Top 11 DVD Burning Software for a Mac in 2025

Try Movavi Video Suite!

  • Convert and playback media files from your DVDs

  • Create complete movies with music and effects

  • Capture any screen activity on your Mac

Edited by
Ben Jacklin
42886

Key takeaways

  • This guide highlights several dependable Mac DVD-burning tools – from well-known options like Roxio Toast and DVDFab to lighter picks such as Cisdem and Leawo – so you can quickly see which ones suit your workflow.
  • If you're just doing a simple project, free options like Burn, Simply Burns, or DVD Styler are fine. Just be aware that they can be finicky with the latest macOS updates and usually lack the fancy editing features you get with paid software.
  • On the other hand, paid applications run smoother and handle large video files without choking; they also offer you lots of added control over menus and chapters, and are thus a wise investment if you are into burning discs regularly.
  • Ultimately, it comes back to your comfort level, though-the simplicity of iSkysoft or even the default macOS Finder suits beginners best, while those power users who need speed and custom edits will be better off sticking with the likes of DVDFab, Roxio, or Cisdem.
  • The important things to do are to always start with the best possible video files and double-check the menu layout. Also, it is important to select software that really supports the particular format or option you intend to customize.

If you’ve ever tried burning a DVD on a modern Mac, you already know it feels a bit like time-traveling – somewhere between rediscovering vinyl and realizing your old high-school camcorder footage still lives on a dusty hard drive. I’ve been there. And because I’m apparently the kind of person who gets way too curious about this stuff, I spent the last few weeks testing every DVD-burning app I could get my hands on. Some surprised me, some frustrated me, and at least one of them made my Mac sound like it was preparing for liftoff.

After running actual burns, poking through menus, crashing a few apps (sorry, Leawo), and comparing how each one handled big HD files, I pulled together a shortlist of the best DVD burners for Mac worth your time. Whether you just want a quick, no-drama burner or something that can wrestle with 4K footage and still look good doing it, you’ll find it here.

And for the record: yes, DVDs are still useful – especially when you want a physical copy that won’t disappear because a streaming service lost the rights overnight.

My top picks

Best overall: Roxio Toast Titanium
Toast is the heavy-duty, everything-in-one toolkit – encryption, video capture, editing, data recovery, and deep menu creation. It’s the app you choose when you want maximum reliability and control.

Best for casual users: Cisdem DVD Burner
Cisdem hits the perfect balance between power and usability – fast with large video files, great-looking templates, and a clean macOS-native interface that never gets in your way.

Best free option: Burn
Burn is completely free, open-source, lightweight, and surprisingly capable for basic DVD and CD burning. If all you need is a straightforward disc without bells and whistles, it’s a no-brainer.

Best for beginners: iSkysoft DVD Creator
iSkysoft makes the whole process feel approachable, thanks to simple templates, intuitive editing tools, and wide format support. If you’re new to DVD authoring, this one feels instantly comfortable.

Best for versatility: Leawo DVD Creator
Leawo is the most format-flexible burner on the list – it handles oddball file types, builds photo slideshows with ease, and stays refreshingly straightforward while doing it.

disclaimer_person
To ensure that you receive only verified information, we do the following:
  • When selecting products to include in our reviews, we research both demand and popularity.

  • Movavi Content Team has tested all the products covered in this article.

  • When testing products, we compare all key parameters, including merging video clips, changing video speed, recording voice-overs, creating slideshows, and other significant features.

  • We study user reviews from popular review platforms and make use of this information when writing our product reviews.

  • We collect feedback from our users and analyze their opinions of Movavi software as well as products from other companies.

