Both routes open the same kind of project and keep the same shortcuts, so the choice is less about ability and more about the room you are in: a managed laptop, a borrowed machine, or a dedicated suite with a calibrated monitor.
A project carries its media pool, timeline, markers, grades and mixes as data, so a cut started in the browser opens on the desktop studio and back without a translation step. Keyboard muscle memory moves with it: the same keys trim, ripple and navigate.
The studio opens in Chrome on whatever machine is in front of you, which matters on managed work laptops, borrowed machines and classrooms where installers are blocked. Updates arrive in the tab, not in a patch queue.
An installed system on a fast machine still has the edge in a few places: working with no network at all, feeding capture cards and control surfaces directly, and moving very large media without an upload step.
Most teams end up using both: the browser for assembly, reviews and travel days, the desktop for final sound and grade passes in the suite. Because the project is the same either way, the choice can be made per job instead of committed to once.
Online vs desktop questions that come up before a first render.
Yes. The project keeps its media pool, timeline, markers, grades and audio mixes in a form both sides read, so you can move between machines at any stage without an export or rebuild.
The core editing keys follow the same defaults, so trim, ripple, marker and navigation muscle memory carries over. The shortcuts page has the list worth learning first.
No. Any recent Chrome or Edge with a stable connection runs a timeline, and proxy modes keep heavier footage playable. The system requirements page lists what each workflow expects.
You can, and many people do. The browser route is for machines where installers are blocked, for assembly and review away from the suite, and for teams that would rather not maintain installs on every seat.
The studio is one project with several pages. These are the pages that usually come before and after this one.
Open the studio in a tab and load a project; the desktop habits you already have will do the rest.
