What are media hours and AI credits?

From the page: media hours track uploaded media files and media recorded in Descript, regardless of whether they are transcribed. AI credits track usage of AI features like Underlord, Studio Sound, Green Screen, Eye Contact, and AI-generated media and avatars.

Do I need to enter a credit card to try Descript?

No. The page states that Descript's Free plan includes everything you need to record, edit, and mix audio and video content, and no credit card is required.

How are subscription payments processed?

Hobbyist, Creator, and Business subscriptions are processed automatically to the credit card you provide, according to your selected billing cycle. Custom invoicing (such as ACH transfer) is available through the Enterprise team.

Do you offer special rates for students, educators, and non-profits?

Yes — the page directs you to fill out a form to apply.

How does Descript protect my privacy?

The page states your Project Information is confidential, even from Descript, and that Descript is SOC 2 Type II compliant.

How do I cancel my subscription?

You can cancel from your Descript subscription page. You can also delete your account and permanently wipe your data from their servers.

Where can I learn more about an Enterprise plan?

The page says to contact sales to learn more about Enterprise plans.

Descript Pricing in 2026: Plans, Limits and Real Costs

Descript is a text-based video editor with a free tier, three paid plans, and a custom Enterprise option. Most solo creators should buy the Creator plan at $35 per person / month (monthly billing), which unlocks 4K export, full Underlord access, and 30 media hours monthly.

Verified 2026-10-22 · official pricing page · Descript in the directory

Quick pricing verdict

Starting price: $24 per person / month on the Hobbyist plan (monthly billing), or $16 per person / month billed annually.
Free plan: Yes. Free is $0 with 60 minutes (1 hr) of media per month, 100 AI credits (one-time), 720p exports with watermark, and limited access to AI tools.
Best plan for most people: Creator at $35 per person / month (monthly billing), or $24 per person / month annually. It is marked MOST POPULAR and adds 4K watermark-free export, 30 media hours / month, 800 AI credits / month, full Underlord, 20+ AI tools, and 1–3 seats.
Plan to avoid first: Avoid the Free plan for any real project work: it caps you at 720p with a watermark, 60 minutes per month, and 100 one-time AI credits, which are gone once spent.
Biggest hidden cost: Top-ups for extra media hours and AI credits. The page notes Creator and Business plans get "Access to top ups for more media hours and AI credits" once you exceed the included amounts; rates are not published.
Pricing checked: 2026-10-22, against the official page

Descript sells four consumer tiers plus a custom Enterprise plan. Pricing shown here is taken from the MONTHLY BILLING section: $24, $35, and $65 per person / month for Hobbyist, Creator, and Business respectively, with annual equivalents of $16, $24, and $50 per person / month. The page advertises up to 35% savings on annual billing.

Every paid plan is "per person" and includes top-ups for extra media hours and AI credits once monthly allowances are exhausted. Free is genuinely $0 and does not require a credit card, but it is the most constrained tier and exports are watermarked at 720p.

Plans compared

Plan	Price	Best for	Key limits
Free	$0	Trying out text-based editing with no payment details	60 minutes (1 hr) / month, 100 AI credits (one-time), 720p watermark exports, 5GB cloud storage, 1 seat
Hobbyist	$24 per person / month$16 per person / month	Solo creators who want watermark-free 1080p output	1 person included, 600 minutes (10 hrs) / month, 400 AI credits / month, 1080p export, 100GB storage, limited stock library search (first 12 results)
Creator	$35 per person / month$24 per person / month	Most solo creators and small teams (marked MOST POPULAR)	1–3 seats billed separately, 1800 minutes (30 hrs) / month, 800 AI credits / month, 4K export, 1TB storage, full Underlord + 20+ AI tools
Business	$65 per person / month$50 per person / month	Collaborating teams that need Brand Studio, dubbing, and priority support	Up to 5 seats, 2400 minutes (40 hrs) / month, 1500 AI credits / month, 4K export, 2TB storage, translate and dub video in 30+ languages with proofread
Enterprise	Custom	Larger teams needing SSO, SCIM, audit logs, custom AI credits, and dedicated support	Custom AI credits, custom media minutes, SOC 2 Type II, dedicated CSM, custom MSA and legal terms

Source: Descript pricing page, checked 2026-10-22.

