
HandBrake
Video transcoder for converting media to modern formats.
They sit at opposite ends of the same job: DaVinci Resolve cuts and grades the footage, and HandBrake transcodes the finished file into a deliverable format.
Blender
Free open-source 3D creation suite.
Both include node-based compositing and motion graphics, and the two are commonly used together — Blender for 3D work and DaVinci Resolve's Fusion page for effects and finishing inside the edit.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the sources below. Last updated .
