Head-to-head comparison
Submagic vs Captions
Pick Submagic if you edit short videos in a browser and want styled captions, B-roll and scheduled posts at a low monthly price. Pick Captions if you film on your phone, want AI editing and AI avatars, or need to cut clips from a video up to 3 hours long. If your source is a long stream or a Twitch VOD, neither is built around that job.
Facts checked on 2026-11-04 on each vendor's own site. ClipX is not affiliated with Submagic or Captions.
What is Submagic?
Submagic is a web editor for short-form video. You upload a clip, it transcribes the speech in up to 123 languages, and it adds animated captions, zooms, B-roll and sound. Its plans count videos per month and cap the length of each video, from 2 minutes on Starter to 30 minutes on Business.
Submagic also has Magic Clips, which takes a YouTube URL or an uploaded file and pulls out key moments as short clips. A social scheduler posts to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts, and an API is available for automation. We found no Submagic mobile app on its site.
What is Captions?
Captions began as a phone app and is still built around it: the site links to iOS and Android apps, and a web version runs in the browser. The company also ran Mirage Studio, which is now merged into Captions, so former Mirage users find their projects and AI actors there.
Its paid plans are sold as AI credits. Those credits pay for AI Edit, a chat-based editor, AI actors and digital twins, generated B-roll and music, and Clips, which turns a long video of up to 3 hours into 30 or more short clips that follow whoever is talking.
Submagic, Captions and ClipX at a glance
| Submagic | Captions | ClipX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No free plan listed; "Try For Free" with no credit card | Yes: basic tools such as trimming and transitions, no AI credits | A free plan to try it: run a video, edit and preview clips; exporting needs Pro |
| Starting paid price | Starter $19/month, or $12/month billed yearly | Max $24.99/month (iOS price; yearly amount not shown) | $4.99 for month one, after that $20 monthly or $200 yearly |
| Top listed plan | Business $69/month, or $41/month billed yearly | Frontier 4x $279.99/month; Enterprise is custom | One paid plan: Pro |
| Monthly limits | 15, 40 or 100 videos a month (45, 120 or 300 credits) | 500 AI credits on Max, 1,400 to 5,600 on Frontier | Pro: unlimited videos and exports, one flat price |
| Max video length | 2 min (Starter), 5 min (Pro), 30 min (Business) | Clips: up to 3 hours and 10 GB per video | Pro: a 12 h stream, clipped 3 h at a time; files up to 500 MB |
| Clip finding | Magic Clips: YouTube URL or upload; not in the standard plan lists | Clips: 30+ clips from one video, more on request in chat | Picks and ranks moments from what people say |
| Captions | 123 languages; styled, animated captions | 100+ caption styles; subtitles in 100+ languages | Word-by-word timing; correct any word; several looks |
| Editor | Web editor with zooms, B-roll, sound | AI Edit, chat editor, eye contact fix, noise removal | Trim, fix caption words, title, text, music, bleep swear words |
| Layouts and reframing | Not listed | Keeps faces centered; follows the active speaker | Six layouts, among them Face Zoom, Dual Face and Facecam + Video |
| Twitch and Kick VODs | Not listed | Not listed | Yes: a twitch.tv/videos link or a Kick VOD link |
| Direct publishing | TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts; scheduling on Pro and Business | TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn | Shorts posted directly on Pro; TikTok and Reels via the MP4 |
| Mobile app | Not listed | iOS and Android | Apps for iPhone and Android |
Pricing and limits
As of November 4, 2026, Submagic lists three plans, priced per member. Starter is $19/month, or $12/month on yearly billing, for 15 videos a month of up to 2 minutes each. Pro is $39/month, or $23/month yearly, for 40 videos of up to 5 minutes. Business is $69/month, or $41/month yearly, for 100 videos of up to 30 minutes, with 4K export at 60 fps. A custom plan is sold through sales.
Captions lists its iOS prices. Max is $24.99/month for 500 AI credits. Frontier is $69.99/month for 1,400 credits, Frontier 2x is $139.99/month for 2,800 and Frontier 4x is $279.99/month for 5,600. The page says yearly plans are billed upfront at a discount but shows no yearly amounts. Unused credits roll over for up to two extra months.
The two meters measure different things. Submagic counts finished videos and caps their length, so a 10-minute upload does not fit on Starter or Pro. Captions counts credits, and the pricing page does not say how many credits one clip or one AI edit uses, so it is hard to predict a month of use before you try it.
Finding clips in a long video
Captions has the clearer long-video story. Its Clips feature accepts a YouTube link or an upload up to 3 hours and 10 GB, returns 30 or more clips, reframes them for vertical, and handles overlapping speech and quick speaker switches. You can ask the chat editor for more clips.
