Descript jump cut smoothing cost vs Sume flat edit rates

Descript's changelog says smoothing is now priced by the second: 0.5 AI credits per second of regenerated audio and 1.0 per second of video, instead of a flat charge per cut. On Sume, trim and audio detach are flat per job and Timeline is per output minute, rounded up.

These are different operations, so the numbers are not a like-for-like comparison.

What does Descript charge for smoothing?

From the September 17, 2026 changelog (read 2026-09-30): 0.5 AI credits per second of regenerated audio, and 1.0 per second of video. The page gives no dollar value per credit, so this post does not convert it.

What do Sume's edit steps cost?

Each docs page states a public rate and says to confirm it live in GET /v1/catalog.

How would I budget a batch of edits?

Multiply by job count, not seconds. Ten trims are ten flat jobs; the join is one Timeline render billed by its output minutes. Descript's model scales with the seconds regenerated instead. Different operations: the Sume steps only cut and join, with no regenerated audio. The build itself is in smooth jump cuts with trim and fade.

Is there a free way to check the total?

Yes for Timeline: the plan endpoint creates no job and reserves no credits, and returns an estimate. It cannot predict pad or loop warnings from short sources.