Descript
A video and podcast editor where you edit by editing the transcript, with Underlord, an AI co-editor, Studio Sound, AI voices, dubbing, and clip creation.
Descript is an AI video and audio editor that transcribes your recording and lets you cut, rearrange, and fix it by editing the text. Underlord, its AI co-editor, handles the tedious passes, and Studio Sound, Eye Contact, AI voices, and dubbing clean up the capture. It runs on macOS, Windows, and the web, with a free plan and per-person paid tiers.
Descript is the editor built on the idea that you edit video by editing text. Upload or record, it transcribes, and from then on the transcript is the timeline: delete a rambling sentence and the corresponding video is gone, drag a paragraph and the scene moves with it. For a marketing team that produces webinars, podcasts, customer stories, and product walkthroughs without a dedicated editor, that is a different job description than a traditional NLE.
The 2026 version leans hard on Underlord, Descript's AI co-editor, which the company pitches as "your all-purpose video agent." You tell it what you want done to the recording and it does the pass for you.
Highlights
- Text-based editing. The transcript is the edit surface, with transcription in 25 languages and multi-speaker detection from the Free plan up.
- Underlord. The AI co-editor that automates cutting and editing from plain-English instructions, alongside one-click passes for filler words and retakes. Creator and above get "full access to Underlord, our AI video co-editor and 20+ more AI tools."
- Cleanup tools. Studio Sound for noise and voice, Eye Contact to fix a speaker reading off-screen, green screen, and Regenerate for audio and video quality fixes.
- AI speech and dubbing. Custom voice clones from Hobbyist up; Business adds 60+ stock AI speakers and translation and dubbing in 30+ languages.
- Recording and captions. Screen recording, remote recording with Rooms, auto captions, and social clips from the same project.
- Runs where the team is. Native apps for macOS and Windows plus Descript for Web in Chromium browsers; SOC 2 Type II, SAML SSO, and SCIM on Enterprise.
In a content team's workflow
Descript's transcript export is the hinge that connects video work to text work. A webinar recorded and cleaned in Descript yields an accurate transcript; that transcript feeds every written asset, and an agent can do that fan-out while you finish the edit.
Read ./webinars/2026-09-onboarding-transcript.txt. Produce:
1) a 700-word recap post in our voice (./brand/voice.md),
2) six LinkedIn posts, each anchored on one quoted line with timestamp,
3) a list of 8 candidate clips as [start-end] timestamps with a hook
line for each, ranked by how self-contained the segment is.
Write to ./webinars/2026-09-onboarding/ as separate files.Take the clip list back into Descript (or to Opus Clip if you want scored, auto-captioned shorts without touching the timeline), and the rest ships as text. The content repurposer skill and the /repurpose command package this pattern, and the Claude Code for marketers pillar shows the folder layout. For a deck built from the same transcript, Gamma takes the outline directly.
NOTE
Media hours and AI credits are separate meters on every Descript plan: hours meter what you bring in each month, credits meter AI features. Check both against a typical month of output before picking a tier.
Good to know
Descript runs on macOS and Windows and at web.descript.com; there is no mobile editing app. As of September 2026 the Free plan includes 60 minutes of media a month, 100 one-time AI credits, 720p watermarked export, and one seat. Hobbyist is $16 per person per month on annual billing ($24 monthly) with 10 hours, 400 credits, and 1080p; Creator is $24 annual ($35 monthly) with 30 hours, 800 credits, 4K, full Underlord, and up to 3 seats; Business is $50 annual ($65 monthly) with 40 hours, 1,500 credits, 4K, 60+ stock AI speakers, Brand Studio, dubbing in 30+ languages, priority support, and up to 5 seats; Enterprise is custom with SSO and SCIM. Additional seats on Creator and Business are billed separately.
The caveat for AI voice work: Descript's voice cloning is convenient, but a team producing narration at volume or building a voice into a product usually reaches for a dedicated engine such as ElevenLabs. For the wider set of video, writing, and SEO tools a marketing team assembles, see best AI tools for marketers in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Descript?
- Descript is an AI video and audio editor built on the idea that editing should feel like editing a document. It transcribes your media, and deleting a sentence in the transcript deletes it from the video. Around that it offers Underlord (an AI co-editor), Studio Sound noise removal, filler-word and retake removal, Eye Contact correction, green screen, AI speech and voice clones, translation and dubbing, screen recording, captions, and remote recording Rooms.
- How much does Descript cost?
- As of September 2026 the Free plan includes 60 minutes of media a month, 100 one-time AI credits, 720p export with a watermark, and limited Underlord. Hobbyist is 16 dollars per person a month on annual billing (24 monthly) for 10 hours and 400 credits at 1080p. Creator is 24 annual (35 monthly) for 30 hours, 800 credits, 4K, and full Underlord. Business is 50 annual (65 monthly) for 40 hours, 1,500 credits, Brand Studio, and dubbing in 30+ languages. Enterprise is custom with SSO and SCIM.
- Does Descript work on a phone?
- Not for editing. Descript's help center says there is no mobile editing app; you can upload media from your phone, but editing happens in the macOS or Windows desktop app or at web.descript.com, which works best in Chromium browsers.
- Descript vs Opus Clip?
- Descript is a full editor: you produce the episode or the video in it and can also cut clips from it. Opus Clip is a single-purpose repurposing tool that takes a finished long video and returns scored short clips with captions and a scheduler. Many teams use both: Descript to make the master, Opus Clip to farm the shorts.
Related
- Opus ClipAn AI clipping tool that turns long videos into scored, captioned short clips for Shorts, TikTok, and Reels, with a scheduler, brand templates, and an API.
- Content RepurposerTurn one long-form piece you paste in (an article, transcript, webinar summary, or case study) into four channel-ready derivatives, an X thread, a LinkedIn post, a newsletter section, and a short-video script, each inside its channel's length and format limits, with every claim and number carried over exactly as written and any statistic the original does not source flagged instead of repeated as fact. Use when a finished piece has to go out on several channels and the derivatives must say only what the original says.
- Claude Code for Marketers: The Complete 2026 GuideWhy a marketer would open a terminal agent, when claude.ai or Cowork is the better tool, a CLAUDE.md for a content repo, five workflows, and what goes wrong.
- RepurposeRun content-repurposer on a file or pasted text and write the X thread, LinkedIn post, newsletter section, and video script to content/repurposed/.
- The Best AI Tools for Marketers in 2026The AI tools marketers run a content program on in 2026: assistants, writing, SEO, research, decks, video, and automation, with a verdict per category.
- GammaAn AI design partner that turns a prompt or a document into presentations, docs, websites, and social posts, with an Agent for edits and a credits-based plan.
- ElevenLabsA voice-AI platform for high-quality text-to-speech, voice cloning, dubbing, and real-time conversational agents, via API.