What each plan includes

Free

Includes: Unlimited projects, dynamic captions, transitions, 25-language multi-language transcription, 2 hours of recording session time per drive, 5GB cloud storage, 10 room participants, 3 control room producers, 100 one-time AI credits, Limited access to Underlord, Studio Sound, Green Screen, Eye Contact, Remove Filler Words, Shorten Word Gaps, Edit for Clarity, Remove Retakes, Add chapters, Automatic Multicam, Generate image, Generate video, Quick Design, Center Active Speaker, Create clips and highlights, AI drafting tools, AI video maker with ChatGPT, text-to-speech, and Limited avatar gallery.
Missing: Watermark-free export (watermarked 720p), full 4K export, large file uploads, priority support, email and live chat support, brand studio, dubbing, custom avatars, white-labeled publish pages, dedicated CSM.
Avoid if: You need watermark-free, 1080p+ exports; you produce more than 60 minutes of content per month; you want recurring AI credits rather than the 100 one-time credits; you need to upload files larger than 1 GB.
Verdict: Fine for a 1-hour test, but it is not a working plan for ongoing content.

Hobbyist

Includes: 1080p watermark-free video export, 10 media hours / month, 400 AI credits / month, 100GB cloud storage, file uploads up to 10 GB at up to 4K and 150 mbps, 5 hours of remote recording per drive, custom voice clones, video regenerate, AI Speech.
Missing: 4K export, full Underlord (only the standard set: Studio Sound, Remove Filler Words, Create Clips, and "more"), unlimited stock media library, 20+ AI tools, custom avatars, Brand Studio, dubbing, priority support with SLA, team collaboration beyond 1 person.
Avoid if: You need 4K output, you regularly run more than 10 media hours per month, or you want the full suite of 20+ AI tools.
Verdict: Reasonable for a single creator on 1080p, but most people will outgrow 10 media hours.

Creator

Includes: 4K watermark-free export, 30 media hours / month, 800 AI credits / month, 1TB cloud storage, file uploads up to 20 GB at up to 5K and 1 gbps, 15 hours of remote recording per drive, 10 control room producers, full access to Underlord and 20+ AI tools, generate video with the latest AI models, unlimited stock media library, custom voice clones, top-ups for more media hours and AI credits, 1–3 seats billed separately.
Missing: Brand Studio, team-wide shared templates, dubbing and translation proofread, custom avatars, priority support with SLA, 5 seats, white-labeled publish pages.
Avoid if: You need more than 3 seats, you need Brand Studio or team-wide branding controls, or you need SLA-backed priority support.
Verdict: The default pick. Most solo creators and small teams land here.

Business

Includes: 4K watermark-free export, 40 media hours / month, 1500 AI credits / month, 2TB cloud storage, file uploads up to 50 GB at up to 5K and 1 gbps, 25 hours of remote recording per drive, team-wide Brand Studio, translate and dub video in 30+ languages with translation proofread, custom avatars from photo upload or text, priority support (with SLA), top-ups for more media hours and AI credits, up to 5 seats.
Missing: SOC 2 Type II SSO/SCIM, audit logs, custom MSA, dedicated CSM, custom AI credits, custom media minutes, custom legal terms — these sit in Enterprise.
Avoid if: You need fewer than 4–5 seats, no need for translation, dubbing, or Brand Studio, and you do not need priority support with SLA.
Verdict: Worth it only if you actually use Brand Studio, dubbing, or the larger seat and storage allowances.

