Opus Clip: How to Turn Long Videos into Shorts, Free Plan and Pricing

How to use Opus Clip: the quick steps

1. Upload a video file, or paste a public or unlisted link. YouTube links work on every plan.
2. Choose a clip length and, if you only need part of the video, the time range to process.
3. Start processing. Each minute of the original video uses one credit.
4. Review the clips. Paid plans let you fix captions and trims in the editor.
5. Download the clips, or post them straight from OpusClip on a paid plan.

OpusClip is an AI video clipping tool. You give it one long video, such as a podcast, webinar, interview or tutorial. It finds short moments that can stand alone, reframes them to vertical 9:16, adds animated captions and, on paid plans, ranks them with a virality score. The Free plan covers about an hour of footage a month. Watermark-free exports start at $15 a month.

What OpusClip actually does

OpusClip’s main job is cutting a video you already have. Paid plans can add AI-generated B-roll (AI images on Starter, 3 clips a month; AI video on Pro), but its clipping app does not make whole videos from a text prompt (OpusClip sells a separate app, Agent Opus, for that). For that, see our guide to the best AI video generators or the beginner walkthrough on how to make AI videos.

Finding the clips

On the Free plan, OpusClip picks clips by what is said, which its pricing page calls “clipping by spoken words”. Starter and Pro add clipping by visual objects, sound and emotion, plus a genre-specific model; the help center says its ClipAnything model can clip videos with little or no dialogue. Pro also lets you ask for specific moments with a prompt or topic search.

OpusClip’s help center gives these typical clip counts, which also vary by model:

Source video length	Clips OpusClip says it usually makes
0 to 3 minutes	1 to 2
3 to 10 minutes	3 to 14
10 to 30 minutes	5 to 21
30 to 60 minutes	23 to 32
60 to 120 minutes	32 to 42
Over 120 minutes	42 to 55

Captions

Every plan gets animated caption templates with automatic emoji and keyword highlights (watermarked on Free). The help center lists more than 25 languages, but most, from Italian to Korean, are marked beta, and OpusClip warns these may show inaccurate emojis or highlighted keywords.

Reframing to vertical

Long videos are usually wide (16:9); Shorts, Reels and TikToks are tall (9:16). OpusClip’s AI reframe crops each clip to keep the important part in view, switches layouts when needed, and uses a split layout for screen-share or gameplay footage so on-screen information is not cut off. Free and Starter export 9:16 only; Starter adds manual reframing. Pro adds 1:1 square and 16:9 landscape, plus tracking of moving objects.

The virality score

On Starter, Pro and Business, each clip gets a virality score from 0 to 99, and results are sorted by that score, highest first. OpusClip says its AI rates the hook (does the opening grab attention), flow, value and trend. Treat the score as a prediction, not a promise of views.

Opus Clip free plan: what you actually get

OpusClip calls its Free plan “free forever”. It includes:

• 60 credits a month, about an hour of source footage.
• Imports from local files (up to 10 GB per video) and YouTube links.
• Clips up to 1080p with AI captions, emoji and keyword highlights, and auto reframe to 9:16.
• A watermark on exported clips.
• No editing and no direct posting to social media.
• A short clock: clips can no longer be exported after 3 days, and uploaded media expires after 3 days.

The Free plan is for testing whether OpusClip picks good moments from your content, not for regular publishing. For free tools that generate video rather than cut it, see the best free AI video generators.

Opus Clip pricing in November 2026

US prices from OpusClip’s pricing page, last checked 8 November 2026. Some countries see lower prices.

	Free	Starter	Pro
Price	$0	$15/month (monthly billing only)	$29/month, or $14.50/month billed $174 a year
Credits	60 a month	150 a month	300 a month per pack (3,600 over 12 months on yearly)
Watermark	Yes	No	No
MP4 export	Up to 1080p, 3-day limit	Highest resolution, 30-day limit	Highest resolution, no time limit
Aspect ratios	9:16	9:16	9:16, 1:1, 16:9
Imports	Local files (10 GB), YouTube	Adds Google Drive, Vimeo, Zoom, Rumble, StreamYard	Local files up to 30 GB, public MP4 links and many more sources
Virality score	No	Yes	Yes
Editing	No	Text and timeline editing, filler and pause removal	Adds AI video B-roll, music, transitions, eye contact correction
Posting	No	YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram	Adds Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky and a scheduler

Pro also adds bulk export, export to Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve (as XML), 100 GB of cloud storage, a team workspace with 2 seats per pack (up to 4) and limited API access. Business has custom pricing and is aimed at organizations that need more than 10 seats, large volumes or custom solutions.

The Starter and Pro cards both offer a free trial with no credit card required. OpusClip’s help center describes it as a trial of Pro features, says trial exports carry the watermark and says trial users cannot post or schedule.

