AI Compare · AI tools
Descript: plans, prices, strengths and limits
Descript is a video and audio editor in which you edit a recording by editing its transcript, with AI tools for voice, avatars, clips and generated media. It runs on macOS, Windows and the web.
Prices for United States, before sales tax Data release 2026.10.16-3, Oct 16, 2026 Rules 2.1.0
- Made by
- Descript, Inc.
- Individual plans
- 3, one free
- Paid plans
- $24 to $35 a month
- Facts checked
- Oct 15, 2026
Quick verdict
Descript is built for editing recordings you already have. Free gives 60 media minutes a month (upload and recording time), 100 AI credits once (not monthly), 720p export with a Descript watermark and 5 GB of storage. Hobbyist is $24 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly, $192 a year paid up front by our calculation, with 10 media hours and 400 AI credits a month, 1080p export without a watermark and no way to buy more credits. Creator is $35 a month per person, or $24 a month billed yearly, $288 a year paid up front by our calculation, with 30 media hours and 800 AI credits a month per editor, 4K export, lip sync for dubbing and timeline export; it scales to 3 people, billed separately. Prices are before tax, and unused Hobbyist credits do not roll over.
Commercial use is not verified on any plan. Descript's Terms say you own your input and AI output "to the extent protectable under applicable law" (section 8.4), but they license the service "for your own personal or internal business use" (section 5.1), and no Descript page expressly grants commercial use per plan. Storyblocks stock media inside Descript is licensed for commercial use under its own EULA. If you publish for clients or for money, ask Descript to confirm in writing first.
Descript lets you turn off data sharing for AI training in your profile. This verdict rests on what Descript documents, not on our tests, which we have not run yet.
Strengths and limits
Strengths
- Edit video by editing textOn every plan you edit a recording by editing its transcript like a document, with timeline tools for trim, split, scenes and transitions. Transcription covers 25 languages, with speaker detection and multitrack transcription. Projects are unlimited; uploads and recordings use media minutes.
- Captions without a capDynamic captions, which animate automatically, are listed as Unlimited on Free, Hobbyist and Creator. Subtitles export as SRT or VTT. Translating captions into 61 languages is a separate feature paid in AI credits.
- Long recordings into clipsCreate Clips has Underlord pick moments from a long recording and make 1 to 20 clips of 10 seconds to 5 minutes. It is included on Hobbyist and Creator and Limited on Free, and it uses AI credits.
- Exports to text, audio and other editorsEvery plan exports video (MP4, GIF), audio (MP3, WAV, M4A), subtitles (SRT, VTT) and transcripts (DOCX, TXT, RTF, MD, HTML). Creator adds timeline export to Premiere, Final Cut, Pro Tools, Logic, Audition and Reaper, plus batch export.
- Voice, avatars and generated mediaPlans include custom voice clones (you read a consent statement in English), 25+ stock AI speakers, dubbing into 30 languages, 35+ stock avatars, and video and image generation with models such as Veo 3.1, Kling v3.0 and GPT Image 2, all paid in AI credits and Limited on Free.
Limits
- Commercial use not verifiedNot verified. Descript's Terms say you own your input and output, but license the service for "personal or internal business use", and no page expressly grants commercial use on Free, Hobbyist or Creator. Only Storyblocks stock media is stated as licensed for commercial use.
- Free AI credits do not renewPlan limit. Free's 100 AI credits are one time only, and most AI tools on Free are marked Limited with no exact caps stated. Free exports are 720p with a Descript watermark in the bottom-right corner.
- Lip-synced dubbing starts at CreatorPlan limit. Lip sync for dubbed video is documented as not offered on Free and Hobbyist. On Creator it matches one speaker's mouth to the translated voiceover and does not work on avatars. Hobbyist's Video Regenerate matches video to edited speech in English only.
- No phone or tablet supportPlatform limit. Descript runs on macOS 14+ and Windows 11+ and in a web app, but it is not officially supported on mobile browsers or tablets such as the iPad, and no phone app is listed.
- Hobbyist credits are fixedPlan limit. Hobbyist gets 400 AI credits a month with no rollover and no extra credit purchases; generated video, avatars, dubbing and clips all draw on them. Timeline export and batch file export are not on Hobbyist.
Based on what Descript, Inc. documents for each plan, not on our tests.
