Pricing
Descript Pricing: Plans, AI Credits and What Studio Sound Costs
Paid Descript plans start at $24 a month ($16 billed yearly), and Studio Sound comes with every one.
Our verdict
Diffio is the cheaper pick for restoring damaged speech: Diffio's Basic plan is $8 a month for 6 hours, while Descript starts at $24 a month for a full editor. In our 59-clip test, Diffio 4.6 Pro raised the SCOREQ speech quality score by 2.31 on average, against 0.46 for Descript Studio Sound. Pick Descript when you edit audio and video by transcript, where Studio Sound comes included.
Descript Plans and Prices
Checked October 21, 2026 in US dollars per person per month, before tax. Yearly billing saves up to 35% over monthly, according to Descript.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | Media time a month | AI credits a month | Max file size | Export |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 1 hour | 100 (one-time) | 1 GB | 720p with a watermark |
| Hobbyist | $24 | $16 | 10 hours | 400 | 10 GB | 1080p, no watermark |
| Creator | $35 | $24 | 30 hours | 800 | 20 GB | 4K, no watermark |
| Business | $65 | $50 | 40 hours | 1,500 | 50 GB | 4K, no watermark |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Sized to your team | Sized to your team | Set by contract | Set by contract |
How Media Minutes and AI Credits Work
Descript meters two things. Media minutes count the media you upload or record in Descript, including audio, video, screen and webcam recordings and Rooms sessions, whether or not you transcribe it. AI credits count AI features such as Underlord, Studio Sound, Green Screen, Eye Contact and AI-generated media.
Neither allowance rolls over: unused minutes and credits reset when your subscription renews. Creator and Business can buy one-time top-ups from the Usage tab in app settings; Descript does not list top-up prices on its pricing page.
What Studio Sound Costs per Hour of Audio
Studio Sound is included in every paid plan, so its real cost is the plan price spread over the media time you use. Each application also uses AI credits based on file length, capped at 30 credits per file, so Hobbyist's 400 monthly credits always cover at least 13 Studio Sound files. Figures below assume you use the whole monthly allowance; use less and each hour costs more.
| Plan | Media time a month | Per hour, billed monthly | Per hour, billed yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobbyist | 10 hours | $2.40/h | $1.60/h |
| Creator | 30 hours | $1.17/h | $0.80/h |
| Business | 40 hours | $1.63/h | $1.25/h |
Descript vs Auphonic vs Adobe vs Diffio: Cost per Hour
The cheapest published plan that covers each monthly amount, billed month to month. Auphonic's one-time credits are counted at their hourly rate because unused hours never expire. Adobe Podcast's free tier also covers up to 1 hour a day of audio-only files under 30 minutes.
| Tool | 1 hour a month | 5 hours a month | 20 hours a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Descript | $24/h $24 a month on Hobbyist | $4.80/h $24 a month on Hobbyist | $1.75/h $35 a month on Creator |
| Auphonic | $2.40/h $2.40 a month (One-time 5 hours pack) | $2.40/h $12 a month (One-time 5 hours pack) | $1.50/h $30 a month on Recurring M |
| Adobe Podcast | $19.99/h $19.99 a month on Firefly Pro (includes Podcast Premium) | $4/h $19.99 a month on Firefly Pro (includes Podcast Premium) | $1/h $19.99 a month on Firefly Pro (includes Podcast Premium) |
| Diffio (web app) | $8/h $8 a month on Basic | $1.60/h $8 a month on Basic | $1.45/h $29 a month on Pro |
| Diffio (API) | $5/h $5 a month, metered (API, Diffio 4.6 Flash) | $5/h $25 a month, metered (API, Diffio 4.6 Flash) | $5/h $100 a month, metered (API, Diffio 4.6 Flash) |
See every tool, yearly billing and a calculator on AI audio enhancer pricing.
When Descript Is Worth It
- You edit by transcript. Cutting audio and video by editing text is Descript's core, and Studio Sound comes with it.
- You produce video, not just audio. Captions, clips and video editing come with every plan, and Creator and Business export in 4K.
- You already pay for Descript. Then Studio Sound costs you nothing extra beyond media time and credits.
When a Dedicated Cleaner Is Cheaper
- You only need cleanup. If you do not edit in Descript, a cleaner priced by the hour, such as Auphonic, Cleanvoice or Diffio, usually costs less.
- The recording is badly damaged. Diffio restores speech affected by noise, room echo and some clipping or distortion, and lets you preview the result before paying.
- You need an API. Descript's API is in beta; Diffio's restoration API is billed per second with no monthly fee. See API pricing.
