What is Descript?

Descript is an AI editing platform where you edit video and audio as if editing the transcript—delete the text and the corresponding footage/audio is deleted too. It centers on the agentic AI co-editor "Underlord" (cuts, structure, video creation from prompts) and offers AI Voices, captions, and translation/dubbing (30+ languages). Note: the UI is English-only and Japanese transcription is not supported. Pricing: Free / Hobbyist $24 / Creator $35 / Business $65 (AI-credit based).

Business problems it solves

About "Descript"

What is Descript

Descript is an AI editing platform where you edit video and audio as if editing the transcribed text. Provided by Descript, Inc. (US), it bills itself as "AI editing for every kind of video." When you load a video, it's transcribed automatically, and its defining trait is that deleting the text also deletes the corresponding video and audio. Lately it centers on "Underlord," an agentic AI co-editor.

The core of Descript's ease of use is that you can finish a video just by editing the transcript—no need to learn professional editing software. Unwanted lines and filler words like "um" disappear from the footage just by deleting the text. Cutting, captions, translation, and noise removal (Studio Sound) are all done as an extension of text editing.

Descript text-based editing: transcript on the left (deletions shown with strikethrough), video preview on the right, and a waveform timeline below — Edit the transcript and the video is edited too (from the official site)

Source: Descript official site (the screenshots below are from the same source)

Hand the editing itself to "Underlord"

What sets Descript apart from other AI video tools is that you can leave even the editing decisions to AI. Underlord reads the script, watches the video, and—just from prompts—handles cuts, structure, clip extraction, and turning documents or slides into video. You can still use traditional timeline editing, switching between what you leave to AI and what you do by hand.

It also supports multitrack timeline editing for fine control over scene ordering and captions. "Create Clips" extracts highlights from long footage to make shorts for social.

Descript timeline editing: multiple scenes lined up, captioned video clips, and controls like Record/Split — Multitrack timeline editing

How to Use

Get the app

Create an account on the web app or the desktop app (Windows/Mac).
Import material

Drag and drop the audio/video you want to edit. It is transcribed automatically.
Edit with text

Edit the transcript to cut, and direct Underlord to finish it.
Refine and export

Polish with Studio Sound and captions, and export the video/audio (free is watermarked).

Features

01Edit

Text-based editing & auto transcription — edit the text to edit the video/audio
Filler-word removal & Create Clips — remove "um"s; extract highlights
Underlord (AI co-editor) — cuts, structure, and video creation from prompts

02Refine & generate

Studio Sound, Eye Contact, Green Screen — noise removal, gaze correction, background removal
AI Voices (voice cloning) — voice clones and stock voices (formerly Overdub)
AI Avatars & Generate Media — avatars and text-to-media generation

03Deliver & connect

Captions & translation/dubbing (30+ languages) — multilingual subtitles and dubbing
Screen recording & Rooms — recording and remote recording
Brand Studio & API/MCP — brand consistency, external integration

Note on Japanese support. Descript's UI is English-only, and Japanese transcription is not officially supported (support centers on Latin-script languages). For Japanese audio/video, consider a Japanese-capable tool.

Pricing

It is free to start, with paid plans like Hobbyist / Creator / Business. Tiers are gated by monthly transcription hours and "AI credits" used for generative AI. Amounts are in USD, and annual billing is cheaper.

Plan	Monthly (monthly / annual)	Transcription	AI credits	What's included
Free	$0	60 min/mo	100 (one-time)	720p, watermarked
Hobbyist	$24 / $16	10 hrs/mo	400/mo	1080p, no watermark
Creator (Popular)	$35 / $24	30 hrs/mo	800/mo	4K, full Underlord, AI video gen
Business	$65 / $50	40 hrs/mo	1,500/mo	Brand Studio, translate/dub 30+ langs, custom avatars

The previously mentioned "Creator $15 / Pro $30 / Business $50" differs from the current plans (a new Hobbyist tier was added, the old Pro was dropped, and prices were revised). Generative features consume AI credits. Underlord lets you choose among several AI models (such as Claude Sonnet 4.5). Pricing may change, so check the [official pricing page](https://www.descript.com/pricing) for the latest (as of August 2026).

How it differs from other video-editing tools

Descript's strengths are transcript-based editing and Underlord, which lets you delegate the editing. Its approach differs from template-based editing tools.

Aspect	Descript	VEED	Opus Clip
Focus	Text-based editing + AI co-editing	Browser editing + AI generation	Long-form → short clips
Japanese	English UI; JP transcription unsupported	Japanese supported	Multilingual
Best at	Podcasts, explainer videos	Social, captions	Viral clips

The browser-based VEED, the Japanese-caption-strong Vrew, and the clipping tool Opus Clip are comparison points. If you want to quickly edit English audio/video on a transcript basis, Descript is a strong choice.

The information on this page is based on what was publicly available on the official site as of August 2026. Please check the official site for the latest specifications and pricing.