How credits work

• Processing costs 1 credit per minute of the original video, so a 30-minute video uses 30 credits.
• Videos shorter than a minute cost 1 credit; partial minutes are rounded down, so a 4.5-minute video counts as 4.
• Posting to X costs 3 credits per clip, per X account.
• On monthly plans, credits expire after 60 days, so unused credits roll over for one extra month. Yearly plans deliver the full year’s credits at once. The help center says they last 12 months; the pricing page’s yearly card says unused credits roll over for 2 months. Check the current terms before you buy.
• Pro users who have not downloaded any clips from a project can refund its credits up to 14 days after upload.

How to turn a long video into Shorts with OpusClip

1. Pick a source with clear moments. Talk-led formats suit it best: podcasts, interviews, webinars and tutorials. OpusClip supports videos up to 10 hours long. Only use footage you own or have permission to repurpose.
2. Bring the video in. Upload a file or paste a link. Links must be public or unlisted.
3. Set the brief before processing. Choose a clip length (the default is Auto, 0 to 3 minutes; ranges go up to 10 to 15 minutes). Limit processing to the useful part of the video to save credits. On Pro you can also describe the moments you want.
4. Process, then review every clip. On paid plans, clips arrive sorted by virality score. Watch each one fully and drop clips that open mid-sentence or rely on something said earlier.
5. Fix the captions. Check names, numbers and slang. Paid plans let you correct them in the editor and cut filler words and pauses.
6. Export or post. Download MP4s, or on a paid plan post directly to the platforms it supports. For a posting routine, see our guide on how to use AI for social media.

Limits to know before you rely on it

• The AI’s picks are a starting point. A high score means OpusClip’s model likes the clip. It does not mean your followers will.
• Context can get lost. A short cut can drop the caveat that came before it. Re-watch clips with opinions, numbers or advice.

No long recording to start from? A faceless Reels workflow builds short videos from a script instead.

Other AI clip makers for Shorts and Reels

Several tools turn long videos into short ones. Compare these points on each vendor’s own pages, because plans change often:

• Clip picking: speech only, or also visuals, sound and prompts.
• Captions: styles, languages, ease of correction.
• Reframing: subject tracking, split layouts, export ratios.
• Free-plan limits: watermarks, resolution, download windows.
• Editing and posting: quick trims or a full editor, and direct posting.

CapCut

CapCut’s Long Video to Shorts tool uses AI to find highlights and trim clips automatically. It converts 16:9 footage to 9:16 with subject tracking and generates captions you can edit. You upload from the cloud, Google Drive or Dropbox, then adjust length, captions and templates before exporting. Our CapCut AI video guide covers its other AI tools.

Descript

Descript’s Create Clips feature uses its AI co-editor, Underlord, to pick the moments it expects to do well on social media. You then refine them in a full editor where you edit video by editing the transcript, change aspect ratios with layouts, remove filler words and add captions.

Riverside

Riverside’s Magic Clips picks highlights from a recording and offers presets for YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. You can focus clips on a chosen speaker or topic, or highlight a quote in the transcript and turn it into a clip. Riverside is also a recording app.

Vizard

Vizard transcribes your video, finds highlights and centers the key subject in vertical format. Its editor offers editing by text, timeline edits, caption translation, one-click ratio changes and brand templates, and you can download, share a link or publish directly.

Klap

Klap takes a YouTube link or a video file and looks for the most interesting topics in speech-led content. It reframes clips with layouts such as split screen, screencast and gaming, adds subtitles and scores each clip’s potential to go viral.

Our take (editorial judgment based on each vendor’s published features and OpusClip’s published prices): OpusClip suits people who want finished vertical clips with little editing, and its Free plan is a low-risk trial. If you will edit every clip heavily, an editor-first tool such as Descript or CapCut may suit you better. If you already record in Riverside, try Magic Clips first. Read more about how Convly AI writes guides.

FAQ

Is Opus Clip free?

Yes. The Free plan costs $0 and includes 60 credits a month, about 60 minutes of source video. Free clips carry a watermark, render at up to 1080p and can only be exported for 3 days.

How do OpusClip credits work?

Processing costs 1 credit per minute of the original video. Videos under a minute cost 1 credit, and partial minutes are rounded down. Monthly-plan credits expire after 60 days.

How do I remove the OpusClip watermark?

Watermark-free export starts on the Starter plan, $15 a month in the US, and is included in Pro and Business. OpusClip’s help center says videos exported during the free trial still carry the watermark.

What is the OpusClip virality score?

It is a score from 0 to 99 that OpusClip’s AI gives each clip based on its hook, flow, value and trend. It is available on Starter, Pro and Business. It is a prediction, not a guarantee of views.

How long can my video be?

OpusClip supports videos up to 10 hours long. Local uploads can be up to 10 GB on Free and Starter and up to 30 GB on Pro and Business.

Can OpusClip make square or landscape clips?

Yes, on Pro and Business, which export 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9. Free and Starter export vertical 9:16 only.

Can I clip other people’s videos with OpusClip?

Only with permission. Clip videos you own or have the rights to repurpose; a link working in the tool does not give you the right to republish the footage.