Captions vs Submagic (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Captions grades higher than Submagic: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Captions grades higher on ease of use. Submagic grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Captions
AI video editor and generator for short talking-head videos
Submagic
AI editor that adds captions, B-roll and cuts to short videos
Which one is for you
Pick Captions if
- Fits if you post talking-head videos to TikTok, Instagram or YouTube Shorts
- Works for marketers who want many ad versions with AI actors and no filming, on Max
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you came for AI Edit or Clips, as both start on Max at $24.99 a month
- Skip it if you want one subscription on every device, since the $4.99 Lite plan works only on Android
- Not for you if you start on your phone and finish on your laptop, because projects stay on the device and don't sync
- Tight if you rely on AI Edit for longer clips, as it stops at 2 minutes on iOS and 1 on the web
- Watch out: free AI credits are 60 to 200 once and never refresh, and Prompt to Video uses 16 credits per 6 seconds
Pick Submagic if
- Fits if you post short vertical videos and want captions added automatically
- Works for people who'll send clips straight to TikTok, Instagram or YouTube
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your videos run past 2 minutes on Starter: the caps are 2, 5 and 30 minutes by plan
- Tight if you make many videos, as every plan limits videos a month through credits
- Pricey if you need 4K, which is Business only at $41 a member a month
- Watch out: API credit packs are extra, from $57 a month for 250 minutes
- Not for you if you want to know the trial length up front, as it isn't stated
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACaptionsFair | 2.2GPASubmagicFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DBasic is $9.99 a month, but it doesn't include the things people come here for. AI Edit, the chat editor, Clips and AI Twins all start on Max at $24.99, two and a half times this category's middle, and the credits still run out at 500 a month. | CStarter is $12 a member a month on yearly billing ($19 monthly), under the category's middle of $12.99 and well above its cheapest quarter, which ends at $7. |
| Free plan and trial | CManual editing with one caption template, and exports carry no watermark. But the AI credits are 60 to 200, once, and they never refresh. | CThe pricing page says no credit card is needed to start, but it doesn't state how long the trial lasts. No free plan. |
| Features | CAI Edit, a chat editor you type instructions into, captions in 100+ styles, dubbing into 30+ languages in a clone of your voice, AI avatars and Clips. The gaps the listing names are real: AI Edit stops at 2 minutes on iOS and 1 on the web, and projects don't sync between devices. | CCaptions, Magic Clips, clean-up tools, b-roll and publishing, but video length stops at 2 minutes on Starter and 4K needs Business. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from about 38,000 App Store ratings. You pick an editing style and it does the cutting, or you type the change you want, so there's no timeline to learn first. | CNo store rating on record. It has accounts to connect and credits to count. |
| Platforms and integrations | BiPhone, Android and the web, with a public API. But there's no Mac or Windows app, so on a computer it's the browser only, and the Android app is Captions Lite, a different, manual editor. | BWeb, iOS and Android, with Zapier, Make, n8n and posting to YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. No desktop app. |
| Best for | short talking-head videos that edit themselves | AI captions for short videos |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Captions and Submagic. How we grade
Price against what you get
Captions starts at $4.99 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Submagic starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Captions scores higher and starts $7.01 a month lower. Of the other screen recording and video tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Captions for less, and 17 score higher than Submagic for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Captions also covers noise cancellation.
- Submagic also covers templates.
At a glance
| Captions | Submagic | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $4.99 per month for Lite (Android only); Basic is $9.99 per month | $12 per member / month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Captions in one template, camera, trim, zoom, sounds, transitions and resize, exported without a watermark, plus 60 to 200 one-time AI credits that do not refresh. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Pricing page says no credit card is required to start; trial length is not stated |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Mirage (NOCAP, Inc.) | Submagic |
| Price read from | captions.ai | submagic.co |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Captions
- There is no Mac or Windows app: on a computer it runs in the browser, and projects are stored on the device and do not sync between devices.
- The Android app is Captions Lite, a manual editor. Its $4.99 Lite plan works only on Android; iOS and web need a separate subscription.
- AI Edit, the chat-based editor, Clips and AI Twins start on Max at $24.99 a month, and Prompt to Video uses 16 credits for every 6 seconds.
