You just finished publishing a 40-minute YouTube video or podcast episode. It’s packed with golden moments – that perfect one-liner, the funny reaction, the insight that makes people lean in. You know these moments could blow up on TikTok, Reels, or Shorts.
But here’s the problem: editing.
Manually scrubbing through the video, cutting highlights, adding captions, and formatting for vertical? That could take hours. And if you’re a busy creator or marketer, you don’t have hours to waste.
Well, there’s an app for that. AI short video makers automatically find the best parts of your video, trim them down into scroll-stopping clips, and even add captions and branding for you. What used to take all night can now be done in minutes.
In this guide, I’ve put together the 8 best AI short clip makers available right now. Each tool has its own strengths – some are perfect for YouTubers, some for podcasters, and some for social media teams.
By the end, you’ll know exactly which one fits your workflow and helps you turn long-form content into viral shorts with way less effort.
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Testing Approach
I didn’t just put this list together from feature pages and marketing blurbs.
I actually signed up for each tool and tested them out on the same YouTube video to see how well they pulled out highlights, added captions, and handled formatting. That way, I could compare them side by side and see where each one shines – and where they fall short.
One thing to keep in mind is that most of these tools offer a free trial, but free is only good for testing. If you’re serious about your brand, you’re not going to post content with watermarks slapped on it.
Think of the free plan as a way to check out the workflow, see if the AI gets your style right, and then decide if it’s worth paying for.
The tools I kept in this list all have workable free trials (or free plans) so you can get hands-on before committing. From there, it comes down to which one fits your workflow best.
1. OpusClip
If you’ve heard of just one AI short clip maker, it’s probably OpusClip.
It’s one of the most popular tools in this space – and for good reason. OpusClip doesn’t just chop up a video, it uses AI to find the best moments and even predict which ones are most likely to go viral.
That “Virality Score” is the feature that really caught my attention. Each clip is graded so you can quickly see which ones might perform best on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or Reels. Combine that with the fact that OpusClip gave me 27 clips from a single video (compared to 10 or so from other tools) and you start to see how much time it can save.
Uploading is also flexible. Even on the free trial you can bring content in from a number of different sources including YouTube, Zoom, Twitch, Rumble, Google Drive, or just upload directly. On the Pro plan, the list expands to include Facebook, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Loom, Riverside, and more. Wherever you host your content, Opus probably has a door into it.
Production value is another strength. Clips process in under five minutes and you can choose formats like 9:16, 1:1, 16:9, or 4:5 depending on where you’re posting.
Captions are clean, accurate, and fully customizable. And if you want to go deeper, the editor lets you adjust transcripts, swap caption styles, add b-roll, drop in music, and even apply branded templates with your logo.
It all feels beginner-friendly, but with enough pro features to satisfy serious creators.
OpusClip offers a 7-day free trial with enough credits to process 90 minutes of video. The trial unlocks a number of features for you to test but your videos are watermarked.
There’s a lot of value in upgrading 1 of the paid accounts as it removes the watermarks and the limitations of the free trial.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: 7-day free trial (no credit card); Starter plan $15/month, Pro plan $29/month
Best For: Creators who want to scale short-form content quickly without sacrificing quality.
2. Descript
Descript isn’t just a clip maker – it’s a full editing suite that happens to make short clips really well. If you’ve ever wished editing felt as easy as editing a Google Doc, this is the tool that makes it real.
What stood out most to me is how the whole production process is guided by the transcript of the source video. You literally edit the text transcript, and the video updates right along with it. That makes cutting down long videos into clean shorts surprisingly intuitive, even if you’re not a pro editor.
Input options are flexible too. You can paste a YouTube link, upload a file, import from Zoom, or even record video directly inside Descript. And when it’s time to export, you’re not locked into one format – choose 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, or even a custom size. While I didn’t see direct publishing to TikTok or Reels, you can push clips to YouTube, some podcast platforms, Google Drive, or just share the hosted Descript link.
The default settings also deserve a nod. Of the eight tools I tested, Descript gave me the cleanest-looking clips right out of the box when combined with captions. Less tinkering, better results.