Enterprise

Includes: Custom AI credits, custom media minutes, Brand Studio with shared templates and company-wide guardrails, AI and data controls including opt-out of training and custom retention, SOC 2 Type II with SSO, SCIM, and audit logs, custom MSA, custom legal terms, flexible billing, dedicated CSM, onboarding, priority response.
Missing: Public pricing and seat counts; everything is sized to your team.
Avoid if: You are a solo creator or sub-5-person team — Business covers standard needs and the Hobbyist/Creator plans are far cheaper.
Verdict: Only worth the sales conversation if SSO/SCIM, audit logs, or custom contracting are requirements.

Add-ons, overages, and surprise costs

Cost item	Trigger	Published amount	Billing behaviour
Top-ups for media hours and AI credits	Exceeding the plan's monthly media hours or AI credits allowance	Not published	Creator and Business plans have "Access to top ups for more media hours and AI credits"; per-unit rates are not shown on the page.
Watermarked 720p exports on Free	Exporting any video on the Free plan	Not published	Free plan video exports are 720p with a watermark; watermark-free export is only included from Hobbyist upward.
One-time AI credits on Free	Spending the 100 included AI credits	Not published	Free plan ships 100 AI credits (one-time) rather than a monthly allowance, so they do not refill.
Stock library search cap on Free and Hobbyist	Searching the stock library	Not published	Free shows only the first 5 search results; Hobbyist shows the first 12. Creator and Business are unlimited.
Per-seat billing for Creator and Business	Adding a second or third seat on Creator, or up to five on Business	Billed separately per person / month	Creator is "Scale to a team of 3 (billed separately)" and Business is "Scale to a team of 5 (billed separately)" — each added seat is a separate charge at the per-person rate.

Source: Platform pricing docs, checked 2026-10-22.

Which plan should you choose?

Solo creator publishing on YouTube or podcasts, mostly 1080p, under 10 hours of source media a month: Hobbyist — Gets you off the watermark and onto 1080p for $24 per person / month (monthly) or $16 (annual), with 400 AI credits / month.
Solo creator or 2–3 person team producing 4K, needing Underlord, 20+ AI tools, and 30+ media hours per month: Creator — Marked MOST POPULAR; 4K export, 30 media hours / month, 800 AI credits / month, full Underlord, unlimited stock media library, and 1–3 seats.
Marketing or content team of up to 5 people who need shared branding, dubbing, and SLA-backed support: Business — Adds team-wide Brand Studio, translate and dub video in 30+ languages with proofread, custom avatars, priority support (with SLA), 40 media hours / month, 1500 AI credits / month, and 2TB storage.
Company that needs SSO, SCIM, audit logs, and a custom MSA: Enterprise — Includes SOC 2 Type II, SSO/SCIM, audit logs, opt-out of training, custom retention, dedicated CSM, and custom AI credits / media minutes.
Anyone just evaluating text-based editing: Free — No credit card is required; the page explicitly states the Free plan is enough to record, edit, and mix audio and video.

Frequently asked questions

What are media hours and AI credits?: From the page: media hours track uploaded media files and media recorded in Descript, regardless of whether they are transcribed. AI credits track usage of AI features like Underlord, Studio Sound, Green Screen, Eye Contact, and AI-generated media and avatars.
Do I need to enter a credit card to try Descript?: No. The page states that Descript's Free plan includes everything you need to record, edit, and mix audio and video content, and no credit card is required.
How are subscription payments processed?: Hobbyist, Creator, and Business subscriptions are processed automatically to the credit card you provide, according to your selected billing cycle. Custom invoicing (such as ACH transfer) is available through the Enterprise team.
Do you offer special rates for students, educators, and non-profits?: Yes — the page directs you to fill out a form to apply.
How does Descript protect my privacy?: The page states your Project Information is confidential, even from Descript, and that Descript is SOC 2 Type II compliant.
How do I cancel my subscription?: You can cancel from your Descript subscription page. You can also delete your account and permanently wipe your data from their servers.
Where can I learn more about an Enterprise plan?: The page says to contact sales to learn more about Enterprise plans.

