How each vendor meters AI, side by side
Figures are from each vendor's own pages on 30 October 2026, in US dollars. Credits are not comparable across vendors: one Filmora credit and one Descript credit buy different amounts of work, so compare what your actual tasks cost, not the raw totals.
| Vendor | Plan allowance | Expiry and rollover | Buying more | Per-feature costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filmora | Basic: none. Advanced (US$59.99 a year): 1,000 a month. Perpetual: 1,000 once [2] | Subscription credits last 30 days and unused ones are reclaimed; Perpetual credits do not expire [1][2] | Packs from 1,500 for US$9.99 to 100,000 for US$399, valid one year; credit subscriptions of 2,000 a month for US$9.99 or 8,000 for US$37.99 [3] | Published per feature in text [1] |
| FlexClip | Plus: 300 a month. Business: 800 a month in the plan-benefits article, 9,600 a year (600 a month) in the pricing explainer [5][6] | Plan credits refresh each cycle and do not roll over [4] | AI credit subscription (credits valid 2 months on monthly, 3 on annual) or one-time packages valid 365 days; from $9.9 for 300 credits [4][6] | Shown in images in the help center; the editor displays the cost before you generate [7] |
| Descript | Free: 100 once. Hobbyist: 400, Creator: 800, Business: 1,500 a month [8] | Do not roll over; reset at renewal [9] | Creator and Business only: 350 for $35, 1,000 for $80, 4,000 for $200; expire 12 months after purchase; non-refundable [10] | Partly: Studio Sound and Remove Filler Words capped at 30 credits per file; other tools vary [9] |
| CapCut | Free: none listed. Pro: 1,200 a month. Ultra: 8,645. Teams: 1,200 per seat [11] | Not stated on the pages we read | Buy credits listed on Pro, Ultra and Teams without amounts; credits cannot be converted to cash or used for Pro or storage [11][12] | Only AI video generation, priced per second [11] |
Filmora's published price per AI feature
Filmora is the only one of the four that lists credit costs per feature in plain text, which makes it the easiest to budget. [1] Note that its page gives AI Translation two rates: 16 credits a minute for voice and text, 5 for text only, and a separate entry listing 5 a minute. Budget for 16 if you need a dubbed voice.
| Feature | Credits |
|---|---|
| Speech-to-text | 4 per minute |
| Text-to-speech | 1 per 10 characters |
| AI voice cloning | 100 per use |
| AI translation, voice and text | 16 per minute |
| AI translation, text only | 5 per minute |
| Smart Short Clips | 6 per minute |
| Smart Scene Cut | 1 per minute |
| Smart BGM Generation | 2 per minute |
| AI Sound Effect | 30 per use |
| AI Video Enhancer | 20 per use |
| AI Object Remover | 100 per use |
Descript has a second meter: media minutes
Descript counts uploads and recordings separately from AI. Media minutes cover uploaded or recorded video and audio, Rooms sessions by total session length, and still images at 1 second each. [9] The monthly allowance is 60 minutes on Free, 600 on Hobbyist, 1,800 on Creator and 2,400 on Business. [8] Extra hours are sold as 5 hours for $25, 20 for $80 or 50 for $150, again on Creator and Business only. [10]
So a Descript plan can run out in two ways: you upload more footage than the plan allows, or you spend the AI credits. Check both in the Usage tab under Settings, which can export up to 12 months of history to CSV on paid plans. [9]
Worked example: when a month runs out
Take a creator publishing four 10-minute tutorials a month. On Filmora Advanced, with its 1,000 monthly credits, the published rates give this: [1][2]
- The cheapest Filmora pack, 1,500 credits for US$9.99, covers the overflow and lasts a year, so it can carry into later months while monthly credits keep expiring after 30 days. [1][3]
- On Descript Hobbyist (400 credits), Studio Sound plus Remove Filler Words on the same four files could use up to 240 credits at the 30-credit cap, leaving 160 for AI speech and Underlord, whose costs vary by task. Hobbyist cannot buy top-ups, so the fix is moving to Creator at 800 credits. [8][9][10]
- On FlexClip Plus (300 credits) and CapCut Pro (1,200), the per-feature costs are not published in text, so run one real task and read the cost the editor shows before generating. [7][11]
| Task | Calculation | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Captions via speech-to-text | 4 videos x 10 min x 4 | 160 |
| AI narration for intros, 1,500 characters each | 4 x 150 | 600 |
| Smart Short Clips from each video | 4 x 10 min x 6 | 240 |
| Subtotal | 1,000: the allowance is gone | |
| One Spanish dubbed version | 10 min x 16 | 160 more, needs a pack |
Rules that quietly cost money
- Monthly credits cannot be banked. Filmora reclaims unused subscription credits after 30 days, and Descript and FlexClip reset at renewal. [1][4][9]
- Packs outlast plans. Filmora packs and FlexClip one-time packages last a year, and buying another FlexClip package resets the validity of all your one-time credits. [3][4]
- Descript top-ups are spent only after the monthly allowance is used, roll over for up to a year, and cannot be refunded. [10]
- FlexClip's two pages disagree on Business credits (800 or 600 a month). Check the figure at checkout before relying on either. [5][6]
- CapCut credits cannot pay for Pro, Teams or storage, cannot be converted to cash and cannot be moved between accounts. [12]
- Filmora Perpetual includes 1,000 credits once, with no monthly refill. [2]
How to estimate your own usage before you pay
- List the AI tasks you repeat each month and the minutes or characters each involves.
- Price them with Filmora's table directly, or run one sample task in each other tool and note the credits shown or used.
- Multiply by your monthly volume and add 20% for retries, since regenerating a voice or translation spends credits again.
- Compare the total with the plan allowance and the cheapest top-up, not just the plan price.
- Recheck after a month using the vendor usage screen; Descript exports usage to CSV. [9]
Questions before you decide
Do unused AI credits roll over in video editors?
Not for plan credits at Filmora, FlexClip or Descript. Filmora subscription credits expire after 30 days, and Descript and FlexClip reset allowances each billing cycle. Purchased packs are different: Filmora packs, FlexClip one-time packages and Descript top-ups last about a year.
How many AI credits does Descript include?
Descript's pricing page lists 100 one-time credits on Free, 400 a month on Hobbyist, 800 on Creator and 1,500 on Business. Top-ups of 350, 1,000 or 4,000 credits are available on Creator and Business only.
How many AI credits does CapCut Pro include?
CapCut's pricing page lists 1,200 monthly AI credits for Pro, 8,645 for Ultra and 1,200 per seat for Teams. The Free plan lists no monthly AI credits.
What does Filmora charge in credits for AI translation?
Filmora's credits page lists 16 credits per minute to translate voice and text and 5 credits per minute for text only. A separate entry on the same page lists 5 per minute, so budget 16 if you need dubbed audio.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- Filmora AI credits rules Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Filmora: buy video editor plans Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Filmora AI credits store Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- FlexClip Help: Types of AI credits and how they are issued Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- FlexClip Help: Video editor plan benefits Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- FlexClip: Free versions and pricing explained Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- FlexClip Help: AI tools credit consumption guide Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Descript pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Descript Help: Media minutes and AI credits Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Descript Help: Top-ups Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- CapCut pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- CapCut Help: Buy Pro plans Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.