Descript

4.8 (150)
Transcription management and video & audio editing software

Overall rating

4.8 /5
(150)
Value for Money
4.7/5
Features
4.6/5
Ease of Use
4.5/5
Customer Support
4.4/5

99%
recommended this app
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150 Reviews

Alice
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Descript is the only video editing software you will ever need.

Reviewed on 15/4/2022

Pros

I'm not a video editor by any means. In fact, I've been using all sorts of different software over the past few years and I just didn't find anything that was really easy to use -- until Descript.

As somebody who is a heavy content creator, I needed to start creating video content and it was really hard because I had to rely on others to edit the videos for me. Now with Descript I can do it myself which is super powerful and saves a lot of time. My favorite features are "shorten word gaps" and "remove filler words". Everybody thinks I'm a magician when I show the my videos post-production.

Descript has changed the entire scope of my work and how I do my job. It's much easier than any other software tool that I've used. I love how easy it is to use, the interface is very intuitive, it's very quick and simple. My friends and teams love Descript too.

Don't be scared! All you need to do is upload your original video or record a video directly in the software and then edit it out later or add text or change the voice if you want. It's really great.

I also love the collaboration aspect of Descript.

Cons

It takes a LONG time to download high-quality videos.

Deborah
Overall rating
  • Industry: E-Learning
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Language compression for better listening

Reviewed on 23/6/2021

I am committed to continuing with Descript since it enables an ease of editing I haven’t found anywhere else.

Pros

My favorite aspect of this software is the ability to delete filler words, shorten pauses between phrases and make my guests sound so much better than they do in the rough interview track. I love being able to edit the audio file by deleting things from the transcribed text and being able to go back and forth between editing in the text and editing in the audio file. The last episode I edited on descript cut 20 minutes off the interview. Then I bring that edited track into garage band to add intro/outro music, etc. ( i know I’m supposed to be able to do all this inside descript but I haven’t taken the time to learn how to do that.

Cons

Poor transcription of non native speakers. Not knowing how to add in existing transcript and match it with the raw interview track before editing.

Aemyn
Overall rating
  • Industry: Online Media
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10

The future of podcasting is still just over the horizon

Reviewed on 20/5/2021

Overall, using Descript is a super positive experience.

We're able to preview episode scripts with clients which makes the approval process a better experience for them. Our scriptwriters are able to work directly with the audio and transcript at the same time and when they're done, we can export the raw project for cleanup and sound design in an external DAW which is awesome forethought from Descript. With other projects, editing and sound design and exporting can be done entirely in Descript and I'm really happy with the results.

Despite its limitations and bugs, I still struggle not to recommend Descript to anyone making a podcast.
Whatever you're doing, there is a good chance you will find a place for it in your process, just maybe not as much or as reliably as you would like.

Pros

Descript is a strong collection of audio tools that just weren't available when I started making podcasts. The ability to organise, collaborate and publish an audio project in the cloud with a friendly interface is great and used to be a huge pain to figure out. Editing audio with the transcript and the waveform at the same time allows you to skip a bunch of technicalities and focus on your creativity. Video capabilities expand the possibilities, and the overall suite of tools make me rethink entirely what podcast editing can or should be in a good way.

Cons

Stability is the biggest problem I have with this. After working on about a lot of different projects with different collaborators, I'm still coming up against things that make it freeze, make it crash, or break a project (usually salvageable at least), and end up needing to work around issues to keep things rolling.

Also, while Descript has a lot of features, in comparison to any long-standing audio software it leaves so much to be desired. There are many missing tools that would add a lot of room for creativity and technical cleanup. Things like audio meters, noise gate, spectrum analysis, filters to automate creatively, ducking, but also the more unexpected effects like reverb, stereo delay, pitch shifting, layered FX, these are all things podcasters of any kind might want to use for effect at some point and many folks I know can't, or don't want to tell their stories without them.