Who it suits
A good fit if you
- Editing podcasts and talking-head videos by editing the transcript
- Captions on every plan, without a cap
- Turning long recordings into 1 to 20 short clips
- Handing a cut to Premiere, Final Cut or Pro Tools, from Creator
- Exporting transcripts as documents
Look elsewhere if you
- Client or commercial work that needs written permission per plan: not verified
- Editing on a phone or iPad: not officially supported
- Lip-synced dubbing on Free or Hobbyist: documented as not offered
- Exports above 720p or without a watermark on Free
Plans and prices
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Descript Free | Free | Oct 15, 2026 | |
| Descript HobbyistPricing page shows $16 per person / month with the Annual toggle; 16 x 12 = $192 per year (multiplied by us). $24 with the Monthly toggle. | $24 a month | $192 a year | Oct 15, 2026 Source |
| Descript CreatorPricing page shows $24 per person / month with the Annual toggle; 24 x 12 = $288 per year (multiplied by us). $35 with the Monthly toggle. Priced per person; can scale to 3 people billed separately. | $35 a month | $288 a year | Oct 15, 2026 Source |
Prices for United States, before sales tax unless a plan says otherwise. A yearly plan is paid up front and is not cancel-any-time.
Features by plan
What Descript, Inc. documents for each plan. A hatched mark means we could not verify it, which is not the same as "not offered".
| Feature | Descript Free | Descript Hobbyist | Descript Creator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Images, video and voice | |||
| Image generation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video generation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video editing and presenters | |||
| Photo to video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Footage editing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Avatar presenters | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lip sync | No | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic captions | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clips from long videos | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exports without a watermark | No | Yes | Yes |
| Music, voice and transcription | |||
| Voiceover from text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice cloning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dubbing into other languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Transcription | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations and agents | |||
| Connectors to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Privacy and control | |||
| Opt out of model training | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Export your data | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shows ads | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear |
| Rights and licensing | |||
| Commercial use of outputs | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear |
| Apps and extras | |||
| Apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The details and sources of every row are in Compare two AIs and the data release.
What it documents for each use
- Images & Design Create images from a description · Make graphics for posts and slides
- Video & Animation Make short videos from a description · Edit my own video footage · Turn a photo into a video · Make a video with a presenter · Add captions to a video · Turn a long video into short clips
- Business & Productivity Connect AI to the apps I already use
- Audio & Voice Turn a script into a voiceover · Use a copy of my own voice · Dub a video into another language · Transcribe recordings and files
A use is listed when at least one plan documents every feature a task needs. Answer quality is a separate question: see below.
Using it day to day
Descript has a desktop app for macOS 14+ and Windows 11+ and a web app at web.descript.com. Media minutes count upload and recording time (a still image counts as 1 second): 60 minutes a month on Free, 600 on Hobbyist and 1,800 on Creator. Uploads are limited to 1 GB per file on Free (up to 4K, 150 Mbps), 10 GB on Hobbyist and 20 GB on Creator (up to 5K, 1 Gbps, ProRes and other formats); storage is 5 GB, 100 GB and 1 TB. You can also upload PDF slide decks.
Integrations import from Zoom, Google Drive (web app only), SquadCast, Riverside, Ecamm, Restream and Captivate, and publish to YouTube, Wistia, HubSpot, Google Drive, Slack and podcast hosts such as Buzzsprout, Podbean and Transistor. There is a Zapier connector, a Descript API and an MCP connector for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor; API plan limits are not stated. Paid plans can export usage as CSV. Translation proofreading and native-sounding AI speakers are on Business only. Descript's pages disagree on avatars made from a photo: the comparison table includes them on Hobbyist and Creator, while the Business card lists them as a Business highlight.
Privacy, data and ads
Descript's profile setting "Share data with Descript" can be turned off at any time. The help center says in-house AI training uses only data from users who opted into data sharing, and that sub-processors such as OpenAI may not train on it; the Terms (8.4(e)) allow training on your input and output unless you opted out. Voice clones require you to read a consent statement in English. Whether the Descript app shows ads is not verified; the privacy policy describes only targeted ads for Descript on other sites.
Read the vendor's own page: Descript privacy and data controls. We make no legal or compliance claim.
