Captions vs Descript
Buy Descript if you edit by reading — its transcript-based editing is a step change for anyone who works with spoken word, and its free plan lets you feel that immediately. Buy Captions if your work starts and ends on a phone and you want generative b-roll, voiceover and AI actors in the same app as the captions. Check the Captions pricing page’s own note that features and prices reflect iOS plans only.
Disclosure: this page is published by Kineo, which is not one of the two tools compared here and does not compete with either on the job they do. There is a short, clearly labelled note about Kineo at the bottom. Everything above it is written as if we had nothing at stake, because on this comparison we do not.
The verdict
Only one free plan lets you evaluate the thing you would be paying for
Descript Free gives 60 minutes of media a month, 100 one-time AI credits and 720p watermarked exports — small, but the actual editor with actual AI. Captions Free gives basic editing and one caption template with no AI credits and no generative AI features at all. If your evaluation is about the AI, one of these plans contains none of it.
Media hours versus credits, and only one of them counts your inputs
Descript meters the hours of media you bring in: 60 minutes free, 10 hours on Hobbyist at $24/month or $16 annually, 30 on Creator at $35 or $24, 40 on Business at $65 or $50 — plus a monthly AI credit allowance of 400, 800 and 1,500. Captions meters credits only: 500 on Max at $24.99, up to 5,600 on Scale 4x at $279.99. Upload a lot of raw footage and Descript charges you for it before you have edited a frame; Captions does not.
Annual billing exists on one side and is not published on the other
Descript publishes annual rates on every paid tier — $16, $24 and $50 a month against $24, $35 and $65 monthly. The Captions pricing page did not list annual billing in what we could read. Over a year that is a difference of about a third on Descript and an unknown on Captions.
Transcription is included on one side and not headlined on the other
Every paid Descript plan lists unlimited projects and transcription in 25 languages. Captions is built around captions rather than transcripts, and its pricing page does not publish a transcription language count we could read. If you need a searchable, editable transcript as an artefact rather than as burned-in text, that is Descript’s core.
Side by side
Every figure below was read off each vendor’s own pricing page on July 26, 2026. Where a tier table did not resolve to readable prices, the cell says so rather than guessing — a wrong competitor price is worse than no price at all.
| Captions | Descript | |
|---|---|---|
| What it actually is | A mobile-first short-form editor built around captions, AI edit styles, AI actors and generative b-roll. | Edits video and podcasts by editing their transcript, with AI tools layered on a real editor. |
| Needs an existing video? | Mostly. You record or upload, then edit — though the generative features on paid tiers can produce footage, voiceover and images. | Yes — it edits recordings you bring to it. |
| Free tier | Free plan: basic editing (trimming, transitions, media assets) and 1 caption template, with no AI credits and no generative AI features at all. | Free plan: $0, 60 minutes of media per month, 100 one-time AI credits, and 720p watermarked exports. |
| Cheapest paid plan | Max $24.99/month | Hobbyist $24/month, or $16/month billed annually |
| Full pricing | Free $0 (no AI credits) · Max $24.99/mo (500 credits/mo, curated AI Edit styles, AI actors and digital twins, chat-based editor, 100+ caption templates, generative music, voiceover, images, video and b-roll) · Scale 1x $69.99/mo (1,400 credits) · Scale 2x $139.99/mo (2,800 credits) · Scale 4x $279.99/mo (5,600 credits) · Enterprise custom. The pricing page states that "Features and prices reflect iOS plans only". | Free $0 (60 min media/mo, 100 one-time AI credits, 720p watermarked) · Hobbyist $24/mo, or $16/mo annually (10 media hours/mo, 400 AI credits/mo, 1080p watermark-free) · Creator $35/mo, or $24/mo annually (30 media hours/mo, 800 AI credits/mo, 4K) · Business $65/mo, or $50/mo annually (40 media hours/mo, 1,500 AI credits/mo, 4K) · Enterprise custom (SSO, SCIM, audit logs). All paid plans list unlimited projects and transcription in 25 languages. |
| Watermark | Not stated on the pricing page — worth confirming before you commit. | Watermarked 720p exports on the free plan; watermark-free from Hobbyist up. |
| Aspect ratio | Short-form vertical. | Any — you control the canvas, vertical included. |
| Voice / narration | Generative voiceover is available on paid tiers; the free plan has no generative AI. | AI voice tools are available, but the product assumes you have recorded audio. |
| Where the visuals come from | Media assets on free; generative b-roll and images from Max up. | A stock library exists; it is not the centre of the product. |
| Export & usage limits | Credit-metered per month, from 500 credits on Max to 5,600 on Scale 4x. | Metered in media hours ingested per month — 60 minutes free, 10 hours on Hobbyist, 30 on Creator, 40 on Business — plus a monthly AI credit allowance. |
| Verified | Verified July 26, 2026 — read from https://www.captions.ai/pricing | Verified July 26, 2026 — read from https://www.descript.com/pricing |
Sources: Captions pricing · Descript pricing — both checked on July 26, 2026. Vendors change tiers without notice, so confirm on their site before you pay. If you find something here that is out of date, we would rather fix it than keep the click.
