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Premiere Rush vs. iMovie: Which One Is Better for You?

Liza Brown
Liza Brown Originally published Nov 03, 22, updated Jan 17, 24

A lot of people have questions about the Premiere Rush vs iMovie comparison. It seems like both apps are designed to help people create videos. But the reality is that they're so different that it would be hard to recommend either one over the other.

In this guide, we're going to compare and contrast the two apps and tell you why the one you choose will depend on the type of content you're creating and whether or not you're planning to share it online.

Disclaimer:

This article is a guide to tell you which one to choose depending on your choice. The comparison we've made is solely our point of view and what we do is for educational purposes only.

iMovie

iMovie is an easy-to-use nonlinear editor that makes it fast and easy to make your movies. With the iMovie elements, you can cut animovie interfaced edit music, videos and graphics without changing any original files. They're the most powerful tools in the filmmaker's toolkit, used to edit almost every movie made today.

Premiere Rush

Adobe Premiere Rush is a free video editing app for creativity on the go. Whether on the go or sitting in front of your laptop, you can capture, edit, and share high-quality videos. Premiere Rush is fun, intuitive, and just as fast as social media.

premiere rush interface
In this article
  1. Comparison Insights: Main Differences Between Premiere Rush vs iMovie
  2. Similarities between Premiere Rush and iMovie
  3. Premiere Rush vs iMovie: Which Mobile Video Editing App Should You Use?
  4. Premiere Rush vs. iMovie: How to Use Premiere Rush (the winner) for video Editing?
  5. Premiere Rush vs. iMovie Hot FAQs

Part 1: Comparison Insights: Main Differences Between Premiere Rush vs iMovie

There’s a lot of competition when it comes to video editing software. Apple’s iMovie and Adobe’s Premiere Rush both offer pretty powerful editing features.

However, as with most things, when there’s a choice, some people end up choosing the wrong one. Here are some of the main differences between Premiere Rush vs iMovie so you can choose which video editing software is best for you.

1. Availability

Winner: Premiere Rush

You can't expect much from a tool only available for one operating system (iOS). Keeping that in mind, you should get Premiere Rush, as it works on Windows, macOS and Android without any issues. Adobe Premiere Rush has become a better option for Windows users. While iMovie only runs on Apple products such as the macOS, iPad, iPhone, etc.

Premiere Rush Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android
iMovie Apply only. iPhone, iPad, macOS

2. Ratings

Winner: iMovie

The ranking of products by these resources is important when choosing products to use. This will help you find an option perfect for your needs.

G2

Premiere Rush is one of the best video editors in the top three editors of G2 and scores 4.4 out of 5. Whereas iMovie has been given a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars by G2.

Tom’s Guide

It’s hard to find a review of iMovie that doesn't include a rating of four stars. Tom's review has rated iMovie 4 out of 5, as one of the greatest pieces of software for budding filmmakers.

TrustRadius

TrustRadius has given 8.7 out of 10 to iMovie, They've praised it for being an excellent software for newbies. Meanwhile, Premiere Rush got 8.9 out of 10 here and proved his excellence and uniqueness as a video editor.

PCMag

According to PCMag, Premier Rush offers a wide range of features and a pleasing interface and it scores 3.5 out of 5. Whereas PCMag rates iMovie a 4.5 out of 5 for creating impressive videos, and being free and intuitive.

Ratings iMovie Premiere Rush
G2 4.3/5 4.4/5
Tom’s Guide 4/5 N/A
TrustRadius 8.7/10 8.9/10
PCMag 4.5/5 3.5/5
Average ratings 4.3 4.1

3. Advanced Editing

Winner: Premiere Rush

Advanced video production features such as green screen editing can help your business reach professional level. Your video needs to be visually interesting, so that people will share it, watch it and buy your product.

For example, if it's an educational video, the goal might be to teach others about a subject, or to sell a product. So. It's important to ensure that your video editor is capable of performing advanced editing.

Advanced Features iMovie Premiere Rush
Split Screen No Yes
Keyframing Yes Yes
Motion Tracking No Yes
Auto Reframe Yes Yes
Speed Ramping Yes Yes
Green Screen Editing Yes Yes
Mask No Yes
3D LUT support No Yes

4. Special Effects, music, and other perks

Winner: Premiere Rush

If you want your footage to look cool and interesting, it’s important to add special effects and, at times, music too. The best special effects are those that have something unique about them that will help you attract attention and make your video stand out from the crowd.