Tested on the Same 59 Recordings
Diffio ran Descript Studio Sound and its own two models on the same 59 real recordings on October 22, 2026, each in its strongest speech cleanup mode at default amounts. Diffio 4.6 Pro raised the SCOREQ speech quality score by 2.31 on average, against 0.46 for Descript Studio Sound. Clip by clip on SCOREQ, Descript Studio Sound scored higher than Diffio 4.6 Pro on 0 of 59 clips.
Where Diffio did not win: On phone and remote calls (3 clips), Descript Studio Sound (5.3%) had a lower word error rate than Diffio 4.6 Pro (6.5%). On narration over music (1 clip), Descript Studio Sound (5.0%) had a lower word error rate than Diffio 4.6 Pro (6.3%).
Scores are model predictions, not a human listening test, and Diffio ran the test. The full method and every clip are on the results page.
All 59 recordings
Bars are averages over 59 clips; the thin lines show 95% intervals. On the word error rate view, the dashed line is the untouched original recording.
Show the numbers, including similarity to the original recording
| Tool | Quality gain (SCOREQ) | Word error rate | Similarity to the original recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diffio 4.6 Pro | +2.3195% interval 2.15 to 2.47 | 10.5%95% interval 7.8% to 13.7% | 0.58 |
| Diffio 4.6 Flash | +2.2695% interval 2.09 to 2.44 | 10.9%95% interval 7.6% to 15.1% | 0.56 |
| Descript Studio Sound | +0.4695% interval 0.39 to 0.53 | 22.6%95% interval 16.6% to 28.9% | 0.72 |
| Original recording | No processing (average SCOREQ 2.31) | 13.2%95% interval 9.6% to 17.3% | 1.00 |
Averages over 59 clips of real recordings, run October 22, 2026. A higher SCOREQ gain and a lower word error rate are better. Similarity to the original recording is measured against the noisy original, so a tool that changes less scores higher; it is not a measure of voice quality.
One typical clip per recording type (Diffio 4.6 Pro's median result). Pick any of the 8.
Sermon 17. Decades-old church recordings with tape hiss, hum and room sound.
Archived sermon recording, used with permission. Excerpts are loudness-matched for fair listening.
| Version | SCOREQ | Word error rate | Similarity to the original |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diffio 4.6 Pro | 4.86 | 6.7% | 0.55 |
| Diffio 4.6 Flash | 4.85 | 2.7% | 0.55 |
| Descript Studio Sound | 3.36 | 12.0% | 0.69 |
| Original recording | 2.40 | 5.3% | 1.00 |
Diffio is not affiliated with or endorsed by Descript. Product names are trademarks of their owners.
Hear the Difference
Lecture recording: toggle Original vs Enhanced by Diffio.
FAQ
How much does a Descript subscription cost?
Descript costs $24 a month for Hobbyist, $35 for Creator and $65 for Business, per person, billed monthly. Billed yearly, the same plans cost $16, $24 and $50 a month. Enterprise is priced by sales.
Is Descript free?
Descript has a free plan with 60 media minutes a month and 100 AI credits as a one-time allocation. Studio Sound is limited on Free, and exports are 720p with a watermark.
What is Studio Sound in Descript?
Studio Sound is Descript's voice enhancement effect: it reduces background noise and echo in spoken audio, with an intensity slider. It runs inside the Descript editor and on Descript's beta API workflows.
Does Studio Sound use AI credits?
Yes. Studio Sound uses AI credits based on the length of the file, up to 30 credits per file or application. Descript does not publish a per-minute rate.
Do unused Descript media hours and AI credits roll over?
No. Unused media minutes and AI credits reset when your subscription renews. Creator and Business can buy top-ups from the Usage tab in Descript's app settings.
Is Descript cheaper than Auphonic?
Usually not for enhancement alone. Auphonic sells one-time credits from $12 for 5 hours, while Descript's price covers a full editor. At around 20 hours a month the two are close, especially with Descript's yearly billing.
Sources Checked October 21, 2026
Descript: Descript pricing, Media minutes and AI credits guide, Studio Sound guide and Descript API help. Auphonic: Auphonic pricing, credits and feature comparison and Auphonic features. Adobe Podcast: Adobe Podcast plans, Adobe Podcast features, Adobe Firefly plans, Adobe Podcast Premium plan change FAQ and Enhance Speech v2 announcement (Adobe community). Diffio prices come from our pricing and API pricing pages. Compare Studio Sound with Diffio on Descript Studio Sound vs Diffio, or with Auphonic and Adobe on Descript vs Auphonic and Adobe Podcast vs Descript. Test results: the speech enhancer test method.
Try Diffio Free
Preview a restored recording before you pay, or use the separately metered API.