There's no single best AI clipping tool. The right pick depends on what you clip, what happens after the clip is made, and how you'd rather pay. Opus Clip and Vizard pair clip finding with scheduling. Submagic starts from captions. Klap leans on reframing and auto-posting. Descript adds clips to a wider editing app. Hookspring focuses on the hook and free, unwatermarked export.
This guide compares all six on clip finding, scores, captions, reframing, export and pricing. Feature claims come from each vendor's own pages, so read them as vendor descriptions.
We make Hookspring. This is a comparison of documented features and pricing from each tool's own pages as of October 19, 2026, not a hands-on test.
The short version
- Nobody wins every need, so this guide ranks nobody. Match the tool to your footage and to what you do after clipping.
- Opus Clip, Vizard and Klap list scheduling or direct publishing today. Hookspring's scheduled publishing is Soon.
- Opus, Vizard, Submagic and Descript list 4K export on at least one paid plan. Hookspring exports 720p or 1080p, and 4K is Soon.
- Opus, Vizard and Descript watermark free exports. Hookspring's editing, captions and export are free with no watermark.
- Opus, Vizard, Klap and Submagic's Magic Clips add-on describe a virality score. Only Opus publishes a scale. Hookspring gives each clip a hook score with a written reason.
- Pricing units differ: minutes of video, videos, clips, media hours, or AI steps only. Compare on the unit you'll actually use up.
What to look for in an AI clip maker
Start with your footage and your posting routine, then check each tool against these points.
- Clip finding: Does it work from the full long video? Can you steer it with a prompt or topic? Does it handle footage with little talking?
- Score transparency: Does every clip get a score? Does the tool explain the score or publish its scale? Is the score on the free plan?
- Captions: Look for word-level timing, lines you can edit, templates you like, and the languages you need.
- Reframing: Check for speaker tracking, a manual way to fix the focus, and split layouts for interviews or gameplay.
- Editing: Can you trim, split, reorder and cut from the transcript without leaving the tool?
- Export: Note the top resolution, whether free exports carry a watermark, and any length limits.
- Pricing model: Is it per minute uploaded, per video or per clip? Watch for length caps, credit expiry, add-ons and refunds on failed steps.
- Scheduling and API: Do you need posting built in, or do you already use a scheduler?
- Storage: Some free plans keep your projects for only a few days.
Scores deserve a closer look before you trust them. A score reads the clip before anyone watches it, so it can't see how viewers will respond. Here's how AI hook and virality scores work, and what they can't predict.
If you clip other creators' videos, get permission or work through a clipping program first, whichever tool you choose.
Opus Clip
Of the tools here, Opus Clip lists the most features for what happens after a clip is made.
What its pages say. ClipAnything finds clips from a prompt, using visual, audio and emotional signals. Opus says it works on low-dialogue footage like vlogs and sports, with clips up to 15 minutes. The AI Reframe page says ReframeAnything tracks moving speakers and objects in 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9. That page doesn't make plan availability clear.
Opus's virality score help article gives a range of 0 to 99. It names four inputs: Hook, Flow, Value and Trend. It doesn't state how accurate the score is.
Agent Opus is live and builds videos from an idea or audio. That covers faceless and news-style creators with no footage to clip.
Pricing model. The Opus pricing page lists four plans. Free is $0, Starter is $15 a month, Pro is $29 a month, and Business is custom-priced. The virality score is on paid plans only. Pro adds the scheduler, a Video Editing API, a Scheduler API and an MCP connector. Business adds 4K scheduling and download.
Free exports go up to 1080p with a watermark, and free media expires after 3 days. Text and timeline editing isn't included on Free. Per the Opus credits article, you pay "1 credit per minute of the original video imported." Monthly-plan credits expire after 60 days.
Who it fits. Teams posting daily across many platforms, developers building a pipeline, and clippers working with vlogs or sports. For a closer look at the two tools side by side, see our Hookspring vs Opus Clip comparison.
Vizard
Vizard combines clip finding, a virality score and auto-posting, with 4K on its first paid plan.
What its pages say. Vizard's clip maker page says it "ranks each one with a virality score." The same page says it detects and "centers whoever is speaking." Plan availability for reframing isn't stated there.
