Next up is color correction, which really is a strength in Resolve. It was originally designed as a color correction application, and the industry has used it for that since 1985.

For simple color adjustments in Resolve, you drop into the Color workspace, adjust your shots and see the results immediately. You can also create and track “power windows” to adjust specific parts of an image. It also has a warp stabilizer to adjust shaky footage, a dust, blemish and noise remover (Studio version only), along with lens and aperture effects. Resolve Color automatically works with RAW footage, lets you apply LUTs and easily work in HDR, both with Dolby Vision and HDR10. 

Premiere, on the other hand, uses the Lumetri color module. It’s more like Lightroom color correction than any dedicated video system. It also offers some basic secondary color correction and the ability to mask and track parts of an image. Overall, it’s adequate for most jobs and is relatively easy to use, especially if you’re used to Lightroom. 

The bottom line is that Resolve’s color tools are more powerful than you’ll find in Premiere. However, if you’re more of a casual user, Adobe Premiere Pro is easier to understand and use. 

According to Schodt: “I always get vastly better results in Resolve, especially for log or RAW footage, than I do in Premiere.” 

He added that the free Resolve version doesn’t include noise reduction, which is “really powerful,” while noting that “Premiere doesn’t have any functional noise reduction at all.”

When it comes to VFX, Resolve’s Fusion beats what’s built into Premiere Pro. However, many Premiere users also have access to After Effects via Creative Cloud subscriptions, so let’s compare that. 

It’s certainly more convenient to hop over to the Fusion page than it is to switch over to After Effects, even when using Adobe’s Dynamic Link. However, both Fusion and After Effects take time to learn. If you depend heavily on After Effects, it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to switch to Resolve, considering the investment of time required to learn Fusion. 

Both effects apps have their strengths. Fusion is better for pure VFX work thanks to its true 3D workspace and advanced keying, rotoscoping, lighting and other effects. After Effects is better for 2D and motion graphics work and also supports a vast number of plugins for anything from warping to aged film effects. Resolve, meanwhile, offers a more limited selection of plugins. 

From Chris: “Fusion is so complicated. After Effects is also a huge, complex program, but the layer/clip/timeline setup is a little easier to grasp coming from a video background.”

Text

Steve Dent/Engadget

A lot of creators focus on motion graphics and text, making it a key feature on any editing system. Premiere Pro has a great reputation for how it handles text, especially since it added a new Photoshop-like text tool several years ago. That lets you type text directly on to your video, then manipulate it using video effects or filters. Even without any extra apps, Premiere Pro can handle text better than Resolve. 

Should you need more, After Effects is available via a Creative Cloud subscription — if you pay for it. It’s the most widely used program for advanced text and motion graphics effects, with an enormous range of controls, scripts and third-party apps available. 

With Resolve 15, Blackmagic Design offered editors more control over typography with the Text+ function. That feature offers animated text, write-on effects and more, all in a 3D space. You also gained better control over things like kerning, outlines, text color and other properties, along with some 2D and 3D text animation presets. 

However, many of the text features have weak controls and lack undo functions, so creating even a simple animation can be a tedious process. And while some of the preset animations are nice, you can’t change any of the properties outside of the color. All told, if you do a lot of fancy text work, then stick to Premiere Pro and After Effects — Resolve 16 still needs a lot of work in that area.

Audio

As I mentioned, Resolve 16 has a standalone tool called Fairlight. Taken alone, it easily beats out the relatively basic audio functionality within Premiere. Again, however, Creative Cloud full subscription owners will have access to Adobe’s Audition, a mature and powerful audio editing tool. 

For most of the audio chores that a video editor needs, both apps do a good job. Audition does have a few useful tools that Fairlight is lacking, like a remixing function that lets you change the length of a sound clip to match the audio. Audition supports more plugins just because it’s been around for a long time, but Fairlight also has a good range of useful plugins.

Overall, I’d give the edge here to Resolve 16 as Fairlight is built right into the app and easier to access. Audition, meanwhile, requires a more expensive subscription, and you need to use Dynamic Link to access it from Premiere Pro. 

Pricing

Steve Dent/Engadget

Here’s where the philosophies of Blackmagic Design and Adobe diverge the most. Adobe’s main product and source of revenue is its subscription service. Blackmagic, meanwhile, sells (and gives away) Resolve 16 as a compliment to its cameras, control surfaces and other products. 

As such, Resolve 16 pricing is dead simple. The basic version is free, and the Studio version costs $300 for the life of the product. So if you buy a Resolve 16 Studio license now, you’ll be able to install Resolve 17 for free whenever that comes along. Blackmagic Design also gives buyers of the $1,295 Pocket Cinema Camera (and many of its other broadcast products) a Resolve 16 Studio license for free. 

Adobe’s pricing is more expensive no matter which way you look at it. Buying a license for Premiere Pro alone costs $20.99 per month, or $240 per year prepaid. That makes it more costly than Resolve 16 after about 14 months of ownership.

If you want all other apps I’ve mentioned, like Audition and After Effects, you’ll need to spend $53 per month or $600 per year, prepaid. That’s double what Resolve 16 costs after a year, to say nothing of the ongoing costs. That said, you do get other very useful apps, like Photoshop Character Animator and Lightroom, that Blackmagic doesn’t offer at all.

Conclusion

Should you switch from Premiere Pro to Resolve 16? If you lean heavily on After Effects, especially for motion graphics, Resolve simply can’t do those things as well. Video editors who also do photography and lean on Lightroom or Photoshop might also want to stick with Adobe. That said, it’s certainly possible to get a $10 per month Photography subscription (with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom) and then use DaVinci Resolve to do your editing chores. 

For most folks, I think the answer is yes. Feature for feature, Resolve can hold its own against Premiere and is, for now, faster and more stable to boot. Most importantly, it’s just $300 for the Studio version or free if you don’t need the fancier features. Just keep in mind the learning curve, particularly when it comes to color correction and effects.