RoughCut is the better pick if you shoot scripted content and want DaVinci Resolve to assemble a take-stacked, script-matched timeline automatically. AutoCut and FireCut are the better pick if you edit talking-head or podcast footage and mainly want silences, filler words, and B-roll handled. Eddie AI suits editors who want a conversational AI assistant building a rough cut from natural-language prompts. Cutsio suits high-volume creators, mostly streamers and gamers, who need to search and slice hours of raw footage rather than match it to a script. Below is the full breakdown of what each tool actually does inside DaVinci Resolve, what it costs, and which one fits your workflow.
How do RoughCut, AutoCut, FireCut, Eddie AI, and Cutsio differ in DaVinci Resolve?
All five tools claim to save you editing time, but they attack a different part of the timeline. AutoCut and FireCut both focus on cleanup: removing silence, repetition, filler words, and even profanity from footage you've already roughly assembled, then layering on captions, zooms, and B-roll suggestions. Neither one reads a shooting script or knows which take was "the good one"; they just trim what's already there.
RoughCut works earlier in the process. You drop in your shooting script as a plain .txt or .srt file, RoughCut transcribes every clip locally, fuzzy-matches the footage against the script even through stumbles and ad-libs, then builds the actual timeline: best take on V1, every alternative stacked on V2 and up, with green markers for on-script moments and orange markers for improvised ones. There's no manual assembly step to clean up afterward, because the assembly is the product.
Eddie AI sits somewhere in between: it's a standalone conversational assistant that can log footage, find soundbites, and build a first rough cut from your Resolve bin, including multicam, but it leans on chat-style prompts rather than a script file. Cutsio is built for a different problem entirely: turning hours of raw footage (often gaming or streaming VOD) into a searchable library with semantic search, silence removal, and an XML export to Resolve or Final Cut Pro, rather than producing a script-accurate edit.
RoughCut vs AutoCut vs FireCut vs Eddie AI vs Cutsio: feature comparison
| Feature | RoughCut | AutoCut | FireCut | Eddie AI | Cutsio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $50 one-time, no subscription | From $9.90/mo (Basic), $19.80/mo (AI plan) | $34/mo or $288/yr, lifetime option available | Free tier, then $25 to $100/mo | Subscription, check current site pricing |
| Script-to-timeline matching | Yes, fuzzy-matches footage to a .txt or .srt script | No | No | Partial, via conversational prompts | No |
| Take stacking (best take vs alternates) | Yes, best take on V1, alternates stacked above | No | No | Limited | No |
| Silence / filler word removal | Not the focus (script matching handles this implicitly) | Yes, core feature | Yes, core feature | Yes | Yes, "Silent Slicer" |
| Processing location | Local, footage never leaves your machine | Cloud-assisted AI features | Cloud-assisted AI features | Local, per Eddie AI | Cloud-based library and search |
| Best fit | Scripted YouTube, branded, and narrative content | Talking-head, podcast, and social clips | Talking-head and podcast, multicam speaker switching | Editors who prefer chat-style direction | High-volume streamers and gaming VOD |
Where RoughCut wins
If you shoot from a script, whether that's a YouTube video, a branded ad, or a narrative short, RoughCut is doing a job none of the other four tools attempt: matching footage to the actual words you planned to say, then building a timeline around that match. AutoCut, FireCut, and Cutsio all assume you've already cut something rough and need it cleaned up. RoughCut builds the rough cut itself, in around 10 minutes instead of the 4 to 8 hours most editors spend manually syncing takes to a script.
It also runs entirely on your Mac or PC. Your footage is transcribed locally and never uploaded anywhere, which matters if you're working with unreleased footage, client material under NDA, or just don't want gigabytes of video sitting on someone else's server. And at $50 one-time for up to two devices, it's the only tool here without a recurring bill.
Transcribes every clip, matches footage to your script, and builds an edit-ready timeline automatically. Mac and Windows, runs locally.
Where AutoCut and FireCut still win
If your footage doesn't come from a script at all, talking-head YouTube, podcasts, multicam interviews, AutoCut and FireCut solve a real problem RoughCut doesn't try to: stripping out dead air, ums, and repeated takes from footage that's already roughly in order. FireCut adds podcast-specific speaker switching and automatic B-roll placement from your script (its own script feature, used differently from RoughCut's take-matching), while AutoCut's ten-tool AI plan covers captions, auto-zoom, profanity filtering, and chapter markers in one subscription.
Both are subscriptions rather than one-time purchases, which adds up over a year of consistent uploading, but if cleanup rather than assembly is your bottleneck, that ongoing cost may still be worth it.
Where Eddie AI and Cutsio still win
Eddie AI is built for editors who'd rather describe what they want in plain language than learn a new tool's workflow, its "ChatGPT for video editing" framing is the whole pitch, and its free tier (two exports a month) is a reasonable way to try that approach before paying. Cutsio solves a completely different problem: if you're sitting on dozens of hours of unsorted stream or gameplay footage and need to find a specific moment, remove silence at scale, and export an XML timeline into Resolve, its semantic search and Silent Slicer are built exactly for that volume, not for script-accurate narrative editing.
Which auto rough-cut tool should you choose?
Choose RoughCut if you shoot from a script and want DaVinci Resolve to build the actual assembly automatically, with everything running locally for a one-time cost. Choose AutoCut or FireCut if your footage is talking-head or podcast style and your main bottleneck is trimming silence and filler after the fact. Choose Eddie AI if you'd rather direct your edit conversationally. Choose Cutsio if your real problem is searching and slicing a large raw archive rather than matching footage to a plan.
Frequently asked questions
Does RoughCut work with any footage in DaVinci Resolve?
Yes. It works with anything Resolve can read, including BRAW, ProRes, H.264, H.265, RAW formats, iPhone footage, and drone footage. If it's in your Media Pool, RoughCut can use it.
Do AutoCut and FireCut need an internet connection?
Both rely on cloud-assisted AI processing for their feature set, so an internet connection is required during use, unlike RoughCut, which transcribes and matches footage entirely on your machine after an initial install.
Can I use RoughCut without a shooting script?
RoughCut is built around script matching, so it needs a plain .txt or .srt file to work against. If you don't shoot from a script, a cleanup-focused tool like AutoCut or FireCut will fit your workflow better.
Is RoughCut a subscription?
No. RoughCut is a $50 one-time purchase covering both Mac and Windows, with a license that works on up to two devices. AutoCut, FireCut, Eddie AI, and Cutsio are all subscription-based, though Eddie AI and FireCut each offer a free or one-time tier with limits.
Does RoughCut replace my creative edit?
No. RoughCut builds the rough cut, the best take per line on V1 with alternates stacked above and markers showing on-script versus improvised sections, so you open Resolve with an edit-ready timeline and start your creative pass from there.
Which of these tools is best for podcast editing specifically?
FireCut and AutoCut are both built with podcast multicam speaker-switching in mind. RoughCut and Cutsio aren't podcast-specific; RoughCut targets scripted footage and Cutsio targets large raw archives.
Stop spending 5 hours on a rough cut
Drop in your script, let RoughCut transcribe, match, and stack your takes in DaVinci Resolve.
Get RoughCut for $50 →One-time purchase. No subscription. Mac and Windows.