Another plus is Underlord, their built-in AI agent. It can help you edit, repurpose, or even spin up completely new content – almost like having an assistant in the studio.
The learning curve is steeper than some drag-and-drop clip makers, but once you “get” the transcript-driven workflow, it feels natural. And the free trial gives you 1 hour of processing, which jumps to 10 hours on the starter paid plan. So if you’re serious about repurposing your content, you can see that upgrading is the way to go.
Plans start at $24/month for the Hobbyist plan although if you’re a heavy user who needs more than just shorts, you’d want to go with the most popular plan – Creator – at $35/month.
Descript is a favorite for podcasters and storytellers for good reason. While it’s not as “hands-off” for short-form clipping, its flexibility is unmatched if you need both editing and clipping in one place.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Free plan: 1 hour of processing. Paid plans start at $24/month with 10 hours included. Creator plan (best value) – $35/month with 30 hours included. Business plan – $65/month.
Best for: Creators who want an all-in-one editing platform that goes beyond clips, and who don’t mind a short learning curve for a lot more control.
3. Klap
Klap has quickly become a favorite among creators who want a polished look without spending hours editing. It takes the grunt work out of clipping by automatically scanning your long videos and pulling out the parts most likely to go viral. Instead of manually hunting for highlights, the AI identifies hooks, reframes for vertical platforms, and adds captions so your clips are ready for TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts.
The workflow is smooth: you can upload a file or paste a YouTube link, then tell Klap how many clips you want and which platform you’re targeting. The AI handles captions, layouts, and even smart cropping to keep speakers centered. There are options for styling subtitles, translating captions, and exporting in multiple formats. You can also generate batches of clips at once, making it useful for repurposing podcasts, webinars, or long YouTube uploads.
That said, Klap isn’t perfect. The AI doesn’t always capture your exact message, and its editing tools are lighter compared to a full editor like Descript. Processing long videos can also take a bit of time. Still, if speed and automation matter more than deep control, Klap’s efficiency is hard to beat.
Compared to most of the other tools mentioned here , Klap is more on the simple side, light on features, but can still deliver the output you’re looking for.
Klap offers a 3-day free trial on their paid plans. You do have to enter your payment info but even so, you can still clip 1 video for free without taking a trial. Sadly, there’s no free plan.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Creator plan starts at $29/month (100 clips). Pro is $79/month (4K, dubbing, longer uploads). Pro+ is $189/month with team collaboration and API access. Annual billing lowers costs by ~20%.
Best For: Creators, marketers, and agencies who want a hands-off way to turn long videos into polished, shareable clips.
4. Vizard
Vizard is one of those tools that feels built for creators who want flexibility without getting too technical. It makes short-form clipping fast, but still gives you enough control to brand and polish your content.
Getting started is easy. You can upload a video, paste in a link from various video platforms including YouTube and Twitch, pull from Zoom or Google Drive, or even record directly in the platform. Once processed, Vizard not only generates a transcript you can edit, but also spins up dozens of potential clips. In one of my tests, it gave me 25 usable shorts from a single video, each with its own “viral score” prediction.
The editor is versatile. You can work by transcript (highlight text to cut), on the timeline, or with AI tools like silence removal or b-roll insertion. It’s less overwhelming than a full editing suite but offers more depth than the simplest one-click clippers.
Captions weren’t the strongest out of the box, but Vizard redeems itself with plenty of styling and editing options, letting you create captions that stand out once you tweak them. On the branding side, there’s a brand kit feature for logos, fonts, and templates – though that’s only available on the Business plan.
Exports are straightforward with support for 9:16, 1:1, 16:9, and 4:5 formats. You can publish directly to TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, or save to Google Drive and download locally. Free users are limited to 720p exports with watermarks, but paid plans unlock 1080p and even 4K quality.
The free plan on Vizard gives you 60 credits which is equal to 60 minutes of video processing. Credits refresh every 30 days so you can always clip on the free plan. However, free users are limited to 720p exports with watermarks, but paid plans unlock 1080p and even 4K quality.