This is especially true for video which misses on some basic transformations like rotation for text and images.

Alternatives Considered

Soundtrap

Reasons for Switching to Descript

Soundtrap as an editing-with-transcript tool was way too limited when I looked into it. Although it would fill a lot of gaps missing among the Descript audio tools, it wasn't anywhere close to a worthy comparison.
April
Overall rating
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

I use Descript for multiple things!

Reviewed on 13/9/2021

Editing video and audio for podcasts is so much easier in Descript. I can see exactly what I am editing out and it has made my workflow about twice as fast!

Pros

I love that to edit the audio or video, you just make the edits in the transcription instead of trying to find the exact place in the audio file. Makes it so much easier! My favorite is that it can take out all the "filler words" like "um" in about 2 clicks and make the audio sound great! So much faster than how I was doing it before with having to listen and take them out one at a time.

Cons

There are constant updates to the software, about 1 a week. This can be annoying since there is always a pop-up that says you need to update and restart almost everytime I open the app. Also, if you have multiple accounts (I have multiple clients I work with), it is hard to sign out of one account and then sign into another. Not sure why this isn't straightforward, but often when I sign out of one account and then try to sign into another, it just puts me back into the same account.

Bryan
Overall rating
  • Industry: Apparel & Fashion
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Makes editing a podcast so much easier!

Reviewed on 23/6/2021

It's been great. We started a podcast with no background in audio production and were doing fine with Audacity, but Descript just changed what we felt we could do, and how much time it takes to do it. I've recommended it to many people already and I expect I'll recommend it to many more.

Pros

It's very easy to use as a novice. There are lots of functionality buried within that I know I'm not utilizing, but I don't need it to get my job done. I love the ability to edit the audio by editing text and adding music onto my podcast voice files is straightforward. This is by far the easiest editing tool I've tried.

Cons

There are lots of features that I know exist but that I don't see or that I don't know how or when I should use them. This is on me to learn, but I do wish tools would provide access to mini-tutorials from within the main workspace so that when you are working you could better identify whether that functionality you've never used might help to solve your problem.

Amelia
Overall rating
  • Industry: Higher Education
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

An Interface That Brings Editing to All!

Reviewed on 19/5/2021

The ability to edit the transcript and audio and visual simultaneously saves HOURS of time, and allows me to pull off large-scale projects on a tight timeline without working over hours. SO easy to integrate into accessibility initiatives with the .srt exports directly from the transcripts. The automatic removal of filler words and inclusion of multiple speaker tags are fantastic features.

Pros

This software utilizes the experience of using a word processor, and harnesses it to help make an editing process that is intuitive, easy, and efficient. This makes it a time saver for me, and I have been able to teach non-design and non-tech colleagues how to use it in order to share the production work across various projects with ease.

Cons

Initially, the transcript and audio functions worked excellently, while the video was still a but rough. Now, though, Descript has spent several months upgrading and updating their platform so that the video editing is much more seamless and more can be done through the platform to produce great videos. The overdub is clever and helpful, but requires quite a bit of honing to get high-quality results.

Heather
Overall rating
  • Industry: Accounting
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Do You Edit? This Software Will Change Your Life!

Reviewed on 15/6/2021

I LOVE this product. I tell everyone I know with a podcast to use this software. It seriously has changed my life. I'm able to edit much quicker and can cut and paste easily by viewing the text.

Pros

Taking out filler words takes only a few seconds - this is an amazing feature that can save HOURS of time. Not only does it work for audio, but the video is nearly seamless when using this feature.

Cons

Due to it being on the cloud, the video is slow to respond when editing.

Alternatives Considered

Adobe Audition

Reasons for Choosing Descript

The text features

Reasons for Switching to Descript

I still use these other products for recording and final editing where I compile the podcast, but for editing audio this is my prefered platform.
Chelsey
Overall rating
  • Industry: Individual & Family Services
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Makes editing my podcast a breeze!

