Descript now bills jump-cut smoothing by the second

Descript changed how it charges AI credits for smoothing jump cuts in its September 17, 2026 release. Smoothing is now priced by the second: 0.5 AI credits per second of regenerated audio and 1.0 AI credit per second of regenerated video. Before, Descript charged a flat amount per cut. The release notes don’t say what that flat amount was.

What changed

Jump-cut smoothing regenerates a short stretch of audio or video where you cut, so the edit doesn’t jump. With the new pricing, a short fix costs little and a long one costs more. By the stated rates, smoothing 4 seconds of video uses 4 AI credits, and 4 seconds of audio uses 2.

The same release made it easier to use at scale: Descript can now list every jump cut in a composition, and a “Smooth all” option processes them all at once.

How many credits you get

AI credits a month on Descript’s pricing page, October 18, 2026:

Plan	AI credits a month	Top-ups available
Free	100, one time only	No
Hobbyist	400	No
Creator	800	Yes
Business	1,500	Yes

Hobbyist has no top-ups, so a month of heavy smoothing there has to fit in its 400 credits.

Other billing changes

• Local currency at checkout. From the same release, new subscribers see prices in their own currency and can pay with more methods, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Cash App. Plan changes and upcoming invoices still show US dollars.
• Usage history. The October 12, 2026 release added a custom range in Settings, Usage, covering 12 months of AI credits and media minutes.
• Video generation. The October 12 release also made MiniMax H3 Max Turbo the default video generation model on paid plans. Free plans stay on PixVerse V4.5.

If you smooth many cuts on long recordings, try a few on one project, then check Settings, Usage to see what they cost before running “Smooth all” across a whole edit.