Summary: Looking for the best burning software for Mac? Check out the top 5 best DVD burning software for Mac 2021 to successfully and quickly burn videos to disc.
When large media files occupy much storage on a MacBook/MacBook Pro/iMac Pro, etc., you may need to create a DVD for backing up data. However, there is a stack of DVD burner software for Mac on SourceForge or other download sites, making you feel confused and not sure which one is best. Well, this post will give you the most satisfactory answer.
Best DVD Burning Software for Mac 2021
Cisdem DVD Burner makes it easy to burn DVD on Mac Big Sur or before. Useful features:
An Easy Mistake to Make Data DVD and Video DVD. When mention free DVD burning software for Mac, some people will firstly think of Finder or iTunes. Finder and iTunes can indeed burn DVD, but they can only burn a data DVD. Data DVD and Video DVD are different. Data DVD is only readable on computers. It cannot be opened by DVD players. Article will introduce 3 free DVD burners. Express Burn Free Disc Burning Software Express Burn Free for Mac is an ultra-fast freeware burner to help you save time. Burn audio, video, or data files to CD, or DVD. Express Burn Free includes a user-friendly interface with handy drag and drop features. Listed below are some of the CD and DVD. In this insightful article, I’ve listed the best free DVD burning software for Mac. So keep reading to find and download your favorite DVD burner for Macintosh. Part 1: Best 10 Free DVD Burner for Mac; Part 2: Professional DVD Burner for Mac with Fully Packed Features; Part 1: Best 10 Free DVD Burner for Mac There are quite several DVD. Burn CDs and DVDs on Mac. If your Mac has a built-in optical drive, or if you connect an external DVD drive (for example, an Apple USB SuperDrive), you can burn files to CDs and DVDs to share your files with friends, move files between computers, or create backup files.
- Few clicks to create instant DVDs
- Support any SD & HD video formats like MP4, MKV, AVCHD, etc.
- Provide free templates in various styles and themes
- Build a professional-quality DVD menu
- Import backgrounds (image & music) to menus
- Alter the aspect ratio
- Edit videos with the crop, rotate, add subtitle, apply effects, etc. tools
- Preview videos in real-time before DVD burning
- Compatible with OS X 10.10 or higher, including macOS Big Sur 11
The Best DVD Burning Software for Mac 2021
In my tests, Cisdem DVD Burner was rated as the best DVD burning software for Mac 2021. It covers all DVD burning features you need.
It's specialized in burning video from over 150 formats to playable DVDs.
This best Mac burning software has more advanced functions than the free one to meet the demands of users. It allows you to add audio tracks, watermarks, and subtitles to your DVD video, and lets you get more special effects. You can also customize a DVD menu for better playing navigation.
Download the best burning software for Mac below and install it, I will show you how to use it. Note: Cisdem DVD Burner promises to always run on the latest system, like macOS Big Sur.
Step 1. Add videos into the program
Insert a blank DVD into your Mac slot.
Click 'Add videos' in the middle to browse video files. Or drag-n-drop media files from the local folder to the software.
Step 2. Edit videos
Click under the video thumbnail to call up an editing window. There are some built-in editing options, like crop, effects, watermark, rotate, subtitle, chapter, etc. You can edit videos to make them more personalized.
Step 3. Make a DVD menu
Click the 'Menu' tab to go to the DVD template interface, and then you can make a DVD menu by adding free templates, background, music, and text, etc.
Step 4. Burn videos to DVD
Click to preview your adjustment.
Then click to switch to the output setting window. Simply specify the output parameters, click 'Burn' to start fast burning.
Cisdem DVD Burner for Mac Big Sur
- Deal with DVD burning flexibly
- Burn videos in multiple formats to one DVD
- Create DVD 5, DVD 9, DVD folder, or ISO image
- An integrated video editor
- Add background music & subtitles
- Keep high quality
Alternatives to the Best Burning Software for Mac
#1. Burn
Burn is an open-source, free alternative to the best DVD burning software for Mac 2021. It has an incredibly user-friendly interface and gained a wide reputation for doing basic burning tasks. You can even use Burn to copy DVD files (.dmg, iso, cue/bin, etc.). It supports authoring simple interactive DVD menu like commercial DVD movies and supports macOS Catalina or higher including macOS Big Sur. Below we will show you steps to burn video to DVD.
1. Launch Burn on MacBook and click the video tab, then name your DVD and choose “DVD” from the pop-up menu.
2. Click “+” to add your video files or directly drag files right into the burn file list. Most video files are supported, if the video format is not compatible, Burn will ask you to convert it to the right format. So some videos will require conversion in order to burn DVD perfectly.
