Descript
AI-powered video and podcast editing platform that lets you edit video by editing text, with advanced transcription and collaboration tools.
Podcasters and YouTubers who want to edit video by editing text with AI-powered tools
Our Verdict
AI-powered video and podcast editing platform that lets you edit video by editing text, with advanced transcription and collaboration tools.
Rating Breakdown
Why Trust This Review
Our team has spent 40+ hours hands-on testing Descript across real-world scenarios. We follow a rigorous methodology with weighted scoring criteria. Our reviews are editorially independent and never influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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Pros & Cons
Pros
- Revolutionary text-based editing makes video editing accessible to anyone who can edit text
- Excellent AI transcription accuracy with filler word detection and removal
- Overdub voice cloning lets you fix mistakes without re-recording
- Studio Sound dramatically improves audio quality by removing background noise
- Spotify backing ensures long-term development and stability
Cons
- Not designed for cinematic or creative AI video generation
- Transcription hour limits on lower plans can be restrictive for heavy users
- Performance can lag with very long projects or high-resolution footage
Full Review
Overview
Descript is a revolutionary video and audio editing platform that pioneered the concept of editing video by editing text. Instead of working with a traditional timeline, Descript transcribes your content and lets you cut, rearrange, and refine your video by simply editing the transcript. This approach has made it enormously popular among podcasters, YouTubers, and content teams.
Key Features
Descript's text-based editing is its killer feature. Upload a video, and the AI generates an accurate transcript. Edit the text -- delete words, rearrange paragraphs, remove filler words -- and the video edits itself accordingly. The Overdub feature uses AI voice cloning to generate realistic speech in your voice, allowing you to fix mistakes or add new content without re-recording.
AI-Powered Tools
Beyond text-based editing, Descript offers Studio Sound (AI background noise removal), automatic filler word detection and removal, eye contact correction, green screen replacement, and AI-powered clip creation. The platform also supports screen recording and remote recording for distributed teams.
Pricing
Descript offers a free plan with 1 hour of transcription per month and 720p export. The Creator plan at $24/month provides 10 hours of transcription, 4K export, and access to Overdub. The Pro plan adds unlimited transcription, advanced AI features, and team collaboration tools.
Who Should Use Descript
Descript is perfect for podcasters, YouTubers, and content teams who work with talking-head or interview content. Its text-based editing paradigm is genuinely revolutionary for these use cases, though it is less suited for cinematic or motion graphics work.
Alternatives to Descript
Frequently Asked Questions
Descript transcribes your video into text. When you edit the transcript -- deleting words, moving paragraphs, removing filler words -- the video automatically edits itself to match. It is like editing a document instead of a timeline.
Descript is primarily a video editing tool, not a video generation tool. It excels at editing existing footage using AI tools like text-based editing, noise removal, and voice cloning, but it does not generate video from text prompts like Runway or Sora.
Written by
Sarah has spent 10+ years in marketing technology, working with companies from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 enterprises. She specializes in evaluating automation platforms, CRM integrations, and lead generation tools. Her reviews focus on real-world business impact and ROI.
Final Verdict
Descript scores 8.5/10
With a score of 8.5 out of 10, Descript is a strong performer that delivers great value. It's particularly well-suited for those looking for podcasters and youtubers who want to edit video by editing text with ai-powered tools.