Summary
- Simon Says is a transcription, translation and captioning service with deep editing-system integration: a Final Cut Pro extension, a DaVinci Resolve extension, an Adobe Premiere Pro plugin and Avid export.
- It bills by file duration, rounded to the minute, on pay-as-you-go or subscription plans. Its Pro subscription includes 2 hours of credit a month.
- If you live inside an editing timeline, Simon Says is hard to beat. If your work is delivering clean subtitle files and client-formatted transcripts, compare the options below.
Simon Says positions itself as "built for pros." Its pricing page lists transcription and translation in 100 languages, a transcript editor, a visual subtitle editor, and exports to Word, text, Excel, SRT, WebVTT and CEA-608/708 caption standards. It also lists a macOS app and an option to burn in subtitles.
The reasons people look for an alternative are usually specific: they don't use the editing-system plugins, they want a flat monthly price instead of hourly credit, or their bottleneck is QA and client formatting rather than transcription.
What Simon Says does best
- Editing-system integration. Exports and extensions for Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and Audition, Avid Media Composer and Pro Tools, and DaVinci Resolve.
- Broadcast caption formats. CEA-608/708 alongside SRT and WebVTT.
- Language coverage. 100 languages listed for both transcription and translation.
- Collaboration. Multi-user access and guest invites.
If you edit in Premiere or Resolve and want transcripts and captions to land on your timeline, Simon Says fits well. VideoText has no editing-system plugins.
What to compare before switching
| Question |
Why it matters |
| Do you use the timeline plugins? |
If not, you may be paying for integration you don't use. |
| Credit-based or flat pricing? |
Simon Says prices by duration. Some tools charge one monthly price with a usage allowance. |
| Do clients reject your caption files? |
Overlaps, long lines and fast cues need a check-and-repair step. |
| Do clients send transcript style guides? |
Formatting to a guide by hand is often the slowest part of delivery. |
| Do you need broadcast formats? |
CEA-608/708 is a Simon Says strength. |
Option 1: VideoText for files you deliver to clients
VideoText is built around the steps after the draft.
- Make subtitles. Video to SRT creates subtitle files from a video. Transcription covers 69 languages, and subtitle translation covers 104 with cue timing kept.
- Check and repair them. Fix Subtitles repairs SRT and VTT files: it ends overlapping cues before the next one starts, keeps lines to 42 characters on at most two lines, and gives cues over 20 characters per second more time where it can. Anything it can't repair safely is listed for you. Checking needs no account. A free account shows what it found and lets you fix and download; free SRT and VTT downloads carry two short VideoText watermark cues. Pro removes the watermark and adds cue editing and PDF/Word export.
- Format transcripts to the client's rules. Guideline Format applies a client's style guide and flags uncertain edits for you to accept or reject.
- Hardcode captions for social. Burn Subtitles renders an SRT or VTT into an MP4. A free account burns files up to 30 minutes at 720p with a small watermark. Pro exports at full resolution with no watermark, for files up to 2 hours.
Pricing is flat: Pro is $14.99 a month or $120 a year, with 30 hours of speech a month and files up to 4 hours. See VideoText pricing.
What you give up: timeline plugins, CEA-608/708 export, and the wider language list.
Option 2: Happy Scribe for a broad subtitle platform
Happy Scribe lists 15+ export formats on its Pro plan, including VTT, STL, XML, FCPXML and EDL, plus collaborative editing and optional human proofreading from $2.00 a minute. FCPXML and EDL matter if you hand files to an editing system without a plugin. See our Happy Scribe pricing breakdown.
Option 3: keep Simon Says and add a QA step
If the plugins are why you chose Simon Says, keep it. Export the SRT or VTT and run it through the subtitle validator before delivery. It runs in your browser with no account, handles files up to 20 MB, and flags structure, timing, line-length and reading-speed problems by cue number.
Side-by-side
|
Simon Says |
VideoText |
Happy Scribe |
| Editing-system plugins |
FCP, Resolve, Premiere |
None |
Exports FCPXML, EDL (Pro) |
| Caption formats |
SRT, WebVTT, CEA-608/708 |
SRT, VTT |
15+ on Pro, incl. VTT, STL |
| Automatic subtitle repair |
Not listed |
Yes |
Not listed |
| Client style guide for transcripts |
Not listed |
Yes |
Style guides and glossaries |
| Burn-in subtitles |
Option listed |
Yes |
Watermark-free MP4 from Basic |
| Pricing model |
By duration; subscription includes credit |
Flat monthly or annual |
Monthly minutes plus top-ups |
"Not listed" means it was not on the vendor page we checked.
FAQ
How does Simon Says pricing work?
Its pricing page says cost is based on file duration, rounded to the minute, with pay-as-you-go and subscription plans. The Pro subscription includes 2 hours of credit a month.
Does VideoText integrate with Premiere Pro or Resolve?
No. You import the SRT or VTT into your editor. Our guide to checking CPL and reading speed covers what to check before import.
Can I fix a Simon Says SRT in VideoText?
Yes. Upload it to Fix Subtitles; checking needs no account.
Next step
Take a caption file from your last project and check it with Fix Subtitles. If it comes back clean, your current setup is working. If it doesn't, you have the list of what to fix.
Sources: Simon Says pricing page, https://www.simonsaysai.com/pricing (checked October 25, 2026). Happy Scribe pricing, https://www.happyscribe.com/pricing (checked October 25, 2026). VideoText Fix Subtitles, Burn Subtitles, Subtitle Validator and Pricing pages (checked October 25, 2026).