What are your go-to tools or software for video editing, and how do you determine which is best for different types of projects?

For Video Editing, I use Premier Pro. For Subtitles Capcut. For motion graphics, effects and compositing After Effects.

How do I Determine?

The two best Software for video editing are Premiere Pro and Da Vinci Resolve. I use Premiere because I have been using it from the start, and it has a large variety of Templates and Plugins available on the Internet. It doesn't matter which one you choose, the Final result depends upon your creativity. After Effects is not for video editing it's for Motion Graphics & Compositing, so when I have to do masking, rotoscoping, making some stylish captions, or logo Animation then I use After Effects it with Premiere pro.

My go-to tools for video editing are Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve because they each excel in different areas. For most projects, I use Adobe Premiere Pro because it’s versatile and works well for everything from YouTube videos to commercials, with a wide range of tools for effects, transitions, and audio editing. Final Cut Pro is my choice for faster projects or when working on a Mac, as its magnetic timeline makes editing quicker and more intuitive. For color-heavy projects, like cinematic videos or fashion ads, I rely on DaVinci Resolve for its advanced color grading capabilities. If the project involves basic editing, like UGC content or quick social media clips, I turn to simpler tools like CapCut or iMovie, which allow for speed without compromising quality. The choice depends on the complexity of the project, the need for advanced features, and the speed of delivery required.

I personally still prefer Premiere and After Effects for my workflow and lately it has been getting better and faster with new updates the UI has also improved and After Effects is just too good to give up with the Plugins that are available for After effects I don't think you need anything else.

Adobe Products like Premiere Pro have been THE industry standard, but in in the recent years, the price to quality ratio has proved to not be the best. You pay a subscription fee for a product that tends to crash at least a couple of times a month and you tend to lose some progress. 

A lot of professionals have moved from Premiere Pro to DaVinci Resolve because it is a one time fee that equals a little over a year of Premiere Pro payments. Plus it has the features of multiple Adobe products (like After Effects). And they have a free version (with less features) if you want to just try it out before committing to purchase.

Final Cut is our choice for all pure video editing projects, and we find it superior to any other alternatives.  We can and do use other software on occasion for specific needs (vfx, motion graphics, subtitling, color grading, compositing, motion tracking, etc.) - but those tasks are not video editing per se: they are different, even if adjacent, fields.