Overview

Colourlab focuses on real-time color grading, look design, and film emulation. Balance sets exposure, white balance, and contrast toward a neutral starting point, while Match with SMH adjusts shadows, midtones, and highlights independently. Together, they offer a practical starting point for aligning footage before creative refinements, though they do not remove the need for editorial judgment.

Styles can carry grading instructions across related shots in a sequence, and AI look search ranks looks from a library based on a written description. The workflow keeps metadata on top of the image rather than permanently altering it, which helps preserve the source image. Support for more than 40 camera brands gives it broad relevance across camera-based projects.

Colourlab AI 4 says matching, analysis, and looks run locally on Mac rather than in the cloud. That suits users who prefer on-device processing, but the public beta requires Apple Silicon hardware. The maker provides a help center, troubleshooting, support request form, FAQ, tutorials, and a Discord community.

Key features

Balance and SMH matching: Balance establishes neutral exposure, white balance, and contrast; SMH lets users match tonal ranges independently. This is useful for a first correction and shot alignment, but is not a substitute for a deliberate grade.
Timeline grading: Styles apply grading instructions across related shots, reducing the need to approach every shot in isolation.
AI look search: Describe a target look in words and Colourlab ranks matching looks in the user's library. It can help navigate an existing collection, but its results depend on what that library contains.
Editing integrations: AI 4 works natively with DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Avid Media Composer via OpenTimelineIO. Paid plans divide integrations: Creator includes Premiere Pro and After Effects and Final Cut Pro sync; Pro adds DaVinci Resolve and Pomfort Livegrade Studio sync.
Camera and workflow support: The homepage states support for more than 40 camera brands. HDR finishing, Camera RAW support, color management, collaboration tools, and plugin support are also included among its capabilities.

Pricing

Colourlab has a paid model, with Creator starting at 14.00 USD per month, billed monthly. Its 7-day free trial does not require credit card details. There is no general free plan, though Colourlab AI 4 Public Beta is free during the public beta.

Plan	Price	What it includes
Colourlab AI 4 Public Beta	0.00 USD per free	Free during public beta, with a new beta build every 14 days through September. Requires an Apple Silicon Mac; Windows support is coming in October.
Creator	14.00 USD per month, billed per month	Premiere Pro and After Effects sync, Final Cut Pro sync, Auto Color, AI Color Matching, AI References, Timeline Intelligence™, and Library of Show Looks.
Pro	39.00 USD per month, billed per month	Everything in Creator, plus DaVinci Resolve and Pomfort Livegrade Studio sync, Blackmagic SDI support, Tangent control support, and a native Look Designer interface.
Studio	49.00 USD per month, billed per month	Everything in Pro, plus Look Designer and Grainlab Resolve plug-ins for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and a Look Designer Premiere Pro and After Effects plug-in for macOS.

Creator is the sensible starting point for users working in Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro who need core matching and timeline tools. It does not include DaVinci Resolve or Pomfort Livegrade Studio sync, Blackmagic SDI or Tangent control support, or the native Look Designer interface; those require Pro. Studio is for teams that need the additional Resolve and Premiere/After Effects plug-ins, rather than a cheaper route to the core grading features. The beta offers a no-cost way to use AI 4 during its public period, but its Mac hardware requirement rules out Windows users for now.

Platforms

Colourlab lists macOS, Windows, and Linux as supported platforms. The AI 4 public beta is narrower: it requires an Apple Silicon Mac, with Windows support coming in October. Studio's added Resolve plug-ins support Windows, macOS, and Linux, while its Premiere Pro and After Effects plug-in is for macOS.

Who it's for

Colourlab is a strong fit for colorists and editors who want matching and look tools connected to an established editing workflow, particularly users who work in Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro at Creator level, or need the DaVinci Resolve and Livegrade integrations in Pro. Filmmakers and content creators can use the neutral balance, sequence styles, and camera support to organize grading work. It is less compelling for someone seeking a broadly accessible free option or whose workflow depends on a platform or integration excluded from the chosen plan.

Pros and cons

Pros

Balance and independent shadow, midtone, and highlight matching provide distinct tools for establishing and aligning color.
Sequence styles and natural-language look search address both repeated grading work and finding a look in a library.
Creator begins at 14.00 USD per month and includes sync for Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Final Cut Pro.
AI 4's stated local processing avoids sending matches, analysis, and looks to the cloud.

Cons

The free AI 4 beta requires an Apple Silicon Mac, limiting access for Windows users and Intel Mac owners.
DaVinci Resolve and Pomfort Livegrade Studio sync, plus Blackmagic SDI and Tangent control support, require the 39.00 USD-per-month Pro plan.
The Studio plan costs 49.00 USD per month for users who need its additional plug-ins, making it a substantial step above Creator.

Alternatives

Compare video color grading software if you want to consider a broader set of tools.

Baselight is worth considering if its free licence options or 14-day free Baselight M trial better suit your evaluation needs; it supports Linux and macOS.
Mistika Boutique may suit someone seeking a free educational plan with all features and H264-only renders, or a freemium option on macOS or Windows.
ColourSpace is an option for manual calibration and display verification without LUT capability on its free ZRO plan.
DaVinci Resolve is a strong alternative for readers who want a free plan on Linux, macOS, or Windows; its Studio version is 295.00 USD per once.
Assimilate Live Looks is another paid option for macOS and Windows, with a monthly subscription at 89.00 USD per month.
fylm.ai may suit users who want a free plan with one user, three cloud projects, and access to its tools, or a 7.00 USD-per-month Lite plan.
Dolby Vision Professional Tools offers free command-line tools for Dolby Vision processing and QC across Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Look Designer is a separate paid option for readers seeking its DaVinci Resolve-focused grading tools.

Verdict

Choose Colourlab Ai if you want grading, shot matching, look search, and editing sync in one workflow, and its plan includes the integrations you need. Creator is a credible entry point for Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro users; DaVinci Resolve users should budget for Pro. Look elsewhere if a free, cross-platform starting point matters more than Colourlab's integration and workflow features.

	Colourlab Ai	Mistika Ultima
Free trial	Yes
Paid from	$10.75/mo
Platforms	Linux, macOS, Windows	Linux, self-hosted
Free plan	No
Paid from	14 /mo
HDR finishing	Yes	Yes
Camera RAW support	Yes	Yes
Color management	both	both
Collaboration tools	Yes	Yes
Plugin support	Yes	Yes
Supported platforms	macOS, Windows, Linux	Linux

Colourlab Ai vs Mistika Ultima

Colourlab Ai

Mistika Ultima