Descript vs Hailuo AI vs InVideo AI vs LTX Studio
A side-by-side look at Descript, Hailuo AI, InVideo AI and LTX Studio for filmmakers: what each one can do, what it costs, and where they actually differ.
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Edit video and podcasts by editing the transcript, with an AI co-editor built in
- Price
- Free (1 hr/mo, 720p, watermarked) · Hobbyist $16/mo annual ($24 monthly) · Creator $24/mo annual ($35 monthly) · Business $50/mo annual ($65 monthly, per person)
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Podcast and interview editing from the transcript
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MiniMax video generator: 2K native-audio clips, camera commands, multi-reference input
- Price
- Free tier (limited credits, watermarked); paid plans: see the vendor's pricing page
- Learning
- Moderate
- Best for
- Previs and animatics that need native sound in the first pass
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AI assistant editor on a real multitrack timeline, with a free manual editor
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans per seat from €20/mo (€10/mo billed annually)
- Learning
- Moderate
- Best for
- Short social, ad and explainer videos built from generated clips, stock and talking-head footage
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Script-to-video AI filmmaking workspace: storyboards, keyframes, character continuity
- Price
- See the vendor's pricing page
- Learning
- Steep
- Best for
- Agencies boarding a spot from a script before a shoot
The short version
Where they differ
- InVideo AI is the only one without public API.
All 4 offer: text to video, free tier.
Feature by feature
Descript vs Hailuo AI vs InVideo AI vs LTX Studio: capabilities
| Descript | Hailuo AI | InVideo AI | LTX Studio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (1 hr/mo, 720p, watermarked) · Hobbyist $16/mo annual ($24 monthly) · Creator $24/mo annual ($35 monthly) · Business $50/mo annual ($65 monthly, per person) | Free tier (limited credits, watermarked); paid plans: see the vendor's pricing page | Free plan; paid plans per seat from €20/mo (€10/mo billed annually) | See the vendor's pricing page |
| AI agent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Chat assistant | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Team collaboration | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Text to image | Partial | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Image editing | Partial | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Text to video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image to video | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video to video | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Native audio in video | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Lip-sync | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Voice / TTS | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Music & SFX | Yes | Partial | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Upscaling | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes | Partial |
| Character consistency | Not confirmed | Partial | Yes | Partial |
| Camera control | Not confirmed | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Custom training | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Third-party models | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Partial |
| Public API | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | No | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Mobile app | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Desktop / local | Not confirmed | No | No | Partial |
| Open source | No | Partial | No | Partial |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes |
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page. "Not confirmed" means the vendor doesn't say.
Plans
Pricing compared
Descript
| Free | $0monthly |
|---|---|
| Hobbyist | $16 annual / $24 monthlyper person |
| Creator | $24 annual / $35 monthlyper person |
| Business | $50 annual / $65 monthlyper person |
| Enterprise | Customcustom |
Hailuo AI
| Free | $0monthly |
|---|
InVideo AI
| Free | €0weekly quota |
|---|---|
| Starter | €20monthly (€10/mo billed annually) |
| Plus | €60monthly (€30/mo billed annually) |
| Max | €150monthly (€75/mo billed annually) |
LTX Studio
| Enterprise | Customannual |
|---|
The verdict
Which one should you pick?
Descript
Pick it for
- Podcast and interview editing from the transcript
- Talking-head YouTube videos: filler word removal, retakes, captions
- Webinar and course repurposing into clips with captions and translation
Stands out
- Text-first editing: cut, reorder and remove filler words by editing the transcript, which is faster than frame-by-frame cutting for talking-head and interview footage.
- Recording and editing in one place: Rooms records each participant locally (up to 4K on paid plans) and the files open directly in the editor, with SquadCast now part of the product.
Watch out
- Underlord is still labelled beta and its per-prompt credit cost varies between runs of the same prompt
- Free plan is limited to 1 hour per month, 720p, with a watermark, and one seat
Hailuo AI
Pick it for
- Previs and animatics that need native sound in the first pass
- Stylised anime and illustration shots for music videos and short films
- Character shots driven by a reference image plus a motion or voice reference
Stands out
- Native stereo audio (dialogue, SFX, music) in the same pass as the picture, which removes a separate sound step for short clips
- Up to 12 mixed image, video and audio references in one generation, more reference types than most single-prompt video tools
Watch out
- Free tier is watermarked and small
- Clips top out at 15 seconds per generation
InVideo AI
Pick it for
- Short social, ad and explainer videos built from generated clips, stock and talking-head footage
- Cutting talking-head, podcast and multicam recordings: silences, filler, angle switching and chapters
- Editors who want an AI first pass and then finish in Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve
Stands out
- The AI works on a real multitrack timeline, and every edit it makes can be adjusted by hand afterwards.
- Exports an editable project to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve with cuts and layers intact, so the AI cut can move into a finishing workflow.
Watch out
- Credits are per seat and do not roll over to the next month
- Seedance 2.0 at 4K and Seedance 2.5 are only on Plus and Max; Starter gets Seedance 2.0 Fast and Mini
LTX Studio
Pick it for
- Agencies boarding a spot from a script before a shoot
- Directors pitching a TV or film pilot with previs footage
- Studios keeping character looks consistent across a multi-episode series
Stands out
- Script-to-storyboard is the core flow: a screenplay becomes scene breaks and frames before any shot is rendered, which most other generators do not center on.
- Dual-keyframe direction (start and end frame) gives more shot control than a single-image image-to-video pass, useful when a camera position has to match a boarded frame.
Watch out
- Credit allowances go quickly at render-heavy 4K work
- Steep learning curve for people who do not already think in shot lists and keyframes
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page, checked against vendor pricing and changelog pages (oldest check: ). Sources are listed on each tool's page.
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