Text-based editor and transcription
Cutshed vs Descript
Last checked October 2026.
What each product is
Cutshed publishes 26 free browser tools. Vocal removal, audio and video trims, compression, format conversion, background removal, upscaling, subtitles, and a timeline editor run in the tab. The file you open in those tools is not uploaded. There is no account and no watermark on a free export. Studio is separate, and it is the only paid part of the site. A Studio job sends the prompt, and a reference only when the model accepts one, to the provider. The credit price is the provider cost times 1.5, rounded up to the nearest 5. Packs are $5 for 400, $10 for 850, and $25 for 2,250. Credits stay on the account until they are spent. A failed or blocked generation puts them back. An unused pack is not refunded, except where the law requires it. The default clip, a 5-second Seedance 2.0 Mini at 480p, is 30 credits. Seedance 2.5 at 720p is 175 credits for 5 seconds, which is $2.19 on the $5 pack, $2.06 on the $10 pack, $1.94 on the $25 pack.
Descript’s own site describes an AI video and audio editor where you edit by editing text. You record or upload, Descript transcribes, and deleting a word deletes that moment of the video. Underlord is the AI co-editor. Studio Sound, filler-word removal, eye contact, and green screen are AI tools on the same product. The homepage also describes remote recording, clip making, and generating video, voice, music, and images to fill gaps. That is a hosted studio. The file goes to Descript.
Cutshed does not edit a picture by deleting a word in a transcript. The free editor is a local timeline: picture tracks, titles, transitions, audio, and an export to MP4 or WebM. Whisper tiny can write captions or a transcript in the browser, and you can fix the lines or import an SRT. Those words do not drive the cut the way Descript’s transcript does. The vocal remover, noise remover, compressor, and the rest of the free tools are separate pages, and they do not upload the file.
Pricing, as published
Descript’s pricing page, read in October 2026, lists a Free plan at $0. Paid plans are Hobbyist, Creator, and Business, each priced per person per month, plus Enterprise at a custom price. The page shows two figures for each paid plan and says annual billing saves up to 35% over monthly. Hobbyist is $16 and $24. Creator is $24 and $35. Business is $50 and $65. The lower number is the annual rate and the higher number is month to month. Hobbyist includes one person. Creator is described as scaling to a team of 3, billed separately. Business scales to a team of 5, billed separately.
Media minutes are the allowance for imported or recorded media, per editor, per month: 60 minutes on Free, 10 hours on Hobbyist, 30 hours on Creator, and 40 hours on Business. Descript’s FAQ says media hours track uploaded files and media recorded in Descript whether or not they are transcribed. AI credits are separate. The paid cards list 400 a month on Hobbyist, 800 on Creator, and 1,500 on Business. The FAQ says those credits track Underlord, Studio Sound, Green Screen, Eye Contact, and AI-generated media and avatars. A Descript credit is not a Cutshed credit.
Export resolution on the same page is 720p for Free, 1080p watermark-free for Hobbyist, and 4K watermark-free for Creator and Business. Creator’s card adds full Underlord access, generating video with AI models, unlimited royalty-free stock, and top-ups for more media hours and AI credits. Business adds Brand Studio, translating and dubbing in 30+ languages with proofread, custom avatars, and priority support. Transcription is listed in 25 languages on Free, Hobbyist, Creator, and Business. The free plan does not require a card. Enterprise is custom and mentions SOC 2 Type II, SSO, and SCIM.
Where Descript is the better tool
Descript is better when the job is a recording you are willing to upload and you want to cut it by editing the transcript. Speaker detection, filler-word removal, Studio Sound, eye contact, remote Rooms recording, and a shared project are the product. Cutshed’s editor will not label eight speakers, will not remove “um” by highlighting the transcript, and will not record a remote room. If that is the work, open Descript.
Descript is also ahead on voice cloning and on generating a video inside the editor. Creator’s card says you can generate video with the latest AI models. Custom voice clones are on the Hobbyist card under AI Speech. Cutshed Studio can generate a clip, an image, an emoji, or speech, but voice cloning is not offered, and the free editor does not generate b-roll. Studio is a separate credit balance, not a seat on the editor.
Cutshed is the better fit when the rushes should stay on the machine, when you need a long local transcript without a monthly media-hour cap, or when the job is a utility Descript is not trying to be: a vocal stem, a GIF, a file-size compress, a subtitle shift. Whisper tiny is a small model. A noisy interview will be rougher than a hosted transcript, and the first run downloads the weights. The trade is that the audio never leaves the tab, and there is no 60-minute free-plan ceiling.
A practical split
Use Descript for the podcast or the talking-head cut: record or upload, transcribe, delete the bad sentence, clean the room tone, and publish. Use Cutshed when you already have a file you do not want in someone else’s project, or when you only need one local job. You can transcribe on device, export an SRT, and take that text somewhere else. You can also ignore both AI editors and just trim.
If you want Cutshed to generate a clip, that is Studio, from the packs above, and the prompt goes to the provider. It does not turn Descript’s Underlord into a local feature, and it does not include a voice clone. Read Descript’s pricing page before you compare a subscription seat with a one-time pack. They buy different work.
Neither product licenses your recording. Descript’s stock library has its own rules, and the search limit depends on the plan. Cutshed’s model licenses cover the software, not the song or the footage. You still need the rights to the media you process.
Descript and Cutshed on the jobs this site actually does
| Cutshed | Descript | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file is processed | Free tools and the editor stay in the browser | Upload or record into Descript |
| Edit by deleting a word | No. The timeline and the transcript are separate | Yes. That is the product |
| Transcription | Whisper tiny, on device, no monthly minute cap | 25 languages on every listed plan. Media minutes are capped |
| Free allowance | The local tools are free | $0, 60 media minutes a month, 720p local export |
| Paid price cited here | Studio packs: $5 for 400, $10 for 850, and $25 for 2,250 | Hobbyist $16/$24, Creator $24/$35, Business $50/$65 per person per month |
| Voice cloning | Not offered | Custom voice clones are on the Hobbyist card |
| Account for the free editor | No | A Descript account, including on the free plan |
FAQ
Is Cutshed a Descript replacement?
Not for text-based editing, remote recording, filler-word removal, or voice cloning. It is a replacement for local jobs: trim, compress, transcribe with Whisper tiny, write an SRT, and export a simple timeline without uploading.
Does Descript’s free plan include transcription?
The pricing page lists multi-language transcription in 25 languages on the Free column, with 60 media minutes a month. Media hours count the upload or the recording whether or not you transcribe it.
Are Descript AI credits the same as Cutshed credits?
No. Descript credits pay for Underlord and other AI tools inside a subscription. Cutshed credits are a one-time pack balance used only for Studio generation. The free Cutshed tools do not spend either kind.
Transcribe locally, or open Studio
Run Whisper in the browser if the file should stay here. Open Studio only if you want a generated clip and you have read the credit price.