- The pricing page says its prices reflect iOS plans and lists no yearly prices; Basic and Lite appear only in the help center.
Submagic
- Plans are priced per member, and each tier caps videos per month through credits.
- Video length is capped at 2, 5 and 30 minutes on Starter, Pro and Business.
- 4K export needs Business; Starter exports 1080p at 30 FPS.
- API credit packs are extra, from $57 a month for 250 minutes.
Key features
Captions
- AI Edit
- Pick an editing style and the app cuts scenes and adds B-roll, zooms, transitions, music and captions. It handles clips of up to 2 minutes on iOS and 1 minute on the web.
- Chat-based editor
- Type the change you want and the editor applies it. Each message uses 2 credits and each action taken 1 credit, with more for generated media.
- Captions, translation and dubbing
- Generates captions in 100+ styles, translates subtitles into 100+ languages and dubs video into 30+ languages with a clone of the speaker's voice.
- AI avatars and AI Twin
- Generates a talking-head video from a script using a built-in AI actor or a digital twin of yourself. The Max plan allows up to 30 AI Twins.
- Clips
- Turns one long video into a batch of short clips that are ready to post. Clips is included from the Max plan.
- Eye contact, denoise and trimming
- Corrects eye contact, removes background noise and cuts pauses and filler words. On Android, eye contact and denoise need the Lite plan.
Submagic
- AI captions
- Auto-generated captions in 118 languages with styled templates, plus text-based trimming of the transcript.
- Magic Clips
- Repurposes a long video into several shorts by pulling out key moments.
- AI clean-up tools
- Removes silences and bad takes, cleans audio, adds zooms and writes hook titles, with some of these limited to Pro and above.
- B-roll and sound
- Inserts B-roll, music and sound effects; Storyblocks footage and audio start at the Pro plan.
- Publishing
- Schedule and publish finished videos to social platforms from the editor, with analytics on Pro and above.
- API and automation
- A video editing API and connections through Zapier, Make and n8n; API minutes are included by plan (10 to 100 a month).
Plans
Captions
Free$0
Basic manual editing with one caption template and watermark-free exports. 60 to 200 lifetime credits that do not refresh.
Lite$4.99
per month, Android only
Manual editing on Android with dubbing, caption styles, teleprompter, eye contact and denoise. Cannot be used on iOS or the web.
Basic$9.99
per month, or $64.99 per year on the US App Store
200 credits a month, with captions and dubbing, script generator, teleprompter, eye contact, denoise and Reddit to Video.
Max$24.99
per month, billed monthly
500 credits a month, AI Edit, the chat-based editor, Clips, up to 30 AI Twins and generated B-roll, music and images.
Frontier$69.99
per month, billed monthly
1,400 credits a month and faster generation. Frontier 2x is $139.99 with 2,800 credits and Frontier 4x is $279.99 with 5,600.
EnterpriseCustom
Bulk credit discounts, custom seat options, account management, onboarding and training-data exclusion.
Submagic
Starter$12
per member / month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly)
45 credits per member (15 videos or 5 Magic Clips), 2-minute videos, 1080p at 30 FPS, no watermark.
Pro$23
per member / month, billed yearly
120 credits per member (40 videos or 15 Magic Clips), 5-minute videos, Brand Kit, auto zooms and silence removal. Yearly saving shown: $192.
Business$41
per member / month, billed yearly
300 credits per member (100 videos or 37 Magic Clips), 30-minute videos, 4K at 60 FPS and 30 custom templates. Yearly saving shown: $336.
CustomCustom
Sold through sales, with custom video, member and API limits, SSO and a dedicated customer success contact.
Ways to pay less
Captions
- Annual discount
Discount on yearly subscriptions
The help center says yearly subscriptions are discounted against 12 months of monthly billing. The US App Store lists Basic at $64.99 a year against $9.99 a month.
Submagic
- Annual discount
Save up to 41% with yearly billing
The pricing page lists yearly savings of $84 on Starter, $192 on Pro and $336 on Business compared with monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Captions or Submagic?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Captions starts at $4.99 per month for Lite (Android only); Basic is $9.99 per month, and Submagic starts at $12 per member / month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Captions or Submagic?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Captions has a free plan. Submagic does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.