# A TimeBolt alternative that makes the clip, not just trims it

> A TimeBolt alternative that does more than cut dead air: Nova finds your best moments and exports captioned vertical clips from any link. AI moment detection, free tier. Try free, no card.

*Nova vs TimeBolt*

Canonical: https://novaclipper.com/compare/timebolt-alternative

TimeBolt auto-cuts silence and dead air to tighten a video you're editing. Nova works a layer up: paste a long video and AI finds the viral moments, reframes them to vertical, and captions them — post-ready shorts from a single link.

## Nova vs TimeBolt

| Feature | Nova | TimeBolt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Finds the moments for you | GPT-grade virality ranking | Cuts dead air; you edit |
| Workflow | Paste a link → finished clips | Auto-cut, then edit |
| Free tier | 30 min/mo free — no card | Paid app |
| Animated captions | Word-by-word + emoji, 10 styles | Limited |
| Languages | 99+ (Whisper auto-detect) | Multiple |
| Source support | Paste any URL — 1,800+ sites | Local files |
| Vertical reframe | Auto 9:16 + active-speaker tracking | Manual |
| Pro editor export (EDL/FCPXML) | EDL + FCPXML to Premiere/Final Cut/Resolve | Exports to editors |

## Why creators pick Nova

### Chooses the clip, not just the cuts

Dead-air removal speeds a cut you've already decided on. Nova decides it — scoring every segment for virality and producing the strongest moments.

### Finished, vertical, captioned

Auto 9:16 reframe, active-speaker tracking, and word-by-word captions — ready for TikTok, Shorts, and Reels without a manual pass.

### Real free tier

30 minutes a month, no card — run a video through Nova and compare the output to a hand edit.

## FAQ

### Is Nova a good TimeBolt alternative?

If your aim is shorts rather than tightening a long edit, yes. TimeBolt removes silence from footage you're editing; Nova finds the clip-worthy moments and outputs captioned vertical clips automatically, from any link, with a free tier to try.

### Can Nova batch a long video into multiple clips?

Yes — it ranks the whole video and returns several of the most viral 25–50s moments at once, each reframed and captioned, streaming in one-by-one as they finish.

### Is there a free plan?

Yes — 30 minutes/month with no credit card. Paid plans are $29 (Pro) and $99 (Premium).

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Nova turns long-form video into vertical short-form clips with AI moment detection, face-aware 9:16 reframing, and word-by-word captions — and makes faceless videos from a script or a Reddit thread. Free tier: 30 minutes/month, no card. [Start free](https://novaclipper.com/signup) · [All use cases](https://novaclipper.com/for) · [Free tools](https://novaclipper.com/tools)