3. Insert a blank DVD and click the Burn button to start to burn your video files. And your MacBook will display a dialog indicating the DVD is burning. When this process is finished, you will gain a perfect DVD.
Pros:
- Only need several steps to burn CD/DVD on Mac
- Different tabs for different burns
Cons:
- Don’t offer much assistance or documentation
- Lacks custom options
#2. iDVD
iDVD is another alternative to the best burning software for Mac. It has a simple interface and focuses on ease of use. Meanwhile, iDVD allows you to author and burn music, movies, and photos to widescreen DVD with the help of an internal Mac DVD burner or external device.
- Run iDVD on your Mac and go to 'File / One Step DVD from movie…' from the menu bar.
- Add the video that you need burn to DVD with iDVD and wait for its loading.
- Insert a blank writable DVD disc into your SuperDrive, and iDVD would start burning video to DVD on Mac.
Pros:
- Instructions are clearly given for first-time users
- The burning process is quite easy fast and smooth
- Contain some practice features
Cons:
- Support few file formats
- Problems may happen when dealing with large size video files
- Only available in the boxed copy of iLife '11 until iLife '13 now (discontinued by Apple since Mac Lion)
#3. Express Burn
Express burn, presented by NCH software officially, is one of the best burning software for Mac and Windows. It supports a wide range of audios, videos, images and data to burn, and gives you the right to handle ISO/Joliet, Hybrid, and UDF. As an ideal alternative to the best Mac DVD burning software 2021, it is absolutely competent.
- Launch Express Burn, a window will pop up automatically. Select a type of disc to burn.
- Click the “Add File (s)” or “Add Folder” option on the “Video” tab to add videos to include.
- Place a blank disc, and then burn DVD by clicking the “Burn Video DVD” button.
Pros:
- Record CD or DVD, burn Blu-Ray DVD
- Create images from the CD or system data
- Offer template menu buttons and screens
Cons:
- The compressed files may get low clarity and quality
- Unable to copy-protected DVDs
- Lack of advanced options, like video editing
Tips on Burning DVD on Mac
- Buy a safe and good-quality DVD disc. Don’t purchase the bare, no-name blank media. In my experience, the more expensive the media, the better its quality; DVD media is always more reliable than CD media.
- Keep verifying your disc. It detects your burning problem in time. If you haven’t verified your disc, the best burning software for Mac will fail to burn DVD.
- Don’t set too fast burning speed. It will lead to poor output quality and create the groundwork for the mistake. Note: Cisdem DVD Burner presets the best burning speed for you. You don't need to set it manually.
- Close irrelevant procedures during the burning process. Irrelevant programs will reduce the power of the best burning software for Mac, which badly affects the burning speed and quality.
- Get an optical drive. Make sure your Mac has installed a built-in DVD drive or an external drive. (Apple has abandoned SuperDrive in 2012, but you can still purchase an external Apple SuperDrive on Amazon or eBay.)
Extended: What’s the Best CD Burning Software for Mac
When it comes to the best Mac burning software, you might also think of the best CD burning software for Mac, which is used to create CDs from iTunes or any audio file. Burn, iDVD, and Express Burn are all decent CD burner for Mac. Now set as Express Burn as an example. Let’s see how to burn a CD on a Mac.
- Insert a blank CD.
- Initiate the software.
- Head over to the “Audio” tab > “Audio CD” to add files.
- Click “Burn Audio CD”.
- Finish choices on how the burning process to take place, and click “OK”.
Conclusion
Among all the best burning software for Mac discussed, Cisdem DVD Burner earns the highest score from me. It’s a pretty professional tool to edit video, burn DVD, produce better quality, and the great thing is that it provides you with the most intuitive interface. This doesn’t mean the other best DVD burning software for Mac is not worth considering. Make a wise decision by yourself!
It becomes easier to share or backup media files, data to your mobile phone, USB stick, external hard drive, network-attached storage, and other digital devices. But it doesn’t mean that DVD burning is useless.
DVD is a type of practical optical disk technology to store those important video/movie files and prevent them from being deleted by mistake. Obviously, putting videos on an actual disc is more secure than saving them on digital devices.
In this article, I’ve listed down 10 best free DVD burner for Mac, together with the most effective one (paid program). Keep reading to get your favorite free DVD burning software for Macintosh.
Advanced Mac DVD Burning Software
Burn videos to DVD flawlessly via the Cisdem DVD burner for Mac:
- Burn video to playable DVD with high quality and fast speed
- Support a wide array of input video formats, like MP4, WMV, MOV, FLV, etc.
