[TBD] Billing & Usage

How media minutes and AI credits work with the Descript API, and what to do when you run out.

API operations consume the same usage units as the Descript app — media minutes for importing and processing media, and AI credits for agent edits.

Media minutes

Importing media consumes media minutes. This covers transcription, audio analysis, and processing. The amount consumed depends on the duration of the media file.

Operation	Consumption
Import media	Based on media duration
Transcription	Included in import
Audio processing	Included in import

AI credits

Agent edits consume AI credits. The amount depends on the complexity of the edit and the length of the content being edited.

Operation	Approximate credits
Filler word removal	Varies by content length
Studio Sound	Varies by content length
Add captions	Varies by content length
Create highlight clip	Varies by content length
Translation	Varies by content length
Multi-step edit	Sum of individual operations

The exact credit cost for each operation is returned in the job result as ai_credits_used:

{
  "result": {
    "status": "success",
    "agent_response": "Done! I applied Studio Sound and added captions.",
    "ai_credits_used": 32
  }
}

Checking your balance

View your available media minutes and AI credits in your Descript billing settings.

There is no API endpoint for checking your credit balance. If an operation would exceed your available credits, the API returns a 402 Payment Required error.

What happens when you run out

When your account runs out of media minutes or AI credits:

• Import requests return 402 if you’re out of media minutes
• Agent edit requests return 402 if you’re out of AI credits
• Jobs that are already running will complete — the 402 only blocks new requests

{
  "error": "Payment Required",
  "message": "Insufficient AI credits"
}

API-specific costs

During the open beta, there are no additional API-specific fees. API usage debits against your existing plan’s media minutes and AI credits at the same rate as in-app usage. You’re not charged extra for making API calls — only for the media processing and AI operations those calls trigger.

Usage limits by plan tier will be introduced at general availability. GA pricing will be published before it takes effect.

Tips for managing usage

• Check ai_credits_used in job results to understand what each operation costs
• Test with short clips first before processing long-form content
• Batch similar edits into one prompt — “remove filler words, add Studio Sound, and add captions” uses fewer credits than three separate agent calls
• Use callback_url instead of polling — polling doesn’t consume credits, but it does count against rate limits