Easiest for beginner to learn - Cycles or Thea Render

Does anyone have any opinions on which would be the easiest to learn for rendering.

My main use will be product rendering, some item drawn in 3D cad or Blender, then put in a photo in an attempt to make it look like it’s part of the photo, casting shadows on the ground or on a wall, etc.

I know Thea costs about $400 but if I’m going to have an easier time learning it than Cycles, I might try and find the cash. Apparently some guy liked it, because “it didn’t have a node in sight” LOL.

I’m not exactly sure if the demo version of Thea is fully functional or not. On the website it said some words to the effect of a license must be purchased for any use other than evaluation.