An AI video editing tool with automatic transcripts, AI voice editing, and multilingual dubbing, designed specifically for YouTube creators
Free Version Limitations
60 media minutes, that is 1 hour, per month plus 100 one-time AI credits. Media minutes means the length of material imported or recorded and handed to Descript to process. The biggest hurdle on the free plan is not the minutes but the AI credits: there are only 100 and they are one-time rather than granted monthly (the free column of the official comparison table reads AI credits 100 (one-time)), so once they are gone they are gone unless you upgrade. All AI tools, including Underlord, Studio Sound, green screen, Eye Contact, filler-word removal, image and video generation and voice cloning, are marked Limited on the free plan precisely because of this 100-credit cap. Export limits: local export and web share links are both 720p, web video exports are capped at 1 hour, and audio exports have no length limit. Cloud storage 5GB and 1 seat; projects and animated captions are unlimited. Transcription supports 25 languages and can identify 8 or more speakers. No credit card is required. Watermark: the official comparison table has a Watermark-free video export row but the free column shows only an icon with no wording, while the paid copy says 1080p, watermark-free; three third-party sources agree that free exports are 720p with a watermark, so this point is flagged as third-party evidence only, not stated in words on the official site. The reset date for the 60 minutes and commercial licensing on the free plan are not published. (Read from descript.com/pricing on 2026-08-09)
Available Models And Quantity
Model
Free quota
Calculate Time Window
Description
AI-powered video editing
60 minutes/month of media processing time
Monthly reset
Extra credits can be purchased once you exceed the limit
Free Usage Limit
Features
Free quota
Description
AI credits
100
Used for AI features (subtitles, voiceover, etc.)
Export quality
720p
4K requires payment
Storage space
5GB
Exceeding the limit requires upgrading or purchasing more
Watermark
false
No watermark on free plan
Quota Resets At
Monthly reset (starting from the 1st)
Terms Of Use
Account registration required; features limited for marketing purposes (to promote paid upgrade)
Free Version For Commercial Use
Yes
Common Pitfalls
Once the free plan's 60-minute quota runs out, new videos can't be processed — you have to wait for the monthly reset or upgrade.
Professional-grade AI video, standard configuration for film and television workflows
FreeA one-time 125 credits, US$0/month; the plan is called Free and the official site labels it Free forever. The core quota is a one-time 125 credits, not a monthly grant; the official FAQ says these 125 credits never expire, but they also never reset, so once they are gone the only way to generate more is to upgrade or buy credits (top-ups start at 1,000 credits). Asset storage 5GB. Only some generative models are included for testing concepts, not the full model line-up. What 125 credits actually buys, using the site's own conversion figures: Gen-4.5 costs 60 credits per 5 seconds, Gen-4 Image 1080p 8 credits per image, Turbo 2 credits per image, which is roughly 2 five-second Gen-4.5 clips, or 15 images. The official site lists No watermarks and 4K upscaling from Standard upwards, and those two rows are not listed for the free plan. Commercial-use rights for the free plan are not explained on the pricing page. (Read from runway.com/pricing including the on-page FAQ on 2026-08-09)
Lightweight and fun video generation with multiple special effect play options
Free80 video credits per month, US$0; the free plan is called Basic and credits reset monthly. Three explicit caps: (1) resolution only up to 480p (official wording: Access to Pika 2.5 (480p only)), while 720p and 1080p require Standard or above; (2) image-to-video only, so text-to-video is not available; (3) rollover credit top-ups are not allowed. What the free plan does include: Pikascenes, Pikadditions, Pikaswaps, Pikatwists, Pikaffects, plus the two items listed on the plan card itself, watermark-free downloads and commercial use. How far 80 credits goes, from the official credit-cost table for free files: text-to-video and image-to-video 480p 5 seconds 12 credits, Pikascenes 480p 5 seconds 20 credits, Pikaffects 5 seconds 15 credits, Pikatwists 5 seconds 60 credits, which works out at about 6 five-second 480p clips, or a single Pikatwists run that almost empties the balance. The official site does not say what happens once the quota is used up. Note: third-party eesel.ai claims the free tier has watermarks and no commercial use, which directly contradicts the official plan card; the official site is taken as authoritative. (Read from pika.art/pricing on 2026-08-09)
Related Guide：Did 8 AI Tools Just Cut Prices 20%? We Checked — 7 Were Annual-Average Pricing, 2026
Our automated price scanner flagged 8 AI tools as cheaper than our records. Only one moved in a suspicious direction; the rest were the annual-billing-per-month trap. Descript, Writesonic, Rytr, Murf, Anijam and Base44 compared. Last checked 2026-08-21.