Submagic Magic Clips also takes a YouTube URL or a file and scores moments for virality. However, the pricing page does not include Magic Clips in the Starter, Pro or Business feature lists, and the checkout links treat it as a separate option. Check what your plan includes before you count on it for long videos.
Caption styles and languages
Captions is what both tools are known for. Submagic transcribes in 123 languages and builds its whole editor around animated caption looks, emojis and zooms. Captions offers more than 100 caption styles, lets you build your own with custom fonts and colors, and translates subtitles into more than 100 languages.
Both let you review the text before export. The free Captions plan has one caption template, so a real test of its styles needs the Max plan.
Editing and AI features
Submagic is a focused editor: captions, auto zooms, B-roll (Storyblocks footage on Pro and Business), sound effects and brand templates. It suits people who already have a cut and want it to look finished fast.
Captions goes further into generated media. AI Edit restyles a whole video at once, and the app adds eye contact correction, background noise removal, AI actors, digital twins and generated B-roll and music. If you film talking-head videos on your phone, that toolset is the main reason to choose it.
Publishing and apps
Submagic posts to TikTok, Instagram Reels and Stories, and YouTube Shorts. Scheduling for a later date needs Pro or Business, and LinkedIn, Facebook and X are marked as coming soon. Captions says you can post to TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and LinkedIn from the app.
Captions has iOS and Android apps. Submagic runs in the browser, and its site lists no mobile app.
Which one should you pick?
You caption short clips at a desk and want a low bill
Pick: Submagic
Starter is $12/month on yearly billing, and the editor is built only around captions, zooms and B-roll.
You film and edit everything on your phone
Pick: Captions
It has iOS and Android apps with AI Edit, eye contact correction and noise removal.
You want clips from a podcast or webinar up to 3 hours long
Pick: Captions
Clips takes 3 hours or 10 GB per video and follows whoever is talking.
A small team schedules posts for several brands
Pick: Submagic
Business includes unlimited users per its comparison table, three publishing profiles per platform and 4K export.
You want AI actors or a digital twin of yourself
Pick: Captions
AI actors and digital twins are part of the Max and Frontier plans.
A third option: ClipX
Submagic and Captions both start from video you made for social. ClipX starts from the long recording. Paste a YouTube video or live replay, a Twitch or Kick VOD, or a Vimeo link, and ClipX writes out every spoken word, scores each moment and renders captioned 9:16 clips. A short check comes first: you state that you own the recording or hold the owner's go-ahead.
Trying it costs nothing on the free plan (process, edit and preview; exports need Pro). The first Pro month is $4.99; after that it is $20 a month or $200 a year, with no ClipX watermark on exports.
- Long streams: Pro takes streams up to 12 hours, processed in parts of up to 3 hours. Pick a part, and add the link once more when you want the next part.
- In Gaming / stream mode the streamer's voice outranks game characters, and a clip holds both what led up to a moment and how people reacted.
- The Facecam + Video layout stacks the webcam over the gameplay and spots a cleanly edged camera box without help.
- Captions are timed to each spoken word, and you can edit any word to fix a misheard name.
- What ClipX lacks next to these two: no AI avatars, no translation, and direct posting goes to YouTube Shorts only. Clip finding uses speech, so silent gameplay gives few clips.
Free plan to try it: process, edit and preview. Exports need Pro, $4.99 for the first month, then $20/month.
Common questions about Submagic vs Captions
Is Submagic cheaper than Captions?
At the entry level, yes. Submagic Starter is $19/month, or $12/month billed yearly, for 15 videos of up to 2 minutes. Captions Max is $24.99/month for 500 AI credits. Captions has a free plan with basic tools; Submagic lists a free try with no credit card but no free plan.
Is Captions now called Mirage?
The product is still Captions, run by NOCAP, Inc. d/b/a Captions. Its site links to Mirage, and Mirage Studio has been merged into Captions, so former Mirage Studio subscribers log in to Captions to find their projects and actors.
Which one clips long videos better?
Captions states the clearer limits: Clips takes a YouTube link or upload up to 3 hours and 10 GB and returns 30 or more clips. Submagic Magic Clips works from a YouTube URL or a file, but the standard plans cap uploads at 2 to 30 minutes and do not list Magic Clips.
Does Submagic have a mobile app?
We found none listed on its website. Submagic runs in a web browser. Captions has iOS and Android apps.
Can either tool clip a Twitch stream?
Neither site lists Twitch or Kick links as a source. You would download the VOD and upload it, within each tool's size and length limits. ClipX takes Twitch and Kick VOD links directly.
Can I post to TikTok from Submagic or Captions?
Yes, both list TikTok. Submagic also posts to Instagram and YouTube Shorts, with scheduling on Pro and Business. Captions also lists Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and LinkedIn.
Sources
Prices and features as each vendor's site showed them on 2026-11-04. Plans change, so check the vendor's page before you buy.