The five-line model
A sticker price on a pricing page is rarely the yearly cost. A plan shown as a monthly figure may only be available when you pay a year upfront, AI features may draw from a credit allowance that runs out, stock libraries may be capped per project, and a second editor usually means a second licence. The calculator below adds those lines separately so you can see which one dominates your bill.
Yearly cost = licence (at the billing term you will actually choose) + AI credit top-ups beyond the included allowance + stock or asset add-ons + extra storage + extra seats. Tax is added at checkout and varies by location, so keep it as a separate line rather than guessing.
| Line | What to read on the vendor page | Example from official pages (30 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Billing term, whether the monthly figure requires annual payment, renewal | FlexClip lists Plus at $11.99 a month when paid annually, so the cash outlay is $143.88 upfront |
| AI credits | Included allowance, whether it rolls over, top-up prices | Descript credit top-ups: 350 for $35, 1,000 for $80, 4,000 for $200; Creator and Business only |
| Stock and assets | Per-project caps, add-on subscriptions | FlexClip Plus allows 5 stock videos and 5 stock audio items per project; Business is unlimited |
| Storage | Cloud allowance and what happens at the cap | CapCut Standard about 100GB; Pro up to 1TB |
| Seats | Whether a licence is single-user, team bundles | FlexClip Team: $479.88 a year including 3 seats; Filmora licences are single-user and not transferable |
Verified price inputs
These are the figures we could confirm on official pages on 30 October 2026. Several are shown as discounts from a struck-through price, which means the renewal price may differ. CapCut does not publish prices on the help pages we fetched; its pricing-change notice dated 25 March 2026 says previous pricing is no longer available to new subscribers and points to the in-app subscription page, so enter the price you see at checkout.
Two FlexClip figures conflict between official pages: the pricing explainer lists Business at 600 AI credits a month and 1080p export, while the plan-benefits help article lists 800 credits a month and 4K export. Budget with the lower credit figure until checkout confirms.
| Plan | Billing shown | Yearly cash if kept 12 months | Included allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filmora Basic | US$49.99 a year, auto-renews | $49.99 | 1GB cloud, 4K export without watermark; no monthly AI credit allowance listed |
| Filmora Advanced | US$59.99 a year, auto-renews (shown 10% off) | $59.99 | 1,000 AI credits every 30 days, 10GB cloud, 4K export without watermark |
| Filmora monthly plan (Mac store page) | US$19.99 a month (struck from $29.99) | $239.88 | Listed on the Mac store page; AI credits not stated there |
| FlexClip Plus | $11.99 a month billed annually | $143.88 | 1080p, 30GB media storage, 300 AI credits a month |
| FlexClip Business | $19.99 a month billed annually | $239.88 | 100GB storage, unlimited stock, 600 or 800 AI credits a month (pages conflict) |
| Descript Hobbyist | $16 a month billed annually or $24 monthly | $192 annual or $288 monthly | 10 media hours and 400 AI credits a month, 1080p |
| Descript Creator | $24 a month billed annually or $35 monthly | $288 annual or $420 monthly | 30 media hours and 800 AI credits a month, 4K |
| CapCut Standard or Pro | Not published on the pages we fetched | Enter checkout price | Standard about 100GB cloud; Pro up to 1TB and 1,200 AI points after the March 2026 change |
Worked example: hobbyist making one or two short videos a month
Assumptions: one or two finished videos a month, each under 10 minutes, exported at 1080p without a watermark, captions wanted, no team, no paid stock. These are planning inputs, not a description of a typical user.
The free tiers we checked do not meet the 1080p requirement: FlexClip Free exports 720p with a watermark and a 10-minute limit, and Descript Free exports 720p with a watermark and one media hour a month. If 720p with a watermark is acceptable, those cost nothing. If not, the lowest verified yearly cash figure is Filmora Basic at $49.99 (no monthly AI credit allowance listed), then Filmora Advanced at $59.99 with 1,000 AI credits a month, FlexClip Plus at $143.88 and Descript Hobbyist at $192. A hobbyist should not need credit top-ups at this volume, but check which caption and audio features in your chosen tool draw credits.
The decision at this level is usually about workflow rather than price. A desktop timeline editor, a browser editor and a transcript-based editor solve different problems; a yearly difference of about $142 between the cheapest and dearest paid option here is smaller than the cost of picking a tool you abandon after a month.
| Path | Licence | Credits | Stock | Storage | Seats | Yearly total before tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tiers (720p, watermark) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Filmora Basic | $49.99 | $0 (no monthly allowance listed) | $0 | $0 (1GB included) | $0 | $49.99 |
| Filmora Advanced | $59.99 | $0 assumed | $0 | $0 (10GB included) | $0 | $59.99 |
| FlexClip Plus annual | $143.88 | $0 assumed | $0 (5 items per project) | $0 (30GB included) | $0 | $143.88 |
| Descript Hobbyist annual | $192 | $0 assumed | $0 | $0 | $0 | $192 |
Worked example: weekly creator with speech-heavy videos
Assumptions: four videos a month, each cut from about 60 minutes of raw recording, so roughly 4 hours of uploaded media a month. Each file gets one Studio Sound pass and one filler-word removal pass in Descript, or the equivalent in another editor.
