so i finally started filming some stuff for our local hiking club here in the pacific northwest but my old dell is basically screaming every time i try to open premiere pro and honestly i just cant justify that monthly adobe bill anymore its getting ridiculous. i need something way cheaper that uses ai to speed things up because i work full time and only have like a few hours on sundays to edit everything.

im currently torn between three options:

• descript (the starter or creator plan)
• capcut desktop
• runway (maybe just for specific clips?)

descript looks cool because of the text editing thing but i dont know if the free or 12 dollar version is enough for like 15 minute videos. then there is capcut which is basically free and has those cool ai features but i worry it looks a bit too... tiktok? if that makes sense. im trying to make these look professional for the group's 10th anniversary next weekend so im on a super tight timeline here.

is it worth paying for the descript subscription or should i just stick to capcut for now and use something else for the heavy ai lifting like noise removal? my budget is strictly under 20 bucks a month because i also have to pay for cloud storage and a new mic soon... what do you guys think is the best bang for your buck right now for someone who needs to move fast?