Feature
Text based video editor: edit your video like a document
A text based video editor writes out everything you say. You delete or fix words in that text, and the video is cut to match.
In short
- A text based video editor lets you cut a video by deleting words or lines from its transcript.
- Cutroom is a text based editor for short videos of you talking. You place clips and fix words on the transcript, but you cannot delete words or lines.
- Cutroom also adds captions and b-roll, which means short clips of what you talk about.
- Descript and VEED let you delete single words, and they suit podcasts and long recordings better.
- Cutroom sells monthly credit plans from $19.99, a 30-second video uses about 110 credits, and your first video is free.
- Credits for a 30-second video
- ~110
- Longest video you can upload
- 3 min
- Vertical MP4 with captions
- 9:16
What is a text based video editor?
A text based video editor turns speech into a written transcript, with every word timed. You edit the text, and the video follows.
- You delete a sentence in the text, and that part of the video is removed.
- You fix a misheard word, and the caption is corrected with it.
- Descript and VEED can also remove filler words like 'um' and long silences for you.
- It works best on videos where someone talks, like ads, podcasts, lessons and interviews.
How the text editor works in Cutroom
You upload one video of yourself talking. Cutroom sends back a first version that you change on the transcript.
- Cutroom does not let you delete words or lines. You can fix a misheard word, and the caption follows.
- On the Punch and Native styles, Cutroom shortens the pauses by itself and removes the ums and uhs that show up in your transcript.
- If you want to delete words or whole lines by hand, Descript or VEED is the better choice.
- Your original video is never changed by anything you do in the editor.
From upload to export
Cutroom makes the transcript and the first version. Changes are free until you export.
Upload
One video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
Transcript
Every word written out and timed
First version
Captions, clips and a headline added, pauses shortened on Punch and Native
Edit on the text
Fix words, place clips, pick styles
Export
A 9:16 MP4, 20 credits a minute
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
What you can change
You place clips and fix words on the transcript. Caption styles, transitions and music are picked from menus.
What you can change
| You do this | What happens to the video |
|---|---|
| Move a clip | Put it full screen, on a small card, in a bottom band or on a tilted card |
| Pick a hook theme | The opening headline gets a new look and height, or stays on screen for the whole video |
| Fix a misheard word | The caption shows the right word. Your clips stay where they are. |
| Slow the pace | On Punch and Native, tap a word Cutroom took out and the cut gets slower. It cannot go faster. |
| Highlight a phrase | A clip plays over exactly those words |
| Swap a clip | Pick another one, or search millions of free clips |
| Select words | Just those words get their own caption style and colour |
| Pick a caption style | 40 styles, then the font, colour, size and position |
| Write the headline | Your own opening headline, or one Cutroom drafted |
| Pick a transition | Clips come in with a plain cut or one of four moving transitions: Whip, Punch, Glitch or Sweep |
| Turn music on | Pick a track and set the volume, on Basic and up |
You do this: Move a clip
- What happens to the video
- Put it full screen, on a small card, in a bottom band or on a tilted card
You do this: Pick a hook theme
- What happens to the video
- The opening headline gets a new look and height, or stays on screen for the whole video
You do this: Fix a misheard word
- What happens to the video
- The caption shows the right word. Your clips stay where they are.
You do this: Slow the pace
- What happens to the video
- On Punch and Native, tap a word Cutroom took out and the cut gets slower. It cannot go faster.
You do this: Highlight a phrase
- What happens to the video
- A clip plays over exactly those words
You do this: Swap a clip
- What happens to the video
- Pick another one, or search millions of free clips
You do this: Select words
- What happens to the video
- Just those words get their own caption style and colour
You do this: Pick a caption style
- What happens to the video
- 40 styles, then the font, colour, size and position
You do this: Write the headline
- What happens to the video
- Your own opening headline, or one Cutroom drafted
You do this: Pick a transition
- What happens to the video
- Clips come in with a plain cut or one of four moving transitions: Whip, Punch, Glitch or Sweep
You do this: Turn music on
- What happens to the video
- Pick a track and set the volume, on Basic and up
Text based editing vs a timeline editor
A timeline editor gives you more control over every frame. A text based editor is faster when the video is mostly someone talking.
- In Cutroom, captions and clips are tied to your words, so fixing a word never pushes them out of place.
- Premiere Pro and VEED give you both: a normal timeline and editing by text.
- A timeline editor lets you trim to the exact frame and join several recordings. Cutroom does neither.
Cutroom's text editor and a timeline editor side by side
What you edit
- Cutroom's text editor
- The words you said
- A timeline editor
- Clips on a timeline
Where you start
- Cutroom's text editor
- A first version with captions and clips
- A timeline editor
- Your raw clips
Trim to the exact frame
- Cutroom's text editor
- No, and you cannot cut lines either
- A timeline editor
- Yes
Join several recordings
- Cutroom's text editor
- No, one video at a time
- A timeline editor
- Yes
Placing clips over your talking
- Cutroom's text editor
- On the words you pick
- A timeline editor
- Dragged into place by hand
Best for
- Cutroom's text editor
- Short ads of someone talking
- A timeline editor
- Any kind of video
| Cutroom's text editor | A timeline editor | |
|---|---|---|
| What you edit | The words you said | Clips on a timeline |
| Where you start | A first version with captions and clips | Your raw clips |
| Trim to the exact frame | No, and you cannot cut lines either | Yes |
| Join several recordings | No, one video at a time | Yes |
| Placing clips over your talking | On the words you pick | Dragged into place by hand |
| Best for | Short ads of someone talking | Any kind of video |
What Cutroom's text editor cannot do
Cutroom is made for one person talking, turned into one vertical ad.
