Descript
Hobbyist plan
$16/mo
$192 billed yearly
- AI credits
- 400
- Seats
- 1
- 10 media hours a month, 1080p export
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Descript prices reviewed on October 1, 2026 from Descript's pricing page. CapCut prices come from a third-party tracker and vary by country. Confirm both before you buy.
AI credits are not the same unit on both tools, so compare them as rough guides. Free plans are not priced here: CapCut's free plan adds a watermark.
Descript vs CapCut: what you will actually pay
Descript edits video by editing a transcript and is built for podcasts and talking-head content. CapCut is a fast, low-cost editor for short-form video. See what each plan costs for your setup.
For 1 editor on yearly billing, CapCut costs $72.12 less a year.
CapCut
Standard plan
$9.99/mo
$119.88 billed yearly
- AI credits
- 550
- Seats
- 1
- Sold month to month only. 1080p export.
Prices are in USD, before tax. We earn a commission if you buy through these buttons; it never changes the math above.
Where every dollar goes
Each bar uses the same scale, so a longer bar means a bigger monthly bill. Every line is a charge you would see at checkout.
Descript
Hobbyist plan
- $16/mo
1 × editor seat
$16 each
Total over 12 months$192
$16/mo
CapCut
Standard plan
- $9.99/mo
1 × subscription
$9.99 each
Total over 12 months$119.88
$9.99/mo
Feature differences, line by line
Green marks the side that comes out ahead on that row, red marks something you can't get at all. Tap the question mark next to any term for a plain explanation.
| Spec | Descript | CapCut |
|---|---|---|
| Editing | ||
How you edit The main way you cut a video or recording. | Edit the transcript and the video follows (advantage) | Timeline editor with templates and effects |
Built for The content each tool handles best. | Podcasts, interviews, tutorials, talking heads | Short-form social video |
Audio cleanup Tools that remove background noise or filler words such as "um". | Studio Sound and Remove Filler Words, each capped at 30 AI credits per use (advantage) | Noise reduction is listed among the Pro AI tools |
| Pricing | ||
Entry paid plan Per person per month. | Hobbyist: $16 yearly, $24 monthly | Standard: $9.99 monthly (advantage) |
Cost of paying monthly | +50% on Hobbyist, +46% on Creator, +30% on Business | +33% on Pro ($19.99 vs about $15); Standard is monthly only (advantage) |
Free plan What you get without paying, and the catch. | 60 media minutes a month, 100 one-time AI credits, 720p export, watermark | 1080p export, watermark stays unless you subscribe; 4K and 60fps locked on desktop (advantage) |
| Output | ||
4K export The cheapest plan that exports in 4K. | From Creator: $24 yearly | Pro: $15 yearly, $19.99 monthly (advantage) |
| Usage & AI | ||
Monthly usage allowance How much transcription and AI work each plan includes before you hit a limit. | 10, 30 or 40 media hours plus 400, 800 or 1,500 AI credits; unused amounts do not roll over | 550 AI credits (Standard) or 1,200 (Pro); no media-hours allowance listed |
What AI credits pay for The features that draw down your credit balance. | Underlord, Studio Sound, filler words, Eye Contact, AI speech, avatars, generated video | AI tools such as image generation and script-to-video |
| Seats & Teams | ||
Shared team plan Several editors working under one plan. | Creator up to 3 people, Business up to 5, billed per person (advantage) | Pro is one person; Teams subscription is priced by seat count and bought on desktop |
Free reviewers People who only need to look at a project and leave comments. | Free Viewer seats can view and comment, but cannot edit or use AI (advantage) | Free collaboration: owner plus 1 invited member; more needs Teams |
Admin and security controls Single sign-on and role settings that larger companies ask for. | Enterprise: SAML SSO, SCIM, SOC 2 Type II, customer success manager (advantage) | Teams: Admin and Member roles, plus control over who can upload, edit or delete |
Brand kit Saved logos, fonts and colors your team reuses. | Brand Studio on Business and Enterprise | Brand kit and brand templates on Teams, with 1,000 GB shared storage |
| Billing | ||
How you are billed What exactly you pay for each month. | One plan per drive plus a charge for each Editor, prorated when added mid-cycle | One subscription per person; mobile bills through Apple or Google, desktop through the web |
If you look like this, buy this
Common buyers, each run through the same calculator. Load any of them to adjust from there.
Short-form creator
One person cutting vertical clips, 1080p is fine.
CapCut Standard
CapCut Standard is $9.99 a month, against $16 for Descript Hobbyist. For vertical clips with templates, it is the better value.
- Descript
- $16/mo
- CapCut
- $9.99/mo
Podcaster and interviewer
One person who edits long recordings by text.
Descript Hobbyist
Our pick, costs more
It costs more than CapCut, but cutting out filler words and fixing mistakes by editing the transcript saves hours on long recordings.
- Descript
- $16/mo
- CapCut
- $9.99/mo
4K YouTuber
One person exporting in 4K with AI features.
CapCut Pro
CapCut Pro is about $15 a month on yearly billing and includes 4K and 1,200 credits. Descript Creator is $24.
- Descript
- $24/mo
- CapCut
- $15.00/mo
Small content team
3 editors sharing one workspace.
Descript Creator
Descript Creator covers up to 3 people on one plan. CapCut's Standard and Pro are single-person, so teams need a custom quote.
- Descript
- $72/mo
- CapCut
- Custom quote
Pricing questions buyers ask
Is CapCut free?
CapCut has a free plan that exports at 1080p, but the watermark stays unless you subscribe, and projects that use Pro materials need Pro to remove it. On desktop, 4K and 60fps export are locked for free users, and mobile exports are capped at 15 minutes in some regions. This calculator prices only the paid plans.
Does Descript have a free plan?
Yes. Descript Free includes 60 media minutes a month, 100 one-time AI credits and 720p export, and exports carry a watermark. Hobbyist at $16 a month on yearly billing is the first plan that removes the watermark and exports at 1080p.
Do Descript's credits and CapCut's credits mean the same thing?
No. Descript gives 400, 800 or 1,500 credits a month and spends them on Underlord, Studio Sound, AI speech and generated video. CapCut gives 550 on Standard or 1,200 on Pro for its own AI tools. A credit on one is not worth a credit on the other, so treat the numbers as a rough guide.
What happens if I run out of Descript media hours or credits?
Unused media minutes and credits do not roll over, and both reset at your renewal date. Creator and Business can buy top-ups: 350 credits for $35, 1,000 for $80 or 4,000 for $200, and 5, 20 or 50 media hours for $25, $80 or $150. Top-ups last 12 months and are not available on Hobbyist.
Does Descript charge per person?
Yes. Each paid Editor is billed per month, and adding one mid-cycle is prorated. Hobbyist is one person, Creator scales to 3 and Business to 5. Viewers are free and can view and comment but cannot edit or use AI features.
Can a team use CapCut?
CapCut Standard and Pro are single-person subscriptions. Free collaboration allows the owner plus 1 invited member. Beyond that you need a Teams subscription, which is priced by seat count, bought by the team owner on CapCut Desktop, and includes 1,000 GB of shared storage.
Why do CapCut prices differ between sites?
CapCut says prices can vary by region, platform, taxes and promotions, and tells buyers to check the subscription page in the app. This calculator uses $9.99 for Standard and $19.99 monthly or $179.99 yearly for Pro, which match CapCut's own resource page for Pro but should be confirmed for your country. Mobile app-store prices are often higher.