Direct answer: for two editors uploading or recording 30 hours of source video a month (1,800 minutes) and targeting 300 short clips, annual pricing gives about USD 87/month for Opus Clip Pro with six packs (1,800 credits, four seats, 100 GB) and about USD 48/month for Descript Creator with two seats (2×30 media hours = 3,600 minutes of capacity, 2×800 = 1,600 AI credits). Descript’s platform fee is lower, but AI credits are a second pool; Opus bills by source minute, so the budget is more predictable. At 10 hours/month Opus is about USD 29 with two packs, below Descript’s USD 48; the crossover is 900 source minutes (15 hours) a month: at 900 minutes Opus’s three packs cost about USD 43.5, while anything above 900 minutes pushes Opus to a fourth pack at USD 58 and makes Descript’s two-seat Creator plan cheaper (before AI top-ups).
This guide is for marketing, sales, training and content teams turning webinars, livestream replays, product demos, podcasts and interviews into short clips. Data cut-off: 3 November 2026; prices come from the official Opus Clip and Descript pricing pages and help centres, in USD, excluding tax, with no FX conversion. The models are editorial calculations, not quotes; source minutes, AI usage, seats and output volume must be replaced with your own data.
Opus credits are source-video minutes, not output clips; Descript media minutes are upload/record time and AI credits are separate; count source minutes and seats before comparing plans.
Source minutes, media hours and AI credits: how do the three meters differ?
Opus Clip bills 1 credit per minute of source video, starting at 150/300 credits, and does not separately meter the number of clips produced. Descript bills media minutes plus AI credits plus seats: media minutes are upload/record time (one still image counts as one second; a one-hour Rooms session counts as 60 minutes, not 60 times the participants), while AI credits pay for Underlord, Studio Sound, filler-word removal and other AI features.
| Platform | Billing unit | How two editors and 30 hours/month are counted | Most common trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opus Clip | Credit = 1 minute of source video | 1,800 minutes = 1,800 credits = six Pro packs | Not one credit per clip; output count is not metered |
| Descript | Media minutes + AI credits + seats | Two Creator seats: 3,600 media minutes of capacity, 1,600 AI credits | Still images are 1 second; Rooms bill by session; AI credits are separate |
Sources: Opus Clip “How Do Credits Work?” help page, Descript “Track and understand your media minutes and AI credits” help page, and both pricing pages (all accessed 3 November 2026). USD, excluding tax.
The two meters reflect two workflows: Opus is an automatic clipper — feed it a long video, it spends credits per source minute and returns short clips; Descript is a text-based editor — upload or record media, consume media minutes, then spend AI credits on editing, filler-word removal, Studio Sound and Underlord. Opus is easier to budget; Descript does more but has two pools that can run out.
What are the official 2026 list prices?
Opus Clip Free includes 60 credits/month; Starter is USD 15/month, monthly only, with 150 credits; Pro is USD 29/month or USD 14.5/pack/month annual, with 300 credits/pack, 1–15 packs, two seats per pack up to four; Descript annual pricing is Hobbyist USD 16/user (10 media hours, 400 AI credits), Creator USD 24 (30 hours, 800 credits, 1–3 seats) and Business USD 50 (40 hours, 1,500 credits, up to five seats).
