Descript
Edit video and podcasts by editing their transcript, with AI audio cleanup and clips
4.0(1 review)Freemium
Submagic
Add captions, B-roll and edits to short-form videos with AI in minutes
Free trial
Verdict
Descript and Submagic are both Video AI tools. Descript scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.5 vs 7.9 out of 10). Only Descript has a free plan or trial. Only Descript is available on Windows and macOS.
Best overall
Descript
- Podcasters
- YouTube creators
- Marketing teams
- Course creators
Choose Descript if
- You want a tool built for podcast editing.
- Editing by transcript makes cutting speech content faster than a timeline alone.
- Studio Sound, filler word removal and retake removal are built in.
Choose Submagic if
- You want a tool built for captioning and repurposing talking-head, podcast and interview footage into short vertical clips.
- Wide caption language coverage, claimed at 123 languages.
- Combines captions, B-roll, zooms, clipping and publishing in one workflow.
- Best value
- Descript
- Best for beginners
- Descript
- Best for business
- Descript
Features
20 features compared.
- Text-based editingDescriptAvailableSubmagicAvailable
- UnderlordDescriptAvailableSubmagicNot available
- Studio SoundDescriptAvailableSubmagicNot available
- Filler word and retake removalDescriptAvailableSubmagicNot available
- AI speech and voice clonesDescriptAvailableSubmagicNot available
- Create clipsDescriptAvailableSubmagicNot available
- RecordingDescriptAvailableSubmagicNot available
- Translation and dubbingDescriptAvailableSubmagicNot available
- Generation toolsDescriptAvailableSubmagicNot available
- API and MCPDescriptAvailableSubmagicNot available
- AI CaptionsDescriptNot availableSubmagicAvailable
- Magic ClipsDescriptNot availableSubmagicAvailable
- Text-Based EditingDescriptAvailableSubmagicAvailable
- Auto B-roll and EffectsDescriptNot availableSubmagicAvailable
- Bad Take and Silence RemovalDescriptNot availableSubmagicAvailable
- Caption TranslationDescriptNot availableSubmagicAvailable
- AI AvatarsDescriptNot availableSubmagicAvailable
- Scheduling and PublishingDescriptNot availableSubmagicAvailable
- Team WorkspaceDescriptNot availableSubmagicAvailable
- Video Editing APIDescriptNot availableSubmagicAvailable
Pricing
Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.
- Pricing modelDescriptFreemiumSubmagicFree trial
- Free planDescriptYesSubmagicNo
- Starting priceDescript$0Submagic$19
- PlansDescript5 plansSubmagic4 plans
Descript plans
Free
$0
1 media hour per month and 100 one-time AI credits
- Text-based editing
- Limited AI tools
- 720p export with watermark
- 5GB storage
Hobbyist
$24/user/mo
10 media hours and 400 AI credits per month, 1 person
- Underlord access
- Studio Sound
- Remove filler words
- Create clips
- AI speech with voice clones
- 1080p export without watermark
- 100GB storage
Creator
Most popular$35/user/mo
30 media hours and 800 AI credits per month, up to 3 seats
- Full Underlord
- 20+ AI tools
- AI video generation
- Unlimited stock library
- Top-ups
- 4K export
- 1TB storage
Business
$65/user/mo
40 media hours and 1,500 AI credits per month, up to 5 seats
- Brand Studio
- Translation and dubbing in 30+ languages
- Custom avatars
- Top-ups
- Priority support with SLA
- 4K export
- 2TB storage
Enterprise
Custom/custom
Contact sales; media minutes and AI credits sized to the team
- SSO and SCIM
- SOC 2 Type II
- Audit logs
- Custom data retention
- Custom legal terms
- Dedicated customer success manager
Submagic plans
Starter
$19/month
Entry plan for individual creators
- 45 credits (about 15 videos)
- 2-minute max video length
- 1080p 30 FPS export
- 1 publishing profile per platform
Pro
Most popular$39/month
Plan highlighted as most popular for regular creators
- 120 credits (about 40 videos)
- 5-minute max video length
- 1080p 30 FPS export
- Storyblocks B-roll and audio
Business
$69/month
Higher volume and longer videos for teams
- 300 credits (about 100 videos)
- 30-minute max video length
- 4K 60 FPS export
- 3 publishing profiles per platform
Enterprise
Custom/custom
Quote-based plan for large teams
- Custom video volume and length
- custom team members
- SSO and advanced security
- dedicated customer success
Our ratings
Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.
- Descript
- 8.5overall
- Submagic
- 7.9overall
Descript leads in 0 categories and Submagic in 1, with 1 tied.
