Captions vs Submagic

Captions

Captions is the strongest of the phone-first short-video editors, and the caption styling plus eye-contact correction are the two features people actually keep it for. The AI edit pass genuinely removes an hour of manual cutting from a weekly-video habit. The pricing is the problem: it is credit-metered, the published table is labelled iOS-only, and the entry tier's 500 credits disappear fast once you use the generative features it exists to sell.

Pros

• +Automatic scene cutting, caption burn-in, b-roll insertion and music in one pass over raw footage
• +Over 100 caption styles and support for 100+ languages, including dubbing
• +Eye-contact correction handles the single most obvious tell in scripted creator video
• +Runs on iOS, Android, web and desktop with the same account
• +Free tier still gives trimming, transitions and library media, so the app is usable before paying

Cons

• −Everything generative is credit-metered, so the monthly price understates real cost at volume
• −The pricing page states it reflects iOS plans only, which leaves web and Android buyers guessing
• −Credit rollover is capped at 3x the monthly allowance, so banking credits for a big project does not work

Submagic

The quickest route from a talking-head recording to captioned vertical clips, and the caption styling is what people actually pay for. If you already cut in Premiere or DaVinci, their built-in speech-to-text plus one saved template gets you most of the way for nothing.

Pros

• +caption presets track short-form trends rather than looking like generic subtitle burn-in
• +transcript-based trimming is far faster than scrubbing a timeline
• +every paid tier includes some API minutes, so the pipeline can be automated
• +4K/60fps export at the top tier, which most caption tools cap below

Cons

• −quotas count finished videos (3 credits each), not minutes, so short clips waste allowance
• −clip-length ceilings of 2 minutes on Starter and 5 on Pro rule out most podcast episodes
• −Starter and Pro include only 10 API minutes a month; 100 needs the $69 Business tier
• −no free plan is listed on the pricing page, only a 'try for free' signup

Is Captions cheaper than Submagic?

They charge in different units, so there is no like-for-like answer: Captions starts at $24.99/mo, Submagic at $19/seat/mo. Entry price is the lowest paid plan as we last verified it.

Does Captions or Submagic have a free tier?

Both: Captions has a free tier, and Submagic has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Captions or Submagic?

Submagic ships a public API, as of our last verification. A public API for Captions is not confirmed by us — check its developer docs before you plan an integration.