
OpenShorts
AI clip generator that turns long videos into 9:16 shorts with captions. Free plan, or self-host free (MIT).
AI VideoFreeverified Listed on Free plan
Is OpenShorts free?
Yes, OpenShorts has a free plan. What you get: First video up to 60 min, then 20 min a month, watermark. Free limits: first video free up to 60 minutes; 20 video minutes a month after that. Watch out: watermark on the hosted free plan. Paid plans start at $12/month (Starter). Verified on openshorts.app.
Free plan at a glance
- Includes
- First video free up to 60 minutes
- 20 video minutes a month after that
- Clips kept 7 days
Self-hosting has no watermark and no cap but needs your own API keys and a machine with Docker.
- Duration
- Free forever
- Commercial use
- Allowed on the free plan
- Watermark
- Yes, on free outputs (a watermark or the maker's branding)
- Your content
- The maker says it isn't used to train AI
How to get it free
Free account · Google- Open openshorts.app and choose start free
- Sign in with Google
- Paste a YouTube link or upload a video
Good to know
- Watermark on the hosted free plan
- Clips are kept 7 days on the free plan
- Self-hosting needs your own API keys
openshorts.app, Checked Source
Overview
OpenShorts picks the strongest moments from a long video, reframes them to vertical and adds captions. It runs as a hosted app with a free plan, or you can self-host it under the MIT licence.
Free vs paid
| Free | Starter | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $12/mo |
| Includes |
| Plan details |
Key features
- AI picks 3 to 15 moments of 15 to 60 seconds from a long video
- Face-tracked reframing to 9:16
- Word-level automatic subtitles
- Hook text overlays and AI video effects
- Direct posting to TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts
- MCP server, REST API and CLI for agents
Best for
- People
- Podcasters, Content creators, Social media managers, Developers who want to self-host
Limitations
- The hosted free plan adds a watermark
- The hosted free plan has 20 minutes a month after the first video
- Clips are kept 7 days on the hosted free plan
Screenshot
FAQ
- Is OpenShorts free?
- Yes. OpenShorts has a free plan: First video up to 60 min, then 20 min a month, watermark. We last checked openshorts.app's pricing page on 2026-11-12.
- What does the OpenShorts free plan include?
- The OpenShorts free plan includes: First video free up to 60 minutes; 20 video minutes a month after that. Source: https://www.openshorts.app/ (checked 2026-11-12).
- How do I get OpenShorts for free?
- Steps: Open openshorts.app and choose start free; Sign in with Google; Paste a YouTube link or upload a video. Sign-up options: Google. Start at https://www.openshorts.app/ (checked 2026-10-22).
- What's the catch with OpenShorts's free plan?
- Watermark on the hosted free plan. Clips are kept 7 days on the free plan. Checked 2026-10-22.
- How much does OpenShorts cost after the free plan?
- The cheapest paid plan is the Starter plan, at $12 a month, billed monthly. We checked openshorts.app's pricing page on 2026-10-23.Source: openshorts.app
- What are free alternatives to OpenShorts?
- Clipchamp, 2short.ai and SupoClip all have free plans. We checked their free offers on 2026-11-12.
- Is OpenShorts really free?
- Both editions are free in different ways: self-hosted is free and open source under MIT with no watermark and no cap, and the hosted cloud has a free plan of 20 minutes a month with a watermark, after a first free video of up to 60 minutes.Source: openshorts.app
- What do I need to self-host it?
- Any machine with Docker, realistically 8GB of RAM and a modern multi-core CPU; you bring your own API keys.Source: openshorts.app
Free alternatives

Clipchamp
Microsoft's video editor with AI captions and voiceovers.
Free forever, 1080p exports without watermark
2short.ai
AI YouTube Shorts generator.
Free forever, Free Starter plan with monthly AI video analysis

SupoClip
Open-source AI video clipper: long videos to captioned 9:16 clips with face-aware crops. Free to self-host (AGPL-3.0).
Free forever, Self-host free, no monthly video limit
AI YouTube Shorts Generator
Open-source Python tool that finds highlights in long YouTube videos and cuts them into vertical 9:16 shorts.
Free forever, Free Python app; you pay only for the AI APIs it calls
Quso
AI clips and social media suite (formerly vidyo.ai).
Free forever
More free AI Video tools
- CapCut

Free forever, Free USD 0: free templates and basic editing
- Vidnoz AI

Free forever, Videos up to 3 minutes at 720p
- Descript

Free forever, 60 media minutes a month, plus 100 one-time AI credits
- Synthesia

Free forever, Basic $0/month: 10 min of video, 500 credits/month
- AutoSubs

Free forever, Open source (MIT): free offline AI subtitles, standalone or in Resolve and Premiere
- Fliki

Free forever, Monthly minutes with watermark
Sources
- Free offer
- Verified on openshorts.app
…first video is free, up to 60 minutes. Then 20 free minutes a month. Cancel…
- Page content
Checked against
Added by our team. We check that a free option exists and record the date; signing up is between you and OpenShorts, so read their privacy policy and terms first.
Is this your tool? Claim it · Promote it