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Why We Switched from Adobe to DaVinci Resolve (And Why You Might Want To, Too)

Making the switch from Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects to DaVinci Resolve wasn’t a snap decision. We’ve spent years building a post-production workflow around the Adobe suite. But as our projects grew in scale and creative ambition, so did the cracks in the system.


Eventually, the lag, crashes, subscriptions, and endless render queues just couldn’t keep up with how we work. And more importantly, how we want to work.


DaVinci Resolve offered us something better. Not perfect — but faster, more intuitive, more cinematic, and way more reliable. Here are five core reasons we made the switch, and why it’s helped us create higher-quality content with less friction.


1. It’s Free (And Studio is a One-Off Payment)


Breakdown analysis of Da Vinci Resolve compared to Adobe package that offers similar features.
Breakdown analysis of Da Vinci Resolve compared to Adobe package that offers similar features.

Key focus: Cost savings without losing power.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the edit suite: money.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud might seem accessible at first, but when you break it down:


  • Adobe All Apps plan (includes Premiere Pro + After Effects): £56.98/month = £683.76/year

  • Individual apps (Premiere or After Effects): £21.98/month each = £263.76/year per app

Compare that with DaVinci Resolve:

  • Free version: 90% of what we need

  • Studio (lifetime): £295 one-off payment

That’s it. No subscriptions. No surprise price hikes.


Why it’s better:

  • Free version is packed with pro features

  • Studio version is a one-time investment

  • No separate licensing for motion graphics, sound or grading


How it helps us:

We’re a small but ambitious team. Cutting out subscriptions helps cashflow and lets us reinvest elsewhere — whether that’s gear, travel, or extra edit time for polish.


2. Stability & Speed That Actually Saves Hours


Key focus: Less crashing, faster playback, smoother workflow.

Adobe’s biggest issue? It doesn’t scale with pressure. Crashes, laggy playback, RAM overloads, render freezes — we’ve lived through it all.

DaVinci Resolve is built like a tank. It just runs. Even with:

  • 4K Sony FX3 or Ronin 4D footage

  • Dozens of layers

  • Complex audio

And if something does go wrong? The autosave actually works.


Why it’s better:

  • Handles 4K and high-bitrate media with ease

  • Autosaves protect against data loss

  • Less strain on RAM = fewer crashes


How it helps us:

We’re not losing time to reboots or corrupted files. The faster playback alone means we can review scenes in real-time, even with heavy grades or effects in place. That’s hours of productivity reclaimed every week.


3. All-in-One Editing Powerhouse

Key focus: Built-in features that replace multiple apps.

Premiere needs After Effects. After Effects needs Media Encoder. And all of them need your patience.


DaVinci Resolve has it all in one:

  • Stabilisation with a single click

  • Dynamic zooms, motion blur, masking, time remapping

  • 4K and RAW support built-in

  • No need to round-trip or pre-render

Everything from ingest to export happens in one app, one timeline. No links. No proxies. No drama.


Why it’s better:

  • Tools like face refinement, tracking, and re-timing are native

  • Smooth playback while using advanced effects

  • Simple layout with pro depth underneath


How it helps us:

We’re not wasting time jumping between apps. We can stay focused, iterate faster, and still deliver top-tier results.




4. Industry-Level Colour Grading, Built-In.

Key focus: Cinematic grading without plugins or exports.

This is DaVinci’s crown jewel. Premiere’s Lumetri panel isn’t even in the same league.

Resolve gives us:



  • Node-based grading for unlimited control

  • Accurate scopes

  • Easy LUT application

  • Film FX (grain, glow, halation)

  • Real-time grading without dropped frames


You can even switch between edit and grade tabs with zero load time.


Why it’s better:

  • Advanced colour tools included by default

  • Hollywood-grade looks without leaving the timeline

  • Flick between nodes and versions without pre-rendering


How it helps us:

We can take a flat Sony S-Log clip to a finished look in minutes. Grades are faster, more consistent, and frankly, more beautiful.


5. It Makes Us Faster (Without Compromising Quality)

Key focus: Speed meets creative freedom.


Every feature in DaVinci is designed to remove friction:

  • Magnetic timelines and smart editing tools

  • Built-in audio sync that actually works

  • Quick export and delivery templates

  • Keyboard mapping to match whatever setup you want


It all adds up to speed without sacrificing creativity.


Why it’s better:

  • Less bloat = faster boot, render, delivery

  • No extra software for titles, audio, or motion

  • You stay in creative flow longer


How it helps us:

We can turn around founder films, docu-style edits, or even launch content quicker than before — and it still feels polished, cinematic, and emotive.



Since We Switched, We Haven’t Looked Back


DaVinci Resolve hasn’t just replaced Adobe for us — it’s helped us evolve.

We’re saving money. We’re saving time. And we’re producing better, more consistent content.

For a small production company like ours, that means we can quote more accurately, hit tighter turnarounds, and keep raising our creative standard.

And when you’re working with brands that expect impact, not excuses — that really matters.



 
 
 
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