| Platform | Plan | Price | Included | Seats | Key limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opus Clip | Free | USD 0 | 60 credits/month | — | Watermark; not exportable after 3 days |
| Opus Clip | Starter | USD 15/month (monthly only) | 150 credits/month | Individual | No team; no annual |
| Opus Clip | Pro | USD 29/month; USD 14.5/pack/month annual | 300 credits/pack/month; 1–15 packs | 2 per pack, max 4 | 2-month rollover; 100 GB; top-ups |
| Opus Clip | Business | Custom | Custom credits/seats | Custom | API, MSA, dedicated storage |
| Descript | Hobbyist | USD 16/user/month annual | 10 media hours; 400 AI credits | 1 | 1080p; no top-ups |
| Descript | Creator | USD 24/user/month annual | 30 media hours; 800 AI credits | 1–3 | 4K; top-ups; 1 TB |
| Descript | Business | USD 50/user/month annual | 40 media hours; 1,500 AI credits | Up to 5 | Brand Studio, translation/dubbing, 2 TB |
| Descript | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | SSO/SCIM, audit, custom retention |
Sources: Opus Clip Pricing (annual/monthly toggle and pack selector), Descript Pricing (annual view; the page says annual saves up to 35%, and the exact monthly numbers were not shown in this capture). Descript media minutes/AI credits are added per editor seat to a shared pool and do not roll over; Opus credits roll over for two months, and Pro can top up.
What do two editors and 30 hours a month cost?
Opus Pro with six packs: 1,800 credits, four seats, about USD 87/month annual (USD 1,044/year). Descript Creator with two seats: 3,600 media minutes of capacity, 1,600 AI credits, about USD 48/month annual. Descript’s platform fee is USD 39/month lower, but how many AI credits 300 clips consume needs a POC; Opus bills source minutes and does not meter output clips.
Write the assumptions down first, or the comparison cannot be reproduced:
- Two editor seats; 30 hours (1,800 minutes) of source video uploaded or recorded a month; 300 short clips as the output target.
- Opus bills 1 credit per source minute; Descript bills media minutes plus AI credits.
- Annual pricing; excluding tax, human editing, API and extra storage.
- Descript’s AI credit consumption for 300 clips has no published fixed value; use a POC. The main table counts the platform fee only.
| Option | Monthly fee (USD) | Capacity/seats | Per source minute | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opus Pro, six packs (annual) | 87 | 1,800 credits; 4 seats; 100 GB | 0.048 | Output count not metered; 2-month rollover |
| Descript Creator, two seats (annual) | 48 | 3,600 media minutes; 1,600 AI credits; 2 seats | 0.027 (at 1,800 used) | AI credits may be extra; no rollover |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. Opus: 1,800÷300 = 6 packs × 14.5 = 87; Descript: 2×24 = 48; media capacity 2×1,800 = 3,600 minutes, with 1,800 used; AI credits 2×800 = 1,600. Excluding Opus top-ups, Descript AI top-ups and tax.
Unpack the bill: Opus’s USD 87 buys the right to process 1,800 source minutes, regardless of whether that becomes 100 or 300 clips; Descript’s USD 48 buys 3,600 minutes of media capacity plus 1,600 AI credits, using only half the media capacity but treating AI credits as a hard limit. If 300 clips exhaust the 1,600 credits, Descript needs a top-up and the real cost rises above USD 48; if they use only 800 credits, Descript is clearly cheaper.
10, 30 or 60 hours a month: the 900-minute crossover
At 10 hours/month, Opus with two packs is about USD 29, below Descript’s USD 48; at 30 hours Opus is USD 87, above Descript’s USD 48; at 60 hours Opus with 12 packs is about USD 174, while Descript is still USD 48 (capacity exactly 3,600 minutes). The crossover is 900 source minutes/month: three packs cost USD 43.5 versus Descript’s USD 48; above 900 minutes Opus needs a fourth pack at USD 58 and Descript becomes cheaper.
| Source video/month | Opus Pro annual | Descript Creator, two seats | Lowest (before AI top-ups) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 hours (600 minutes) | 2 packs, USD 29 | USD 48 (3,600 capacity) | Opus |
| 15 hours (900 minutes) | 3 packs, USD 43.5 | USD 48 | Opus |
| 30 hours (1,800 minutes) | 6 packs, USD 87 | USD 48 | Descript |
| 60 hours (3,600 minutes) | 12 packs, USD 174 | USD 48 (capacity exactly) | Descript |
Editorial calculation. Opus rounds up in 300-minute packs: 600→2, 900→3, 1,800→6, 3,600→12; annual USD 14.5/pack. Descript Creator with two seats is USD 48 and 2×1,800 = 3,600 media minutes of capacity; excluding Descript AI-credit top-ups and Opus output/storage add-ons.
