Descript
AI-powered text-based video and audio editor
Descript is an all-in-one platform that enables users to transcribe, edit, and produce audio and video content by editing text transcripts. The platform combines automatic transcription, screen recording, multitrack editing, and AI-powered tools like voice cloning and audio cleanup, allowing creators to edit media as if they were editing a document.
How we scored it
A weighted average of the 4 dimensions below, each judged 0–10 from published pricing, vendor documentation and independent user feedback. We do not run hands-on tests, and no vendor has any say in a score.
2 further dimensions are not scored for this product yet, so they are left out of the average rather than counted as zero. How the score works.
What it actually costs
Intro pricing shown — see the renewal note for what you'll pay after the introductory term. We don't hide the second-act price.
Free
Get started on your creative journey with text-based editing and give AI tools a spin.
Hobbyist
Per person / month; Export 1080p watermark-free; Access to Underlord; AI tools including Studio Sound, Remove Filler Words, Create Clips; AI Speech with custom voice clones and video regener
Creator
Per person / month; 'Scale to a team of 3 (billed separately)' shown; Export 4K watermark-free; Unlimited access to royalty-free stock media library; Access to Underlord and 20+ AI tools.
Business
Per person / month; 'Scale to a team of 5 (billed separately)' shown; Team-wide Brand Studio; Translate and dub video in 30+ languages with proofread; Priority support (with SLA).
What to check before you commit to Descript
A tool is judged on what it costs once it is adopted, not what it costs to try. These are the four things that change that number.
The price once it is adopted
At $24 a seat, five people is $120 a month ($1440 a year) and ten is $240 ($2880 a year). Tools are bought one seat at a time and paid for by the dozen.
Where the usage ceiling sits
Credits, generations, exports and API calls are the lines that run out mid-month. Find what happens when you hit the cap — hard stop, throttle, or an overage rate you have not budgeted for.
What the free tier is really for
A free tier is an evaluation, not a plan. Check which limit you would hit first in real use, because that is the one that decides when you start paying.
Getting your work back out
Export formats decide how reversible this decision is. A tool that only exports to its own format costs more to leave than its price suggests.
These are the checks we apply across ai tools, in the same order, so two pages can be compared line for line.
How much does Descript really cost?
Our calculation from the vendor's published prices — not a figure the vendor advertises.
The headline price is for one person. Adding people multiplies it, so a team of ten pays ten times the advertised figure. Price is quoted per person (per editor). Plans include monthly and discounted annual billing; media minutes and AI credits are allocated per editor and scale with added seats.
| Team size | Per month | Per year | Over 3 years | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $24 | $288 | $864 | $24 per seat per month |
| 5 people | $120 | $1,440 | $4,320 | $24 per seat per month |
| 10 people | $240 | $2,880 | $8,640 | $24 per seat per month |
| 50 people | $1,200 | $14,400 | $43,200 | $24 per seat per month |
Based on the Hobbyist plan at $24 a month. Three years at the published annual price. No renewal increase is published.
- The vendor does not publish a renewal price, so three-year totals assume today's price holds.
Work out your own cost
- $24 per seat per month.
- Billed annually at $16 per month equivalent.
Descript against the field
The highest-scoring alternatives in the same category, compared on the figures we hold for all of them.
| DescriptThis page | ChatGPT | Grammarly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReviewCost score | 7.8/10 | 8.3/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Cheapest plan | Free | — | — |
| From | — | — | — |
| Renews at | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Biggest strength | Intuitive text-based editing workflow accessible to beginners without traditional editing experience | Breadth of capabilities: text, code, images, voice, web browsing, file analysis, and agentic task execution in one interface | Real-time detection across 400+ grammar and spelling rule types with multi-language support |
| Biggest drawback | Pricing confusion due to media minutes and AI credit metering that can inflate actual costs beyond advertised monthly price | Free and Go tiers now include ads in US and EU markets; conversation data used for training by default (manual opt-out required) | 150% price markup for month-to-month billing ($30) vs annual ($12/month); surprise auto-renewal charges when free trial lapses without cancellation |
Prices are the published figures at the time of writing and change often. Renewal pricing is shown where the vendor publishes it. See how we review.
What people ask about Descript
Straight answers to what buyers actually ask, drawn from the documentation and published user reports.
Is the free plan actually free or a time-limited trial?
Why is my actual bill so much higher than the advertised price?
Is Descript good for transcription-only teams?
Should I buy annual or monthly billing?
How accurate is the transcription?
Can my whole team edit the same project simultaneously?
Page history
- Published
- 13 September 2026
- Last updated
- 1 October 2026
- Pricing checked against vendor
- 1 October 2026
Sources & verification
Pricing on this page was taken from the vendor's published pricing page on 1 October 2026.
- Descript Pricing | Plans for Every Creator, Free to StartOfficial pricing page · Descript · read 1 October 2026