--- title: "Is there an ai that can edit videos?" url: https://isthereathing.com/an-ai-that-can-edit-videos/ answer: "yes" summary: "Yes. Descript, CapCut, OpusClip and Adobe Premiere all use AI to edit video, from text-based cuts to auto captions and clipping. Descript, CapCut and OpusClip have free plans." category: "Video" published: 2026-10-02 updated: 2026-10-02 author: "Jack Stovell" publisher: "Adapt Progress Evolve Limited" language: en-GB --- # Is there an ai that can edit videos? **Answer: yes.** Yes. Descript, CapCut, OpusClip and Adobe Premiere all use AI to edit video, from text-based cuts to auto captions and clipping. Descript, CapCut and OpusClip have free plans. (Source: [Descript pricing](https://www.descript.com/pricing)) Yes, there are AI tools that can edit your videos, and they go about it in quite different ways. Some cut by editing a transcript, others chop long recordings into clips, and one sits inside a full professional editor. Descript, CapCut and OpusClip all have free plans. ## The shortlist ### Descript Video and audio editor where you edit by changing the transcript, with an AI co-editor called Underlord. - Link: https://www.descript.com/ - Free tier: yes. $0 plan: 60 minutes a month, 100 one-time AI credits, 720p with watermark. - Paid from: $16 per person per month (billed annually), Hobbyist (checked 2026-10-02; $24 billed monthly) - Best at: Cutting talking-head video by editing text, with filler word removal and Studio Sound. - The catch: The free plan exports at 720p with a Descript watermark and gives 1 hour of media a month. - Platforms: web - Source: [Descript pricing](https://www.descript.com/pricing) ### CapCut Video editor with AI auto captions, background removal and speech tools. - Link: https://www.capcut.com/ - Free tier: yes. Free online use, no card needed; the page says its online editor exports have no watermark. - Paid from: not checked (not verified: pricing not shown on the page) - Best at: Quick social video edits with captions on phone, desktop or in the browser. - The catch: The page we read gave no paid plan prices, and we could not read CapCut's terms page, so check both before relying on it commercially. - Platforms: web, desktop, ios, android - Source: [CapCut](https://www.capcut.com/) ### OpusClip Turns long videos into short clips with captions and reframing. - Link: https://www.opus.pro/ - Free tier: yes. $0 plan: AI clipping of spoken words, 1080p export, 3-day storage and watermarked caption templates. - Paid from: $14.50 per month (billed annually), Pro (checked 2026-10-02; $174 a year; Starter is $15 per month, billed monthly only) - Best at: Cutting long videos such as podcasts or talks into short social clips. - The catch: Free plan clips carry a watermark on caption templates, storage expires after 3 days, and the free plan has no editing: it is aimed at clipping. - Platforms: web - Source: [OpusClip pricing](https://www.opus.pro/pricing) ### Adobe Premiere Professional video editor with AI features such as text-based editing, Generative Extend and Object Mask. - Link: https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/premiere.html - Free tier: not verified. A 7-day free trial is offered. - Paid from: £21.98 per month incl. VAT (Annual, billed monthly) (checked 2026-10-02) - Best at: Rough cuts from transcripts, extending clips and auto reframing inside a full editor. - The catch: Generative features such as Generative Extend have only limited complimentary usage; it is a full pro editor with a learning curve. - Platforms: desktop, ios, android - Source: [Adobe Premiere (UK)](https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/premiere.html) ## How they compare ### If you want to edit by changing the transcript Descript is the one here. You edit the video by changing the words on the page, so cutting a talking-head recording is more like tidying a document than dragging clips about on a timeline. It also does filler word removal and Studio Sound, and its AI co-editor is called Underlord. The free plan gives you 60 minutes of media a month. What you give up is polish. Exports on the free plan come out at 720p with a Descript watermark, so it's fine for learning the tool, but rough for anything you want to publish cleanly. ### If you want to turn long videos into short clips OpusClip is built for this. You hand it a podcast or a talk, and it cuts the long thing into short social clips with captions and reframing. The free plan does AI clipping of spoken words and exports at 1080p. The catch is that it's about clipping rather than editing. The free plan has no editing at all, caption templates carry a watermark, and storage expires