The crossover comes from Opus’s pack ladder versus Descript’s fixed seat fee: Opus sells 300 minutes per pack, so 900 minutes is exactly three packs; one minute more requires a fourth pack, jumping from USD 43.5 to USD 58 and crossing Descript’s USD 48. Descript charges USD 48 for two seats and 3,600 minutes of capacity, so more source video dilutes the cost — provided the AI credits hold.
Opus credits are minutes, not clips
Opus Clip’s official help page states that processing costs 1 credit per minute of source video; a 30-minute video spends 30 credits. It is not one credit per output clip. Free includes 60 credits, Starter 150 and Pro 300 credits per pack; Starter at USD 15 for 150 minutes is USD 0.10/minute, while Pro annual at USD 14.5 for 300 minutes is USD 0.048/minute — Pro is cheaper per minute and doubles the allowance.
- Unit: 1 credit = 1 minute of original video; output count and clip length do not directly determine credits.
- Ladder: 300 credits per pack; 1–15 packs; two seats per pack, max four; six packs = 1,800 credits, four seats, USD 87/month annual.
- Rollover: unused credits roll over for two months; top-ups available; 100 GB storage; check the expiry rules after that.
- Starter trap: USD 15/150 minutes = USD 0.10/minute and monthly only; Pro annual is USD 14.5/300 minutes = USD 0.048/minute, double the allowance at half the unit price, so Starter is not for ongoing use.
Sources: Opus Clip “How Do Credits Work?” (1 credit per source minute) and Pricing (Free/Starter/Pro/Business, pack selector, seats and rollover). Accessed 3 November 2026.
Descript has two pools: media minutes and AI credits
Descript’s media minute is upload/record time: video, audio, Rooms, screen, webcam and microphone all count; one still image counts as one second; a one-hour Rooms session counts as 60 minutes, not 60 times the participants. AI credits pay for Underlord, Studio Sound, filler-word removal, green screen, Eye Contact, AI speech/avatars and generated video; even chatting with Underlord spends a few credits, and Studio Sound/filler-word removal are capped at 30 credits per file/application.
- Shared pool: media minutes and AI credits are added per editor seat to a shared pool; viewers and project-level editors cannot use features that need them.
- No rollover: unused media minutes and AI credits do not carry over; Creator/Business can top up, Hobbyist cannot.
- Images and Rooms: one image = one second; a one-hour Rooms session = 60 minutes (five participants still 60, not 300).
- AI cost: varies with media length, model and task; Underlord chat itself spends credits; there is no fixed “credits per clip”.
Sources: Descript “Track and understand your media minutes and AI credits” and Pricing (accessed 3 November 2026). Media minutes track upload/record time, not final runtime; actual AI credit spend is shown on the Usage page and in-product.
Seats, storage, watermarks and exports
Opus Pro includes two seats per pack, max four, 100 GB, a two-month rollover and top-ups; Descript Hobbyist is one seat/100 GB/1080p, Creator one to three seats/1 TB/4K, and Business up to five seats/2 TB/4K. Paid tiers on both remove the watermark; Opus Free has a watermark and a three-day export window, while Descript Hobbyist is watermark-free but cannot top up.
| Item | Opus Clip | Descript |
|---|---|---|
| Seats | Starter 1; Pro 2 per pack, max 4; Business custom | Hobbyist 1; Creator 1–3; Business up to 5; Enterprise custom |
| Storage | Pro 100 GB; Business dedicated | Hobbyist 100 GB; Creator 1 TB; Business 2 TB |
| Export | Free 3-day limit; paid up to 1080p/4K by plan | Hobbyist 1080p; Creator/Business 4K |
| Watermark | Free has it; Starter/Pro remove | Paid tiers remove |
| Rollover | Two months | No rollover |
| Top-up | Pro can top up | Creator/Business can; Hobbyist cannot |
Sources: both pricing pages (accessed 3 November 2026). Opus 4K/export capability varies by plan; Descript 4K starts at Creator. Check the product and contract for the final terms.
