What does a color grading software offer over a compositor? I know there are many color grading programs around, DaVinci Resolve being a popular one. But I'm having trouble understanding what exactly they offer over a CC node in any compositing or editing application (like Fusion). As far as I understand, "Color Grading" is merely "Creative Color Correction". I.e. color correction to achieve some creative goal.

I read examples like "directing the eye" to something, making things more vibrant, etc. Well, those can all be done with a plain color corrector in any software, right?

What am I missing?
The functionality of editing vs color grading vs compositing software is overlapping since every professional software can do a bit of everything. But they are experts in their own domain. Resolve has finer color controls (1), but also some functionality that you won't find in compositing software (2).

Will they merge some day? This does depend on the job roles. If several persons work on a project, each with his/her specialization of editing/grading/compositing, then it's better that each has his/her own program that focuses on just this task and does this best. If job roles blend (as we see with editing &amp; grading), then we see programs emerge that are good at each of the tasks.



(1) Example: A Resolve user can choose between at least three sets of mathematical formulas for the color wheels

(2) Example: Automated shot matching