Reviewed on 18/5/2021

Overall experience has been a breeze. So grateful for Descript. Makes editing audio simple and fast.

Pros

I love that I can basically edit my podcast episodes by working with what is essentially a word doc. The auto transcriptions are super helpful for pulling quote, clips, and soundbites - especially if I ever go back through and just want to skim the content (without having to listen for a specific section of the episode.

Cons

I don't have many cons to share. If I were using the transcripts as part of my finished product I might like them to be a bit more accurate, but it looks like there are frequent updates to make them more and more spot on (with easy enough features to customize and dial in the exact transcript where needed).

Alternatives Considered

Audacity

Reasons for Switching to Descript

The transcript feature won me over immediately. Plus the overdub functionality, which I haven't needed to use yet but am very fascinated by.
Tom
Overall rating
  • Industry: Entertainment
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Tom’s review

Reviewed on 17/6/2021

Pros

It takes a completely unique approach to media editing, with the content and concept as focus instead of just abstract files.

Cons

When I get used to a function it changes quickly with updates affecting work flow. However sometimes the changes are easier.

Denys
Overall rating
  • Industry: Professional Training & Coaching
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Making Podcasts and YouTube Video

Reviewed on 17/6/2021

Descript was the tool that allowed me to go from an audio only podcast to video podcast.

Pros

Ease of editing by working with the transcript and not the video & audio only.

Cons

The continual updates. Seriously this has got to stop. Every single week a button has moved or been added or changed shape. Please stop. I would pay triple to stop the changes.

Alternatives Considered

iMovie

Reasons for Switching to Descript

The built in transcription and ease of editing.
Juma
Overall rating
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1-5 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

One of most powerful tools for video creation

Reviewed on 18/5/2021

Captioning for one. Transcripts for content repurposeing. Fast video output.

Pros

I got this tool for captioning initially, now I use it for all my videos. It's easy to use and the support was good. I also found creative ways to use the timeline to animate images. The control over audio gain, compression etc.

Cons

No COPY and PASTE function for video clips.
How clips are pinned is still a bit of a mystery to me.
Inability to save editing templates.
No green screen support.
Why do clips shorten from the back?

Chris
Overall rating
  • Industry: Consumer Services
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Take the frustration out of audio/video editing.

Reviewed on 28/7/2021

Pros

I love that Descript makes editing video and audio content so easy. And the transcriptions are so accurate it's scary! This software has saved me countless hours but more importantly removes so many barriers that keep people from getting started with creating video and audio content.

Cons

The editor UI is a bit clunky and compressed, I feel like the editor area should be larger which might make it even easier to use.

Alternatives Considered

Final Cut Pro and iMovie

Reasons for Switching to Descript

Ease of use. And more adequate for what we're doing with our content.
andrea
Overall rating
  • Industry: Health, Wellness & Fitness
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

mind blowing functionality

Reviewed on 28/1/2021

Hands down the easiest video and text editor out there. features are mindblowing and makes editing fast and convenient. I recommend this for any video and podcasting editors.

Pros

love that the transcripts are very accurate
the product has so many features and i am learning new features everyday
love that i can eliminate 4-5 pieces of software
love that i can create audio grams
very easy for editing text and video

Cons

there are so many features, it does have a long learning curve with some of its functions
the demo videos are a little confusing and I had to watch them a few times to figure out how exactly to do certain things.

Jes
Overall rating
  • Industry: Entertainment
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10

Missing link software - hope it sticks to its strengths!

Reviewed on 22/6/2021

I love descript (although less than I did since the video editing features were added)
Descript solves several problems for me. It helps both me and my clients go through interviews more quickly and accurately - and helps with dialogue choices early on in an edit. The compilations I make in Descript I can recreate easily and quickly in Premiere. And then at the end of my process I can output with subtitles - accurately and easily. If I am making animations then I can get accurately time-stamped voice recordings and generate audiograms which make it easy to time the animations precisely.