Vizard's Model v2 announcement from July 2026 describes three things the model weighs. They are hook strength, a clear takeaway, and story flow. Vizard doesn't publish a scale for the score.
The Vizard homepage lists "Edit by text" and "Timeline editing." Its auto-schedule help article describes AI that picks clips, writes captions and schedules posts. You can set a minimum viral score and post up to 10 clips a day. Supported platforms are TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.
Pricing model. The Vizard pricing page lists Free, Creator and Business plans. On October 19, 2026, the paid prices showed as "$0" placeholders, so we couldn't verify them. Paid plans appear as "billed yearly" with a "50% OFF" badge.
Free includes 60 credits a month, at "1 credit = 1 minute of video." Uploads are capped at 60 minutes and 1GB, and you "Export videos in 720p." Storage lasts 3 days. Vizard's clip maker page adds that free exports "will contain a Vizard watermark."
Creator starts at 600 credits a month and adds 4K export, "No watermark" and post scheduling. Business adds 20 social accounts, a shared workspace and a brand kit. The pricing page lists API rate limits on every tier, which suggests API access. It doesn't spell that out, so confirm it before you plan around it.
Who it fits. Creators who want clip finding and auto-posting in one place, and who need 4K on a paid plan. The free plan works for testing on videos under an hour, if a 720p watermarked export is fine for a trial.
Submagic
Submagic is caption-first. Long-video clipping comes through Magic Clips, which its help center calls an add-on.
What its pages say. The Submagic pricing page lists AI auto captions on every plan, with premium templates on Pro and Business. Starter includes free B-roll, while Pro and Business use Storyblocks footage. The Magic Clips feature page says captions work in "123 languages."
Submagic's Magic Clips guide says the feature "is an addon subscription." It produces 20 or more clips, each with a "virality score." No scale is published, and the guide doesn't mention reframing. We couldn't verify the add-on's price.
Pricing model. Submagic charges by videos per month, with a length limit per plan. The pricing page contradicts itself in places, so these are its headline figures.
| Submagic plan | Monthly billing | Yearly billing (per month) | Videos a month | Max length | Export |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $19 | $12 | 15 | 2 min | 1080p, 30fps |
| Pro | $39 | $23 | 40 | 5 min | 1080p |
| Business | $69 | $41 | 100 | 30 min | 4K, 60fps |
All paid plans list "No watermark." The free trial says "No credit card required," but its length and terms aren't stated. The Magic Clips guide doesn't say whether these length limits apply to the add-on, so check before uploading a long episode.
Who it fits. Creators whose main job is captioning short videos, or who need captions in many languages. If clipping long videos is the core task, add the Magic Clips subscription to your cost.
Klap
Klap pairs clip finding with reframing layouts and direct publishing, and it counts usage in clips.
What its pages say. The Klap homepage says its AI finds the best topics in a video and will "score their potential to go viral." It lists "AI Reframe 2" layouts, including split screen and gaming. It also lists captions in 52 languages, plus scheduling and direct publishing to TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Pricing model. The Klap pricing page shows yearly prices only. Basic is $14 a month for 100 clips, Pro is $39 for 300 clips, and Pro+ is $94 for 1,000 clips. The page says yearly billing saves 50%, but monthly prices weren't shown.
You can try one free video with no card. We couldn't verify the watermark policy, export resolution or API details. The site links to "API Docs" without describing what they cover.
Who it fits. High-volume clippers who think in clips per month, gaming creators who want split layouts, and anyone who wants publishing built in. Use the free video to check export quality and watermarks first.
Descript
Descript is a wider editing app, and its pricing page lists clip creation as one feature among many.
What its pages say. Descript's Create clips guide says it makes 1 to 20 clips, each 10 seconds to 5 minutes long. Clips come out in 9:16 or 1:1, and you can add an optional topic prompt. The guide doesn't mention a score or ranking.
Pricing model. The Descript pricing page lists Free at $0 with 1 media hour, 720p export and a watermark. Clip creation is "Limited" on Free and included on paid plans.
The paid plans each show two prices. Hobbyist shows $24 or $16 a month, Creator shows $35 or $24 with 4K, and Business shows $65 or $50. The page doesn't label which figure is monthly and which is annual. The lower one is likely the annual rate, but confirm at checkout.