Comparison table of the best DVD burning software for a Mac

Program

Best for

Operating system

Download

Power users who want professional features, secure burning, and video tools

macOS 10.11 and up

Users who want a modern macOS-native burner with fast performance and great templates

macOS 10.12 and up

Users who want a free, open-source tool for basic DVD and CD burning

macOS 10.9 and up

List of the best DVD burner software for a Mac

1. Roxio Toast Titanium

Why I picked it: it’s the most full-featured disc authoring suite on macOS, offering encryption, video editing, data recovery, and pro-level menu tools – all backed by strong user ratings.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.11 and up

Roxio Toast is one of the most popular burn apps for Mac. It allows you to encrypt that data burned onto your discs using AES-256 bit encryption. It has features for capturing and editing video within the software itself to save you some steps. Toast also features the ability to recover lost files from damaged disks and will let you know what files could not be recovered.

Ratings

4.3/5

9/10

Pros:
  • More advanced capture and edit than other programs

  • Powerful tools for creating menus and chapters

Cons:
  • More expensive than others

2. Cisdem DVD Burner

Why I picked it: it hits the ideal balance of speed, modern macOS design, and reliable performance – especially with large 4K/5K videos.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.12 and up (Native Apple Silicon Support)

Cisdem is one of the rare apps that actually feels like it belongs on a modern Mac. It hits a really nice sweet spot: it’s not so complicated that you get lost, but it still has enough muscle to do the heavy lifting. You can tweak your footage right there in the window – cropping edges, flipping clips, or slapping on a watermark – without needing extra software. Another big plus is how it handles large files. If you throw a massive 4K or 5K video at it, the program doesn’t freeze up; it just smoothly crunches the quality down to fit the disc.

Ratings

4.5/5

Pros:
Cons:

3. Burn

Why I picked it: it’s the best free, open-source burner for macOS, offering simple controls and support for a wide variety of disc types without any bloat.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.9 and up

Burn can be used for authoring just about any kind of disk you'd like. In addition to DVDs, you'll be able to burn regular audio CDs, MP3 CDs, DVD audio discs, video CDs, and more. The software is available for Apple computers only, so if you have a Windows computer that you'd like to have the same software on, look elsewhere.

Ratings

Pros:
  • Free, open-source software

  • Simple to use

Cons:
  • Not a lot of customization options

4. DVD Styler

Why I picked it: it’s the top free option for users who want real menu customization, giving you creative control that most open-source tools can’t match.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.1 and up

DVD Styler is an open-source program licensed under the GNU GPL license. The program is designed to make styling DVD menus easier, so it has a nice set of features in that area. You can create your own menu from the impressive set of tools or select one from a set of templates. When you install it from a binary, it will ask you to install an ad-supported toolbar, although you can opt-out of that.

Ratings

Pros:
  • Free and open-source

  • Plenty of customization options

Cons:
  • Not as many features as some of the other options

  • Asks to install a toolbar for ads

5. Express Burn

Why I picked it: it combines an easy drag-and-drop interface with support for DVD/Blu-ray burning and chapter creation, making it a convenient everyday burner.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.5 and up

Express Burn has a free version available for non-commercial use, but it can only be used for making audio CDs. The paid version allows for burning DVD though and has some nice features. It can burn to CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray and allows you to create and manage the chapters for your DVD menus. For many tasks, the software features a simple drag and drop functionality.

Ratings

7.1/10

3.5/5

Pros:
  • It is easy to use

  • It allows for chapter creation

Cons:
  • It cannot bypass copy protections when copying DVDs or Blu-rays

Quick summary: Best DVD burners for a Mac

  1. Roxio Toast Titanium

    Best all-round DVD burner for a Mac

  2. Cisdem DVD Burner

    Best balance of power and simplicity on modern macOS

  3. Burn

    Best free, open-source option for basic burning

6. Tipard DVD Creator for Mac

Why I picked it: it offers strong video editor and menu customization features without the complexity or price of more advanced professional tools.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.10 and up

This DVD burning software for a Mac can read from all of the major formats and offers a nice set of features for customizing your DVD menus to look exactly the way you want them to. It offers a number of features for editing your video, such as the ability to trim, crop, change the color, or add background music to the video.

