[tombert]

I would also like to throw in Lightworks into the “very good Premiere alternatives”. If you are ok with exporting 720p, the free version is pretty capable but if you want higher export resolution it cost money.

It has a subscription option, but also a “buy outright” option, and it’s often on sale for half price for the permanent license, ends up costing around ~$200 and it works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

I think it’s very good, though I am not a professional video editor by trade.

[goosedragons]

I haven't personally used it much, except for a very simple cut but I have heard very good things about KDENLive too.

[dharmab]

I've used KDENLive and it's about as comparable to Resolve or Lightworks as Windows Movie Maker is to Premiere.

[freedomben]

I think you need to distinguish between classes of users, e.g. home consumers needing some basic editing features vs. a hollywood studio, and the spectrum in between.

I use KDENLive a lot and I find it to be an excellent product. Not perfect, but well thought out and powerful. Documentation I give a C grade too. It's awesome that some exists, but it tends to be outdated and frequently omits details about the specific thing needed. On Linux I do recommend using the App Image or Flatpak though as I have run into dependency issues (mainly codecs) when using system packages such as Fedora's.

For a typical user/consumer who just needs a video editor that can do more than just trivial cuts, I think it's an excellent option and it's the one I use and recommend to others. Unless you're looking to do advanced or highly complex products, it can do it all and in a fairly intuitive way. There are also youtube videos and such that demonstrate nearly everything you might need to do so there are plenty of available resources.

[dharmab]

I dunno, all the home users I know use Resolve. It's pretty easy to learn Resolve, with their tutorials you can go from "never edited a video" to "able to edit a simple short film" in about a day.

[dijit]

I upvote any option that has a “buy outright” baked in.

[HelloNurse]

You are easy to satisfy.

Once upon a time, we complained about undependable applications that, although installed on a computer, dared to "phone home".

Before that, we complained about undependable applications that, while not fucking around with remote servers, employed invasive and annoying anti-piracy measures.

[tombert]

I don’t love that Lightworks phones home, but FWIW, Lightworks’ support has been very good when I have contacted. They were very helpful when I needed to migrate a license when I had to swap to another computer.

This might not seem like much but that has been something I have struggled with other companies over.