- It cannot delete a word or a line from your video. Descript and VEED can.
- It edits one recording at a time and cannot join several videos together.
- It accepts videos up to 3 minutes long, so podcasts and webinars need a different editor.
- It keeps the order you spoke in, so you cannot move sentences around.
- It only exports vertical 9:16 MP4 files.
What it costs
Cutroom sells monthly credit plans from $19.99, and a 30-second video uses about 110 credits. Descript charges per person per month, from $16 billed yearly.
- Cutroom costs 100 credits to edit a video and 20 credits per minute to export. Changes are free until you export.
- A second version of the same video only costs its export, 10 credits for 30 seconds.
- Descript's Hobbyist plan is $16 per person a month billed yearly, or $24 month to month. Its free plan gives you 60 minutes a month at 720p, with a watermark.
- VEED has a free plan, and Creator is $10 per user a month, billed yearly.
- Premiere Pro is US$22.99 a month on the annual plan, with a 7-day free trial.
Cutroom credits and plans
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Editing a video: transcript, cuts, captions, clips | 100 credits |
| Changes before you export | Free |
| Export | 20 credits per minute of video |
| A 30-second video, all in | About 110 credits |
| First video | Free, with no card, if you make it within 7 days of signing up. It carries a Cutroom watermark. |
| Lite | $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, no watermark |
| Basic | $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits |
| Premium | $79.99 a month for 5,000 credits |
| Top-up | $39.99 for 2,500 credits |
What: Editing a video: transcript, cuts, captions, clips
- Cost
- 100 credits
What: Changes before you export
- Cost
- Free
What: Export
- Cost
- 20 credits per minute of video
What: A 30-second video, all in
- Cost
- About 110 credits
What: First video
- Cost
- Free, with no card, if you make it within 7 days of signing up. It carries a Cutroom watermark.
What: Lite
- Cost
- $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, no watermark
What: Basic
- Cost
- $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits
What: Premium
- Cost
- $79.99 a month for 5,000 credits
What: Top-up
- Cost
- $39.99 for 2,500 credits
Which text based video editor should you choose?
Most text based editors are full video editors. Cutroom only makes short vertical videos of someone talking.
- Choose Descript if you edit podcasts, interviews or other long recordings. It lets you delete single words and removes filler words.
- Choose VEED if you want editing by text and a normal timeline in your browser, from $10 per user a month billed yearly.
- Choose Premiere Pro if you need frame-exact control. It has text-based editing built in, from US$22.99 a month on the annual plan.
- Choose Riverside if you record guests remotely and want to edit the recording by text. Pro is $24 a month billed yearly.
- Choose Cutroom if you make short vertical ads from one video of you talking and want captions and clips added for you.
Text based video editors compared
Prices as each company publishes them, checked 21 September 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Price from |
|---|---|---|
| Cutroom | Short vertical ads from one video of you talking | First video free; Lite $19.99/month |
| Descript | Podcasts and long recordings, edited as text | Free plan; Hobbyist $16/person/month yearly |
| VEED | Editing by text and on a timeline, in the browser | Free plan; Creator $10/user/month yearly |
| Premiere Pro | Frame-exact editing, with text-based editing built in | US$22.99/month, annual plan |
| Riverside | Recording guests remotely, then editing by text | Free plan; Pro $24/month yearly ($29 monthly) |
Tool: Cutroom
- Best for
- Short vertical ads from one video of you talking
- Price from
- First video free; Lite $19.99/month
Tool: Descript
- Best for
- Podcasts and long recordings, edited as text
- Price from
- Free plan; Hobbyist $16/person/month yearly
Tool: VEED
- Best for
- Editing by text and on a timeline, in the browser
- Price from
- Free plan; Creator $10/user/month yearly
Tool: Premiere Pro
- Best for
- Frame-exact editing, with text-based editing built in
- Price from
- US$22.99/month, annual plan
Tool: Riverside
- Best for
- Recording guests remotely, then editing by text
- Price from
- Free plan; Pro $24/month yearly ($29 monthly)
Questions people ask
- What is a text based video editor?
- It is a video editor where you edit the transcript instead of a timeline. Delete a sentence in the text and it is cut from the video.
- What is the best text based video editor?
- Descript is the best known text based editor, and it suits podcasts and long recordings. VEED suits editing in the browser, and Cutroom suits short vertical ads of you talking.
- Is there a free text based video editor?
- Yes. Descript's free plan gives you 60 minutes a month at 720p with a watermark, and VEED has a free plan too. In Cutroom your first video is free, with no card, within 7 days, and it carries a Cutroom watermark.
- Can I delete single words, like 'um'?
- Not by hand in Cutroom. On the Punch and Native styles, Cutroom removes the ums and uhs that show up in your transcript by itself. Descript and VEED let you delete single words.
- Can I move sentences around in the text?
- Not in Cutroom. The video keeps the order you spoke in. VEED lets you move sentences around in the text.
- What if Cutroom cut something I wanted to keep?
- On Punch and Native, tap a word Cutroom took out and choose 'Slow the pace to normal', and your pauses and ums come back. Straight cut and Flow cut nothing, and your original video is never changed.
- How long can my video be?
- Up to 3 minutes in Cutroom. For longer recordings, Descript fits better.
Upload one video of you talking and edit it like text. Your first video is free.