Opus Clip is the best-known AI clipper, and its free plan is a fair way to try it: about 60 minutes of video a month. But free clips carry a watermark, you need an account, and the cheapest paid plan is $15 a month. If you run a podcast or a channel and want a handful of clean Shorts each week, that is more than you need.
Shortyard gives you one video a day for free, up to 30 minutes, with no watermark and no sign-up. It is built on the open-source OpenShorts engine, running on our GPUs.
Shortyard and Opus Clip, side by side
| Shortyard | Opus Clip | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 1 video a day, up to 30 min | About 60 min a month |
| Watermark on free clips | No | Yes |
| Sign-up to try | Not needed | Required |
| Cheapest monthly plan | $7.99 (300 minutes) | $15 |
| One-time top-up | $4.99 for 120 minutes, never expires | No |
| YouTube links and uploads | Both | Both |
Opus Clip prices from its public pricing page, checked November 15, 2026. Check their site for current prices.
What is the same
Both take a long video, transcribe it, pick the moments that stand on their own, reframe them to 9:16 around the speaker and burn in captions. Both rank the clips, and both write a title for each one.
Where Opus Clip is ahead
Opus Clip has an editor for trimming each clip, brand templates, B-roll, scheduling to social accounts and team seats. If you need those, it is worth paying for. Shortyard does one job: clean clips with captions, ready to download.
Who should switch
- Podcasters who want a week of Shorts from one episode, without a watermark on them.
- Clippers on payout programs, where a watermark can get a clip rejected.
- Anyone who clips now and then and doesn’t want another monthly subscription: the free video a day or a $4.99 top-up covers it.
Getting good clips
Pick a video where people talk: podcasts, interviews, streams and talks give the most clips. Upload the file if you have it; it is the most reliable route. A public YouTube link works too when YouTube lets us fetch it, and a refused link never uses up your free video.
Shortyard is independent and is not affiliated with Opus Clip. Opus Clip is a trademark of its owner and is named here only to compare.