Mastering Tools Quadrant¶
How To Read This¶
Top-left (Free + Professional): The unicorn quadrant. DaVinci Resolve Free is the clear winner — a fully professional NLE, color grading suite, audio editor, and effects platform at zero cost. This is Riggg's recommendation for most teams.
Top-right (Premium + Professional): Industry-standard paid tools. Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and iZotope RX live here. Justified when you need specific ecosystem integrations or advanced features.
Center: Descript and Auphonic bridge the gap — not free, not expensive, with AI-powered automation that trades fine control for speed.
Bottom-left (Free + Basic): Quick and simple. CapCut and Adobe Podcast Enhance are good for fast edits and one-click audio cleanup, but limited for professional mastering.
Recommendation¶
Start with DaVinci Resolve (Free) for video mastering and Auphonic for automated audio mastering. That combination covers 90% of owned media mastering needs at near-zero cost. Graduate to Resolve Studio or Premiere Pro when specific features demand it.