Captions: The pricing page carries the line "All prices displayed in USD. Features and prices reflect iOS plans only," so plans reached from a desktop browser may differ.
Which one you should pick
Pick Captions if…
- Your whole workflow lives on an iPhone and you do not want to move files to a desktop.
- You want generative b-roll, images, video, music and voiceover in the editor — all listed from Max at $24.99/month.
- AI actors and digital twins inside the editing app matter to you.
- 100+ caption templates and curated AI Edit styles beat assembling a look yourself.
- Your volume is high and bulk credits work: 1,400, 2,800 and 5,600 at $69.99, $139.99 and $279.99.
Pick Descript if…
- You edit spoken-word content and editing the transcript is genuinely how you want to work.
- You need transcripts as an artefact: transcription in 25 languages on every paid plan.
- You want 4K without buying the top tier — Creator at $35/month, or $24 annually.
- You want to try the real product free first: 60 minutes of media and 100 AI credits.
- Annual billing matters and you want it published: $16/month on Hobbyist, $24 on Creator, $50 on Business.
The differences that actually matter
The watermark question, answered on one side and open on the other
Descript states it plainly: 720p watermarked exports on the free plan, watermark-free 1080p from Hobbyist at $24/month. The Captions pricing page does not state a watermark policy either way in what we could read. That is not an accusation — it is a question to ask before you rely on a free tier for anything public.
The media-hours ceiling is easy to underestimate
Descript counts what you put in, not what you get out. A weekly two-hour recording is roughly 8 to 9 hours a month before any editing, which fits inside Hobbyist’s 10 hours with almost nothing to spare, and a second camera angle doubles it. Anyone recording multi-track should price Creator’s 30 hours as the realistic starting tier. Captions has no equivalent input tax.
Generation versus manipulation
Captions lists generative music, voiceover, images, video and b-roll from Max at $24.99. Descript lists AI voice tools but the product assumes you have recorded audio to work against, and its stock library is not the centre of the product. One tool invents footage; the other refines footage. They fail in different ways and it is worth testing both on your own material.
Neither starts from nothing
Captions can generate elements but is built around a clip you bring. Descript edits recordings you bring to it. If your plan is to publish without filming or recording anything at all, both of these are the finishing step for a pipeline whose first step you do not yet have.
Frequently asked questions
Is Captions or Descript cheaper?
Descript at entry: Hobbyist is $24/month, or $16/month billed annually, against Captions Max at $24.99/month with no annual rate published in what we read. Both figures verified on their own pricing pages on July 26, 2026.
What are Descript media hours?
They count the volume of video and audio you bring into Descript each month: 60 minutes on Free, 10 hours on Hobbyist, 30 on Creator, 40 on Business. Rollover is not stated on the pricing page we read, so budget as if the allowance resets monthly.
Does the Captions free plan include the AI?
No. It lists basic editing — trimming, transitions, media assets — and one caption template, with no AI credits and no generative AI features at all. Testing the AI requires Max at $24.99/month.
Which one is better for a podcast?
Descript, without much argument. Transcript-based editing, transcription in 25 languages on every paid plan and media-hour metering are all shaped for long spoken-word recordings. Captions is short-form and mobile-first, and its credit ladder is not built around hours of raw audio.
Can either export 4K?
Descript lists 4K from Creator at $35/month, or $24 annually. The Captions pricing page did not state export resolutions in what we could read, so confirm with them if 4K is a requirement.
One disclosed third option
Disclosure: Kineo publishes this page and is neither editor above. It does not edit anything — it generates a finished faceless 9:16 Short from one typed topic and hands you an MP4. There is no timeline, which is a limitation if you came here looking for an editor, and the point if you came here trying to avoid one.
Make one free →Up to 3 watermarked Fast videos / 24h · No card · Starter $4.90 first month
Other comparisons
Looking to replace one of these rather than choose between them? Descript alternatives
Prices, free-tier terms and limits on this page were verified on July 26, 2026 by reading each vendor’s own published pricing page, linked above. They change. Nothing here is an endorsement by, or affiliation with, Captions or Descript, and no comparison on this site is paid for or sponsored. Kineo is a product of the same company that publishes this page, which is stated on every comparison whether or not Kineo is one of the tools being judged.