That’s why editors look for products or software with powerful, advanced features like Premiere Rush. It ranges all the necessary and advanced effects from premium plug-ins, audio FX all the way to enhanced video filters, stock media and 4K editing. Whereas iMovie lacks all these effects.

Advanced Features iMovie Premiere Rush
Premium plug-ins and video effects No Yes
Audio FX, enhanced & real-time background music No Yes
Enhanced video filters/LUTs No Yes
Stock media library No Yes
title templates No Yes
4K No Yes

5. Budget & Pricing

You also need to focus on pricing. It’s always a good idea to take a hard look at your budget before embarking on a project. The first thing you should do is figure out your budget, then choose the ones that are within your price range.

On the other hand, you can use iMovie without any cost, but you can only use it if you're a mac user.

Premiere Rush 20.99/mo.
iMovie Free

6. Custom support

Winner: Tie

It’s great that the software has great customer service and responds to your inquiries quickly. You can’t expect anything good from a company that takes weeks or months to respond to your request for information.

But iMovie and Premiere Rush are exceptions because both provide attentive customer service. Customers are not only able to solve their issues using an existing knowledge base like Community Forums & Product FAQs but also they can contact their teams for assistance.

iMovie Premiere Rush
Instant live chat and email response Yes Yes
Customer Service Support 24/7 Yes Yes
Product FAQs Yes Yes
Forum Community Yes Yes

Part 2: Similarities between Premiere Rush and iMovie

iMovie is Apple's premiere video editing application that comes bundled with every new Mac. Premier Rush is a paid add-on for the iOS version of Final Cut Pro X. The similarities don't end there. Premiere Rush and iMovie help video professionals edit the footage into compelling stories. They both contain powerful feature sets, but they do it in different ways. Let's dive into some of their other key similarities...

Made for Novices

Both Apple's Premiere Rush and iMovie aims at beginners who need help getting started with editing video.

iMovie is a traditional video editor with many helpful features. At the same time, Premiere Rush is a streamlined, drag-and-drop interface that can be used by people who don't know anything about editing. Both tools come free with your Mac, but iMovie comes with your iOS device.

Basic editing features

The basic editing features of iMovie and Premiere Rush are almost identical, so you'll want to spend some time trying out both programs to decide which one you like better.

Both programs allow you to cut, trim and edit your video in various ways. You can trim your video to any length and even delete scenes. You can apply transitions, titles, and music. If you are looking for simple editing tools that are very easy to use, then iMovie or Premiere Rush might be a good choice for you.

Stability

Both video editors let you edit on-the-fly without having to worry about losing the clip once you're done editing. Both allow users to upload a clip, preview it, and check it for stability issues, like dropped frames, audio glitches, missing scenes, etc. If there's a problem, the software displays a red.

Part 3: Premiere Rush vs iMovie: Which Mobile Video Editing App Should You Use?

Suppose you want to create your video without going through all the hassles of buying and installing a video editing program. In that case, you should consider Premiere Rush & iMovie mobile video editing apps. We tested each app using a sample video and here’s our take.

1. Which One Is Easier To Use?

Premiere rush could certainly produce some excellent home movies, it had become a bit unwieldy for those looking for a simple solution. It's basically a short-cut version of iMovie that lets you edit a video, add voiceover and music, and share it to Facebook or Twitter from within the app.

2. Which One Has the Most Advanced Editing Tools?

As Apple’s flagship video editing software, iMovie is very powerful. But Premiere Rush offers more advanced editing options. It gives you advanced features like an enhanced video filter and 3d LUT support toolset at each mode to help make transitions and adjust color and saturation.

iMovie was also being enhanced with new features that could add music and graphics, various creative effects, and stabilization. But it still lacks features like auto reframes and video filters, which are a must for professional editors.

3. Who Has the Best Customer Support?

Premiere Rush is known for its awesome customer service. They talk about themselves making a video blog and chatting with their customers to tell how their system works.

Whereas for iMovie, customers facing any trouble while using the app or need help regarding how to use it, their support team is responsive but not as fast as Premier Rush.