Plans start at $29/month for the Creator plan and $39/month for the Business plan. Each plan gives you more credits and unlocks new features.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Free plan – 60 credits (minutes) per month, refreshes every 30 days. Creator plan – $29/month. Business plan – $39/month, plus $10/month per extra seat. Annual billing is 50% off.
Best for: Creators who want a balance of automation and customization – not just quick clips, but branded content that feels unique without being overly complex.
5. LiveLink
LiveLink surprised me. From a single test video, it only generated seven clips – but the quality was spot on. The titles felt optimized, the captions popped without any tweaking, and every clip looked polished enough to post right away. In terms of raw quality, it’s one of the stronger tools I tried.
The problem is the limitations. Even on the paid Starter plan ($34/month), you’re capped at 100 upload minutes and 720p downloads. That’s not great if you’re a busy creator. To make matters worse, the Starter tier feels like a nudge to upgrade – the Pro plan is just $5 more ($39/month) but unlocks far more value, including 1080p downloads and access to the actual editor.
Compared side by side with other tools, the pricing doesn’t stack up well. For instance, Vizard’s Creator plan ($29/month) gives you 600 upload minutes and 4K exports.
The free plan is nice for testing, though limited to 30 minutes of processing (I burned through that with one upload). You can import via YouTube link or direct upload, but not much else. Although, it’s cool to also be able to connect your YouTube channel and choose which videos you want to clip.
Scheduling posts to TikTok and Reels is available, but branding options are slim – you can change captions, but not add a logo unless you’re on higher tiers.
I still felt like including LiveLink on this list because the clip quality is great without any need to edit. Hopefully, they’ll improve on their offer in order to really compete with others on this list.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Free plan (30 minutes), Starter – $34/month, Pro – $39/month (better value). 7-day free trial available on both paid plans.
Best for: Creators who prioritize clip quality above all else and don’t mind paying a little extra for Pro.
6. ClipGoat
ClipGoat is a newer player, but it’s quickly winning over budget-conscious creators. Its biggest selling point is affordability – you get solid clipping tools without the high monthly cost.
It’s not as feature-rich as something like Descript or OpusClip, but for beginners, it’s more than enough.
While most clipping tools focus on podcasts and talking-head content, ClipGoat carves out a niche with gaming, sports, and live streams. Instead of uploading files, you paste a YouTube link (or even a full channel link) and pick the video you want to clip. From there, the AI finds highlights, generates captions, and lets you edit before exporting or scheduling.
A unique feature here is the AI Virality Score. Every clip gets ranked on its potential to perform, which is handy if you don’t want to sift through dozens of options. The detection itself is decent, though pacing can feel inconsistent at times. That’s where the score helps you quickly choose the winners.
The editing workflow is straightforward. Subtitles are clear and caption styles are customizable, though there’s no multi-language support yet. Once polished, you can export directly or schedule clips for posting.
Beyond clipping, ClipGoat also offers creative extras like “Reddit-to-story” video creation, fake text message templates, AI text-to-speech, and UGC-style hooks – features that lean into the short-form meme and storytelling culture.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Creator plan is $20/month, Pro $40/month, and Ultimate $80/month. Annual billing discounts each tier (effectively 3 months free). Credit packs are also available starting at $5, with larger packs offering bonus credits.
Best For: Streamers, gamers, and creators working with high-energy content who also want fun extras like story-style videos and UGC hooks.
7. 2Short AI
As its name suggests, 2Short AI focuses purely on short-form content. It’s a lightweight, beginner-friendly tool that trims down videos into clips with minimal effort.
2Short AI is all about speed and simplicity. Instead of uploading files, you plug in a YouTube or Google Drive link and the AI quickly scans for highlights. The initial detection is fast, though it takes a little longer for the editor to finish trimming the clips. Still, the results are solid – most clips are polished and ready to post without heavy tweaking.
Right out of the box, you can choose between portrait, square, or landscape formats. Captions are automatically generated and look professional without edits, but the minimal editor makes it easy to adjust styling or fix errors. If you’re building a consistent brand, presets let you add your logo so every clip feels on-brand.
Where 2Short stands out is in its extra optimization features. Beyond clipping, it helps with scripting, titles, descriptions, tags, and even chapters – useful if you’re trying to maximize discoverability on YouTube. That makes it more of a repurposing assistant than just a clipper.
