# Shorty vs Descript

> Descript is a video editor that transcribes. Shorty is a summarizer that also transcribes and captions, with no account needed to summarize.

Page: https://aishorty.com/descript-alternative

Descript: A text-based audio and video editor: edit a recording by editing its transcript. (https://www.descript.com)

## Comparison

Every competitor cell was checked against that provider's own site on 21 October 2026; "—" means it could not be verified first-hand.

| Feature | Shorty | Descript |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Primary focus | Multi-source summarizer + transcription + file tools | Text-based audio and video editing |
| Sources it summarizes | YouTube, Spotify, webpages, articles, PDF, Word, audio, text | Your own recordings (show notes and podcast summaries) |
| Transcription | Yes — uploaded audio and video files, and live recording | Yes — recordings and uploads, in 25 languages |
| Subtitle / caption generation | Yes — SRT, VTT, and captions burned into the video | Yes — captions, translatable into 61 languages |
| File conversion / compression | Yes — audio, video, image and PDF | — |
| Languages stated | 113, with automatic detection | 25 for transcription, 61 for caption translation |
| Free tier | Summarize with no account at all; a free account adds a daily cloud-conversion quota | 60 media minutes a month |
| Paid plans from | Premium and Pro — live prices on the Shorty pricing page | $16 per person/month billed yearly ($24 monthly) |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Windows, Chrome/Edge/Firefox extensions | Desktop app for macOS and Windows |
| Public developer API | Yes — REST /v1, a TypeScript SDK, and an OAuth 2.1 MCP server | API and MCP |

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shorty free?

Yes. Shorty summarizes without an account (no login required), and a free Shorty account includes a daily quota of cloud file conversions (10 per day by default) and monthly subtitle jobs (3 per month by default). Paid Premium and Pro plans raise these limits.

### What can Shorty summarize?

Shorty summarizes YouTube videos, Spotify podcast episodes, webpages, articles, PDF documents, Word documents, audio files, and pasted or typed text.

### Does Shorty only work with YouTube?

No. Unlike YouTube-only tools such as Eightify, Shorty also summarizes webpages, PDFs, Word documents, audio, and text, and adds transcription, subtitle generation, and file conversion in one app.

### Is Shorty a meeting notetaker like Otter.ai?

No. Otter.ai is built to join and transcribe live meetings. Shorty works on content you bring to it: Shorty summarizes YouTube videos, webpages, PDFs, Word documents, audio files and text, transcribes uploaded audio and video files or a live recording, and generates subtitles.

### What platforms is Shorty available on?

Shorty runs in any browser at aishorty.com, with native apps on iOS (App Store), Android (Google Play), and Windows (Microsoft Store), plus browser extensions for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

### How much does Shorty cost?

Shorty has a free tier plus paid Premium and Pro plans. Current amounts are shown on the Shorty pricing page, quoted in the currency the app store or payment provider charges.

## About Shorty

Shorty is an AI summarizer and transcription app by Devino that turns YouTube videos, podcasts, webpages, PDFs, Word documents, audio files and pasted text into structured summaries, and also transcribes media, generates subtitles, and converts or compresses files.

- All summarizers: https://aishorty.com/summarizers
- Plans and limits: https://aishorty.com/premium
- Documentation: https://aishorty.com/docs (every page has a .md twin)
- Public API (OpenAPI 3.1): https://aishorty.com/openapi.json
- MCP server: https://aishorty.com/api/mcp (card: https://aishorty.com/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json)
- What Shorty is and is not: https://aishorty.com/llms.txt