Descript Review | 5 Ways I Was Losing Money Each Week by Not Using Descript

I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m a spendthrift when it comes to business software. However, even I have to stop and ask, “Do I reeeeealllly need this, or do I just want to need it?”

That was my thought process with the new audio/video software Descript. If you’re considering Descript, read this first. I’ll help you feel like a genius for buying it…

What Is Descript?

Descript is a one of a kind, all in one video and audio editing program. It is a web based app that also includes a desktop application for larger projects.

Key Descript features include…

• Screen and camera recording (alternative to programs like Screenflow 10 and Camtasia)
• Live team collaboration (alternative to Frame.io)
• Transcription for video and audio files (alternative to Rev or human transcriber)
• Auto removal of filler words like “ums” and “ahs” (alternative to human editor)
• “Overdub” AI voice feature allows you to emulate your voice if you need to add words after recording (alternative to nothing simple) This is a one of a kind feature that is normally reserved for expert audio engineers with fancy, expensive software).
• Audiogram creation allows you to turn audio into text videos. Think burnt in subtitles (alternative to headliner.app or human editor).

I’ve used many “similar” tools over the years, and Descript is in a league of its own.

Descript Pricing

How Descript Saves Money

I didn't look at Descript as a way to save money. I was looking at it as a way to improve my content. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out it did both. 

$200/month on Transcription and Captions with Rev

Let me first say that I am still a huge fan of Rev and will use them for odds and ends projects when I'm in a pinch, but Descript will save me and my team a lot going forward with 30hrs of transcription per month. 

30 hrs is more than almost any creator could need. If you break that down by minutes and ONLY used Descript transcriptions for $24/month, you'd be paying less than $.02/minute. 

30 Hours of transcription on Rev would cost $2,250. 

Want captions too? Tack on another $2,250. 

Like I said, no one is likely using that many hours, BUT the price difference is staggering even on a smaller scale, more than enough to offset the $24/month cost. 

Now, in fairness, the rough draft fee of $0.25/minute is far more comparable to what you get with Descript, since their transcriptions are not perfect. You will need to do some editing to get your transcripts or captions to 99%+ accuracy, but you'll have plenty of cash to spend on hiring someone to do that!

If you paid that you'd be looking at $450/month. 

Oh, and that's also just one of the features (far from the biggest reason I started using it) .

$149 on Screenrecording with Screenflow (Per Editor)

Ok, this is NOT a perfect replacement for someone like me who really loves Screenflow and all the features it offers. However, if you're not utilizing all the fancy features inside of Screenflow, you can easily replace it with Descript's screen recording feature.

Also, all your team members get access to the recording tool for free, so multiply that license cost across your team to see true value of replacement.

If you're not a Mac user, alternative softwares like Camtasia are priced similarly. 

$19.99/Month on Audiograms with Headliner.App

Have you heard of audiograms? They're awesome, and you've surely seen them before around the web.

Here's an example of one I made for a YouTube video.

This is a tertiary feature of Descript that is honestly worth the $24/month on its own. 

If you're a podcaster, you'll absolutely love these for sharing on social media. They look AMAZING. 

Don't get me wrong, Headliner is an awesome program, and they do offer more design options. If you can afford both, go for it, Descript is still worth its weight in gold without audiograms. They really barely even advertise it on their site, which is shocking to me.

$22/Month on Frame.io

Frame.io is a tool I purchased right before finding Descript. It is an amazing tool, and if you're a video focused company, it's absolutely worth the cost (whether or not you buy Descript as well). 

However, Descript does replace it well enough if you're not creating videos on an extremely large scale with professional editors. 

$100/month on professional audio editor

Although Descript isn't as simple as "you upload and you're done," it makes it possible for the layman like me to edit their own audio extremely quickly and effectively. 

Your own editing costs may vary, but $100/month is a very conservative estimate for me. 

2-3 Hrs saved on editing time

Removing the filler words ("ums and "ahs") takes a ton of time. Descript makes it insanely fast and easy to remove filler words and reduce dead air time. 

Keep in mind, this isn’t like an AppSumo deal that says “replaces Evernote” or something crazy when it really doesn’t even come close in terms of value (sorry AppSumo, you know I love you)!

Everything that Descript replaces, it does it at the highest level.