USD PRICES · BILLING UNITS · ELIGIBILITY
Software prices and deals: compare the actual bill
Compare six plans for creating video, publishing social content and organizing team work. See the monthly payment, annual bill and limits together—not just an annual price divided by twelve.
Monthly payments and annual bills, side by side
These four providers solve different jobs; this is not a cheapest-to-best ranking or the whole software market. Prices are regular public USD rates before taxes, add-ons and usage overages. Region, eligibility and checkout can change the amount.
| Plan & job | Pay monthly | Pay annually | Charged per | What changes the buying decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runway StandardAI image & video generationOfficial pricing ↗ | $15each month |
$144per year$12/mo equivalent |
individual plan |
625 credits each month; use depends on the model. Unused monthly credits do not roll over. Choose for generated visual assets, not as a substitute for a conventional video editor. |
| Descript HobbyistSpoken-video & audio editingOfficial pricing ↗ | $24each month |
$192per year$16/mo equivalent |
person |
One person; 10 media hours and 400 AI credits per month. Watermark-free 1080p export. A solo editing plan. Recheck the next tier if you need more editors, hours or export resolution. |
| Buffer EssentialsSolo social publishingOfficial pricing ↗ | $6each month |
$60per year$5/mo equivalent |
channel · first 10 |
One user. The listed rate applies to channels 1–10; additional channels have tiered rates. For one person operating several channels. It is not the approval-workflow tier. |
| Buffer TeamSocial publishing with approvalsOfficial pricing ↗ | $12each month |
$120per year$10/mo equivalent |
channel · first 10 |
Unlimited team members and approval workflows. The listed rate applies to channels 1–10. Pay for channels rather than multiplying this price by every colleague. |
| Trello StandardShared task boardsOfficial pricing ↗ | $6each month |
$60per year$5/mo equivalent |
user |
Unlimited boards, custom fields and advanced checklists. Account and guest billing still need checking. Start with Free if 10 workspace collaborators and 10 boards cover the work. |
| Trello PremiumPlanning across viewsOfficial pricing ↗ | $12.50each month |
$120per year$10/mo equivalent |
user |
Adds views including Timeline, Dashboard and Workspace Table to the Standard feature set. Pay the step-up for the views you will use, not simply because the team has more boards. |
Before using these as a budget: check the same plan, currency and billing period at the linked source. AI credits are not interchangeable between products, and paying annually does not turn a monthly allowance into an unrestricted annual pool. Runway figures are for its individual creative plan, not API usage.
The same $6 headline can produce a different bill
First count what the provider charges for. Three social channels are not three people, and a per-user amount is not a whole-workspace price.
BUFFER ESSENTIALS · ONE OPERATOR
Count the channels
3 channels × $6 per month
$18/monthOr $180/year with annual billing.
TRELLO STANDARD · FIVE BILLABLE USERS
Count the people
5 users × $6 per month
$30/monthOr $300/year with annual billing.
For Buffer approvals, compare Essentials with Team before deciding that the lower rate fits. For Trello, decide whether you need Premium’s additional views before multiplying its higher rate across every paid user.
Compare social publishing and approval tools → · Compare project-management tools →
A LOWER RATE IS NOT ALWAYS A LOWER SPEND
Will you use all twelve months?
Descript Hobbyist illustrates the tradeoff: $24 paid monthly versus $192 for a year. The annual total equals eight monthly payments.
At seven paid months, monthly billing costs less. At eight, the amounts tie. At nine, annual billing is cheaper for this fixed-rate example. That does not establish refund rights or mean an annual subscription can be canceled for a partial refund.
Before committing, check renewal amount, cancellation deadline, refund terms and the cost of extra seats or credits. A short project and an uncertain tool fit are reasons to test before buying a year.
Arithmetic assumes the monthly plan is stopped before the next paid period under the provider’s terms, with no add-ons or price changes. No refunds are assumed. Check Descript pricing ↗
Combining subscriptions? Calculate your software-stack cost → · See three practical tool combinations →
Separate annual pricing, eligibility offers and promotions
Ordinary annual pricing
The lower annual rates in the table are billing choices, not special coupon codes or evidence of a sale ending soon. Compare the whole commitment with the months you expect to use.
Education eligibility: Notion
Eligible students and teachers at accredited colleges and universities can get Notion’s individual Education Plan free. It requires a one-member workspace, a recognized institution’s email as the account’s main address and annual email verification. Student organizations have a separate application.
This is not a general discount for every team. Existing paid accounts have a transition process; check its effect before changing membership or billing. Read Notion’s education requirements ↗
Published offer records
We have no current, fully documented promotional offers in our published library. The regular prices and education program above are separate from that library. This does not mean the providers have no other offers.
Choose the workflow before the discount
A generation tool and a conventional editor do different work. Explore AI video tools or browse video creation tools before adding another subscription. Use the price table to budget a suitable plan—not to make an unsuitable one look economical.