AI picks engaging moments from long videos and reframes them into captioned vertical clips.
Best tools
Best free AI clipping tools (2026)
Turns one long video into 10+ short clips with AI highlights, subtitles and brand templates.
AI repurposing suite (ex vidyo.ai) that clips, captions, resizes and schedules shorts from podcasts.
Text-based video editor with AI clip finding, captions, filler removal and vertical export.
Remote recording studio whose Magic Clips feature auto-cuts captioned shorts from episodes.
AI captions, b-roll, zooms and Magic Clips for turning long videos into shorts.
Short answer: for most creators the best free AI clipping tools in 2026 are OpusClip and Vizard. OpusClip's free plan gives 60 credits a month and exports up to 1080p. Vizard's free plan gives 60 upload minutes a month at 720p. Both add a watermark and both delete your work after 3 days, so treat them as tools for finding moments, not for posting finished clips. The $0 setup that actually works: let a free clipper find the best moments, then cut those moments yourself in CapCut, whose free tier covers core editing.
What each free plan really gives you
Free plans in this category are limited in five ways: a watermark, a resolution cap, a monthly allowance of credits or minutes, short storage, and sometimes no import from a YouTube link. The table compares the free tiers on those points. Where a provider does not publish a limit, it says "check current limits".
| Tool | Free allowance | Watermark | Max export | Storage / expiry | YouTube link import on free | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpusClip | 60 credits/mo | Yes | 1080p | Clips can't be exported after 3 days | Listed on Starter; check current limits for Free | Good for testing; watermark limits posting |
| Vizard | 60 credits/mo (1 credit = 1 upload minute) | Yes | 720p, 10-min export length | 3 days | Check current limits | Good for finding moments in longer videos |
| quso.ai | 75 credits | Check current limits | 720p | Check current limits | Check current limits | Worth a test run |
| Descript | 1 media hour/mo, 100 one-time AI credits | Yes | 720p | Check current limits | Check current limits | Editor first, clipper second |
| Riverside | 2 hours of recording, one-off | Yes | 720p | Check current limits | Not its focus (records your own sessions) | Only if you record podcasts there |
| Submagic | No free plan (free signup only) | None on paid plans | 1080p on Starter | Check current limits | Check current limits | Not a $0 option |
| CapCut | Core editing on mobile, desktop and web | Check current limits | Check current limits | Check current limits | No, edits local files | The free finishing step |
Limits come from published plans, checked 11 October 2026. Free tiers change often, so confirm before you rely on one.
Which free plan is usable for posting and which is only for testing
Usable for testing: OpusClip
OpusClip's free plan exports up to 1080p, which is the most generous resolution among the free tiers here. But every free export is watermarked, there is no editing on the free tier, and clips can't be exported after 3 days. Sixty credits is enough to see whether its picks match what you would have chosen. It is not enough to run a posting schedule from.
Best for long sources: Vizard
Vizard counts credits as upload minutes, which makes the math easy: 60 credits covers roughly one hour-long podcast episode a month. The catch is the 720p export with a watermark. Use it to find timestamps, not as your final export.
Worth a look: quso.ai
quso.ai lists 75 free credits at 720p. It doesn't clearly publish what else the free plan includes, so run one video through it before you plan around it.
Editor first: Descript
Descript's free plan gives 1 media hour a month and 720p export with a watermark. Its real value is text-based editing: you cut a clip by deleting words in the transcript. That makes it a good fit if you want control over each cut more than automatic picks.
Not free: Submagic and Klap
Submagic has no free plan (signup is free, exports are not). We could not find published free-plan limits for Klap, so check current limits. Its cheapest published plan is paid.
The $0 workaround: free clipper plus CapCut
A watermark only matters if you post the clipper's export. You can use the AI for what it does best, which is picking moments, and do the cutting yourself:
- Upload your long video to OpusClip or Vizard on the free plan.
- Note the start and end times of the 3-5 clips with the highest scores or the strongest hooks. Do this within 3 days, because free storage expires.
- Open the original high-resolution file in CapCut and cut those exact ranges.
- Reframe to 9:16 and add captions in CapCut. Use the caption checklist to keep them readable.
- Export and post. Since you never exported from the clipper, there is no clipper watermark.
This takes more manual time per clip, but it costs nothing and you keep full quality. The zero-budget phone stack and the long-to-shorts stack show the full workflows.
When to upgrade, and the cheapest paid step
Upgrade when the manual CapCut step costs you more time than the plan costs in money, or when you need direct posting. Below is the cheapest published paid step for each tool:
- OpusClip Starter: $15/mo, monthly billing only. You get 150 credits, no watermark, YouTube link import and auto-posting. Pro is $29/mo, or $14.50/mo billed yearly, for 300 credits.
- Vizard Creator: $29/mo, or $14.50/mo billed yearly. You get 600 credits, 4K export and no watermark.
- Descript Hobbyist: $16/mo billed yearly ($24 monthly). You get 10 media hours, 1080p and no watermark.
- Klap Basic: $14/mo billed yearly for 100 clips a month.
- Submagic Starter: $12/mo billed yearly ($19 monthly). You get 15 videos of up to 2 minutes each, at 1080p with no watermark.
- quso.ai: listed from $19/mo. Check current limits.
If you post a few clips a week, yearly billing on OpusClip Pro or Vizard Creator gives the most credits for the price here. If you're unsure whether you will keep going, OpusClip Starter is the only step without a yearly commitment. For a side-by-side of the paid tools, see OpusClip vs Submagic vs Captions, the guide on how to compare clipping tools, and free vs paid tools. Browse the whole AI clipping category for more options.
Questions
Is there a completely free AI clip maker with no watermark?
Among the tools here, none of the free AI clipping plans publishes a watermark-free export. The practical no-watermark route is to let the free clipper find moments, then cut and export the clips in CapCut.
Which free AI clipping tool has the highest resolution?
OpusClip's free plan lists exports up to 1080p. Vizard, quso.ai and Descript list 720p on their free tiers.
How long do free clips stay available?
On OpusClip and Vizard, free clips expire after 3 days. Download or note your timestamps before then.
Does Submagic have a free plan?
No. You can sign up for free, but its published plans start at Starter, $12/mo billed yearly or $19/mo monthly.
What is the cheapest way to remove the watermark?
Doing the cutting yourself in CapCut costs $0. Among paid plans, Vizard Creator ($14.50/mo billed yearly) and OpusClip Starter ($15/mo, monthly) are the lowest published steps that list no watermark. Klap Basic is cheaper at $14/mo yearly, but its watermark terms aren't published, so check current limits.
Sources: ShortStack tool pages and official pricing pages: opus.pro/pricing, vizard.ai/pricing, quso.ai, descript.com/pricing, klap.app/pricing, submagic.co/pricing, riverside.com/pricing, capcut.com. Plans checked on 11 October 2026. This page is based on published plans, not a hands-on test. Prices and limits change, so confirm on each provider's site.