Descript: Media Hours, AI Credits and Voice Consent

Choose Descript when the workflow begins with recorded speech and a transcript rather than a complex timeline. It combines recording, transcription, text-based audio and video editing, Underlord assistance, AI Speakers, dubbing, avatars and generated media in one workspace. Keep those capabilities under one Descript canonical page instead of treating feature names as separate products. Pricing · AI Speakers.

Pricing checked September 27, 2026: Free is USD 0 with one media hour per month and 100 AI credits granted one time. Hobbyist is USD 16 per person per month billed annually or USD 24 monthly, with 10 media hours and 400 monthly credits. Creator is USD 24 annually effective or USD 35 monthly, with 30 media hours, 800 credits, 4K export and top-ups. Business is USD 50 annually effective or USD 65 monthly, with 40 media hours, 1,500 credits, Brand Studio, translation and dubbing, custom avatars and priority support. Enterprise is custom. Prices are per person; annual-effective figures are not flexible monthly charges. Current pricing.

Budget two meters. Imported or recorded media consumes the Drive's media-minute pool, and unused media minutes do not roll over. AI actions consume a separate shared credit pool. Manual AI effects can scale with the size of a job, while Underlord costs vary with the model and work performed; dubbing, regeneration and video can change consumption. Eligible Editor seats add allowance to the shared Drive pool, so one user's activity can affect the team. Do not estimate a universal cost per finished video. Usage and credits.

Voice and avatar access requires a rights check. Descript requires an authorization statement for a custom AI Speaker and prohibits cloning a speaker who has not consented. It allows commercial use of an authorized personal clone and stock speakers, but its terms say AI output may be non-unique, inaccurate, unreliable or potentially infringing. Possessing a recording is not the same as having consent, and product permission is not a copyright or publicity-right guarantee. Terms · Ethics.

Data controls also have scope. Users can disable Share Data with Descript for product improvement, while project information is still processed to provide the service. AI Speaker training audio has separate de-identification, research and human-review disclosures. Enterprise controls such as custom retention, SSO, SCIM and audit logs are not defaults for every plan. Verify the actual workspace, contract and subprocessors. Privacy · Security.

Independent evidence supports a real decision but not a universal result. G2 lists more than 900 reviews, while Trustpilot's materially lower rating includes support and credit complaints. Use a representative episode or video to measure import-to-export time, transcript corrections, audio repair, regeneration attempts, credit consumption, output quality and collaboration friction before moving a team. The De artwork on this page is an AI Best Tool editorial identifier, not Descript's official logo or a product screenshot.

Unused monthly AI credits also do not roll over. For delivery, current pricing lists Free video exports with a Descript watermark and watermark-free exports on paid Hobbyist, Creator and Business plans; check the actual Drive role before exporting. The app can export audio locally as MP3, WAV or M4A. The API can export transcript text, but a signed rendered audio/video URL requires publishing a Descript web link; direct rendered-file download without publishing is not supported through the API. API calls may spend the Drive's media minutes and AI credits. Usage · Pricing · Local audio export · API.