Last updated: 2026-08-27
Shorz is a Windows-only AI video production app built around four project types, auto-edit, text-to-video, talking avatar, and podcast, finished with automatic subtitles, B-roll, and thumbnails, and it ships an MCP endpoint that lets Claude or Cursor start a render job directly.
About Shorz
Shorz is a Windows desktop application built by Shorz AI, founded by Don Rando, that generates and edits video from a script, raw footage, or a single photo instead of a manual timeline. It packages auto-editing, text-to-video, talking-avatar, and AI-podcast production into one workspace so a single creator can output review videos, UGC ads, and Shorts without hiring an editor. Each project type in Shorz follows its own pipeline before landing in a shared finishing layer. Footage-first projects get automatic cut selection, script-first projects get AI-rendered visuals and narration, a single photo becomes a lip-synced spokesperson, and one audio file becomes a two-host video with captions already animated. From there every mode shares the same subtitle, B-roll, thumbnail, music, and multi-aspect export layer, so one idea publishes in landscape, portrait, and square without rebuilding the project. The tool targets faceless YouTube channel operators, short-form creators repurposing long recordings into Shorts and Reels, podcast hosts who want a video companion to an audio show, and affiliate or UGC marketers producing talking-head ad variants at volume. An MCP endpoint lets Claude, Cursor, and other agent clients kick off a render and pull back the finished file without opening the desktop app. The Windows app itself installs at no cost, with every workflow, effect, and export unlocked; the only spend is a one-time credit pack (Starter, Creator, or Studio) that never expires and is billed per generation rather than per month. Shorz runs on Windows only, with no Apple or browser-based client, and there are no free AI credits to sample the workflow before buying a pack.
Pricing
One-time, non-expiring credit packs power every workflow: Starter at 19.90 euros, Creator at 99.90 euros (about 10,000 credits), and Studio at 199.90 euros. There is no subscription. The first pack carries a 7-day money-back guarantee, refunded in full even after using up to 2,500 credits; beyond that, unused credits on any purchase are refundable within 14 days. Auto Edit and Clipping include 4 free videos a week with no card required, capped at 30-minute source footage; AI-generation features such as Text-to-Video, Talking Avatar, and AI Podcast are not part of the free allowance.
Key Features
- Auto Edit Video: Scans raw footage for the strongest cuts and assembles a scene-selected first draft, yielding about 150 minutes of finished footage per Creator credit pack.
- Text-to-Video: Turns a typed or AI-written script into narrated video using generated images or clips, producing roughly 70 minutes of AI-image footage per Creator pack.
- Talking Avatar: Lip-syncs a single uploaded photo to a script or voice track, generating about 10 minutes of talking-head video per Creator pack for UGC-style ads.
- AI Podcast: Converts a single audio recording into a two-host video podcast with animated captions, then auto-clips the best moments into separate Shorts.
- Auto-Clipping: Scans long footage for highlight moments and exports over 300 short clips per Creator pack, each already carrying subtitles and title text.
- Voice Dubbing: Translates and re-voices a project into 29 languages through ElevenLabs so one video republishes for international audiences without a reshoot.
- MCP Connector: Exposes a Model Context Protocol endpoint so Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients can trigger render jobs and retrieve finished files programmatically.
- Direct Publishing: Pushes finished videos straight to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Threads, and Pinterest from inside the app, removing the separate manual upload step for every export.
Pros
- Pay-per-credit pricing with no monthly subscription: credits never expire and unused balances are refundable, so a slow month costs nothing beyond credits actually spent.
- One credit balance and one desktop workspace cover auto-editing, text-to-video, talking avatars, and podcast production, replacing four separate subscriptions with a single account.
- Ships an MCP connector out of the box, letting Claude or Cursor trigger a render and retrieve the finished file as part of an automated content pipeline.
Cons
- Windows-only distribution leaves out Mac, web, and mobile creators entirely, so anyone on Apple hardware needs a separate machine to run Shorz at all.
- AI-generation features such as Text-to-Video, Talking Avatar, and AI Podcast carry no free allowance, so testing the generative tools still requires buying a credit pack; only Auto Edit and Clipping include a capped 4-videos-a-week free tier.
- No published G2, Trustpilot, or Capterra rating yet, so buyers cannot check an independent review score before committing credit spend.
Data Handling
- Compliance
- GDPR
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Shorz cost in 2026?
Shorz skips monthly billing entirely: pick a one-time pack, Starter for 19.90 euros, Creator for 99.90 euros near 10,000 credits, or Studio for 199.90 euros, then spend credits per render instead of per month. Unused credits carry over with no expiration date. Your very first purchase is fully refundable for 7 days regardless of how many credits you burn through, up to a 2,500-credit cap, and any later purchase's leftover balance can be refunded within 14 days.
Is Shorz free to use?
Auto Edit and Clipping include a capped free tier: 4 videos a week, no card required, with source footage up to 30 minutes. AI-generation features, Text-to-Video, Avatar, Podcast, Advertisement, B-roll, and thumbnails, plus social publishing, are not part of the free allowance and draw down a paid credit pack.
What are the best alternatives to Shorz?
Descript, CapCut, and Synthesia are the closest alternatives. Choose Descript for text-based long-form editing built around a transcript-first workflow, pick CapCut for fast, template-driven Shorts and Reels, and choose Synthesia when a corporate talking-avatar video matters more than auto-editing raw footage.
How does Shorz compare to Descript in 2026?
Descript edits by transcript and suits long-form podcast-to-video work, while Shorz is built around no-timeline generation: drop in a script, footage, or one photo and get a finished Short, avatar clip, or podcast cut without touching a transcript. Shorz also runs on non-expiring credits instead of Descript's tiered monthly subscription.
How do you get started with Shorz?
Download the Windows installer, roughly 1.6GB, from shorz.ai, sign in, and buy a credit pack to enable AI generation; setup takes about 10 to 20 minutes. Pick a project type, Auto Edit, Text-to-Video, Avatar, or Podcast, upload your script, footage, or photo, and Shorz renders a first draft.
Top Alternatives
- Descript: Pick Shorz if you want script-or-footage-to-video without a transcript step; pick Descript if transcript-based long-form editing matters more than an automated first draft.
- CapCut: Pick CapCut if you want free, template-driven mobile editing for Shorts; pick Shorz if you need one Windows workspace that also builds avatars and podcasts.
- Synthesia: Pick Synthesia for enterprise-grade corporate presenter videos; pick Shorz for pay-per-credit avatar generation bundled with auto-editing and clipping in one app.
HokAI guides covering Shorz
- OpusClip vs CapCut EditPilot: Which Actually Repurposes Long Video Better: OpusClip ranks clips with a virality score; CapCut EditPilot edits one timeline by chat. 2026 pricing, the feature that really competes, who needs which.