Pros

The product is pretty easy to use straight off the bat but its when you get the transcripts back that things really get interesting. The way the text and audio/video files are linked is totally special. You can change one and the other follows. You can copy and paste text and the media comes along too. Once you've compiled your rough you can export

Cons

Software feels a bit slower and bloated now due to the addition of the editing features - and a bit more sensitive to handle. I have to be more accurate when I click!

Andrew
Overall rating
  • Industry: Primary/Secondary Education
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

Fast and Easy - Completely changed my editorial process for the better

Reviewed on 18/5/2021

The work involved in keeping audio and the content it represented connected in my mind was overwhelming before Descript. The result was that edits that might have improved my podcast ended up not happening due to time constraints. Not only has Descript saved me time, but made the final product more coherent and stronger.

Pros

The speed with which I can turn recorded audio into something I can meaningfully edit from without having to listen and re-listen and try to keep audio sections in mind.

Cons

I would like additional audio processing options (AU plug-in support?), and there are still times where a new update will significantly slow down the application.
The ability to watch / listen to published pages on mobile still seems somewhat lacking.

Cyn
Overall rating
  • Industry: Motion Pictures & Film
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Descript - audio and text editing

Reviewed on 16/6/2021

Pros

The transcription and editing capabilities is are what I use most. I can edit a podcast and have it blog ready in a very short amount of time. I like that I can edit out filler words painlessly with the touch of a button. Also, the tutorials have been a huge help AND the couple of times I've needed to reach out for help, I've found the Customer Support to be responsive and friendly. No downtime necessary to get my questions answered in a fast and timely manner.

Cons

I'd like to see the voice recognition and transcription continue to be improved. Descript does a great job, but the better it becomes, the faster I get due to having less corrections. Still, my editing is a simpler process now than it was before.

Carol
Overall rating
  • Industry: Arts & Crafts
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1-5 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

A game changer for my content creation!

Reviewed on 19/5/2022

I've been using Descript for some time now, and I have to say that the software is amazing. It does have somewhat of a learning curve to get started with it, but the time and effort is worth it. It allows you to take long-form audio or video and turn it into multiple short-form pieces. This is a gamechanger because it means you can turn an hour long video into short clips that you can post on social media. I also think the overdub feature comes in handy at certain times to prevent me from having to do retakes just to fix a tiny word mistake I may have made.

Pros

The biggest strength of the Descript is its ability to cut video directly from the transcript. This saves so much time because you don't have to go back and forth between apps or do any editing before you can share your video on social media or other platforms. Another strength of Descript is that it allows me to remove filler words like "uhm" and "ah" from my videos really quickly. This helps me cut down on excess wordage so I can create shorter clips for social media posts without losing anything important in the process!

Cons

Like all software, Descript isn’t perfect. My biggest gripe with it is its transcription. It’s not the most accurate I’ve experienced. But it seems to be improving over time. Another con is that it does struggle with larger video files in my experience, and there are bugs that consistently have to be ironed out. However, with that said, the team does continue to work and improve the quality.

Madeline
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Descript is a life saver!

Reviewed on 19/5/2021

Pros

It's a life saver for editing audio. Never again will I edit audio blindly - Descript is SO helpful in storytelling, and scripting narrations, and overall getting a better grasp on what you have in your audio. I love being able to add multiple compositions into a single project - it keeps things wonderfully organized.

Cons

The recent update to removing filler words has been cutting off words from either side of the filler word.

Kevan
Overall rating
  • Industry: Higher Education
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Monthly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Best editing experience I've ever had

Reviewed on 24/8/2022

Love Descript. I use it for all my audio/video projects, and the quality of my content is way better because of Descript

Pros

Descript is the easiest editing software I've ever used. I'm no multimedia expert, but I felt so capable of creating great content thanks to Descript's product features. The editor feature in particular - with how you can cut and paste within the transcript itself - is phenomenal

Cons

There are some subtleties to the product that are difficult to learn. I had to watch some help videos multiple times to be able to understand, especially when it came to importing and combining multiple audio files.

