Descript is an editor where the transcript is the editing surface, so its pricing meters editing capacity rather than transcription.
How to read their pricing page
Media hours, AI credits and export quality are three separate limits, and a tier generous on one can be tight on another.
The free plan lists 60 minutes of media monthly, 100 one-time AI credits, exports at 720p carrying a watermark, 5 GB of storage and 25 languages. Hobbyist moves to 10 hours of media monthly, 400 AI credits, 1080p watermark-free export and 100 GB. Creator lists 30 hours, 800 credits, 4K and 1 TB. Business lists 40 hours, 1,500 credits, 4K and 2 TB, checked September 2026.
On price, Descript lists figures between $16 and $65 per person monthly across the paid tiers depending on tier and billing period, without presenting that mapping unambiguously, so read the current figure there. Descript also ships editing capability we do not have, including removal of filler words, speaker detection and, on Business, translation and dubbing.
Side-by-side
Descript figures come from their own pricing page, checked September 2026. Where their page was ambiguous we say so instead of guessing.
| Feature | Whipscribe | Descript |
|---|---|---|
| What you are buying | Transcription and caption files, and nothing else | A video and audio editor in which the transcript is the editing surface |
| Pricing model | Credit packs bought once, with nothing to renew | Per-person monthly plans metering media hours and AI credits together |
| Free tier | A first transcript for $0.99, opened in full, at any length | 60 minutes of media monthly, 100 one-time AI credits, 5 GB storage and 25 languages (checked September 2026) |
| Watermark on the free tier | Not applicable, as the outputs are text and caption files | Free exports listed at 720p carrying a watermark (checked September 2026) |
| Paid allowances | $8 per 1,000 minutes, $12 per 2,000, $24 per 5,000, roughly 16 to 83 hours | Hobbyist 10 hours monthly, Creator 30, Business 40, each with its own AI credit allowance (checked September 2026) |
| Paid prices | Listed in full on our pricing page | Listed between $16 and $65 per person monthly depending on tier and billing period (checked September 2026) |
| Editing features | Not offered, since there is no editor and no timeline | Removal of filler words, speaker detection, and translation and dubbing across more than 30 languages on Business (checked September 2026) |
Editing inside the transcript is a real workflow worth paying for. If you only need the transcript out, you rent an editor for one feature.
Where the allowances bite
Six hours is 360 minutes, six times the free plan's 60 monthly minutes, so the free tier never reaches it. The lowest paid tier's 10 monthly hours does cover it, and those hours reset each month whether or not they were used.
The same 360 minutes costs about $2.16 of a $12 pack of 2,000 here, and no export resolution or watermark enters into it because what returns is text.
None of this counts against Descript if you are editing.
Reading your own usage
The question is whether you will ever open the timeline.
Interviews and lectures destined to be read and quoted never enter an edit.
Where the video is finished and only a caption file is missing, SRT and VTT come back ready to attach.
Monthly media hours suit steady production. One heavy month then three quiet ones wastes allowances, not credits.
Questions people ask first
It lists 60 minutes of media monthly, 100 one-time AI credits, exports at 720p carrying a watermark, 5 GB of storage and 25 languages, checked September 2026.
Two separate meters. Media hours cap how much audio and video you bring in each month, listed as 10 on Hobbyist, 30 on Creator and 40 on Business. AI credits are a separate monthly allowance, listed as 400, 800 and 1,500 on those tiers, checked September 2026.
It lists figures between $16 and $65 per person monthly across the paid tiers depending on tier and billing period. Their page does not make the monthly and annual mapping unambiguous, so check it for the figure that applies to you.
No. Both are Descript features and we ship neither. We show speaker labels when you read the transcript on the site, and of the download formats only JSON keeps them.
No. Descript lists translation and dubbing across more than 30 languages on its Business tier, checked September 2026. We transcribe what was said and leave it in the language it was spoken in.
See also: Descript alternative · Sonix pricing explained · Rev pricing explained
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