shortshort cuts one long video into vertical shorts chosen to end where the sentence ends, frames the face with automatic zooms, and costs €0.025 per minute of video before VAT, cheaper per minute than Descript. Below, side by side with Descript: the numbers first, then 18 criteria with a check or a cross, then the plans of both.
30 free credits, no cardUp to 2 GB per videoMP4 · 9:16 or 4:5
shortshort turns one long video of up to 2 GB into 9:16 shorts chosen to end where the sentence ends, framed on the face on screen with automatic zooms, captioned word by word, for €0.025 per minute of source video before VAT, cheaper per minute than Descript. 30 minutes are free, no card.
Descript is a text-based video and audio editor with clipping as one of its features. It may fit better for bigger files, a crop that follows whoever is speaking, square or landscape exports; the table below says where, with the source.
Facts checked against the product on . Prices before VAT.
Four things the product does by design; the table below checks the rest, both ways.
€0.025 per minute here, before VAT: €12 a month for 480 minutes on Starter. $0.04 per minute at Descript: $24 a month, Hobbyist ($16 billed yearly). Priced per minute of source, not per short: 1 short or 5 cost the same on Starter, up to 20 per video on the Studio plan.
The AI reads the whole transcript and picks complete, quotable passages, chosen to open and close on a sentence rather than on a timer; the end of each short is checked against the transcript.
The 9:16 crop follows the face on screen and adds automatic zooms between x1.0 and x1.6; slides and wide shots stay whole. Framing is automatic; cuts, title and captions stay editable.
Drop the file, choose how many shorts and how long, check the proposals, export the MP4s. No timeline, no template to configure.
One line per criterion, the same shape on both sides. The Descript column is derived from Descript's own site: the number after a cell points to the source, and the exact wording is under the table.
Reading note. Descript is a full text-based video and audio editor; clipping is one feature among many, and prices are per editor.
| Criterion | shortshort | Descript |
|---|---|---|
| Getting the video in | ||
| Longest video | Set by the 2 GB file size, 12 hours at mostOne file of up to 2 GB and at most 12 hours, on every plan; below that, how many hours fit in 2 GB depends on the bitrate. | Not stated on their siteNo per-file cap is stated; the caps are monthly media minutes and web-link export length, 1 h on Free and Hobbyist, 3 h on Creator and Business. |
| Largest file | 2 GB per fileMP4, MOV or WebM. | 1 GB Free, 10 GB Hobbyist, 20 GB Creator, 50 GB Business [1]Resolution up to 4K on Free and Hobbyist, 5K on Creator and Business; bitrate up to 150 Mbps or 1 Gbps respectively. |
| How the video gets in | File upload or a YouTube linkMP4, MOV or WebM from your disk, or a public or unlisted YouTube link of your own, downloaded on our servers at up to 720p with its audio. | Upload, record, or import from Zoom and Google Drive [2] [3]Also 1-click imports from Ecamm, Restream, SquadCast and Captivate; Google Drive on the web app only; YouTube-link import is not stated, though the API takes a URL. |
| What comes out | ||
| Crop follows the face | Follows the face, zooms x1.0 to x1.6The 9:16 crop follows the face with automatic zooms; slides, screens and wide shots stay whole; framing is set automatically. | Center Active Speaker, limited on Free [1]Also Automatic Multicam and Eye Contact; each is limited on Free and included on paid plans. |
| Automatic captions | Word by word, 4 stylesSpotlight, Impact, Karaoke, Minimal; timed on the audio; SRT import and export. | Yes, animated captions, unlimited on all plans [1]Stock caption styles or custom font, colors, word highlighting and positioning; number of templates not stated. |
| Aspect ratios | 9:16, or 4:5 for the Instagram feedChosen at export for the whole series; a 4:5 export tracks the face again for that frame. No 1:1 or 16:9. | 9:16 and 1:1 presets, more layouts available [4]Create clips offers portrait and square presets plus gallery or custom layout packs; the clips page says aspect ratios can be changed to fit platforms. |
| Export | MP4 1080 × 1920 or 1080 × 1350, 30 fpsH.264, rendered on our servers on every plan: 1080 × 1920 in 9:16, 1080 × 1350 in 4:5. | 720p Free, 1080p Hobbyist, 4K Creator and Business [1]Applies to local and web-link video export. |
| Editing and export | ||
| Manual editor | Yes, on the AI proposals, with a free accountClips and their bounds, title, description, caption words and caption style of each AI proposal; the editor and the MP4 export need a free account. | Yes, text-based editing plus a timeline [5]Edit by copy-paste and drag-and-drop in the transcript; a timeline is available when needed. |
| Brand presets | One preset, Studio planCaption colour and font, preselected on every new video. | Layout packs from Hobbyist, Brand Studio on Business [6] [1]Custom and remixed layout packs from Hobbyist, font upload from Creator; Brand Studio centralizes brand elements on Business and up, admin permissions on Enterprise. |
| Edit export | JSON edit plan on every planThe studio exports the plan of the open short on every plan; the Studio plan adds the plan of every saved short from My projects. | Creator and up: Premiere, Resolve, FCP, EDL, AAF [7]Also Audition SESX; unresolved comments can export as markers; not on Free or Hobbyist; Sequences and Avatars not supported. |
| Extras | ||
| Translation or dubbing | Not offeredCaptions in the language spoken, transcribed by OpenAI's whisper-1 (98 languages according to OpenAI); nothing is translated or dubbed. | Captions in 61 languages, dubbing in 30 [1]Limited on Free; the Business plan lists translate and dub in 30+ languages with proofread. |
| Virality score | None, by designThe AI keeps complete, quotable sentences; you choose what goes out. | No score stated; AI picks likely viral moments [8]Underlord finds the moments most likely to rack up views, but no numeric ranking is stated. |