- Create home DVD disc/DVD folders/ISO files from digital files
- Edit video by adding effects & (your own) watermarks & subtitles, rotating, etc.
- Offer a plethora of attractive and stylish DVD menu templates
- Customizable background soundtrack and image
- Preview the original and output videos in real-time
- Take a screenshot of any video frame to auto set as a thumbnail
- Adjustable output parameters: television standard, aspect ratio, and more
- Compatible with macOS 10.12 or later, 11.0 Big Sur included
- >> 10 Best Free DVD Burner for Mac
- >> Where Free DVD Burning Software for Macintosh Fall Short
- >> Alternative- The Powerful Yet Easy-to-use DVD Burner for Mac
10 Best Free DVD Burner for Mac
#1) Burn
Burn, while simple, is a well-known free DVD burner for Mac, and has gained a wide reputation to make playable DVDs. It‘s able to burn audio and video files, but it requires converting your media files to MP3 and MPG before burning. Don't worry! Burn app can handle the conversion processes. You only need to drag your files into the software, and choose 'Convert'.
Besides burning media files to DVD, this Mac DVD burning software has the ability to burn data files in various formats like ISO, Cue/Bin, DMG, etc. You can also copy disc contents and images via the program.
#2) LiquidCD
LiquidCD allows you to burn data, audio, photos and video files. It supports some special file formats, including MDF, MDS, DAA, and GBI. The key feature of LiquidCD is that it helps you to burn custom hybrid discs or Cue/Bin files. If you can’t believe that, why not download the software for free and and give it a try? It is a decent free DVD burner software for Mac to finish your simple burning task.
#3) Express Burn
Express Burn is another reliable and free DVD burner for Mac that you can use to burn DVDs easily and quickly. It can burn data on DVD, Blu-ray, and HD-DVD. What’s more, you can also use it to burn ISO images. Its interface is very intuitive, and once you see it, you will know how to operate it.
Note: The free version for non-commercial use only.
#4) iDVD
iDVD is one of the most widely applied free DVD burning software for Mac. It allows you to burn QuickTime Movies, MP3 music, and digital photos to a DVD. The free software is integrated with iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto or any other Apple product. iDVD indeed makes DVD burning fairly straightforward and saves you lots of time.
Note: iDVD is no longer available in the iLife bundle on OS 10.7 Lion or later. And online Apple Store doesn’t sell iLife ’11 (carries a copy of iDVD 7.1) anymore. Only the Mac with a Superdrive can run the free DVD burner Mac at the moment. So the solution I recommend is to: find older versions that include iDVD 7 on Amazon or eBay; try to download the iDVD alternatives.
#5) Disco
Disco does more than just look pretty, it supports CD/DVD-Re-writable disc burning and erasing. Its discography feature keeps track of every file on every disc you burn. Disco emits 3D animated smoke whenever the application is burning a disk. As of July 2011, development and support of Disco have been officially discontinued, but you can still download this free DVD burner software for Mac from its home page: http://discoapp.com/.
#6) BurnX Free
BurnX Free is a good free DVD burner for Mac with prominent features. The software makes it handy to burn DVDs with multiple sessions in a hybrid format for compatibility with other platforms. Plus, Burn X' s interface is very intuitional. You can quickly add or remove files as you like, and erase the information of disc when the disc is already full.
#7) iTunes
iTunes empowers you to organize and enjoy the music, movies, and TV shows that you already collected. You can import digital audio files from other sources in any formats. And the software lets you sort, play and add to a digital media collection on your computer and sync it to a portable device.
Meanwhile, you would feel surprised in that iTunes is also a popular free DVD burning software for Mac. It acts as a thorough video-toolbox and supports to burn iTunes playlist to Audio CD, MP3 CD, and Data CD/DVD.
iTunes 12 is the highest version of iTunes, available for OS X 10.7.5 to 10.14.6. Since macOS Catalina, the iTunes app has gone, but you can create CDs and DVDs in the Music app, which looks very much like iTunes.
Note: You can't burn music or movies purchased and rented from iTunes, as they are DRM-protected.
#8) SimplyBurns
SimplyBurns free DVD burner for Mac comes along with an open-and-shut interface for you to make CD/DVD medium. The program emphasizes ease of use, thus you can create audio/data projects and rip discs without hassle. You can also copy and burn images that already saved on your system. It’s very simple to operate for novice users and you are able to download it for free from sourceforge.net.
