Comparison
| Tool | Why it fits (from official info) | Pricing | Official pricing | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 OpusClip | Built for this exact job: ClipAnything finds clip-worthy moments, AI Reframe crops to 9:16 (speaker tracking on Pro), animated captions are automatic. Free plan: 60 processing minutes a month, watermarked exports. | Freemium | From the official pricing page: Free $0 (new users get a 7-day Pro trial with 90 minutes of processing; after that the free plan gives 60 processing minutes a month, with watermarked exports); Starter $15/month; Pro $29/month; Business custom. | |
 CapCut | Free long-video-to-shorts tool plus a full editor (web, desktop, mobile) with auto captions, templates and text to speech. Made by ByteDance. | Freemium | From the official pricing page (marked as reference only; final price shown after sign-in): Free $0; Pro $19.99/month billed monthly or $179.99/year, with 1,200 AI credits a month; Ultra $79/month or $900/year with 8,645 AI credits a month; Teams from $12.49 per seat per month or $107.50 per seat per year (1,200 AI credits per seat a month). | |
 Descript | Edit the video by editing its transcript; Underlord can create clips and highlights, remove filler words and draft show notes and social posts. Free plan has 60 media minutes a month. | Freemium | From the official pricing page (per person per month, USD): Free $0 (about 60 media minutes/month); Hobbyist $16 billed annually or $24 monthly (about 10 media hours/month, 400 AI credits); Creator $24 annually or $35 monthly (about 30 hours, 800 AI credits); Business $50 annually or $65 monthly (about 40 hours); Enterprise custom. | |
 Riverside | Records remote guests on separate audio and video tracks, then cuts Magic Clips and writes AI show notes. Free plan includes Magic Clips (2 hours of multi-track recording, 720p, watermark). | Freemium | From the official pricing page: Free $0 (2 hours of multi-track recording, up to 720p, watermark, includes Magic Clips); Pro $29/month billed monthly or $24/month billed yearly ($288), 14-day free trial; Grow $39/month or $34/month billed yearly ($408); Webinar $99/month or $79/month billed yearly; Business via sales. |
How to do it with AI
- Start from the best source you have: the full-quality episode export, or separate tracks for each speaker if you recorded in Riverside.
- Upload it to a clipping tool (OpusClip, CapCut's long-video-to-shorts tool, Descript or Riverside Magic Clips) and set the clip length; under a minute suits Shorts, Reels and TikTok.
- Review the suggested clips yourself. Keep the ones that make sense without the rest of the episode and trim weak openings.
- Check the auto captions word by word, especially guest names, brand names and jargon.
- Confirm the 9:16 reframe keeps the speaker's face in frame, then remove long pauses and filler words.
- Write a title and description for each clip and schedule them, then link back to the full episode.
Prompt for picking clip moments from a transcript (our suggested wording, not a test output)
Below is the timestamped transcript of my podcast episode about [topic]. Suggest 5 segments of 30 to 60 seconds that make sense on their own without the rest of the episode. For each one give: start and end timestamps, a hook line for the first 3 seconds taken from what is actually said, and a title under 60 characters. Only use words that appear in the transcript. [paste transcript]
China-made vs Western: CapCut and Jianying next to OpusClip, Descript and Riverside
CapCut and its mainland-China sister app Jianying both come from ByteDance. Here is how they line up against the specialist tools on this page, using only what each official site lists.
| Need | CapCut / Jianying (ByteDance) | OpusClip / Descript / Riverside |
|---|---|---|
| Cut one long video into shorts for free | CapCut free plan with its long-video-to-shorts tool | OpusClip free plan (60 processing minutes a month, watermark); Descript free plan (60 media minutes a month); Riverside free plan includes Magic Clips |
| Captions | CapCut auto captions in multiple languages | OpusClip animated captions with emoji and keyword highlights; Descript transcription in 25 languages |
| Remove filler words | Jianying: smart talking-head editing detects filler words | Descript Remove Filler Words; OpusClip pause and filler removal (Starter and up); Riverside Pro removes silences and filler words |
| Record the episode itself | Not covered on the pages we checked | Riverside: separate-track remote recording, up to 4K on paid plans |
| Entry paid plan | CapCut Pro $19.99/month or $179.99/year | OpusClip Starter $15/month; Descript Hobbyist $16/month billed yearly; Riverside Pro $24/month billed yearly |
| Editing in mainland China | Jianying (capcut.cn), free to download | Not listed in our mainland China section |
FAQ
What is the best free AI tool to turn a podcast into short clips?
OpusClip's free plan gives 60 minutes of video processing a month after a 7-day Pro trial (90 minutes), but free exports are watermarked and limited to 9:16. CapCut offers a free plan with a long-video-to-shorts tool, and Riverside's free plan includes Magic Clips along with 2 hours of multi-track recording at up to 720p with a watermark. Prices and limits checked on 2026-10-22.
OpusClip or Descript: which is better for podcast clips?
OpusClip is a dedicated clipper: it finds moments, reframes them and captions them with little manual work, from $15/month for watermark-free exports. Descript is a full editor where you cut video by editing the transcript; its paid plans include Create Clips, Remove Filler Words and show-note drafting, from $16/person/month billed yearly or $24 monthly. Pick OpusClip for volume, Descript if you also edit the full episode.
Is CapCut free?
CapCut has a free plan with basic editing tools and free templates. Pro costs $19.99/month billed monthly or $179.99/year and includes 1,200 AI credits a month; Ultra is $79/month. The pricing page says prices are for reference and the final price appears after you sign in.
Can one tool record a remote podcast and make the clips too?
Yes, Riverside does both. Guests join from the browser, each person is recorded on a separate track, and Magic Clips and AI show notes are generated afterwards. Free includes 2 hours of multi-track recording; Pro is $29/month or $24/month billed yearly with up to 4K video and no watermark.
Which tool removes ums and filler words from a podcast video?
Descript lists Remove Filler Words among its AI tools from the Hobbyist plan up. OpusClip offers pause and filler-word removal from Starter up, and Riverside Pro removes silences and filler words. For Chinese-language talking-head videos, Jianying's smart talking-head editing detects filler words so you can cut by editing the transcript.
Can I export square or landscape clips as well as vertical ones?
In OpusClip the Free and Starter plans export 9:16 only; Pro ($29/month) adds 1:1 and 16:9. Check each tool's export options before you commit if you post to several platforms.
Head-to-head comparisons
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