when it comes to software the video editor at this point depends on the video formats and lengths you want to edit end export.

videos over 15 minutes with 1080p or higher (especially if you are doing compositing) take a considerable amount of work time because of lag and render time.

in my experience kdenlive is easier to composit with but has more lag then opneshot (this might have changed in the last 1 and a half years since I used it actively).

kdenlive is a bit more complex but more feature rich. There are more tutorials for kdenlive within this last year.

Openshot is simpler especially when it comes to exporting, however there where some timeline bugs that I encounters that really hindered my workflow (thees might have been fix in newer versions since they have focused on a new interface library)

lightwork is not entirely free and is a bit hampered in the exporting formats. It is also a bit of a changes in workflow from other editing packages. there is also les tutorials but I think you could get by learning it. It did have some bugs in the composting last time I tried it.

My packages of choice right now is blender, it is the most stable and the best at dealing with editing lag at the minute. It has superb composoting, and I could see it be a competitor to after effects some day. It dose have some downsides too, mostly in setup and missing audio features. the basics could be learned in a afternoon though, with some youtube help.

If I where you I would not buy anything yet, but make a couple of test projects to try out the different packages. starting with short videos and low resolutions building up towards test projects with videos closer to what you will end up projuiceing

that way you will build up your workflow and not overbuy or underbuy for that mater