If I already own Final Cut Pro on my Mac device, will I still need a subscription for the iPad Pro version?

I’m a little upset that I paid $300 for Final Cut Pro for my MacBook Pro and still have to pay a subscription fee to use it on my iPad. I can maybe see a small onetime fee, but every month, forever, I don’t think so…..

After paying $300 for FCP for Mac, it seems a bit rich for them to ask me to pay another fee to use it on my iPad Pro! Apple aren't winning any friends here! Just saying!

I don't know about you, but I paid $300 twelve years ago. To this day, there have been dozen of updates to FCP and all of them have been free. I have been able to use this on all my macs, and my family members (my wife and three kids) have been able to use it too, under Family Sharing. I do not feel entitled to a freebie on a completely new application on a different platform.

I didn’t expect it for free. One time purchase is fine. Just not a recurring monthly fee forever. I don’t like or buy subscription based software very often.

One time fee yes! But monthly subscription, daylight robbery! Absolutely not fair

DaVinci Resolve is at least as good as FCPX and is available FREE for the iPad (iOS 16 or later).

Projects on DVR or FCPX can be interchanged easily for editing via XML.

A great, completely free workflow if you already have Final Cut Pro on the Mac is to start editing in iMovie on the iPad, and then sending that to iMovie for Mac, and converting that into a Final Cut Pro for Mac project. That way, you don't have to spend a single dollar. iMovie for iPad is actually fantastic, as long as you're not a super advanced editor you can do 90% of what Final Cut Pro can do in it for the iPad version.

Send the iMovie for iPad project to iMovie for Mac, and then import that into Final Cut Pro: Send projects to Final Cut Pro from iMovie on Mac - Apple Support

How nice for you. People have been buying it since it was released forever ago. Your ten years of use = 1 month of use for others. Hard to justify that just because a smaller group of people purchased something a long time ago. They could just sell a different version of it if they didn’t want to give free updates. That model has worked for 30 years and no reason it wouldn’t work now. They just want more money. Now it’s (current cost of Mac app)+(ipad subscription perpetually). So your nice little $300/10 years just turned into about $900/10 years PLUS you still need to keep paying after that! All before taxes. That is an absolute joke to anyone with a brain. I’d sooner buy a new copy every 5 years that covers all devices. They make more money but it’s at least reasonable. If I don’t want the new features, I have no need to upgrade. Why should I pay for development of something I don’t want?

That is bogus marketing that we allow apple to get away with.

The answer has already been given by Apple, you will still have to pay for the iPad version. They are considered separate applications. Apple has always held their apps to be separate between desktop and mobile versions.

I've enjoyed LumaFusion, which exports to FCPX easily, too.

Agree to disagree.

FWIW, I never even saw the point of running FCP on the iPad, when the mac is far more apt for it in so many ways; and, unsurprisingly, the iPad version has but a fraction of the capabilities of the Mac one.

Agreed subscription software is just a cash grab by already very profitable ecosystem monopolistic companies... (apple, Adobe to name the obvious but many other examples). Sick and tied of apple gouging. I have a 15 month old $3000 (cdn) Macbook Pro, exclusively for FCP. Screen died, apple wanted $1000 (cdn) to replace the screen itself (no repair or re-use of used parts). Decided to buy a 4k monitor for $400 and screen is better than MacBook but only available at home. Screw Apple... I'm going to DaVinci.

You’re paying for convenience.

Otherwise, the Mac version is superior in every way.

I think the subscription model is the right choice for Final Cut Pro for iPad because...:

• It is a completely different software from Final Cut Pro for Mac: the UI and way you interact with the software is completely different, which means Apple had to two spend a lot of money re-building Final Cut Pro for the iPad.
• The intention is most likely that you'll do most of your professional editing on the Mac, and only use Final Cut Pro for iPad when you're traveling (or don't have access to your Mac). Most people don't want to re-spend that much money on a perpetual license again for something they'll just use as a backup plan.
• Final Cut Pro for iPad is super cheap compared to the competitors solutions.
• In order for Final Cut Pro to become more relevant again Apple needs to find a way to generate more money from it (so they can invest more in new features). I purchased my license 10+ years ago, and have gotten fantastic free updates ever since, but never payed a single cent for Final Cut Pro since I purchased it.

I understand your frustration, but considering the above I think it's understandable why Final Cut Pro for iPad is a separate software. What I will say, though, that makes me frustrated about this is that Apple doesn't allow third party apps to have separate pricing and versions between different OS, so it's not fair that they bend their own rules in their favor.