Apple does not discount Macs. Amazon and Best Buy do, and every November the current MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini and Mac Studio drop by $100 to $250 at Amazon for a week, then go back up. This page is the watch list from our best Mac for video editing guide with the late-September price next to each machine and the price that should make an editor buy. Every link goes to a listing sold by Amazon itself, or to Adorama for the one machine Amazon does not stock in the configuration we recommend, because a marketplace Mac at a great price is usually an international model with a warranty question attached. From November 20 through Cyber Monday every line here gets re-checked on the live page and updated; until then the September numbers are the baseline and the targets are our read of what these machines have sold for.
Last updated: October 2026. Some links below are affiliate links. Buy through them and it helps keep the site running, at no extra cost to you. Baseline prices were read on the live Amazon listings, sold by Amazon, on September 29, 2026, and on adorama.com the same day. Deal prices land here the week of November 20. The broader list for every category is on the Black Friday deals for video editors page.
TLDR
Two prices to set an alert for. The MacBook Pro 14 with the M5 Pro, the machine most editors should buy, was $2,351.99 in September; under $2,100 it is the buy of the season. The Mac mini M6, the cheapest current Mac that edits 4K without complaint, was $1,299; under $1,150 it is the desk machine to buy for a second seat or a first one. One caution that applies to the whole page: Apple’s October event is expected to bring new MacBook Pro models, and a deep November cut on the current 14-inch may be a sell-through rather than a sale. That is still a good machine at a good price, as long as the buyer knows which one they are getting.
The watch list
Best for most editors: MacBook Pro 14 (M5 Pro, 24 GB, 1 TB)
September price: $2,351.99, sold by Amazon. Target: under $2,100. The M5 Pro MacBook Pro 14 is the configuration the Mac guide points most editors at: 24 GB of unified memory, the full media engine, and a 1 TB drive that holds a project without an external. Amazon’s Black Friday price on the Pro-chip 14-inch has landed $200 to $250 under Apple’s list in past years, and this listing was already $148 under list in September. What you give up at any price: nothing, unless Apple replaces it in October, in which case the M5 Pro becomes last year’s chip at this year’s discount, which is still fine for editing and worth knowing before checkout.
Best budget laptop: MacBook Air 13 (M5, 16 GB, 512 GB)
September price: $1,234, sold by Amazon. Target: under $1,050. The M5 Air has the full media engine, ProRes decode included, and it scrubs 4K and 6K in Resolve and Final Cut, which would have been a joke on a fanless laptop five years ago. It is the Mac for students and for anyone whose deliverables are measured in minutes. The Air is the most discounted Mac on Amazon every November, and the 16 GB and 512 GB configuration is the one to hold out for; the 256 GB base model shows up cheaper and fills up by the second project.
The base 14-inch: MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 16 GB, 1 TB)
September price: $1,999, in stock at Adorama. Target: under $1,750. The base M5 MacBook Pro in the 16 GB and 1 TB configuration is the Mac guide’s skip line at full price: for $350 more the M5 Pro doubles the memory bandwidth and adds the second video encoder. Under $1,750 the math changes, because at that price it is an XDR display and a 1 TB drive on a fast single-stream editing chip, and for a one-camera editor that is the whole job. The link goes to Adorama, which stocks the 1 TB configuration Amazon does not.
Best desktop value: Mac mini (M6, 24 GB, 512 GB)
September price: $1,299, sold by Amazon. Target: under $1,150. The M6 Mac mini with 24 GB is the machine the Mac guide calls the best value in the lineup: the current-generation chip, enough memory for Resolve, and a box that disappears behind a monitor. The mini gets a smaller cut than the laptops because Apple prices it tighter to begin with; $100 to $150 off is a real deal, and a marketplace listing at $300 off is a different model.
The step-up desktop: Mac mini (M5 Pro, 24 GB, 512 GB)
September price: $1,669, sold by Amazon. Target: under $1,500. The M5 Pro mini is the desk machine for an editor who wants the Pro chip’s second video encoder and Thunderbolt 5 without paying for a Studio, and the $370 gap to the M6 mini tends to narrow in deal week, which changes the answer for anyone cutting multicam or 6K.
The heavy machine: Mac Studio (M5 Max, 36 GB, 512 GB)
September price: $2,449, sold by Amazon. Target: under $2,200. The M5 Max Studio is where Fusion, noise reduction and 8K timelines stop being a wait, and it is the Mac we point at for a working suite. Studios get the least predictable Black Friday treatment: some years Amazon cuts $250, some years nothing. Set the alert and do not chase it; the Studio you buy in January costs the same. There is no Amazon-sold listing for the M5 Ultra configuration as of September 29, so it is not on this page.
Side by side
| Mac | September price | Buy at | Deal-week price |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Pro 14 M5 Pro | $2,351.99 (Amazon) | Under $2,100 | Checked from Nov 20 |
| MacBook Air 13 M5 | $1,234 (Amazon) | Under $1,050 | Checked from Nov 20 |
| MacBook Pro 14 M5 | $1,999 (Adorama) | Under $1,750 | Checked from Nov 20 |
| Mac mini M6 | $1,299 (Amazon) | Under $1,150 | Checked from Nov 20 |
| Mac mini M5 Pro | $1,669 (Amazon) | Under $1,500 | Checked from Nov 20 |
| Mac Studio M5 Max | $2,449 (Amazon) | Under $2,200 | Checked from Nov 20 |
How to shop a Mac deal without getting burned
Amazon as the seller, or walk. Marketplace Macs at surprising prices are often international units with a keyboard layout or a warranty that does not match, and the price can change between the click and the cart. Read the configuration, not the chip. Amazon lists a 16 GB and a 24 GB version of the same laptop on adjacent listings, and the cheaper one is usually the one on sale; the memory is the spec that decides whether the machine edits comfortably in three years. Know which generation you are buying. If Apple announces new MacBook Pros in October, the discounted machine in November is the outgoing one, which is fine at the right price and not fine at last month’s price. And skip “renewed”: a renewed Mac is a return with a 90-day warranty, and Black Friday is the one week the new one is close enough in price.
FAQ
Does Apple itself have Black Friday deals?
Apple runs a gift-card promotion on some purchases and nothing else. The price cuts come from Amazon and Best Buy, and Amazon’s are usually deeper on the Pro configurations.
Should I wait for the new MacBook Pro instead?
If a new 14-inch ships in October at Apple’s usual price, the current M5 Pro model on a Black Friday cut is the better buy for most editors; the generational gain in editing performance is smaller than the discount. Wait only if the new model brings something the workflow needs, like more memory at the base configuration.
Is Best Buy worth checking for Macs?
Yes, for the price; Best Buy often matches Amazon on the Air and the mini and occasionally undercuts on open-box units. Links here go to Amazon because it is the listing we can verify daily, and the price is the price wherever it is lowest that morning.
From November 20 this page gets a fresh look every morning; the full category list is on the Black Friday deals for video editors page, and the reasoning behind each pick is in the Mac guide. The October warm-up is on the Prime Big Deal Days page.
