Nova vs Captions

A Captions alternative that
finds the clip for you

Captions is a polished app for recording and captioning talking-head videos. Nova solves the other half: paste a long video from 1,800+ sources and the AI finds the clip-worthy moments, reframes them to vertical, and captions them — so you start from a finished short, not a recording.

Try Nova free See how it works

Free tier included — no credit card required

See it yourself — no signup

Paste a video. See the moments Captions would charge you to find.

Nova vs Captions

Compared on the things creators ask us about most.

Feature	Nova	Captions
Finds the moments for you	GPT-grade virality ranking	You record / pick the clip
Clip from a long video or link	Paste any URL — 1,800+ sites	Record or upload a talking clip
Free tier	60 min/mo free — no card	Limited
Animated captions	Word-by-word + emoji, 10 styles	Yes
Languages	99+ (Whisper auto-detect)	Multiple
Vertical reframe	Auto 9:16 + active-speaker tracking	Yes
Facecam + gameplay layout	Facecam + gameplay stacked (auto)	Not offered
Pro editor export (EDL/FCPXML)	EDL + FCPXML to Premiere/Final Cut/Resolve	Not offered

Competitor details are general and may change — check their site for current specifics. Nova details verified 2026.

Why creators switch to Nova

Start from a long video

Captions shines once you have a clip to caption. Nova does the upstream work — it ranks every segment of a full video by virality and hands you the best moments, already cut.

Any source, one paste

Drop a link from YouTube, Twitch, X, podcasts and 1,800+ sites, or upload a file — not just a clip you recorded on your phone.

A free tier, not a teaser

60 minutes a month, no card — clip and caption a real video before deciding.

Questions? Answers.

Is Nova a good Captions alternative?

It depends what you need. Captions is excellent for recording and styling talking-head clips. If you instead want AI to find the best moments inside a long video and turn them into captioned vertical clips, that's Nova's core — with a real free tier and 1,800+ source support. Many creators use both.

Does Nova caption clips automatically?

Yes — word-by-word animated captions in 10 styles, burned in, with the text editable and re-stylable after the cut and previewed live before a one-click re-render.

Is there a free plan?

Yes — 60 minutes/month with no credit card. Paid plans are $29 (Pro) and $99 (Premium).