Overview

Captions is a video creation platform for turning footage or scripts into finished video, with editing, localization, and avatar-led generation in the same product. It is best suited to creators and marketing teams producing clips, ads, or localized talking-head content. Its breadth is useful, but regular AI generation requires a paid credit allowance.

The product combines the Captions app with Mirage foundation models and the Mirage API; the company rebranded as Mirage in 2025. A maximum resolution of 4K gives it room for higher-resolution work, though the free plan is limited to basic editing and one caption template.

Key features

Editing and localization

AI Edit applies cuts, captions, music, and formatting to uploaded footage. Automatic transcription, more than 100 caption styles, and translation into more than 100 languages make Captions useful for repurposing clips across audiences. The breadth suits teams that want editing and localization together, while the single template on the free plan is restrictive for anyone who needs varied caption treatments.

Dubbing and AI video

Users can dub videos into more than 30 languages with a cloned version of their voice. Prompt to Video creates a talking-head video from a script using built-in actors or an AI Twin, and the product also supports custom AI actors. These capabilities make it a stronger option for teams producing presenter-style content than for editors who only need to trim and caption existing footage.

API, integrations, and security

The Mirage API generates video from scripts, image references, or actor IDs, with credit-based billing. Users retain full rights to generated content, and AI-generated actors have no licensing restrictions. Mirage says its infrastructure uses isolated US-based Google Cloud data centers, encryption, role-based permissions, audit trails, and multi-factor authentication; it is SOC 2 compliant, with security and operational controls independently audited.

Clay is listed as an integration for creating personalized AI-avatar sales and talking-head videos. That is a focused use case rather than a broad integration ecosystem.

Pricing

Captions is freemium, with paid plans starting at $24.99/mo. The free plan costs $0.00 USD per free and includes basic editing tools and one caption template, but no AI usage credits. It is suitable for basic editing, not for evaluating ongoing AI generation.

Max: $24.99/mo, billed $24.99/mo, with 500 credits per month, AI Edit styles, AI video creation, and digital twins or custom AI actors. This is the most accessible paid tier for creators who need a regular but limited generation allowance.
Frontier: $69.99/mo, billed $69.99/mo, with 1,400 credits per month, customized usage tiers, and advanced generative AI models. It fits heavier usage than Max.
Frontier 2x: $139.99/mo, billed $139.99/mo, with 2,800 credits per month, customized usage tiers, and advanced generative AI models.
Frontier 4x: $279.99/mo, billed $279.99/mo, with 5,600 credits per month, customized usage tiers, and advanced generative AI models. The larger Frontier allowances are aimed at teams with materially higher generation needs.
It is the best fit for organizations needing managed rollout and support rather than a fixed self-serve allowance.

Unused credits can roll over for up to two extra months, but the balance is capped at three times the monthly allowance. That cushions uneven usage without allowing credits to accumulate indefinitely.

Platforms

Captions is available on Android, iOS, and web, with an API for generation workflows. The API gives developer teams a route to script- and reference-driven video generation alongside the consumer-facing editing experience.

Who it's for

Captions suits creators, marketers, and developers making ads, listing videos, podcast clips, or localized presenter content. It is particularly relevant when a workflow spans existing-footage editing and AI-generated actors. Teams seeking only simple captioning, or developers who need a non-credit-based API, have less reason to choose it.

Pros and cons

Pro: Editing, transcription, translation, dubbing, and prompt-based video generation cover several stages of video production in one platform.
Pro: More than 100 caption styles and translation into more than 100 languages support varied presentation and multilingual publishing.
Pro: API users retain rights to generated content, and AI-generated actors have no licensing restrictions.
Con: The free plan has no AI credits and only one caption template, so it is a poor fit for sustained AI-assisted work.
Con: API generation is credit-based, and rollover is capped at three times the monthly allowance.

Alternatives

Choose Diffusion Studio if open-source tooling and platform choice matter more: its web editor, desktop app, dapi CLI, and skills are open source under MPL 2.0, and it supports API, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows.

Wisecut is a better fit for constrained repurposing needs: its always-free plan includes 30 minutes per month, 480p output, exports up to three minutes, and no watermark, but excludes Autopilot and Social Hub.

Consider Pictory if a 14-day free trial is more useful than a permanent free plan; it is a paid product with API support.

Descript is worth considering for text-based editing on macOS, web, or Windows; its free plan includes 60 minutes per month and 100 one-time AI credits.

FlexClip offers Android, iOS, web, and Windows access with a free plan capped at 12 online projects and 10 minutes per video.

Gling is a narrower choice for desktop AI editing: its free plan allows one hour of AI-edited media per month, with watermarked exports.

PhotoDirector is another freemium desktop option.

TimeBolt suits users focused on silence detection and removal on macOS or Windows; its free exports are watermarked and it has no XML/NLE export.

For broader comparisons, see AI Video Editors, Video Editing Software, AI Video Editing Software, AI Video Caption Generators, and AI Avatar Generators.

Verdict

Captions is a strong choice for creators and teams that need both conventional footage editing and AI-generated, localized presenter video, especially when voice cloning or API generation matters. The main reason to look elsewhere is cost structure: the free plan cannot exercise AI features, and recurring generation depends on a capped monthly credit allowance.

	Captions	Machete Video Editor
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	Yes
Paid from	$24.99/mo	$21.95/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, Web	Windows
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$24.99/mo	—
Desktop app	—	Yes

Captions vs Machete Video Editor

Captions

Machete Video Editor