The fact you can get a full-fat, professional-grade video editor like DaVinci Resolve, completely free of charge, is mindblowing. Still, if you're not going all out with countless files being rendered daily, OpenShot should be good enough and is a perfect step up from true beginner software into making more advanced edits. It's a little slower compared to commercial software, as you could perhaps argue is to be expected. It's also a pleasure to use thanks to the UI and ability to switch between simple and advanced modes.

You can grab a copy on Windows, Mac, and Linux, allowing you to use the same software across different devices. OpenShot is another advanced video editor that's completely free to download and use.

Best for basic editing: Microsoft Video Editor And if you want to get a bit more advanced, there's built-in scripting support to really tailor Kdenlive to your needs. But the layout is easy to get along with, and it doesn't take too much effort to figure out the main functions, and how to get making your first edits. It has its shortcomings, demanding resources, coupled with a sharper learning curve than some comparable applications. Naturally, the better your hardware, the better your experience, but beginners on a budget are certainly not locked out from making full use of the software.

Kdenlive runs well on a wider range of hardware than Davinci Resolve, while still being able to offer a feature set geared toward more advanced video editors. And as it's FOSS, free really does mean free (though you should absolutely make a donation if you use it to support development). Built by the team behind the KDE community more commonly associated with Linux, Kdenlive is also available on Mac and Windows, completely free, and absolutely packed with features. Kdenlive is living proof that open-source software can compete with the very best.

Power video editor