Text-Based Media Editing
- Descript
- 9.4
- Submagic
- Not rated
Studio Sound Enhancement
- Descript
- 8.6
- Submagic
- Not rated
Ease of Use
Tied- Descript
- 8.8
- Submagic
- 8.8
Feature Breadth
- Descript
- 8.4
- Submagic
- Not rated
Value for Money
Submagic leads by 0.2- Descript
- 7.3
- Submagic
- 7.5
Feature Depth
- Descript
- Not rated
- Submagic
- 7.8
Performance & Speed
- Descript
- Not rated
- Submagic
- 8.0
Documentation & Support
- Descript
- Not rated
- Submagic
- 7.5
Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.
Pros and cons
Descript
Pros
- Editing by transcript makes cutting speech content faster than a timeline alone
- Studio Sound, filler word removal and retake removal are built in
- Includes recording, transcription, captions and clip creation in one app
- Free plan available with no credit card required
- API and MCP server allow automated editing
- SOC 2 Type II and SSO or SCIM on Enterprise
Cons
- Free plan exports 720p with a watermark and allows only 1 media hour per month
- Paid prices are $24 to $65 per month on monthly billing, with annual billing needed for the lowest rates
- Media hours and AI credits are capped, with top-ups only on Creator and above
- Desktop app needs macOS 14 or Windows 11 and there is no listed mobile app
Submagic
Pros
- Wide caption language coverage, claimed at 123 languages.
- Combines captions, B-roll, zooms, clipping and publishing in one workflow.
- Text-based editing removes the need for a timeline for simple cuts.
- Public API with webhooks and word-level transcripts.
- Entry price of $19 per month, or $12 per month billed annually.
Cons
- No permanent free plan; the trial length is not published.
- Starter limits videos to 2 minutes and Pro to 5 minutes.
- Credit-based limits cap output: 45 credits on Starter equals about 15 videos.
- No official mobile app found; web only.
Platforms
- WebDescriptSupportedSubmagicSupported
- WindowsDescriptSupportedSubmagicNot supported
- macOSDescriptSupportedSubmagicNot supported
- iOSDescriptNot supportedSubmagicNot supported
- AndroidDescriptNot supportedSubmagicNot supported
- APIDescriptSupportedSubmagicSupported
- Browser ExtensionDescriptNot supportedSubmagicNot supported
Integrations
Descript
No integrations listed.
Submagic
7 integrations- Zapier
- Make
- n8n
- Google Drive
- TikTok
- YouTube
Company
- CompanyDescriptDescriptSubmagicSubmagic
- FoundedDescript2017Submagic2023
- HeadquartersDescriptSan Francisco, CASubmagicParis, France
- ListingDescriptClaimedSubmagicClaimed
Featured Video AI
Picked by our editors. Not paid placement.
Editor's pickFLUX by Black Forest Labs
Image & Visual AI
Image and video generation models with a pay-per-use API and open weights
Paid
Editor's pickLuma Dream Machine
Image & Visual AI
Generate and edit video and images from text or images with Luma's Ray models
Free trial
Editor's pickRunway
Image & Visual AI
AI video, image and audio creation suite with Gen-4.5, agents and an API
Freemium
Related comparisons
More Video AI tools, head to head.
Descript vs Runway
Video AI
- Descript
- Rated4.0Freemium
- Runway
- Freemium
Submagic vs Runway
Video AI
- Submagic
- Free trial
- Runway
- Freemium
Descript vs HeyGen
Video AI
- Descript
- Rated4.0Freemium
- HeyGen
- Rated4.0Freemium
Submagic vs HeyGen
Video AI
- Submagic
- Free trial
- HeyGen
- Rated4.0Freemium
Descript vs Leonardo AI
Video AI
- Descript
- Rated4.0Freemium
- Leonardo AI
- Freemium
Submagic vs Leonardo AI
Video AI
- Submagic
- Free trial
- Leonardo AI
- Freemium
Frequently asked questions
Is Descript better than Submagic?
It depends on your workflow. Descript is built for podcast editing. Submagic is built for captioning and repurposing talking-head, podcast and interview footage into short vertical clips.
What are the key feature differences between Descript and Submagic?
Descript: Edit video and podcasts by editing their transcript, with AI audio cleanup and clips. Submagic: Add captions, B-roll and edits to short-form videos with AI in minutes. Descript is rated 4.0/5 from 1 user review.
Does Descript or Submagic have a free plan?
Descript has a free plan or trial; Submagic is paid only.
Which is cheaper, Descript or Submagic?
Descript starts at $0 and Submagic starts at $19. See the pricing table above for what each tier includes.