Who it fits. People who already edit in Descript and want clips from the same project. If you want each clip ranked by a score, Descript's guide doesn't describe one.
Hookspring
Hookspring focuses on finding the strongest opening in each clip and getting it out fast, with no charge for editing or export.
What it does today. One upload or YouTube link becomes a batch of vertical clip candidates, which Hookspring calls Magic Clips. Submagic uses the same name for its add-on, but they're separate products. Every word in the transcript is timestamped automatically.
Each clip gets a hook score based on its opening 1 to 3 seconds, with a plain-English reason. In the review list, sort by score to see your strongest openings first. To start, go to Create → Long video → Find clips. The credit cost shows before you confirm, and each step reports its progress.
The editor includes these tools:
- Trim, split, delete and reorder clips on a simple timeline.
- Cut from the transcript with the ✂ on any caption line.
- Drag a focus box onto the subject for a tracked 9:16 frame.
- Choose 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9, with fill, fit, blurred background, or split layouts up to four parts.
- Pick word-timed Hook, Minimal or News captions, then edit them line by line.
- Add text overlays, image and video inserts, transitions and per-clip volume.
Export gives you a 720p or 1080p vertical MP4 with captions burned in. It renders in your browser with no watermark.
Pricing model. Hookspring is free to start. Credits pay only for transcription and hook scoring, priced by video length. Editing, captions and export are unlimited, and credits are refunded if a step fails. Current prices are on the Hookspring pricing page.
Where it's weaker today. Scheduled publishing, an API, 4K, auto B-roll and idea-to-video agents are all Soon. So are silence and filler removal, auto-zoom, music and AI titles. Hookspring doesn't list a prompt-based or visual clipping mode, so its tools fit videos where people talk.
Who it fits. Podcasters, coaches, educators and clippers working with speech-heavy video. It also suits anyone testing shorts who doesn't want to pay to export. If you're new to the process, here's the complete workflow for turning long videos into shorts.
Six AI clip makers side by side
Every cell comes from the vendor's own pages as of October 19, 2026. "Unverified" means the page didn't show it clearly. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't state it. "Soon" means a Hookspring feature is planned, not available.
| Feature | Opus Clip | Vizard | Submagic | Klap | Descript | Hookspring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free way in | Free plan | Free plan, 60 credits a month | Free trial, no card | One free video, no card | Free plan, 1 media hour | Free to start |
| Listed paid prices | Starter $15, Pro $29 a month; Business custom | Unverified | $19, $39, $69 monthly | $14, $39, $94 a month, billed yearly | $24 or $16, $35 or $24, $65 or $50 | Credits priced by video length |
| What you pay for | 1 credit per minute imported | 1 credit per minute of video | Videos a month | Clips a month | Media hours | Transcription and hook scoring only |
| Clip finding | ClipAnything, prompt-based, low-dialogue footage | AI picks and ranks clips | Magic Clips add-on, 20+ clips | Finds topics in the video | 1 to 20 clips, optional topic | Batch of clip candidates from upload or YouTube link |
| Clip score | Virality score, 0 to 99 | Virality score, scale not published | Virality score in add-on, scale not published | Viral potential score, scale not published | None mentioned | Hook score with a reason |
| Score on free plan | No | Unverified | Add-on only | Unverified | None mentioned | Every clip, uses credits |
| Reframing | ReframeAnything, plans unverified | Centers the speaker | Not mentioned | AI Reframe 2, split and gaming layouts | 9:16 or 1:1 | Click-to-focus, tracked; split up to four |
| Watermark on free export | Yes | Yes | Unverified | Unverified | Yes | No |
| Top export resolution | 4K on Business | 4K on Creator | 4K on Business | Unverified | 4K on Creator | 1080p (4K Soon) |
| Scheduling | Pro and Business | Creator and up | Unverified | Yes | Unverified | Soon |
| API | Pro, plus MCP connector | Rate limits listed, access unverified | Unverified | API Docs link, details unverified | Unverified | Soon |
What one episode costs, as an illustration
Here's a 60-minute podcast run through the published credit rules. It's an illustration from the pricing pages, not a test.