Sen
Overall rating
  • Industry: Broadcast Media
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

Huge timer saver, with some details to be improved

Reviewed on 24/6/2021

I'm happy to use this software for everything to do with speech editing - it saves an enormous amount of time in post-production, and also allows editing as you record. I was disappointed by the Overdub feature - still lots of improvements to be made in terms of natural-sounding speech, but I'm sure this is being improved with each iteration.

Pros

Using the transcription to edit audio and video completely changes the game - so much time is saved by being able to use the text to guide exactly when to clip.

Cons

Responsiveness is still a bit laggy, and compared to other multi-track editors, this still feels at times unwieldy. Transcriptions could also be more accurate, as going through and changing them can take quite a lot of time.

Melissa
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1-5 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

As easy as video editing gets, if you've never edited videos before, this is it

Reviewed on 12/2/2021

Unparalleled to anything I've ever use and in awe of how well it works every time I use it. Can't wait to see how this solution evolves.

Pros

There is absolutely nothing in this world that is easier to use than Descript. It has saved me HOURS of work compared to Camtasia (which is really complicated and hard to learn). You can cut parts out of the video by deleting words from a transcript that Descript automatically generates, and remove filler words (um, ah) with a single click. The final video is better than when I use Camtasia to cut things down to the millisecond. It's a genius piece of software and everyone should try it.

Cons

There are a lot of features I know I'm not utilizing enough.

Matthew
Overall rating
  • Industry: Online Media
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Best in the market

Reviewed on 24/5/2021

Well I recommend this software for transcribing, captioning, content repurposing etc so I am a genuine fan, I am so excited about the future of the tool, everytime I get a new feature update i'm delighted to see what's been added.

Pros

I love the fact that it is sooooo easy to create small snippets and make them ready for social in such a small amount of time.

Cons

some of the features I want are not high on the priority list, I wish that wasn't the case but I guess all users feel the same.

Stu
Overall rating
  • Industry: Media Production
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Game changer!

Reviewed on 19/5/2021

The way I produce podcasts for me and my clients has been revolutionised with Descript. I now wouldn't work on one without it!

Pros

Having visual access to an audio edit is a game changer! Gone are the days of time-coded confusing and long winded client feedback, Descript allows me and my edit team access to quickly create and amend transcribed podcasts.

Cons

I would like to see improved audio mixing capabilities, via Waves and Izotope plug in integrations.

Graham
Overall rating
  • Industry: Entertainment
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Inspired

Reviewed on 15/6/2021

It's fantastic. I'm so grateful to the team who built this and continues to improve the software. They are all adding tremendous value to my life. Thank you.

Pros

This makes editing audio podcasts a real joy. I love it.

Cons

No dark mode.

When I'm editing a specific section and I hit play the timeline will move with the playhead and I'll have to zoom out and return to the spot I'm editing to further fine tune.

Shortcuts are being added quickly and I am feeling lost. Would love a 1 on 1 coaching session on how to get the most out of the software. I would pay for it if I had to.

Verified Reviewer
Overall rating
  • Industry: Internet
  • Company size: 10,000+ Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Wouldn't know how to podcasts without Descript !

Reviewed on 15/6/2021

Descript is a tool that blows me away. Without Descript, I would literally not podcast at all. The ease of working in text most of the time is a game changer, allowing me to focus on content.

Pros

I like most the automatic transcription and the ability to edit in TEXT rather than in waveform. For podcasting, Descript cuts 90% of my editing time. It is such a productivity booster and allows me to spend more time on editing the content, the flow, arranging pieces, etc.

Cons

File management can be confusing. Text editing interface could be a tad more fluent. I demand German language transcription :-).