Which option fits which scenario?
Automatic clipping only, up to two editors and no more than 900 source minutes/month: Opus Pro. Long-form editing, podcasts, screen recording, more than 900 source minutes or three to five seats: Descript Creator/Business. One person up to 300 minutes: Opus one pack; one person at 300–600 minutes: Descript Hobbyist; four or more seats: Descript Business or Opus Business custom.
| Scenario | First choice | Why | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two editors, 10 hours/month, clips only | Opus Pro, two packs | USD 29 vs Descript USD 48 | Output count is not metered, but source minutes are capped |
| Two editors, 30 hours/month, need editing | Descript Creator, two seats | USD 48 with 3,600 minutes of capacity | AI credits may need a top-up |
| Two editors, 60 hours/month | Descript Creator, two seats | Capacity exactly 3,600 minutes for USD 48 | Above 3,600 minutes needs Business or more seats |
| One person, up to 300 minutes/month | Opus Pro, one pack | USD 14.5 for 300 minutes | Starter has a higher unit price |
| One person, 300–600 minutes/month | Descript Hobbyist | USD 16 for 600 minutes | No top-ups; 1080p |
| Three to five seats, branding/translation | Descript Business | Up to five seats, 40 hours/editor, 4K | USD 50/seat; AI credits separate |
“First choice” is an editorial judgement, not a vendor recommendation; the final decision depends on workflow (automatic clipping vs long-form editing), source minutes, AI features, seats and budget predictability.
What should procurement and acceptance specify?
At least eight things: the billing unit (source minute/media minute/output clip), how images and Rooms are counted, AI credit consumption and top-up prices, seat caps, rollover/expiry, storage/export/watermark, API and data region, and the POC’s real source minutes and AI usage.
| Acceptance item | Ask the vendor | Evidence to obtain |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Is it source minutes, media minutes or output clips? How many minutes is one credit? | Help-centre terms plus in-product quote |
| Images/Rooms | Do images count as one second? Do Rooms bill by session or by participant? | Help page plus POC invoice |
| AI credits | How many credits per clip or Underlord chat? What do top-ups cost? | Usage page plus top-up price list |
| Seats | How many seats are included? What does an extra seat cost? Do viewers count? | Plan comparison plus contract |
| Rollover/expiry | How many months do unused credits roll? Are annual credits granted upfront? | Contract/billing cycle |
| Storage/export | How much GB? Maximum resolution? Watermark? | Price list plus demo |
| API/data | Is the API separately metered? Data region/DPA/deletion? | API docs plus security page |
| POC | Ten long videos, two editors, 300 clips: record source minutes, media minutes, AI credits and human editing hours. | POC log plus reconciliation |
This is a procurement checklist, not any vendor’s contract terms; prices and features are governed by the official quote and contract at signing.
FAQ
How many minutes is one Opus Clip credit?
One credit equals one minute of source video. The official example is a 30-minute video spending 30 credits. It is not one credit per output clip; the number and length of clips do not directly determine credits. Free includes 60, Starter 150 and Pro 300 credits per pack.
What is the difference between Descript media minutes and AI credits?
Media minutes are upload/record time (video, audio, Rooms, screen/webcam/microphone; one image = one second; a one-hour Rooms session = 60 minutes, not per participant). AI credits pay for Underlord, Studio Sound, filler-word removal, green screen, Eye Contact, AI speech/avatars and more. Both pools can run out and neither rolls over.
Which is cheaper for two editors and 30 hours a month?
Annual, before AI top-ups: Opus Pro with six packs is about USD 87/month (1,800 credits, four seats); Descript Creator with two seats is about USD 48/month (3,600 media minutes of capacity, 1,600 AI credits). Descript’s platform fee is lower, but whether 300 clips fit in 1,600 AI credits needs a POC; Opus is more predictable.