| B-roll, music, titles | None addedThe short is your video, reframed and captioned. | Yes, Quick Design adds B-roll, limited on Free [1]Stock library limited to 5 search results on Free, 12 on Hobbyist, unlimited on Creator and Business; AI image and video generation too. |
| Publishes to social | YouTube on a calendar, TikTok in early accessConnect a YouTube channel, pick a day and time per short or auto-fill the calendar. TikTok is in early access. One MP4 per short, or a ZIP, for the rest. | YouTube, web app only, no Shorts [9]Export cap 1 h at 720p on Free, 1 h at 1080p on Hobbyist, 3 h at 4K on Creator and up; TikTok and Instagram publishing or scheduling not stated. |
| Team and price | ||
| Team seats | One account, one login | Up to 3 on Creator, 5 on Business [1]Free and Hobbyist are single seat; extra people billed separately; Enterprise custom. |
| API | None | Paid plans only; also MCP, CLI and Zapier [10]Usage draws from plan AI credits and media minutes; media import from URL or upload; direct media file exports not supported yet. |
| Free plan | 30 credits once, no cardThe account never expires; the 30 credits are given once, not every month. Up to 3 shorts per video, watermarked, exports join the public community. | Free plan, 60 min of media a month, 720p export [1]100 AI credits one-time, 1 seat, 1 GB uploads, 5 GB storage; the pricing table lists watermark-free export as not included on Free. |
| How you pay | 1 credit = 1 minute of videoWhatever the number of shorts. Plans from 12 EUR a month for 480 minutes, before VAT. Unused credits roll over and never expire, even after cancelling. | Subscription per person, monthly or annual [1]Media minutes and AI credits per editor per month; top ups for minutes and credits on Creator and Business only. |
Their pages can change after that date; the table does not update itself.
Descript plans as listed on descript.com/pricing, read on 16 October 2026 [1]. By the minute of source video: $0.04 per minute on Descript's cheapest plan ($24 a month, Hobbyist ($16 billed yearly), 600 minutes a month (10 hours)), against €0.025 per minute on shortshort Starter, before VAT. Every plan, per minute, in the price index.
Prices before VAT, from the product. Annual billing: Starter €115 a year, Creator €278 a year, Studio €758 a year. Full detail on the pricing page.
shortshort for the price per minute and the cuts; Descript when you need bigger files or a crop that follows whoever is speaking. Both lists come from the table.
A published transformation from the community: the original on top, the shorts it became below. Click one to see it next to the original video.
3 of 6 shorts shown · The Override That Saved Humanity · watch it in the community, with the transcript of each short
Demo footage: Tears of Steel © Blender Foundation, licensed CC BY 3.0. Cut, cropped and captioned by shortshort.
Three things the table can only name. The passage, the frame and the captions below are illustrations; the community shows the real thing.
The reason most clips fail is that they stop before the idea lands, and a viewer who never hears the end of the sentence has no reason to share it. ✂ mid-sentence
The reason most clips fail is that they stop before the idea lands, and a viewer who never hears the end of the sentence has no reason to share it. ✂ on the full stop
Same passage, same 30-second target. shortshort keeps going to the end of the sentence, 37 seconds here, which is inside the 25% margin it allows.
Spotlight, one of the four caption styles. Impact, Karaoke and Minimal use the same word timing.
Yes. Descript's own site lists a lasting free plan. On Descript: Free plan, 60 min of media a month, 720p export. 100 AI credits one-time, 1 seat, 1 GB uploads, 5 GB storage; the pricing table lists watermark-free export as not included on Free (their own site, read on 16 October 2026).
Descript's pricing page lists 5 plans. On Descript: Free (60 min of media a month per editor); Hobbyist, $24 a month ($16 billed yearly) (10 media hours a month, 400 AI credits); Creator, $35 a month ($24 billed yearly) (30 media hours a month, 800 AI credits); Business, $65 a month ($50 billed yearly) (40 media hours a month, 1500 AI credits); Enterprise, Custom (AI credits and media hours sized to the team) (their own site, read on 16 October 2026). They are listed on this page under "Descript pricing (checked 16 October 2026)". By the minute of source video, that is $0.04 per minute on Descript's cheapest plan ($24 a month, Hobbyist ($16 billed yearly)), against €0.025 per minute on shortshort Starter, before VAT. shortshort charges 1 credit per minute of source video, whatever the number of shorts: Starter is 12 EUR a month for 480 credits, Creator 29 EUR for 1,600 and the Studio plan 79 EUR for 6,000, before VAT, and every account starts with 30 free credits, given once.
shortshort can be tried for free: 30 credits given once at sign-up, no card, which cover 30 minutes of video, with up to 3 shorts per video and a small watermark on the export. Your upload stays private until you export; exported shorts join the public community gallery by default. It is a one-time allowance, not free minutes every month: the tools that give free minutes every month are listed, with the limits of their free plans, in the price per minute index.
It depends on what you need. shortshort turns one long video of up to 2 GB into vertical shorts, 3 per video on the Free plan and up to 20 on the Studio plan, cut on complete sentences, framed on the face on screen and captioned word by word in one of four styles. Descript may fit better if you need bigger files, a crop that follows whoever is speaking and square or landscape exports, according to its own site. If the job is cutting long talks into shorts, try it with the 30 free credits and compare the result with what you get from Descript.
shortshort times every word on the audio, in one of four styles (Spotlight, Impact, Karaoke, Minimal), with SRT import and export. On Descript: yes, animated captions, unlimited on all plans (their own site, read on 16 October 2026).
The fastest comparison is your own video: 30 minutes are free, no card. Your upload stays private until you export; exported shorts join the community with their source video by default, and any paid plan can keep them out.