Ratings

4.5/5

Pros:
  • It has some powerful editing features

  • Easy to customize menus

Cons:
  • Some videos compressed for DVD-5 can have poor quality

7. Simply Burns

Why I picked it: it’s a clean, free, ultra-simple burner that’s perfect for basic CD/DVD writing with almost no learning curve.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.4 and up

As the name implies, this older program is designed to be simple to use. Like many of the more simple options, it lacks some of the customization options that more full-featured software has. The software hasn't been updated in a while, but the author has mentioned that a new, 64-bit, version of the software is on the way.

Ratings

4.5/5

6.9/10

Pros:
  • Free and open-source

  • Easy to use

Cons:
  • It hasn't been updated in a while

  • May have compatibility issues on newer versions of macOS

8. A built-in Finder app

Why I picked it: it’s the fastest and simplest way to burn basic data DVDs on a Mac since it’s already installed and requires zero setup or learning.

  • Operating system:

    every version of macOS

Finder is a default, built-in piece of software that comes with every Mac device and has been around since the earliest iteration of the Macintosh operating system. It's used for finding and managing applications, files, and disks, offering a lot of everyday utility for Mac users. It's also a DVD burner and ripper, and it's one of the simplest options for burning discs with your Mac.

Pros:
  • Built-in with every Mac – no downloads needed

  • Very easy to use, even for total beginners

Cons:
  • Only works with burning data DVDs

  • Lacks editing options or other features

  • Does not support creating playable video DVDs with menus

9. iSkysoft

Why I picked it: it’s beginner-friendly, supports many formats, and offers polished templates and slideshow tools that make personal projects quick and easy.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.5 and up

iSkysoft DVD Creator for Mac has a number of powerful features that go beyond simple burning of DVDs. You'll be able to create slideshows, add audio tracks, and craft a compelling menu from a selection of professionally designed templates. Before burning your video, you can rotate, crop, flip and adjust the color values in it. The DVD burner software for a Mac can burn your final DVD to disk, but it can also save it as a DVD folder or an ISO file for watching on a modern MacBook Pro or another computer without a DVD drive.

Pros:
  • Templates make creating DVDs easy and quick

  • Burning to DVD Folder and ISO frees you from the DVD drive

  • Supports a wide range of input formats and is generally beginner-friendly

Cons:
  • Design options are limited if you want to stray from the templates

  • Menu customization tools are basic

10. Leawo DVD Creator

Why I picked it: it’s extremely format-friendly and great for photo slideshows or mixed media projects, making it one of the most flexible mid-range burners.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.13 and up

Think of Leawo as the reliable workhorse of the group. The developers are pretty good about pushing updates, so it tends to play nice with whatever the latest version of macOS is. Its biggest selling point is that it isn't picky; you can drag virtually any weird video file you have into it, and it’ll read it without asking you to convert it first. It’s also great for memories – you can dump a whole folder of pictures into the tool, pick some background music, and it instantly builds a slideshow DVD for you.

Pros:
Cons:

11. DVDFab DVD Creator

Why I picked it: it’s the best high-end choice for fast, GPU-accelerated burning and deep customization, perfect for users who need professional-grade results.

  • Operating system:

    macOS 10.10 and up

If you are looking for a "Pro" replacement that offers high-end power, DVDFab is a heavy hitter. It utilizes GPU acceleration (using your Mac's graphics card) to process videos significantly faster than other programs. It is designed for users who need to burn large batches of files or require granular control over the burning engine. It is part of a larger suite of tools that can also rip and convert discs.

Pros:
Cons:
  • One of the most expensive options on the market

  • The interface can be overwhelming for users who just want a simple burn

How to choose the best DVD burner for a Mac

I hope this guide helped you zero in on the right DVD-burning app for your Mac, because the truth is, not all burners are created equal – and some of them feel like they’ve time-traveled straight out of 2008.

If you’re just dipping your toes into this whole DVD-making thing, I usually point people toward iSkysoft or the wonderfully bare-bones Burn app. They don’t ask much of you, and sometimes that’s exactly what you want.