On Opus, the episode costs 60 credits, so Starter's 150 credits cover two episodes with 30 left. On Vizard's free plan, it uses all 60 monthly credits and hits the 60-minute upload cap. On Hookspring, the credit cost depends on length and shows before you start; check the pricing page for current rates. Editing and export cost nothing more.
Submagic and Klap don't bill by the minute, so the math depends on videos and clips. Submagic's Magic Clips add-on price is unverified, so we can't total it.
Which tool to pick, by need
Find the need that matters most to you, then test the matching tool on a real video.
- Auto-posting to many platforms: Opus Pro, Vizard Creator or Klap all list scheduling or direct publishing.
- An API for your own pipeline: Opus Pro lists a Video Editing API, a Scheduler API and an MCP connector. Vizard lists API rate limits, but check its docs.
- 4K export: Opus Business, Vizard Creator, Submagic Business and Descript Creator all list 4K.
- Vlogs, sports and other low-dialogue footage: Opus, which says ClipAnything handles it.
- Gaming and split-screen layouts: Klap's AI Reframe 2 lists gaming layouts. Hookspring's split layouts go up to four parts.
- Captions in many languages: Submagic lists 123 languages and Klap lists 52.
- Already editing in Descript: Descript keeps clips inside the same project.
- Videos with no footage, starting from an idea: Opus, since Agent Opus is live. Hookspring's idea-to-video agents are Soon.
- Free export with no watermark while you test: Hookspring, since editing, captions and export cost no credits.
- A score you can question: Hookspring explains each score in plain English. Opus publishes a 0 to 99 scale and its four inputs.
Opus Clip vs Vizard
These two are the closest match in this group. Both charge one credit per minute of video, both show a virality score, and both schedule posts on some paid plans.
The differences show up at the edges. Opus publishes its prices and its score's 0 to 99 scale, while Vizard's paid prices were unverified on October 19, 2026. Vizard lists 4K on Creator, while Opus keeps 4K on Business. Opus's free plan exports up to 1080p, compared with Vizard's 720p. Both watermark free exports and keep free media for 3 days.
FAQ
What is the best AI tool for clipping long videos?
It depends on your footage. For speech-heavy video like podcasts, look for strong transcripts and hook scoring. For vlogs or sports, Opus's ClipAnything targets low-dialogue footage. If you need posting built in, Opus, Vizard and Klap list it today.
Which AI clip maker is free without a watermark?
Hookspring's editing, captions and export are free with no watermark, while finding clips uses credits. Opus, Vizard and Descript watermark free exports, per their pages as of October 19, 2026. We couldn't verify Klap's or Submagic's free-trial watermark policy.
Is Opus Clip better than Vizard?
Neither wins outright. The Opus Clip vs Vizard section above compares them by need.
Do AI clipping tools pick good hooks?
They pick likely moments, and some score them. A score reads the clip before anyone sees it, so treat it as a sorting aid, not a forecast. Read each clip's first seconds yourself before posting.
How much do AI clip makers cost per month?
As of October 19, 2026, listed paid plans run from $12 to $94 a month, depending on billing. Opus starts at $15, Submagic at $19 monthly, and Klap at $14 billed yearly. Vizard's paid prices were unverified, and Hookspring prices credits by video length.
Written and maintained by the Hookspring team. Spot an error or something out of date? Email hello@hookspring.com.
Sources
- Pricing, Opus Clip, retrieved 2026-10-19
- How are credits consumed?, Opus Clip Help Center, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Virality score, Opus Clip Help Center, retrieved 2026-10-19
- ClipAnything, Opus Clip, retrieved 2026-10-19
- AI Reframe, Opus Clip, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Agent Opus, Opus Clip, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Pricing, Vizard, retrieved 2026-10-19
- AI clip maker, Vizard, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Vizard homepage, Vizard, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Meet Vizard Model v2, Vizard, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Auto-schedule and post AI clips, Vizard Help Center, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Pricing, Submagic, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Magic Clips, Submagic, retrieved 2026-10-19
- How to use Magic Clips: step-by-step guide, Submagic Help Center, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Pricing, Klap, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Klap homepage, Klap, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Pricing, Descript, retrieved 2026-10-19
- Create clips from your content, Descript Help Center, retrieved 2026-10-19