after 3 days. So you can't park a project there and come back to it a week later. Want to fiddle with the result? You'll be doing that somewhere else. ### If you want quick social edits on a phone CapCut suits this. It has AI auto captions, plus background removal and speech tools, and it runs on phone, desktop or in the browser. Online use is free with no card needed, and the page says its online editor exports have no watermark. Here's the uncertainty, though. The page we read showed no paid plan prices, so we can't tell you what upgrading costs or what it adds. ### If you want a full professional editor Adobe Premiere is the heavyweight. The AI features include text-based editing for rough cuts from transcripts, Generative Extend for lengthening clips, and Object Mask, all inside a full editor with auto reframing. You pay for it in effort, though. It's a full pro editor with a learning curve, and generative features like Generative Extend only get limited complimentary usage. There's a 7-day free trial. ### When paying is worth it The clearest case is Descript. If the free plan's 720p watermarked exports aren't good enough, the Hobbyist plan is $16 per person per month billed annually, or $24 billed monthly. OpusClip starts at $14.50 a month on annual billing for Pro (Starter is $15 a month, billed monthly only), which makes sense once you're clipping regularly. Premiere costs £21.98 a month including VAT on the annual plan billed monthly, and that only pays off if you'll use a full editor. ## What to watch for CapCut's terms page returned an error when we checked, so look at its terms yourself before relying on it commercially. We can't say anything about what they allow. OpusClip's free plan clips carry a watermark on caption templates, which matters if you were planning to post them as they are. Descript's free plan comes with 100 AI credits, but they're one-time, not a monthly allowance. Once they're gone, they're gone. Premiere's trial lasts 7 days, and the generative features only have limited complimentary usage, so don't plan a big project around Generative Extend during the trial. ## How we checked We read the Descript and OpusClip pricing pages, CapCut's home page, and Adobe's UK Premiere pages on 2026-10-02. Nothing was tested hands-on, so what's above is what those pages say, not how the tools feel to use. CapCut's terms page returned an error, so nothing is claimed about them. ## If none of these fit If you only need captions or trimming, Descript's and CapCut's free plans cover it. Premiere's assistive AI features come with a Creative Cloud membership, generative ones have limited complimentary use, and there's a free trial if you want to see the full app first. Launch Video Maker (ours) makes new promo videos rather than editing yours, so it isn't listed. ## Also typed as - is there an ai app that can edit videos - is there an ai that automatically edits videos - is there an ai that can edit my video - is there an ai that can edit videos for free - is there an ai that can edit videos for me - is there an ai that edits videos - is there an ai video editor - is there any ai tool for video editing ## Related questions - [Is there an ai that can create videos?](https://isthereathing.com/an-ai-that-can-create-videos/) - [Is there an ai that can make animated videos?](https://isthereathing.com/an-ai-that-can-make-animated-videos/) - [Is there a website that can summarize youtube videos?](https://isthereathing.com/a-website-that-can-summarize-youtube-videos/) ## Sources - [Descript pricing](https://www.descript.com/pricing) (checked 2026-10-02) - [CapCut](https://www.capcut.com/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [OpusClip pricing](https://www.opus.pro/pricing) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Adobe Premiere AI video editing (UK)](https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/premiere/ai-video-editing.html) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Adobe Premiere (UK)](https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/premiere.html) (checked 2026-10-02) ## Questions people ask ### Is there a free AI video editor? Descript, CapCut and OpusClip all have free plans. Descript's is watermarked at 720p and OpusClip's has a watermark on captions. ### Which one edits by text? Descript and Adobe Premiere both let you edit video by editing a transcript. ### Can AI turn a long video into shorts? OpusClip is built for that: its free plan does AI clipping of spoken words. ### Do I need Adobe's subscription for Premiere's AI? Assistive AI features come with Creative Cloud membership; generative ones such as Generative Extend have limited free usage.