#9) Finder
This is the default file manager used on all Mac operating systems. You don’t need a third-party program to burn discs on your computer as you can use Finder as free DVD burner software. It helps you navigate all of the files and folders on your Mac and also lets you browse your apps, disks, files, and folders in a variety of ways. It's worth noting that Finder only burns data DVD disc.
#10) FirestarterFX
FirestarterFX is a free DVD burner software that has a unique graphical interface. There are 5 tabs including Home, Copy, Image, Data and Erase for you to choose. You can get the information on what you can do with the software through the home tab. Create a backup copy of other discs at express speed by clicking on the Copy tab. You can burn Cue/Bin, as well as ISO images, which can be done by selecting the Image tab. Burn data allows you to burn a data CD and DVD. Click the Erase tab if you want to delete contents from a disc.
Where Free DVD Burning Software for Macintosh Fall Short?
There are some drawbacks of the free DVD burner for Mac, for example:
- No wonderful DVD menu templates or no video editing function provided.
- Be obsolete and not updated (unavailable on the newest Mac version), such as iDVD.
- Not good at dealing with large video files, causing your Mac or programs stuck.
- Not flexible enough or burn DVD discs incorrectly when adding components to your menu.
- The free software like Finder, iTunes can only burn a data DVD, not a video DVD. It doesn’t contain the file structure AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS.
- Most of them like Burn and LiquidCD only support burning files to DVD disc, not DVD folder and ISO file.
Free DVD burning software for Mac lets you do basic DVD burning, but it may: lack advanced, stop updating, exist a few bugs, can’t burn a video DVD, and so forth. To make your DVD burning more effective and the output more beautiful, an advanced Mac DVD burning software alternative is necessary.
Alternative- The Powerful Yet Easy-to-use DVD Burner for Mac
Cisdem DVD Burner for Mac is the best alternative to free DVD burning software for Mac. Its price is also reasonable for lifetime licenses and updates.
The software enables you to burn videos to DVD in short order and personalize your videos by trimming, cropping, applying special effects. You can choose a menu and add subtitles or watermarks to your videos.
All in all, Cisdem DVD Burner creates a professional disc and burn video files quickly, coming to download its free trial version for a test.
Alternative to Free DVD Burner software for Mac
Use the Best Mac DVD Burner to:
- Edit videos via Crop, Chapter, external subtitle, awesome Effects, etc.
- Make a DVD menu, with rich and free templates
- Add background picture, frame, text, music, etc.
- Preset output parameters to enhance the DVD video quality
- Keep updated with the latest operating system, like Catalina and Big Sur
Free DVD Burner Mac VS Cisdem DVD Burner
| Features | Free DVD Burner Mac | Cisdem DVD Burner |
|---|---|---|
| Burn file to data DVD | Yes | Yes |
| Burn file to video DVD | The built-in apps can't do it | Yes |
| Burn to 200+ formats | No | Yes |
| DVD menu templates | No or very few | Yes |
| Video Editor | No | Yes |
| Real-time Preview | No | Yes |
| Speed | Average | 10-20x fast |
How to Burn DVD with Alternative to Free DVD Burning Software for Mac:
Step 1Download, install and run Cisdem DVD Burner for Mac
Head over to the menu bar, click 'File' > 'Add Files'. From the pop-up dialog box, choose the target videos you desire to burn. Alternatively, drag the clips to the 'Source' panel.
Once your clips loaded, click under the video thumbnail to open the built-in editing tool. Now you can crop the video, apply effects, put watermarks, etc.
Switch to the 'Menu' tab, plenty of pre-installed menu templates appears on the left portion of the screen.
Free Dvd Burning Software Mac
To change the menu template, frame, button, and edit text, call up the the custom tools by clicking in the upper right corner.
If the templates don't match the video content, click the button to import your preferred background image.
Click the button to preview the DVD project and make sure all effects (including menu) have been successfully added.
Insert a blank DVD into your Mac drive.
Hit and you'll see the output window. The 'Burn to Disc' option is selected by default. Just go to tweak the DVD settings like playback mode, copies number (create multiple DVDs).
Free Dvd Burning Software For Mac Catalina
When you're done, click the “Burn” button to start the burning process with Cisdem DVD Burner Mac.
Here's a video guide:
Conclusion
Burn For Os X
Above I've listed top 10 free DVD burning software for Mac. To complete the essential DVD burning tasks without the DVD menu, I recommend you install Burn, LiquidCD, ExpressBurn, SimplyBurns, etc. iDVD is merely helpful for old version Mac. iTunes and Finder can't create video DVDs. If you would like to make a nice-looking and fast-navigation DVD for sharing or preserving, a commercial program like Cisdem DVD Burner for Mac is the best option.