4. Can Video Editing Be Done on Multiple Systems

Premier Rush and iMovie offer multiple systems editing, making it possible to edit videos from many platforms, including mobile phones, tablets, and PCs.

With Premiere Rush, you can install the software on as many devices as you'd want, but you cannot use the app other than two simultaneously. On the other hand, you can install iMovie on almost every other IOS device and use it as you like.

Our verdict

Premiere rush must be your choice if you're after a more powerful suite of editing tools. iMovie gives equal weight to all aspects of video editing for novices. But Premiere Rush advanced features, fast customer support and easy to use app has an edge over iMovie which makes it a clear winner.

Note: Please note that the verdict we made is based on our preferences and overall review. Everybody has their own specific choices and different take on video editing apps. It all depends on your usage and budget. You can consider your choice based on the information we provide above.

Part 4: Premiere Rush vs. iMovie: How to Use Premiere Rush (the winner) for video Editing?

It is possible to produce a professional looking video in just a couple of minutes using Adobe's Premiere Rush. And best of all, you can do it on your android devices.

This is the ultimate step by step guide on how to use Premiere Rush for video editing. It includes what each feature does and how to get the best results out of the app.

Step1 New Project

Open Premiere Rush and you’ll find two options, ‘Create New Project’ and a ‘+’ sign. Tap any option and select any video from your device.

create new project
Step2 Aspect Ratio

Once the videos are selected, change the aspect ratio according to your choice, e.g. if it’s a YouTube video select 16:9, if it's a TikTok  video select 9:16 etc.

select aspect ratio
Step3 Trimming

If you want to trim a specific part of the clip, simply tap that clip and drag the orange border and trim it as required.

trimming
Step4 Transition

To achieve a professional look, you must add effects like transitions. Go to ‘Effects’ and then select ‘Transition’. You have now many to choose from.

effects
Step5 Color Grading

Professional video editors use color grading to achieve a cinematic look. And you can do it too with this app. Simply go to the ‘Color’ tool and select any filter that suits your video nature. You can also customize colors by changing intensity, exposure, contrast, etc.

color tool
Step6 Graphics

Next is a graphics tool that is used to add titles and overlays. Tap ‘Graphics’ and select ‘Titles’. Choose any option and tap ‘Add’. Your title will be added on your timeline from where you can adjust its length and position. To change the text, tap on title on video and type your title.

adjust graphics, titles
Step7 Audio

To make it a complete video, add any background audio that matches your video. You’ll find an ‘Audio’ tool below, tap it and then you’ll find audio options like sound effects, loops, etc. You can also tap on ‘more’ to find hundreds of audio files. Select your audio and tap ‘Add’. Your audio file will be set on the bottom of your timeline. By tapping the audio file, you can adjust its duration and make changes to your audio from the bottom tab.

audio tool
Step8 Export

Finally tap the share icon on top left and adjust your quality settings. Here you can change your output resolution, frame rates, etc. Tap ‘Export’ and your video will start to render. You can also share your rendered video to social media directly.

export

Part 5: Premiere Rush vs. iMovie Hot FAQs

1. Is Premiere Rush good for YouTube?

Adobe Premiere Rush is a strong app specifically designed for social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram or Facebook to make professional-looking quality videos.

You can take your YouTube video to the next level with easy-to-use audio and video editing. Premiere Rush is an ideal option for YouTubers at the beginner level and advanced level.

2. Should I Buy a Mac to get iMovie?

Yes, definitely! iMovie is only supported by Apple appliances like iPhone, iPad or Mac to enjoy its premium experience.

3. Can you use Adobe rush offline?

Yes, we can use internet free adobe rush for 30 days, but for that, first, we need to sign in to adobe rush with the help of the internet. And just like that, after another 30 days of signing in, we would again need internet access to sign in to enjoy 30 more internet-free days.

Final Words

After reviewing the two programs, they're capable of producing the kinds of videos you're looking for. If you're someone who works on the move, Premiere Rush has all the features you need to cut and edit your projects. But for people who prefer to spend less time in the computer room, iMovie is a simpler, more laid-back video editing option.

Either one will suit you perfectly, depending on your personal needs. This is a decision that you will likely make once and only once. So make sure you pick the right one.

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Liza Brown
Liza Brown Jan 17, 24
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