Why is 900 minutes the crossover?
Opus sells 300 minutes per pack: 900 minutes is three packs at USD 43.5 annual, below Descript’s USD 48 for two seats; one minute more requires a fourth pack at USD 58, above USD 48. So up to 900 minutes/month Opus is cheaper; above 900 Descript Creator with two seats is cheaper, before AI top-ups.
What about one person?
Up to 300 minutes/month: Opus Pro one pack at USD 14.5 annual (300 credits). From 300 to 600 minutes: Descript Hobbyist at USD 16 (600 media minutes, 400 AI credits), but Hobbyist cannot top up and is 1080p. Starter at USD 15/150 minutes is USD 0.10/minute, worse for ongoing use than Pro annual.
How many AI credits do 300 clips need?
Descript publishes no fixed “credits per clip”; Underlord chat, Studio Sound, filler-word removal and generated video vary with media length, model and task, and Studio Sound/filler-word removal are capped at 30 credits per application. Whether 1,600 credits cover 300 clips needs a POC. Opus does not meter output clips, only source minutes.
How much cheaper is annual billing?
Opus Pro is USD 29/month for 300 credits monthly, or USD 14.5/pack/month annual (about 50% off); Starter is monthly only at USD 15 for 150 credits. Descript says annual saves up to 35%, and this capture shows annual prices (Hobbyist 16, Creator 24, Business 50 USD/user/month); the exact monthly numbers were not shown on the page.
What about four or more seats?
Opus Pro is capped at four seats; more requires Opus Business custom. Descript Business supports up to five seats, and Enterprise is custom. At four to five seats, Descript Business (USD 50/seat, 40 media hours/editor, 4K) is usually the more direct path; above five, both go Enterprise.
Research method and limitations
This article separates “official facts” from “editorial modelling”: plan prices, credit/media-minute rules, seats, rollover and top-ups come from official pricing pages or help centres; the two-editor/30-hour bill, the 10/30/60-hour comparison and the 900-minute crossover are arithmetic on one set of assumptions, not a vendor quote.
Six limitations: (1) only public list prices are compared, without enterprise discounts, annual commitments or education/non-profit offers; (2) annual prices are used, and monthly is higher; (3) Opus packs are extrapolated linearly at 300 minutes each, while pack prices/seats may vary slightly by tier; (4) Descript AI credits are dynamic and whether 1,600 credits cover 300 clips is unverified; (5) human editing, migration, training and content compliance are excluded; (6) tax and FX are excluded. Treat this as a unit-alignment template and replace the assumptions with a ten-video POC.
Sources and basis
- Opus Clip, Pricing: opus.pro/pricing. Free 60 credits; Starter USD 15/month (monthly only) with 150 credits; Pro USD 29/month or USD 14.5/pack/month annual, 300 credits/pack, 1–15 packs, two seats per pack up to four, 100 GB, two-month rollover; Business custom. Accessed 3 November 2026.
- Opus Clip, How Do Credits Work?: help.opus.pro. Processing costs 1 credit per minute of source video; a 30-minute video spends 30 credits. Accessed 3 November 2026.
- Descript, Pricing: descript.com/pricing. Hobbyist USD 16, Creator USD 24, Business USD 50/user/month annual; 10/30/40 media hours; 400/800/1,500 AI credits; 1/1–3/up to 5 seats; 100 GB/1 TB/2 TB. Accessed 3 November 2026.
- Descript, Track and understand your media minutes and AI credits: help.descript.com. Media minutes are upload/record time; one image = one second; a one-hour Rooms session = 60 minutes, not per participant; AI credits pay for Underlord/Studio Sound/filler-word removal and more; no rollover; Creator/Business can top up.
Data cut-off 3 November 2026; prices are public list prices excluding tax; all models are editorial calculations. This is not procurement, legal or financial advice.