There’s no free trial of the paid plans because the free plan gives you full access to the editor. Limitations are just for the amount of repurposing time (only 30 minutes on the free plan).
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Starter plan is free (30 minutes/month, but with ads). Lite is $9.90/month (5 hours). Pro is $19.90/month (15 hours). Premium is $49.90/month (50 hours, beta features, and priority support).
Best For: YouTubers and content marketers who want quick, polished clips plus SEO-friendly extras to help their videos get discovered.
8. Veed
Veed.io is one of the most versatile tools on this list. It’s a browser-based editor that comes with everything from AI clipping to full video editing, subtitles, and branding tools.
You upload your video (no YouTube or link imports here), and the AI quickly gets to work. In testing, a 27-minute video processed in under five minutes and produced 25 clips. You can even set a max clip length so the AI keeps everything within your chosen limit.
The auto-edits are surprisingly strong. Captions look clean by default, but you can dive into the editor to pick from styles or fully customize fonts, animations, and colors. Veed supports over 50 languages, making it a strong option if you’re targeting global audiences. Another standout is hook and sentiment detection – you can tell the AI what type of clips you want (funny moments, emotional hooks, educational tips), and it finds them for you.
The platform also supports brand kits (logos, colors, templates) and has a unique “Edit with Script” feature, similar to Descript, where you can cut video by editing text. On top of that, you can generate AI b-roll, which gives clips a more polished, produced look.
That said, Veed isn’t a dedicated clipper. To access AI Clips, you’ll need the Pro plan ($49/month), while the Free and Lite plans are very limited. There’s also no scheduler – you can share via hosted links or download clips, but publishing is manual.
If you’re part of a team or prefer working entirely online, Veed is an excellent pick.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Free plan available. Lite is $19/month (1080p exports). Pro is $49/month (4K UHD, AI Clips). Enterprise plans are custom.
Best For: Teams and creators who want a full editing suite with clipping capabilities, especially if brand consistency and multi-language support matter.
Comparison: 8 Best AI Short Clip Makers
| Tool | Starting Price | Best For | Standout Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpusClip | Free plan, Paid from $15/mo | YouTubers & Marketers chasing growth | AI Virality Score predicts which clips will perform best |
| Descript | Free plan, Paid from $24/mo | Podcasters and YouTubers who want both clipping + editing | Edit video like a text doc (cut words = cut video) |
| Klap | Paid from $29/mo | Solo creators & agencies | AI auto-detects viral hooks and reframes for vertical platforms |
| Vizard | Free plan, Paid from $29/mo | Teams & brands needing polished shorts | AI “Magic Subtitles” + automatic highlight detection |
| LiveLink | Free plan, Paid from $34/mo | Coaches, consultants, educators | Best at repurposing webinars & live talks |
| ClipGoat | Free plan, Paid from $20/mo, credit packs | Beginners & budget-conscious creators | Affordable clipping with clean captions |
| 2ShortAi | Free plan, Paid from $9.90/mo | YouTubers and marketers optimizing for growth | Lightweight, no-fuss clipping |
| Veed | Free plan, Paid from $19/mo | Teams and brands needing a full editing suite with clipping | Multi-language support + brand kits + AI b-roll |
Final Words
At the end of the day, the hardest part of growing on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or any of your social channels isn’t creating long-form content – it’s repurposing it. Manually clipping and editing eats up time you could be spending on what you actually love: recording, engaging with your audience, and building your brand.
The good news?
With AI short clip makers, that grind is gone. In just minutes, you can pull the best moments from your videos, add captions, and publish clips that grab attention.
Now the question isn’t if you should use one of these tools – it’s which one fits your workflow best.
- Want growth-driven, data-backed clips? OpusClip.
- Need a polished, team-friendly workflow? Vizard or Veed.
- On a budget? 2Short AI or ClipGoat.
- Want pure automation? Klap.
Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Pick one tool from this list, give it a week, and see how much faster you can turn your long videos into viral shorts.
Your audience is waiting. All that’s left is for you to start clipping.
