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CapCutvsOpus Clip

TL;DR

CapCut is an editor with AI inside it: a free tier, Pro at $19.99 a month with 1,200 monthly AI credits and 1TB of space, Ultra at $79 with 8,645 credits, and Teams at $12.49 per seat. Opus Clip is an engine that turns long video into shorts: a free tier with 60 credits a month at up to 1080p, Starter at $15 with 150 credits, and Pro at $29 monthly or $14.50 billed annually with 300 credits, two-month credit rollover, a two-seat workspace and a dedicated Slack channel for support. Choose CapCut if you edit; choose Opus Clip if you want the edits to come out of a long video automatically.

Opus Clip's product is one motion: long video in, ranked shorts out. The free plan includes 60 credits a month, renders up to 1080p, and covers auto reframing and AI captions. Starter is $15 a month with 150 credits, AI clipping with a Virality Score, animated captions in more than 20 languages, filler and silence removal, one brand template and watermark removal. Pro is $29 a month or $14.50 billed annually ($174 a year), with 300 credits, unused credits rolling over for two months, a two-seat team workspace, priority support with a dedicated Slack channel and enterprise-level security. Both paid tiers advertise a free trial with no card.

The choice is manual versus automatic. CapCut gives you the timeline, effects and templates and lets AI assist - captions, cleanups, generation - where you point it; the 1,200-credit Pro allowance supports that pattern for a normal publishing month. Opus Clip removes the timeline from the workflow: you hand it an episode or a stream and it returns cut, captioned, reframed clips ranked by a predicted virality score, priced in credits that roll over two months on Pro. Podcasters, livestreamers and agencies clipping other people's footage tend to pick Opus Clip; creators who shape every cut tend to pick CapCut.

Pros & cons

👍 CapCut Pros

  • Pro at $19.99 a month covers a full editor with 1,200 AI credits and 1TB of space
  • The free tier allows real editing at $0 before any payment
  • Ultra at $79 raises credits to 8,645 a month for generation-heavy workflows
  • Teams at $12.49 a month per seat includes Pro features for every seat and a brand kit
  • Templates, effects and captions live in the same tool as the timeline

👎 CapCut Cons

  • AI usage is metered in credits, with premium generation quoted per second on top
  • The page states final pricing appears after sign-in
  • Clipping long video into shorts is a manual workflow with no virality ranking
  • Monthly credits reset; no rollover is stated on the page

👍 Opus Clip Pros

  • Starter at $15 a month turns long video into clips with a Virality Score and captions in 20+ languages
  • Pro at $29 monthly or $14.50 billed annually adds 300 credits, two-month rollover and a two-seat workspace
  • The free plan runs 60 credits a month at up to 1080p with auto reframing and AI captions
  • Filler and silence removal, animated captions and watermark removal are plan features
  • Priority support with a dedicated Slack channel on Pro

👎 Opus Clip Cons

  • Credits cap output: 60 free, 150 on Starter, 300 on Pro each month
  • The product is clipping rather than editing - fine cuts still need another tool
  • Starter is monthly-only; the annual rate applies to Pro
  • Brand templates are limited to one on Starter

Side by side

FeatureCapCutOpus Clip
Core jobFull video editor with AI features inside itAutomated clipping of long video into ranked shorts
Free tierBasic editing and free templates at $060 credits a month, up to 1080p, auto reframing and AI captions
Entry paid tierPro $19.99/month: 1,200 AI credits, 1TB spaceStarter $15/month: 150 credits, Virality Score, captions in 20+ languages
Top tierUltra $79/month: 8,645 AI credits, exclusive AI featuresPro $29/month or $14.50 monthly billed annually ($174/year): 300 credits, 2 seats
TeamsTeams $12.49/month per seat with Pro features and brand kitTwo seats included on Pro
Credit mechanicsMonthly AI credits reset; premium generation priced per secondCredits meter clips; unused Pro credits roll over two months
Editing modelManual timeline with AI assists where you point themHands-off: video in, cut and captioned clips out
SupportStandard in-product support; final pricing stated after sign-inPriority support with a dedicated Slack channel on Pro

Verdict

Pick CapCut if

Choose CapCut if you want to shape every cut

CapCut is the pick for creators and social teams who edit: timeline control, templates and effects in one tool, with AI handling captions and generation under a $19.99 monthly Pro plan that includes 1,200 credits. It costs more than a clipping tool and asks for your time in return - which is the right trade when each video is crafted rather than batch-produced.

Pick Opus Clip if

Choose Opus Clip if the footage is long and the queue is full

Opus Clip suits podcasters, livestreamers and agencies with more footage than editing hours: hand it an episode and get back captioned, reframed clips ranked by a virality score. At $15 a month with 150 credits - or $14.50 billed annually on Pro with rollover and two seats - it is the cheaper tool and the one that produces clips while you do something else.

What the vendors say, and what we did not measure

No independent ratings or user quotes are reproduced here; we collected none for this pair. Prices were read from capcut.com/pricing (US) and opus.pro/pricing on 2026-10-13; CapCut's page states final pricing appears after sign-in, and Opus Clip's page advertises savings of up to 50% with annual billing.

Who Should Use Which?

Use CapCut if you...

  • you edit short-form video yourself and want full timeline control
  • your AI use is captions, cleanup and occasional generation
  • a team needs shared brand kits at $12.49 per seat

Use Opus Clip if you...

  • you produce long-form content that needs to become many shorts
  • you want output volume without editing hours
  • credit rollover and a shared workspace matter to your process

FAQ

Is Opus Clip cheaper than CapCut?

Opus Clip Starter is $15 a month against CapCut Pro at $19.99, and its Pro annual rate is $14.50 a month. CapCut's free tier is a full editor, while Opus Clip's free plan is 60 clipping credits a month.

Can Opus Clip edit video?

It clips and captions automatically - cutting long video into shorts with reframing and a virality score. Detailed editing happens in a tool like CapCut, which offers a manual timeline with AI assists.

How do the credits work?

Opus Clip meters clips: 60 a month free, 150 on Starter, 300 on Pro with unused credits rolling over two months. CapCut meters AI features: 1,200 credits a month on Pro, 8,645 on Ultra, with premium generation priced per second.

Do both have free options?

Yes. CapCut's free tier covers basic editing and templates; Opus Clip's free plan runs 60 credits a month at up to 1080p with auto reframing and AI captions. Both paid tiers advertise trials without a credit card.

Which suits teams?

CapCut Teams is $12.49 a month per seat with Pro features and a brand kit. Opus Clip includes two seats in its Pro plan and offers priority support with a dedicated Slack channel.

Spot an outdated price or feature? Let us know and we'll verify it.

Heraldware analysis engine

reviewed · data sourced from official product pages · sources: capcut.com, opus.pro