Descript

Reviewed July 30, 2026 · Pricing verified against Descript's published plans at time of writing

Descript's core trick is editing audio/video by editing a text transcript — delete a sentence in the transcript and the corresponding clip disappears from the timeline. For a solopreneur producing podcast episodes, webinar recordings, or short-form video without an editor, that's a real time saver, not a gimmick.

Descript's core differentiator is editing by transcript text — delete a sentence and the matching audio/video clip disappears from the timeline. Its Underlord AI (shown above) can also clean up filler words and rough cuts automatically.

Example from descript.com — not independently tested by Solos Gems.

Pricing breakdown

• Free — ~60 media minutes/month, 100 one-time AI credits, 720p export with watermark
• Hobbyist — $16/month billed annually ($24/month monthly); ~10 media hours/month, 400 AI credits, 1080p export, no watermark
• Creator — $24/month billed annually ($35/month monthly); ~30 media hours/month, 800 AI credits, 4K export
• Business — $50/month billed annually ($65/month monthly); ~40 media hours/month, 1,500 AI credits, Brand Studio, SLA support
• Enterprise — custom pricing

Two meters, not one

Descript moved to a system with two separate limits: media minutes (how much footage you can process) and AI credits (spent on features like Overdub voice cloning, Studio Sound, and AI-driven edits). It's possible to have plenty of media minutes left and still hit a wall because AI credits ran out first — worth watching closely in your first month before committing to an annual plan.