Is there a free alternative to Vizard?

Two, both from OpenShorts. Self-hosted under MIT it is free with no cap and no watermark; hosted, the free plan covers the first video clipped whole up to 60 minutes, then 20 minutes a month with a watermark and no credit card, and paid plans start at $12/month. For comparison, Vizard (checked October 2026): 60 credits a month (1 credit = 1 minute uploaded), uploads up to 60 minutes, 720p exports up to 10 minutes with a watermark, 3-day storage, transcript as TXT only.

Is there an open source alternative to Vizard?

OpenShorts is the open source one in this category: MIT, self-hostable with Docker Compose, source on github.com/mutonby/openshorts. Vizard is a closed cloud service, so the code that touches your video cannot be read or changed.

How do I switch from Vizard to OpenShorts?

Download what you want to keep first: free-plan files are stored for 3 days. Pull transcripts as SRT while you are still on a paid plan; the free plan exports TXT only. Re-run the source in OpenShorts from the same YouTube link or file. There is no project import, and none is needed: the clips are regenerated from the source. Touch only the clips that need it. OpenShorts has an editor, but the pipeline is built to finish without one. Move the recurring part to the API, n8n or the MCP server if you were calling Vizard's API from a script.

Does Vizard add a watermark, and does OpenShorts?

Vizard watermarks free-plan exports, which also stop at 720p and 10 minutes; Creator from $14.50/month yearly ($29 monthly) removes it. OpenShorts marks only what its free hosted plan makes. Run it yourself and nothing is marked; pay for Cloud, from $12/month, and the mark also comes off the clips you made while you were free.

Is Vizard AI cheaper than OpenShorts?

At volume on yearly billing, yes: Vizard Creator is $14.50/month for 600 minutes, against $29/month for 300 minutes or $59/month for 750 on OpenShorts Cloud. OpenShorts is cheaper month to month at low volume ($12 for 100 minutes against Vizard's $29) and costs nothing self-hosted, with no watermark and no cap.

Can I move my Vizard projects to OpenShorts?

Not as projects. Re-run the original YouTube link or file in OpenShorts and the clips are regenerated from the source. Download anything you want to keep from Vizard first: free-plan files are stored for 3 days, and SRT transcripts need a paid plan.

Home Alternatives Vizard

The open source Vizard AI alternative: when to switch, and how

Checked October 2026 Prices and plans read on Vizard's public pricing page; vendors change them without notice. For what Vizard is and how it works, see the Vizard AI review.

By the OpenShorts team· Published 2024-06-01· Updated 2026-10-05

OpenShorts is the open source alternative to Vizard AI: free under MIT when you self-host it, or hosted from $12/month billed monthly. Vizard starts at $14.50/month billed yearly, $29 month to month.

The switch is about workflow more than features. Vizard proposes clips and expects you in its timeline; OpenShorts runs to finished clips on its own, with two-speaker, screencast and webcam-inset layouts.

Stay on Vizard if you edit every clip by hand or clip a few hundred minutes a month on a yearly plan. Switch if you want clips without the editor, automation, or self-hosting.

Free plan60 min/mo720p, watermark, exports up to 10 min

Paid from$14.50/moCreator billed yearly ($29 monthly), 600 min

Billed by1 credit = 1 minOf video uploaded

Open sourceNoCloud only. OpenShorts: MIT, self-hostable

Try it Paste a link, get vertical clips

Your first video free up to 60 minutes, then 20 free minutes a month, no credit card. Or self-host it free under MIT.

Get free clips

Is OpenShorts a real alternative to Vizard?

Yes, with one honest caveat. Vizard is an AI pass followed by an editor; OpenShorts is an AI pass that finishes on its own. If you were going to accept most of Vizard's suggestions anyway, the timeline is time you no longer need to spend. It adds two things Vizard does not have: AI voice dubbing into more than 30 languages (with your own ElevenLabs key) and an AI UGC generator with lip-synced actors. The trade is effort, not money: self-hosting needs Docker and a machine, and if you want none of that, OpenShorts Cloud is hosted and paid above 20 minutes a month.

Real OpenShorts output, not a mock-up. A two-person podcast: both speakers stacked in half-frames, captions on the seam where they cover nobody. Source: Turn the Tables with Dan and Shoshana Jordan, Heritage of Faith, CC BY.

What does Vizard cost?

The cheapest paid plan is $14.50/month billed yearly ($29 monthly). On the free side: 60 credits a month (1 credit = 1 minute uploaded), uploads up to 60 minutes, 720p exports up to 10 minutes with a watermark, 3-day storage, transcript as TXT only. Every plan, what each one includes and the free-plan limits are in the Vizard AI review.

The part that catches people out

Vizard is built around a browser editing timeline, so it sits between a pure auto-clipper and a full editor. That is useful if you intend to hand-adjust every clip, and overhead if you do not. Like Opus Clip, it bills a credit per minute of video uploaded, whatever the number of clips.

What would you pay for your own usage?

Vizard bills by the minute of video, so the honest comparison is your own monthly minutes. Set them below; each bar is the cheapest published plan that covers that number.

Minutes of source video you clip a month 300 min

OpenShorts self-hostedyour machine, MIT$0/mo · Docker, no watermark, no cap
OpenShorts Cloudper source minute, trims and hooks free$29/mo · Creator
Vizard1 credit per uploaded minute$29/mo · Creator
Opus Clip1 credit per source minute$29/mo · Pro

Cheapest published plan that covers that many minutes, per month. Prices checked 2026-10-05. Self-hosted needs Docker and your own Gemini key, whose free tier covers 1,500 requests a day.