If you’re on the other end of the spectrum and crave power tools, Roxio Toast Titanium and DVDFab are where the grown-ups play. These two are fast, feature-stacked, and built for anyone who likes their software with a little muscle.

Personally, I think Cisdem DVD Burner lands in that sweet spot – modern design, smooth performance, and none of the usual “Where do I click?” confusion.

And if you’re the creative type who cares deeply about menus, buttons, and the overall vibe of your disc, Tipard and DVD Styler give you way more freedom to make something that doesn’t look like a high-school slideshow.

Of course, if all you want is to burn a data DVD and get on with your day, nothing beats the simplicity of Finder. It’s already on your Mac and knows exactly what to do.

Before you commit to a program, though, I always recommend checking a few things. First, make sure the app actually works with your version of macOS – some older open-source tools haven’t quite kept up with Apple’s pace. And if you’re switching between platforms or sharing discs with someone on Windows 10, double-check that the software outputs a format both systems can read without drama. Think about what you’re actually trying to make: a straight file archive, a polished family video, something with subtitles, or maybe a disc full of weird video formats you found in an old hard drive.

Speed matters too, especially if you’re working with big HD footage; apps with hardware acceleration can save you a lot of waiting and a little bit of your sanity. And if you’re putting sensitive files on a disc, encryption is non-negotiable – this is where Toast earns its exceptionally grown-up reputation. Once you match your needs to the right tool, the whole process becomes almost relaxing, and yes, you’ll actually end up with a disc you’re proud to hand to someone.

Movavi Video Suite
Everything you need to create and edit multimedia files
Movavi Video Suite

Frequently asked questions

How do I burn a playable DVD on a Mac for free?

You can use any of the freeware Mac DVD burners on our list, like Bombono DVD, Burn, and LiquidCD. Another option is to use a built-in Finder app on your Mac.

How do I burn a DVD on my Mac to play on a DVD player?

Use any of the burner apps listed above and follow the step-by-step instructions provided with each one to make playable DVDs.

How do I burn MP4 to DVD on Mac?

To burn an MP4 file to a DVD on Mac, you simply need to use a DVD burner app that is compatible with MP4 files.

What is the fastest DVD-burning software for Mac?

Burning rates can vary based on your OS and device. iSkysoft, Burn, and LiquidCD are some of the fastest.

How do I choose DVD burn speed?

It depends on the program you're using. Most apps will usually have a drop-down menu before burning starts that you can use to adjust the speed.

Does burning speed affect quality?

It can, but it mainly depends on the power of the device you're using. On a low-end system, burning at high speeds can cause quality problems in the final disc.

Can you burn DVDs on a Mac?

Yes – absolutely. Despite Apple slowly nudging us all toward a streaming-only universe, you can still burn DVDs on a Mac. I do it all the time. You’ll need either the built-in Finder (for basic data discs) or a third-party app if you want something fancier, like chapters, menus, or that “I actually put effort into this” look.

Is there a way to play DVDs on a Mac?

There is, though Apple doesn’t exactly shout about it. If your Mac has a built-in SuperDrive (lucky you), or you plug in an external one, macOS still includes a humble little app called DVD Player. It’s not glamorous, but it works. Pop in a disc and it quietly launches like it never left 2009.

Does Apple have a DVD/CD burner?

Not anymore – at least not inside the computer. The last Macs with built-in optical drives belong in museums at this point. But Apple does sell an external USB SuperDrive, which you can use to burn and play discs. It’s compact, very Apple-looking, and, in true Apple fashion, more expensive than some of the third-party options that do the exact same thing.

Have questions?
Have questions?
If you can’t find the answer to your question, please feel free to contact our Support Team.
Join us for discounts, editing tips, and content ideas

1.5M+ users already subscribed to our newsletter

By signing up, I agree to receive marketing emails from Movavi and agree to Movavi's Privacy Policy.