Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

FFmpeg VS DaVinci Resolve

Compare FFmpeg VS DaVinci Resolve and see what are their differences

FFmpeg logo FFmpeg

Open source multimedia suite for conversion, playback, profiling, and streaming.

DaVinci Resolve logo DaVinci Resolve

Revolutionary new tools for editing, color correction and professional audio post production, all in a single application!
  • FFmpeg Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-25
  • DaVinci Resolve Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-05-04

FFmpeg features and specs

  • Comprehensive Format Support
    FFmpeg supports a wide range of audio, video, and multimedia file formats, making it highly versatile for different types of media processing tasks.
  • Open-Source
    FFmpeg is open-source software, which means it can be freely used, modified, and distributed by anyone, fostering a large community of contributors and regular updates.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    It works on multiple operating systems including Windows, Linux, and macOS, providing flexibility for developers working in different environments.
  • Powerful Command-Line Interface
    FFmpeg provides a robust command-line interface that allows for complex tasks such as batch processing, scripting, and automation.
  • High Performance
    It is optimized for performance, offering fast and efficient media processing capabilities, often utilizing hardware acceleration when available.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The project comes with comprehensive and detailed documentation, which helps users understand and effectively utilize its extensive features.
  • Active Community and Support
    A large and active user and developer community provide various online resources, forums, and troubleshooting assistance.

Possible disadvantages of FFmpeg

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive features and powerful command-line interface, beginners may find it difficult to learn and use FFmpeg effectively.
  • Limited GUI Options
    While some GUIs exist for FFmpeg, it is primarily a command-line tool, which may be less appealing to users who prefer graphical interfaces.
  • Documentation Complexity
    Though extensive, the documentation can be overwhelming and complex, which might make it challenging for newcomers to find specific information quickly.
  • Resource-Intensive
    High-performance operations in FFmpeg can be resource-intensive, requiring considerable processing power and memory, especially for high-resolution video encoding and decoding.
  • Licensing Issues
    FFmpeg includes various codecs and libraries that may have licensing requirements, which can be a concern for commercial applications needing to comply with licensing regulations.

DaVinci Resolve features and specs

  • Comprehensive Toolset
    DaVinci Resolve integrates editing, color correction, visual effects, motion graphics, and audio post-production in a single software application, providing a complete solution for video creation.
  • Professional-Grade Color Grading
    Known for its industry-leading color grading tools, DaVinci Resolve offers advanced controls, color wheels, curves, and secondary color correction tools, making it a preferred choice for professional colorists.
  • Multi-User Collaboration
    DaVinci Resolve Studio allows multiple users to work on the same project simultaneously, supporting collaborative workflows for large teams and complex projects.
  • Free Version Available
    DaVinci Resolve offers a highly functional free version with a comprehensive set of tools, which is suitable for both beginners and professionals.
  • High-Performance Playback
    Optimized for timeline performance, DaVinci Resolve offers smooth playback and quick responsiveness, even with high-resolution and RAW formats.
  • Fairlight Audio
    The integrated Fairlight audio tool provides high-end audio production capabilities, including mixing, ADR, sound design, and full 3D audio support.

Possible disadvantages of DaVinci Resolve

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive feature set and professional-grade tools, beginners may find DaVinci Resolve challenging to learn and master without proper training.
  • Resource-Intensive
    DaVinci Resolve can be demanding on computer hardware, requiring a powerful system with a high-performance GPU, ample RAM, and fast storage for optimal operation.
  • Paid Studio Version
    Some advanced features, such as additional ResolveFX and FairlightFX plugins, HDR grading, and higher GPU acceleration, are only available in the paid Studio version.
  • Occasional Stability Issues
    Users have reported occasional crashes and bugs, particularly when working with large projects or specific hardware configurations.
  • Complex User Interface
    The user interface, while powerful, can be overwhelming for new users, and navigating through the multitude of features and settings can take time to get accustomed to.
  • Limited Third-Party Plugin Support
    Compared to some other video editing software, DaVinci Resolve offers limited support for third-party plugins, which can be a drawback for users relying on specialized tools.

FFmpeg videos

How to use FFMPEG

More videos:

  • Review - Gentoo in Review - March Updates (FFmpeg or LibAV/CPU FLAGS)

DaVinci Resolve videos

DaVinci Resolve 16 Review - Is it best?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to FFmpeg and DaVinci Resolve)
Video
35 35%
65% 65
Video Converter
100 100%
0% 0
Video Editors
7 7%
93% 93
File Converter
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare FFmpeg and DaVinci Resolve

