Descript vs CapCut

The short answer

Pick Descript if your videos are mostly you talking, and you'd rather delete words on a page than drag clips on a timeline. It removes pauses and filler words for you, and its paid plans start at $16 a month billed yearly.

Pick CapCut if you edit on your phone, want trending templates, effects and sounds, and don't mind making every cut yourself. The free version edits and exports; auto captions are listed under the $19.99 Pro plan.

If the real question is how to stop editing talking videos altogether, neither is built for that. Krafto takes your clips and a sentence, cuts the retakes and pauses, adds the captions and hands you a first cut, for $25 a month with no free plan.

Descript: podcasts and interviews, edited as text

Descript is a video and audio editor where you edit the transcript to edit the video, with an AI assistant called Underlord that takes plain-language instructions. Pick it if you make podcasts or interviews and like the idea of deleting words on a page to cut the video.

Free plan: yes: 720p with a watermark. Paid from $16 a month, billed yearly, on Web, Windows and Mac. You still work inside an editor and read through a transcript, and the AI help is rationed by monthly credits.

CapCut: hands-on editing for TikTok and Reels

CapCut is a timeline editor for social videos, known for its templates, effects and one-tap AI tools. Pick it if you enjoy editing and want the biggest library of trending templates and effects.

Free plan: yes, with paid tools locked. Paid from $9.99 a month, on iPhone, Android, Mac, desktop and web. It's still a timeline: you choose every cut yourself, and the captions most creators want are listed under the $19.99 plan.

Krafto: describe the edit instead of making it

Krafto works differently from every editor on this page: you upload your clips and say what you want, and it cuts the retakes and pauses, adds captions and hands you a first cut. You change things by asking, and the timeline is still there if you want it. It costs $25 a month. There's no free plan, so it only makes sense if editing is the part you want off your plate.

Where it loses: no free plan or trial, no phone app, and no template library: you film, Krafto cuts, and you check the result in a browser.

Which should you choose?

Choose Descript if you record yourself or a conversation, want the pauses and filler words taken out for you, and like the idea of cutting a video by deleting its words.

Choose CapCut if you edit on a phone, want the biggest library of templates, effects and trending sounds, and are happy to make the cuts yourself.

Choose Krafto if you film yourself talking, you'd rather describe the edit than make it, and $25 a month with no free plan is acceptable for not editing. No free plan or trial, no phone app, and no template library: you film, Krafto cuts, and you check the result in a browser.