Descript counts uploads and recordings against media hours, so 4 hours fits inside Hobbyist (10 hours a month). Descript caps Studio Sound and Remove Filler Words at 30 AI credits per file per application, so the worst case for those two tools is 4 files x 2 tools x 30 credits = 240 credits a month, inside Hobbyist's 400. Underlord, AI speech and translation draw credits too, and Underlord has no fixed price per action, so heavy use of those is where overage appears. Hobbyist cannot buy top-ups; Descript sells them only on Creator and Business, so running out on Hobbyist means waiting for the reset or upgrading.
For a stock-heavy creator, the asset line can matter more than the editor. Filmora's Mac store page lists an Effects and Plug-ins add-on at US$20.99 a month after a seven-day trial; kept all year that is $251.88, which is more than four times the Advanced licence itself.
| Stack | Licence | Credits | Stock add-on | Yearly total before tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descript Hobbyist annual | $192 | $0 if under 400 a month | $0 | $192 |
| Descript Hobbyist monthly | $288 | $0 if under 400 a month | $0 | $288 |
| Filmora Advanced plus Effects and Plug-ins add-on | $59.99 | $0 if under 1,000 a month | $251.88 | $311.87 |
| FlexClip Business annual (unlimited stock) | $239.88 | $0 if under 600 a month | $0 | $239.88 |
Worked example: small team of three editors
Assumptions: three people each editing, sharing a brand kit, no enterprise contract. Seat pricing is the line most likely to surprise a team.
FlexClip publishes a Team price that includes three seats: $69.99 a month or $479.88 a year. Descript says Creator can scale to a team of three billed separately; if each seat is billed at the Creator annual rate, three seats cost $864 a year, or $1,260 billed monthly. Descript says each editor seat adds to a shared drive pool of minutes and credits, and viewers cannot use credit-consuming features. Filmora states that its individual licence is single-user and not transferable, so three editors would need three licences ($179.97 at the Advanced price) and a separate Team and Business plan exists that we did not price.
A team should also budget one top-up as a buffer. On Descript Creator, 1,000 extra credits cost $80 and expire 12 months after purchase.
| Team option | Seats line | Buffer | Yearly total before tax | Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FlexClip Team annual | $479.88 (3 seats included) | None assumed | $479.88 | Extra seat price not stated |
| Descript Creator annual x 3 | $864 (assumes $288 per seat) | $80 for 1,000 credits | $944 | Confirm per-seat billing at checkout |
| Filmora Advanced x 3 individual licences | $179.97 | None assumed | $179.97 | No shared workspace documented on the pages we checked |
Lines people forget
Unused allowances usually vanish. Descript says unused minutes and credits do not carry over and reset at renewal. FlexClip says plan credits do not roll over, while its standalone AI credit subscription credits last 2 or 3 months and one-time packs last 365 days. Filmora issues subscription credits every 30 days from purchase.
Refund windows are short and differ: Descript allows plan refunds within 48 hours of the invoice and does not refund top-ups; FlexClip allows a refund request within 7 days of the first payment on Plus, Business or Team, not on renewals; Filmora advertises a 30-day money-back guarantee subject to its refund policy. Plan a trial around the shortest window you face.
- Annual billing lowers the yearly total but raises the upfront payment.
- A discount banner may not apply on renewal; note the struck-through price.
- Credits bought as top-ups are generally non-refundable.
- Storage caps matter if you keep raw footage in the vendor cloud.
- Each extra editor is usually another seat, not a free share.
Run the calculator on your own numbers
Fill one row per tool you are considering, using figures from the live checkout page rather than this guide. Then sanity-check the result against what the work would cost in your own time without the tool. A plan that saves an hour a week may justify itself; one that adds review time may not.
- Count finished videos per month and raw media hours per month.
- List the AI features you will run on every video and find each one's credit rule.
- Write down the billing term you will actually choose and the upfront cash it requires.
- Add stock, storage and seat lines only if you will use them.
- Mark the refund deadline in your calendar before you pay.
Questions before you decide
Is the monthly price on a video editor pricing page what I will pay each month?
Not always. FlexClip states its $11.99 Plus figure applies when paid annually, which is $143.88 upfront, and Descript shows lower per-month figures for annual billing ($16 versus $24 on Hobbyist). Check the billing term next to the figure.
Do unused AI credits carry over to the next month?
For the plans we checked, generally no. Descript says unused credits do not carry over and reset at renewal, and FlexClip says credits included with editor plans do not roll over. Descript top-ups and FlexClip one-time packs last 12 months and 365 days respectively.
How much does CapCut Pro cost per year?
CapCut did not publish a price on the help pages we fetched on 30 October 2026. Its 25 March 2026 notice says previous pricing is closed to new subscribers and directs readers to the subscription page, so use the price shown in the app or web checkout.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- Wondershare Filmora: plans, perpetual licence terms and FAQ Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Wondershare Filmora: individual plans for Mac Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- FlexClip: pricing and free version explained Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- FlexClip Help: video editor plan benefits Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- FlexClip Help: how much will the Team plan cost? Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- FlexClip Help: can I request a refund for my video editor subscription? Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- FlexClip Help: types of AI credits and how they are issued Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Descript pricing Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Descript Help: top ups for media minutes and AI credits Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Descript Help: track and understand your media minutes and AI credits Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- Descript Help: refund policy Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- CapCut Help: CapCut Standard vs Pro Accessed 30 Oct 2026
- CapCut Help: pricing change Accessed 30 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.