Test results
We have not tested Descript yet, so this page makes no claim about answer quality, and we show no example outputs. Run the same kit in it and in the alternatives, in your own account:
- Summarize a report with traceable facts
- Analyze a spreadsheet and get the numbers right
- Edit an email without losing a detail
- Diagnose and repair a small program
- Research a question with sources that support the answer
- Make sense of documents that disagree
- Research a current question within a date window
- Edit an article without changing its facts
- Turn project notes into a report that agrees with itself
- Implement a small specification
- Refactor code without changing what it does
- Make a picture that follows a detailed brief
- Put exact text into a graphic
- Change one thing in a picture and nothing else
- Make a short clip that follows a brief
- Make a song that sings your lyrics exactly
- Read a script with names, numbers and abbreviations
- Design a logo with an exact name
Getting started
- Start on Free with a short recording: 60 media minutes a month. The 100 AI credits come only once, so spend them on the tool you most want to try.
- Turn off "Share data with Descript" in your profile before you upload anything private.
- If you will publish commercially, read Descript's Terms sections 5.1 and 8.4 and ask Descript to confirm, since no page grants commercial use per plan.
- Choose Hobbyist for 1080p exports without a watermark. Choose Creator for 4K, lip-synced dubbing, timeline export or more credits.
- Compare Descript with other video tools on our tools page, and read how we check vendor claims.
Your fit
Tell Find my AI what you do and what matters; it checks every plan of Descript against your priorities, next to the alternatives.
Alternatives
- HeyGen For presenter videos with written commercial rights, HeyGen's Terms for Creator, at $29 a month, say you own your output and may use it for commercial purposes, with videos up to 30 minutes at 1080p. About HeyGen
- Synthesia Synthesia's Customer Terms say you own your inputs and outputs and it states that it does not pre-train on them; Starter is $29 a month before tax, with 1080p downloads and no watermark. About Synthesia
- Gemini On Gemini's free plan, Google Vids offers text-based transcript trim to personal accounts, and Google Flow edits uploaded video by prompt. About Gemini
Recent changes
- Descript Creator added
- Descript Hobbyist added
- Descript Free added
Every change is in the change log.
Questions
Can I use Descript videos commercially?
Not verified. Descript's Terms say you own your input and AI output, but license the service for your own personal or internal business use, and no Descript page expressly grants commercial use on any plan. Ask Descript to confirm before you publish client or paid work.
Who owns what I make in Descript?
Section 8.4 of Descript's Terms says you own all right, title and interest in your input and output, to the extent protectable under applicable law.
How much does Descript cost?
Hobbyist is $24 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly ($192 a year paid up front, by our calculation). Creator is $35 a month per person, or $24 a month billed yearly ($288 a year paid up front, by our calculation). Prices are before tax.
Does Descript Free add a watermark?
Yes. Exports from a Free drive carry a Descript watermark in the bottom-right corner and are limited to 720p. Hobbyist exports 1080p and Creator 4K, both without a watermark.
What are media minutes and AI credits?
Media minutes count upload and recording time: 60 a month on Free, 600 on Hobbyist, 1,800 on Creator. AI credits pay for AI tools: 100 once on Free, 400 a month on Hobbyist and 800 a month per editor on Creator.
Does Descript train on my recordings?
Descript's help center says in-house AI training uses only data from users who opted into data sharing, and that sub-processors such as OpenAI may not train on it. To opt out, turn off "Share data with Descript" in your profile.
Sources
15 official pages, checked Oct 15, 2026. This page was written by the What the tech desk with AI assistance from the facts in our data release; no company paid for or reviewed it.
- https://www.descript.com/
- Descript Pricing | Plans for Every Creator, Free to StartDescript
- Generate AI images and videoDescript
- Translate and dub speech overviewDescript
- Export a video or GIF locallyDescript
- Descript Terms of Service (Last Updated February 25, 2025)Descript
- Integrations: Connect Descript to GDrive, Adobe & MoreDescript
- Account data and privacyDescript
- Export your transcript as a text fileDescript
- Descript Privacy Policy (Last Updated April 14, 2025)Descript
- Descript system requirementsDescript
- Generative image and video models in DescriptDescript
- Create Clips from your contentDescript
- Track and understand your media minutes and AI creditsDescript
- Make dubbed speech look authentic with lip syncDescript
Read how AI Compare works. Found an error? It goes in the change log once corrected.