Adobe Premiere (originally released in 1991 and called Adobe Premiere Pro between August 2003 and January 2026) is a video editing application developed by Adobe and distributed as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. It is used for producing video content across various industries.
Contents
History
Adobe Premiere and Premiere Pro
The original version of Adobe Premiere was one of the first computer-based non-linear video editing systems. It was released on Apple Mac in 1991 and for Microsoft Windows in September 1993. The final version based on this codebase, version 6.5, was released in August 2002 for both Windows and Mac.
The software originated at SuperMac Technology under the name Reel Time, a QuickTime-based video editor developed for the company’s Video Spigot capture card. In August 1991, Adobe Systems acquired the project and rebranded it as Adobe Premiere.
Premiere was the second QuickTime-based video editor on the market. Its ability to import new video formats could be enhanced by updating to a newer, compatible version of QuickTime. However, it could only process videos and images at a maximum width of 1,024 pixels.
In August 2003, Adobe released a substantial rewrite, and called it Adobe Premiere Pro. Subsequent versions until 2026 were branded as Adobe Premiere Pro.
On January 20, 2026, along with the version 26.0 launch, Adobe rebranded Adobe Premiere Pro back to the prior name Adobe Premiere, dropping the "Pro" suffix after 23 years of use. This is the first time that Adobe Premiere has used the name without the suffix since its rebranding in 2003. The application continued to serve as Adobe's primary non-linear video editing system, and is still available to Creative Cloud users.
Features
Adobe Premiere supports high-resolution video editing up to 10,240 × 8,192 pixels
Workflow integration
Adobe Premiere supports program files from Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe After Effects. Adobe Premiere projects can also be imported into After Effects, and clips copied between the two applications retain most of their attributes.
Projects from Premiere Rush are compatible with Adobe Premiere, allowing for advanced editing features and use of professional-grade tools.
Adobe Premiere family
The Adobe Premiere family is a group of applications and services made by Adobe Inc. for the use of professional non-linear video editing. Supported features in these applications include metadata and ingest logging, media output encoding, and more.
Current applications
Dynamic Link is a workflow that integrates After Effects with Premiere Pro and Adobe Premiere 26.0 and the discontinued Encore. Files can be transferred between the two without re-rendering.
Elements Organizer is a digital asset management application that accompanies Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, providing a central interface for managing photos and video projects.
Adobe Media Encoder is a rendering tool used to process and export video projects. Users can tailor renders to specific platforms, enhance accessibility for broader audiences, and reduce file size.
Premiere Elements is a scaled-down version of Premiere Pro tailored to novice editors and consumers. Its entry screen offers clip organization, editing, and auto-movie generation options. Premiere Pro project files are incompatible with those from Premiere Elements. Unlike many of its competitors, Premiere Elements can handle unlimited video and audio tracks, with multiple key-frame effects applied to each clip, as well as picture-in-picture and chroma key capabilities. It is available for Windows and macOS.
Premiere Pro is a timeline-based video editing software application developed by Adobe Inc. and published as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud licensing program. First launched in 2003, Adobe Premiere Pro is a successor of Adobe Premiere.
Premiere Rush is a discontinued, simplified, cross-platform video editing software application that integrates with Premiere Pro. First released in 2018, it is published by Adobe alongside Premiere Pro as part of Adobe Creative Cloud, replacing Premiere Clip for editing on mobile devices. As the name implies, Premiere Rush is aimed at short turnaround times in lieu of advanced editing tools. It was removed from Adobe Creative Cloud and app stores on September 30, 2025, and it is being replaced by a simplified version of Adobe Premiere 26.0.
Usage in feature films
Adobe Premiere has been used in feature film production and is commonly used among video editors in online spaces. It is especially known for its integration with its companion application Adobe After Effects, which allowed it to become a prominent tool in the video editing space. The software is also widely recognized for its customizability, allowing for personalized organization of its modular panel design, each one serving a different purpose. Notable films edited using the software include:
A Ghost Story (2017)
Deadpool (2016)
The Florida Project (2017)
Gone Girl (2014)
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Obsession (2025)