AI picks engaging moments from long videos and reframes them into captioned vertical clips.
Head-to-head
OpusClip vs Submagic vs Captions (2026): which should you use?
AI captions, b-roll, zooms and Magic Clips for turning long videos into shorts.
AI talking-video editor with animated captions, eye contact fix and AI dubbing.
These three get compared constantly, but they start from different places. OpusClip starts from a long video and finds the clips. Submagic starts from a short clip and makes it look finished. Captions is a phone-first editor for talking-head videos you film yourself. Pick the one that matches where your video starts.
Quick verdict
- Choose OpusClip if you have podcasts, interviews or long YouTube videos and want AI to cut them into Shorts, TikToks and Reels. Cheapest watermark-free plan: $15/mo.
- Choose Submagic if you already have short vertical clips and want animated captions, B-roll and zooms added in minutes. Cheapest plan: $12/mo billed yearly, $19 monthly.
- Choose Captions if you film yourself on your phone and want one app for editing, captions, AI dubbing and AI avatars. Max plan: $24.99/mo on iOS.
Side-by-side comparison
| OpusClip | Submagic | Captions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Long video (upload or YouTube link) | Short clip you already have | Video you film on your phone |
| Main job | Finds and cuts clips | Animated captions, B-roll, zooms | All-in-one mobile editor |
| Free plan | Yes: 60 credits/mo, watermark, clips expire after 3 days | No free plan; free signup with no card, trial length not stated | Yes: basic tools and 1 caption template |
| Cheapest paid plan | Starter $15/mo (monthly only) | Starter $19/mo or $12/mo yearly | Max $24.99/mo (iOS) |
| How usage is counted | Credits (150/mo on Starter) | Videos (15/mo on Starter, max 2 min each) | Credits (500/mo on Max) |
| Watermark on paid | No | No | Not stated on pricing page |
| Long video to clips | Core feature, every plan | Magic Clips (limits not published) | Batch clips on Max |
| Posting to Shorts, TikTok, Reels | Auto-post from Starter; scheduler on Pro | Direct publishing | Export from the app |
| B-roll | Limited on Starter; AI and stock B-roll on Pro | Free library on Starter; Storyblocks from Pro | Custom B-roll on Max |
| Best for | Podcasters, interviewers, long-form YouTubers | High-volume Shorts with styled captions | Talking-head creators editing on a phone |
Pricing, plan by plan
OpusClip
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 60 credits/mo, watermark, up to 1080p, clips can't be exported after 3 days, no editing |
| Starter | $15/mo (monthly only) | 150 credits/mo, no watermark, AI captions in 20+ languages, auto-post to YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Instagram Reels |
| Pro | $29/mo, or $14.50/mo billed yearly ($174/yr) | 300 credits/mo, social scheduler, AI and stock B-roll, reframe to 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9, dubbing, export to Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, 2 seats |
| Business | Custom | API, priority processing, dedicated support |
If you'd pay yearly anyway, Pro at $14.50/mo costs less than Starter at $15/mo and doubles the credits.
Submagic
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $19/mo, or $12/mo billed yearly | 15 videos/mo, max 2 min each, 1080p 30fps, no watermark, free B-roll and audio library |
| Pro | $39/mo, or $23/mo billed yearly | 40 videos/mo, max 5 min, Storyblocks B-roll and audio |
| Business | $69/mo, or $41/mo billed yearly | 100 videos/mo, max 30 min, 4K 60fps |
The 2-minute cap on Starter matters: it fits finished Shorts, not raw long footage.
Captions
| Plan | Price (iOS) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Basic tools (trimming, transitions), 1 caption template, no credits |
| Max | $24.99/mo | 500 credits/mo, 100+ caption templates, AI Edit styles, AI twins and actors, long video to batch clips, custom B-roll, music and sound effects |
| Frontier | From $69.99/mo | 1,400 credits/mo and the most advanced generative models; 2x and 4x tiers at $139.99 and $279.99 |
Captions lists iOS prices only. Prices on Android or the web can differ, and the pricing page doesn't state yearly prices or the watermark policy, so check in the app before paying.
Which one should you pick?
- You record a weekly podcast or interview: OpusClip. It's built to find the moments, and Starter's auto-posting covers all three platforms. Move to Pro yearly if you want the scheduler.
- You already cut your clips and want them to look like top Shorts: Submagic Starter. Fifteen styled videos a month for $12 billed yearly is the cheapest way to get animated captions without a watermark.
- You film yourself talking to your phone: Captions. Editing, captions and translation happen in one app, and you never move files to a desktop.
- You want to test before paying: start with OpusClip Free or Captions Free. Submagic has no free plan, only a free signup.
Can you use two together?
Yes, and a common pair is OpusClip to find and cut clips, then Submagic to restyle captions on the best few. It only makes sense once you post often enough to need both: OpusClip Starter plus Submagic Starter yearly is about $27 a month. If you're starting out, OpusClip's built-in captions are enough. The full long-video workflow, with scheduling and review steps, is in our long-form repurposing stack.
Questions
Is OpusClip better than Submagic?
They do different jobs. OpusClip is better at turning a long video into clips. Submagic is better at styling a short clip you already have with animated captions, B-roll and zooms.
Does Submagic have a free plan?
No free plan is listed on Submagic's pricing page. You can sign up free without a card, but the trial length isn't stated. Paid plans start at $19/mo, or $12/mo billed yearly.
Which is cheapest for watermark-free clips?
Submagic Starter at $12/mo billed yearly, if 15 videos of up to 2 minutes a month is enough. For long-video clipping, OpusClip Starter at $15/mo monthly, or Pro at $14.50/mo billed yearly.
Can Captions turn long videos into clips?
Yes. The Max plan includes turning a long video into a batch of clips. Its strengths are still phone editing, captions, translation and AI avatars, rather than podcast-scale clipping.
Which works best for a faceless channel?
None of the three is built for faceless videos. For script-to-video with AI voice, see our faceless channel stack.
Prices and plans checked on 11 October 2026 from opus.pro/pricing, submagic.co/pricing and captions.ai/pricing. This comparison is based on published plans and features, not a hands-on test. Prices change, so confirm on each provider's site.