What we read

Every figure on this page was extracted from the vendor's own pricing page at the moment below. The text is reproduced so you can check our reading against what they publish today.

Source captured 2026-10-22 16:46 UTC

MONTHLY BILLING SELECTED: Features Underlord Solutions Resources Pricing Contact sales Sign in Sign up PRICING A plan for whatever you create Monthly Annual Save up to 35% with annual billing Hobbyist $16 $24 per person / month 1 person included Elevate your projects, watermark-free Get started 10 media hours / month 400 AI credits / month Export 1080p, watermark-free Access to Underlord, our AI video co-editor AI tools including Studio Sound, Remove Filler Words, Create Clips, and more AI Speech with custom voice clones and video regenerate MOST POPULAR Creator $24 $35 per person / month Scale to a team of 3 (billed separately) Unlock advanced AI-powered creativity Get started 30 media hours / month 800 AI credits / month Export 4k, watermark-free Full access to Underlord, our AI video co-editor and 20+ more AI tools Generate video with the latest AI models Unlimited access to royalty-free stock media library Access to top ups for more media hours and AI credits Business $50 $65 per person / month Scale to a team of 5 (billed separately) Empower collaboration on your team Get started 40 media hours / month 1500 AI credits / month Team-wide access to Brand Studio Translate and dub video in 30+ languages with proofread Generate custom avatars from photo upload or text Priority support (with SLA) Access to top ups for more media hours and AI credits Enterprise Custom For teams with more video to make than editors to make it Talk to sales Text-based editing: Edit video by editing a doc AI credits and media hours: sized to your team Brand Studio: shared templates and company-wide guardrails AI and data controls: opt-out of training, custom retention SOC 2 Type II: SSO, SCIM, and audit logs Procurement: custom MSA, legal terms, flexible billing Support: dedicated CSM, onboarding, priority response Trusted by teams at: Free $0 Get started on your creative journey with text-based editing and give our AI tools a spin. Get started for free Compare all features and plans More than 6 million creators & teams use Descript, including: What’s the difference? Free Get started Hobbyist Get started Creator Get started Business Get started Media minutes Media minutes (per editor) 60 minutes (1 hr) / month 600 minutes (10 hrs) / month 1800 minutes (30 hrs) / month 2400 minutes (40 hrs) / month Top up media minutes Transcription Multi-language transcription 25 languages 25 languages 25 languages 25 languages Detect 8+ speakers Multitrack transcription Editing Projects Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Dynamic captions Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Transitions Animation Custom font upload AI credits AI credits (per editor) 100 (one-time) 400 / month 800 / month 1500 / month Top up AI credits AI tools Underlord Limited Studio Sound Limited Green Screen Limited Eye Contact Limited Remove Filler Words Limited Shorten Word Gaps Limited Edit for Clarity Limited Remove Retakes Limited Add chapters Limited Automatic Multicam Limited Generate image Limited Generate video Limited Quick Design Limited Center Active Speaker Limited Repurpose media: Create clips, highlights Limited Write: Brainstorm, rewrite, write a script/outline Limited Publish: Draft social posts, blog posts, show notes, summarize Limited AI video maker: Generate a video with ChatGPT Limited AI Speech Text-to-speech Limited Regenerate Limited Custom voice clones Limited Stock AI speakers Limited 25+ 25+ 60+ Avatars Avatar gallery Limited Text prompt to avatar Limited Avatar image stylization Limited Create custom avatar via image upload Limited Translation Translate captions Limited Translate audio (dubbing) Limited Translation proofread (captions and dubbing) Native-sounding AI speakers Remote recording Recording session hours (per drive) 2 hours 5 hours / month 15 hours / month 25 hours / month Room participants 10 10 10 10 Control Room producers 3 3 10 Separate cloud backup recordings for every session Screen recording Automatic project setup Guest file recovery Editor

Pricing change log

What moved since we started tracking this page, newest first. A price that changes silently is the failure mode of every other pricing guide.

2026-10-22First published, extracted from https://www.descript.com/pricing.