What does OpenShorts cost?

Where Vizard is metered in credits (1 per uploaded minute), OpenShorts Cloud counts minutes of source video, with trims and hooks not counted: the first video clipped whole up to 60 minutes, then 20 minutes a month with a watermark and no credit card, then $12, $29 or $59 a month for 100, 300 or 750 minutes ($10, $24.17 and $49.17 a month billed yearly). The self-hosted edition counts nothing: free under MIT with Docker and your own keys, no watermark, no cap.

Vizard vs OpenShorts, feature by feature

Feature	OpenShorts	Vizard
Entry price	$0 self-hosted · $0 hosted for 20 min/mo · $12/mo hosted without watermark	$14.50/month billed yearly ($29 monthly)
Open source	Yes, MIT	No
Self-hostable	Yes, Docker Compose	No, cloud only
Source video stays on your machine	Yes when self-hosted	No
AI viral moment detection	Yes, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite	Yes
Face-tracked 9:16 reframing	Yes, MediaPipe + YOLOv8	Yes
Word-level auto subtitles	Yes, faster-whisper	Yes
AI voice dubbing, 30+ languages	Yes, with your own ElevenLabs key	No
AI UGC video with lip-synced actors	Yes, from $0.65/video	No
Free AI YouTube thumbnail & title studio	Yes when self-hosted · thumbnails on paid Cloud plans	No
Usage cap	None when self-hosted · metered on Cloud	Metered in credits (1 per uploaded minute)

When to stay on Vizard

You hand-correct every clip in a timeline and that is the part of the job you enjoy.
You need subtitle translation and transcripts in many languages; Vizard says it covers 180+.
You clip up to 600 minutes a month and can pay yearly: $14.50/month for that allowance is cheaper per minute than OpenShorts Cloud.

Where the two differ

OpenShorts runs the whole pipeline unattended and is designed to be scripted or scheduled; Vizard expects a human in the timeline.
OpenShorts is open source and self-hostable; Vizard is a closed cloud product.
Vizard's editor is better than ours if you want to hand-correct each clip before posting.

Migrating from Vizard to OpenShorts

Download what you want to keep first: free-plan files are stored for 3 days.
Pull transcripts as SRT while you are still on a paid plan; the free plan exports TXT only.
Re-run the source in OpenShorts from the same YouTube link or file. There is no project import, and none is needed: the clips are regenerated from the source.
Touch only the clips that need it. OpenShorts has an editor, but the pipeline is built to finish without one.
Move the recurring part to the API, n8n or the MCP server if you were calling Vizard's API from a script.

Which one should you pick?

Pick Vizard if

You will hand-correct every clip in a timeline
You process up to 600 minutes a month and can pay yearly
You want subtitle translation in many languages

Pick OpenShorts if

You want clips without sitting in an editor
You want to automate it from n8n, an API or Claude
You want it free and self-hosted, or monthly from $12

Vizard is the better pick if you plan to manually refine every clip in a timeline. OpenShorts is the better pick for volume, automation, or self-hosting.

Common questions

Is there a free alternative to Vizard?: Two, both from OpenShorts. Self-hosted under MIT it is free with no cap and no watermark; hosted, the free plan covers the first video clipped whole up to 60 minutes, then 20 minutes a month with a watermark and no credit card, and paid plans start at $12/month. For comparison, Vizard (checked October 2026): 60 credits a month (1 credit = 1 minute uploaded), uploads up to 60 minutes, 720p exports up to 10 minutes with a watermark, 3-day storage, transcript as TXT only.
Is there an open source alternative to Vizard?: OpenShorts is the open source one in this category: MIT, self-hostable with Docker Compose, source on github.com/mutonby/openshorts. Vizard is a closed cloud service, so the code that touches your video cannot be read or changed.
How do I switch from Vizard to OpenShorts?: Download what you want to keep first: free-plan files are stored for 3 days. Pull transcripts as SRT while you are still on a paid plan; the free plan exports TXT only. Re-run the source in OpenShorts from the same YouTube link or file. There is no project import, and none is needed: the clips are regenerated from the source. Touch only the clips that need it. OpenShorts has an editor, but the pipeline is built to finish without one. Move the recurring part to the API, n8n or the MCP server if you were calling Vizard's API from a script.
Does Vizard add a watermark, and does OpenShorts?: Vizard watermarks free-plan exports, which also stop at 720p and 10 minutes; Creator from $14.50/month yearly ($29 monthly) removes it. OpenShorts marks only what its free hosted plan makes. Run it yourself and nothing is marked; pay for Cloud, from $12/month, and the mark also comes off the clips you made while you were free.
Is Vizard AI cheaper than OpenShorts?: At volume on yearly billing, yes: Vizard Creator is $14.50/month for 600 minutes, against $29/month for 300 minutes or $59/month for 750 on OpenShorts Cloud. OpenShorts is cheaper month to month at low volume ($12 for 100 minutes against Vizard's $29) and costs nothing self-hosted, with no watermark and no cap.
Can I move my Vizard projects to OpenShorts?: Not as projects. Re-run the original YouTube link or file in OpenShorts and the clips are regenerated from the source. Download anything you want to keep from Vizard first: free-plan files are stored for 3 days, and SRT transcripts need a paid plan.

Sources

Vizard pricing, checked 2026-10-05 on the vendor's public pricing page.
OpenShorts pipeline details from the project source at github.com/mutonby/openshorts.

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