FFmpeg Reviews

18 Best Video Converter Software in 2022 (Free and Paid)
FFmpeg is the best free video converter software for advanced users or engineers who know a command-line environment. It doesn't come with the GUI. So you can't convert videos by simple clicks as what you're doing with VideoProc Converter or other video converters.
Best Video Converter Software
If you’re not comfortable with using a command line to operate your software, then you may want to stop reading right now. FFmpeg is incredibly powerful, available for all major platforms, and best of all, it’s free – but it doesn’t come with a graphic user interface. Some developers have created GUIs that sit on top of FFmpeg to make the process a bit easier (like...
Top 5 Free Alternatives to Freemake Video Converter
FFmpeg is an open source project that develops libraries and programs for handling multimedia data. FFmpeg is the home to libavcodec, a codec library used by a large spectrum of programs, and libavformat, a mux and demux library for containers. The project develops 4 command-line programs; ffmpeg, the central tool for transcoding multimedia files, as well as ffplay, a simple...
Source: www.easefab.com
8 Best FFmpeg Alternatives & Competitors in 2022 (Free & Paid)
FFmpeg is not always the best solution for everyone. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the 8 best FFmpeg alternatives and competitors.
6 Best HandBrake Alternative to Convert Video to Any Format
FFmpeg is a collection of libraries and tools to process multimedia content such as audio, video, subtitles and related metadata. It is also an open source project. It can convert video/audio to the format you need by encoding and decoding video files. It's suitable for professional to use.

DaVinci Resolve Reviews

10 Best Video Editors for YouTube in 2024
DaVinci Resolve stands out as a top-notch video editing and color correction software, delivering professional-grade, advanced features for free! Renowned for its exceptional color grading, multi-track editing, and VFX options, it’s perfect for experienced editors or YouTubers aiming to craft high-quality content. However, the steep learning curve means it’s best for those...
13 Best Green Screen Software For Windows (2024)
We should also mention Shotcut and DaVinci Resolve 18. Shotcut is free and works on many platforms, with many green screen features. DaVinci Resolve 18 has a high-powered color grading, which is helpful for green screen projects.
Source: mixilab.com
9 Best Adobe Premiere Pro Alternatives in 2022 (FREE & Online)
While absolute beginners may find themselves scratching their heads as they come to terms with some of the more complex tools available, DaVinci Resolve rewards patience in spades, while more seasoned videographers will find its comprehensive tools exceptionally attractive.
Source: shotkit.com
Windows Best Video Editing Software
DaVinci supports both offline and online editing, and its high-performance playback engine speeds up editing and trimming, even for processor-intensive file formats like H.264 and RAW. The complex features of DaVinci Resolve may be too much for some users, but the free version is ideal for more advanced projects.
Best Free Video Editing Software for Linux
If you have a high-end computer and need advanced features you can go out with Lightworks or DaVinci Resolve. If you are looking for more advanced features for 3D works, Blender has got your back.
Source: itsfoss.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, FFmpeg seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 4 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

FFmpeg mentions (4)

  • FFmpeg 7.0 Released
    The fact that Handbrake doesn't expose the same features as the ffmpeg CLI tool is frankly irrelevant. It's not just relevant, it's the whole thing. They asked for an ffmpeg GUI and someone recommended a GUI that doesn't use ffmpeg and doesn't do what ffmpeg can do. Ffmpeg can not only rewire channels, it can stream video, capture video from the screen, capture video from a tv tuner, overlay text etc. Also... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Is there other software similar to Vim and Emacs?
    FFMpeg and its libraries https://ffmpeg.org/about.html. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Week 13 Project Phase 2
    Hello everyone, welcome to week 13. This blog we are going to pick an open source software and locate the SIMD code from the source code of the software and then determine the SIMD code usage in a certain program. For my blog, I choose FFmpeg. FFmpeg is a cross-platform framework to record, convert, and stream video and audio, it provides an easy way to convert video and audio to other formats. FFmpeg is a very... - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • I HATE NITRO I HATE NITRO
    Ffmpeg is a free (GPL) program and library that does pretty much everything video-related, from recording to editing. It has some learning curve for things beyond just converting a file 1:1, but as a library, many programs such as OBS, Blender, Shotcut, Drawpile and KDEnLive implements it for tasks such as rendering and recording videos out of them. Source: almost 4 years ago

DaVinci Resolve mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of DaVinci Resolve yet. Tracking of DaVinci Resolve recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing FFmpeg and DaVinci Resolve, you can also consider the following products

HandBrake - HandBrake allows users to easily convert video files into a wide variety of different formats.

Adobe Premiere Pro - Edit video faster than ever before with the powerful, more connected Adobe Premiere® Pro CC.

Format Factory - Format Factory is software that allows the user to convert media into various file formats. The software is a product of PC Free Time, a Chinese software development company. Read more about Format Factory.

Kdenlive - Free and open-source, full-featured video editor.

Freemake Video Converter - Freemake Video Converter Converts 500+ Formats & Gadgets FREE! Convert to MP4, AVI, MKV, WMV, DVD, Xvid. FREE Download. **Voted Best of 2018** Comes with FREE…

iMovie - Turn your videos into movie magic.