Descript
A video and podcast editor you edit through the transcript, with AI voice clones, avatars, dubbing and an AI co-editor.
Founded 2017
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Descript is a video and podcast editor built around text-based editing: you edit a recording by editing its transcript, so deleting a word cuts it from the audio and video. It runs as a desktop app for Mac and Windows and in the browser, and adds remote recording, screen recording, captions, scenes, layouts and a timeline. AI tools include Studio Sound, filler-word removal, Eye Contact and Underlord, a chat-based AI co-editor that is still in beta. For AI voice and video it offers custom voice clones, stock AI voices, avatars from a gallery, a text prompt or a photo, video generation with third-party models such as Veo 3.1 and Kling, and dubbing into 30 languages. Plans meter media minutes and AI credits: Hobbyist costs $24 a month ($16 a month billed yearly) with 1080p watermark-free export, Creator adds 4K, and every paid plan includes API access.
Best for
Podcasters, YouTubers and marketing teams who edit their own recordings and want voice fixes, captions, dubbing and AI avatars inside the same editor.
Pros
- Edit audio and video by editing the transcript, with a timeline, scenes and layouts for finer control
- Custom voice clones and AI avatars on every paid plan, from Hobbyist at $16 a month billed yearly
- Caption translation into 61 languages and dubbing into 30, with lip sync from the Creator plan
- Creator ($24 a month billed yearly) adds 4K export and timeline export to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Pro Tools
- API access for all paying users at no extra cost, drawing on plan credits, plus an MCP connector for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor
Cons
- The Free plan exports at 720p with a Descript watermark and gets 100 AI credits once, not each month
- AI credits are spent at varying rates (an Underlord request has no fixed price), so monthly use takes some planning
- Unused media minutes and AI credits don't roll over, and top-ups are only sold on Creator and Business
- Voice clones use a model based on US English pronunciation, so accents may not always be preserved
- Translation proofread and recommended dubbing voices need Business ($50 a person a month billed yearly) or Enterprise
From our tests
Screenshots of Descript from our hands-on tests. Each links to the full-size image; the test name leads to the task, how we judged it and the other tool's result.
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (12-month total) |
|---|---|---|
| Free1 seat; 60 media minutes/month; 100 AI credits (one-time); 720p export with Descript watermark; 5 GB storage | Free Free plan | |
| Hobbyist1 person; 10 media hours and 400 AI credits/month; 1080p export; $16/month billed annually (yearly total = 12 × $16, calculated) | $24/mo | $192/yr ($16/mo) |
| CreatorPer person, up to 3 seats; 30 media hours and 800 AI credits/month; 4K export; $24/month billed annually (12 × $24, calculated) | $35/mo | $288/yr ($24/mo) |
| BusinessPer person, up to 5 seats; 40 media hours and 1,500 AI credits/month; 4K export; $50/month billed annually (12 × $50, calculated) | $65/mo | $600/yr ($50/mo) |
| EnterpriseContact sales; AI credits and media hours sized to the team; SSO, SCIM and audit logs | Custom | |
Prices checked on .
Features
In AI video and voice
| Feature | Descript |
|---|---|
| Voice cloning | Yes · Custom voice clones on paid plans, limited on Free; the voice owner must record a consent statement |
| Text-to-video | Yes · Prompt to video with Underlord and the AI video maker; generated clips via models such as Veo 3.1 and Kling; limited on Free |
| Avatars | Yes · Gallery of 35+ stock avatars, or create one from a text prompt or a photo; limited on Free |
| Editing | Yes · Text-based editing plus timeline, scenes and layouts; timeline export to Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve and Pro Tools from Creator |
| Languages | Yes · Transcription 25 languages, caption translation 61, dubbing 30; lip sync from Creator |
| Export limits | Yes · Free 720p with watermark; Hobbyist 1080p; Creator and Business 4K; web links 1 hour (Free, Hobbyist) or 3 hours |
| API | Yes · All paid plans at no extra cost, using plan media minutes and AI credits; early access; finished files only through a published web link |
| Free tier | Yes · 60 media minutes/month, 100 one-time AI credits, 720p export with watermark |
| Commercial rights | Yes · You own Input and Output as far as the law allows (Terms 8.4); most stock media cleared for commercial use, GIPHY excepted; no plan limit found |