VidTL vs Descript
Delete a word from the transcript and VidTL cuts the picture, sound and captions with it, as Descript does. It opens in your browser, has no watermark on any plan, and keeps a full multi-track timeline beside the transcript.
The comparison
Both let you cut a video by deleting words. The differences are where each one runs, what its free plan limits, and which extras come with it.
Swipe the table sideways to see both columns.
| Compared on | VidTL | Descript |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | In your browser, on a desktop or laptop computer. Nothing to install. | An app for Mac (macOS 14 or newer) and Windows 11, plus a web version. |
| Cut video by deleting words | Yes. Free with a free account. | Yes, on every plan, free included. |
| The free plan | No watermark, any video length, exports up to 8K. | 1 hour of media a month, 720p exports with a watermark, and 100 AI credits to try, once. |
| Cheapest plan with no watermark | The free one. No VidTL plan adds a watermark. | Hobbyist, $16 a month billed yearly or $24 month to month. Exports up to 1080p. |
| Biggest export | 8K, on every plan. | 4K, on Creator and Business. |
| Video you can work on | Any length, on every plan. | 10 media hours a month on Hobbyist, 30 on Creator, 40 on Business. |
| AI assistant | Type what you want changed and it makes the edits. Part of Pro. | Underlord does the same. Paid plans, with a limited version on free. |
| Filler words and retakes | Ask the assistant to cut them (Pro), or pick them in the transcript yourself. | One-click Remove Filler Words and Remove Retakes on paid plans, limited on free. |
| Noise and background sound | Noise Suppression and Voice Isolation, free, run on your computer. | Studio Sound, which also improves the voice. Paid plans, limited on free. |
| Sending an edit to another editor | Export for Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve, on every plan. | Timeline export to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and some audio apps, on Creator and Business. |
| Where your footage goes | Editing and exporting happen on your computer. Files leave it only if you save to cloud storage or use a tool that runs on VidTL’s servers. | Projects live in your Descript cloud storage, which has a size limit on every plan. |
Choosing
Edit with other peopleDescript lets several people work in one project and leave comments. In VidTL, sharing a project gives each person their own copy.
Record guests who are somewhere elseDescript’s Rooms records up to 10 people remotely. VidTL records your own screen, webcam and microphone.
Fix a spoken word by typing itDescript’s Regenerate says the corrected word in your own voice. VidTL can speak new narration in a copied voice, but it can’t patch a word inside a recording.
Want eye contact, avatars or dubbingDescript has Eye Contact, AI avatars, and translation and dubbing into 30 languages. VidTL has none of these.
Reorder a video by cutting and pasting its textIn Descript you can move sentences around like a document. In VidTL, deleting words is how you edit by text, and you move clips on the timeline.
Want no watermark and no cap on lengthEvery VidTL plan exports without a watermark, up to 8K, at any length. Descript’s free plan adds a watermark and stops at 720p, and each paid plan has monthly media hours.
Would rather not install anythingVidTL opens in a browser tab on any desktop or laptop computer, with no account needed to start.
Want a full timeline next to the transcriptTracks, keyframes, masks and effects sit beside the Subtitles panel, so you go from cutting words to fine-tuning in one window.
Hand edits to Premiere Pro or DaVinci ResolveExport for Premiere Pro and Export for DaVinci Resolve are free on every plan. Descript’s timeline export starts on its Creator plan.
Want your footage to stay with youEditing and exporting happen on your computer. Files go to VidTL’s servers only if you save to cloud storage or use a tool that runs there, like priority background removal.
Pricing
Every plan edits videos of any length and exports without a watermark. Pro adds the AI assistant that does the editing for you. Cancel anytime.
For first videos and weekend projects.
$0forever
No card needed
Start freeAI credits each weekNone
For creators who publish every week.
$29$23/ month
billed yearly, $276 a year
Go ProAI credits each week1×
Everything in Hobby, plus:
For studios and anyone publishing every day.
$99$79/ month
billed yearly, $948 a year
Get StudioAI credits each week5×
Everything in Pro, plus:
Prices in US dollars. Yearly plans are billed once a year.
Switching
VidTL can’t open a Descript project file, so the cutting starts again from your footage.
Get your footage out of DescriptExport your finished video, or gather the original recordings if you still have them.
Bring it into VidTLOpen the editor in your browser, choose File › Import Media and add the files.
Write the transcriptSelect the clip and choose Tools › Generate › Generate Subtitles. Free Processing writes it on your own computer and needs a free account with a confirmed email.
Cut by deleting wordsDrag across the words you don’t want in the Subtitles panel, check the cuts in red with Preview Cuts, then press Delete Selected. Ctrl+Z, or Cmd+Z on a Mac, brings them back.
Want every detail? See how editing by text works in VidTL.
Questions
Not in the same way. VidTL’s free plan has no watermark, no cap on video length and exports up to 8K. Editing by text needs a free account with a confirmed email. Pro adds the AI assistant, voiceovers, AI music and video, and cloud exports.
It covers the core job: write the transcript, pick words, preview the cuts in red, delete them, and undo if you change your mind. It doesn’t move sentences by cut and paste or fix a spoken word by typing, which Descript does. We haven’t tested the two transcripts against each other. VidTL’s free transcript runs on your own computer, so it is slower and less accurate than Priority Processing in Pro.
On Pro, yes. Ask the AI assistant to remove them and it makes the cuts as ordinary edits you can check and undo. On the free plan you pick the “ums” yourself in the transcript. Descript does it in one click on its paid plans.
English and 17 more: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Descript lists 25 languages, and the two lists are not the same, so check yours on both before you switch.
No. VidTL can’t read Descript’s project files. Export the video, or use your original recordings, and cut it again in VidTL. Your edits and transcript don’t come across, but writing the transcript again is free with a free account.
Any desktop or laptop computer with a modern browser. Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc and Firefox all run it well, and Safari works for lighter editing. It doesn’t run on phones.
Also in VidTL
Free to start, and no watermark on any plan. It opens in your browser on a desktop or laptop.