Descript

Descript is an AI-powered audio and video editor that turns editing into a word-processing task: it transcribes your recording, and deleting a sentence from the transcript deletes that footage. Founded in 2017 by Groupon co-founder Andrew Mason, it bundles transcription, screen recording, remote recording, AI voice cloning (Overdub), Studio Sound audio cleanup and an AI agent called Underlord that carries out edit requests and cuts clips.

Key facts: transcription covers 25 languages, filler-word removal cleans recordings in seconds, and finished projects export to Premiere Pro or Final Cut via XML. AI Clips scans a long recording and suggests short shareable clips, and captions, subtitles and direct publishing to YouTube or podcast hosts come from the same transcript.

Plans: Free costs $0 — 60 media minutes per month, watermarked 720p exports and 100 one-time AI credits. Hobbyist is $16/month billed annually ($24 monthly), Creator is $24/month annually ($35 monthly) with 4K export and full AI features, Business is $50/month annually ($65 monthly), and Enterprise is custom.

Best for: podcasters, YouTubers, course creators and marketing teams editing mostly spoken-word content. Watch out: pricing runs on two meters at once (media minutes plus AI credits), the desktop app can feel heavy on large files, and it is not the tool for complex motion graphics or frame-precise color grading. Who should skip it: editors doing complex motion graphics or frame-precise color grading.

Pros

• Editing by transcript: deleting a sentence from the transcript deletes that footage
• Bundles transcription, screen recording, remote recording, Overdub voice cloning and Studio Sound cleanup
• Underlord, an AI agent, carries out edit requests and cuts clips
• Exports to Premiere Pro or Final Cut via XML, with captions and direct publishing to YouTube or podcast hosts

Watch out for

• Pricing runs on two meters at once: media minutes plus AI credits
• The desktop app can feel heavy on large files
• It is not the tool for complex motion graphics or frame-precise color grading

Pricing

Free costs $0: 60 media minutes per month, watermarked 720p exports and 100 one-time AI credits. Hobbyist is $16/month billed annually ($24 monthly), Creator is $24/month annually ($35 monthly) with 4K export and full AI features, Business is $50/month annually ($65 monthly), and Enterprise is custom.

FAQs

How does editing in Descript work? It transcribes your recording, and deleting a sentence from the transcript deletes that footage.

What is Overdub? Descript's AI voice cloning feature.

Can I export to Premiere Pro or Final Cut? Yes, finished projects export via XML.

What does the free plan include? 60 media minutes per month, watermarked 720p exports and 100 one-time AI credits.