Headliner review: a free tier and $9.99 a month
Headliner is the cheapest serious way to turn podcast audio into social video, and its free tier is metered by video creations rather than by days. Our check of headliner.app on 1 October 2026 records Forever Free with one video a month, Basic at $9.99 a month and Pro at $25.99, with annual billing cutting both.
The short answer
Buy Headliner Buy Headliner Basic if you publish a podcast and need audiograms and captioned clips without learning a video editor. Basic is $9.99 a month, or $7.99 a month billed annually, verified against headliner.app/pricing on 1 October 2026, behind a free plan carrying one video a month.
Skip it if you need written assets from your audio. Headliner makes video, so show notes, posts and newsletter drafts are a different purchase and a dearer one.
Where Headliner fits
Headliner fits the podcaster whose weekly chore is making the episode visible. Audio goes in, an audiogram or a captioned clip comes out, and the RSS automation can start that process when a new episode publishes. That is the specific job it does better than the heavier repurposing platforms, which do more and cost several times as much.
The meter is video creations per month, which is the detail that decides your tier. Our 1 October 2026 snapshot records the free plan at one video a month and describes the paid tiers as video creation count based without recording each allowance. Read those caps off headliner.app, because the count is what forces an upgrade rather than any feature.
The free tier is permanent rather than a trial, and one video a month is a real if narrow allowance. It is enough to test the audiogram builder and the captioning on your own audio, which is the only evaluation that matters, but it is not a plan to run a weekly show on.
Basic at $9.99 a month is the lowest paid entry in this category. Across twelve months that is $119.88 on the monthly rate, or $95.88 at the annual rate of $7.99 a month, so prepaying saves $24 across a year. That is a small saving on a small bill, which is the right way round.
Pro at $25.99 a month, or $19.99 billed annually, is $311.88 against $239.88 across a year, a saving of $72. The step from Basic is $16 a month, and our snapshot records the tiers as separated by creation count rather than by a feature list, so take the step when you hit the ceiling rather than in anticipation.
Against the alternatives Headliner is the cheap specialist. Castmagic is $23.75 a month on Hobby, verified 1 October 2026, and produces the written assets Headliner will not. ContentFries is $39 a month on Creator, verified 1 October 2026, and gives you far more control over output formats.
The honest position is that this is a narrow tool at a price that makes the narrowness forgivable. $119.88 across a year on Basic is close to the cost of a single month on the heavier platforms. The content repurposing tools category covers those heavier options for when the job grows.
Headliner pricing
Headliner prices by subscription and meters by video creations per month. The figures below were verified against headliner.app/pricing on 1 October 2026, and the Headliner pricing breakdown carries the longer version.
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Forever Free | $0/mo | One video a month on our 1 October 2026 check |
| Basic | $9.99/mo | $7.99/mo billed annually, $95.88 a year against $119.88 paid monthly |
| Pro | $25.99/mo | $19.99/mo billed annually, $239.88 a year against $311.88 paid monthly |
The subscription is the whole cost and the meter behind it is video creations. Four things decide which number you pay:
- How many videos you make a month. One is free on our 1 October 2026 check, and the paid allowances were not recorded by our snapshot, so read them off headliner.app.
- Billing period, which is the only discount on the card. Annual billing saves $24 on Basic and $72 on Pro across a year.
- Whether you publish weekly or occasionally. A weekly show needs at least four creations a month, which is the figure to match against the Basic cap before paying.
- Whether you also need written output. Headliner makes video, so a creator who wants show notes or posts is buying a second subscription alongside it.
Headliner pricing against the repurposing tools
Headliner has the lowest paid entry point in this category among the tools we track with recent checks. Castmagic is $23.75 a month on Hobby and ContentFries is $39 a month on Creator, both verified 1 October 2026, while Repurpose.io is $35 a month on Starter, also verified 1 October 2026. Munch was $49 a month on Creator on our older 13 June 2026 check. Basic at $9.99 a month buys audiograms and clips and nothing beyond them.
Headliner billing terms worth knowing
Two facts settle most Headliner pricing questions: the free plan is permanent, and the meter counts videos.
- Free plan
- One video a month on our 1 October 2026 check. Permanent, not a trial.
- Basic
- $9.99 per month, or $7.99 billed annually. $119.88 or $95.88 across a year.
- Pro
- $25.99 per month, or $19.99 billed annually. $311.88 or $239.88 across a year.
- Annual saving
- $24 on Basic and $72 on Pro across a year.
- Step between paid tiers
- $16 a month from Basic to Pro on the monthly rates.
- Meter
- Video creations per month. Our snapshot does not record the paid allowances.
- Trial
- None separately. The free plan serves as the evaluation route.
Headliner plans: Forever Free $0/mo; Basic $9.99/mo ($7.99/mo billed annually); Pro $25.99/mo ($19.99/mo billed annually).
If a Headliner upgrade prompt arrives sooner than you expected, the cause is the monthly video count rather than a feature wall. Our 1 October 2026 snapshot does not record the paid creation allowances, so this page states none rather than estimating them. Our creator tool cost calculators will total a year of clip tooling once you have them.
What Headliner gives up
You give up written output entirely. No show notes, no newsletter drafts, no posts generated from your audio. Castmagic at $23.75 a month on Hobby, verified 1 October 2026, is the tool for that, and a podcaster who wants both is paying for two subscriptions.
The free plan's single monthly video is an evaluation allowance rather than a workflow. One video a month cannot support a weekly show, so treat the free tier as a test bench and budget $119.88 across a year on Basic for real use.
The creation count is the limit you will meet, and our evidence does not tell you where it sits. Our 1 October 2026 check records the tiers as metered by video creations without recording the paid allowances, so the number that decides between Basic and Pro is not on this page.
The mobile experience is weaker than the desktop one, which matters if your editing happens between other things. Plan on doing the work at a computer rather than on a phone.
Caption styling and positioning are basic, which shows when clips sit next to each other in a feed. If a consistent visual identity across every clip is central to your brand, ContentFries at $39 a month on Creator, verified 1 October 2026, gives more template control.
Transcription struggles with multiple speakers and strong accents, and captions inherit those errors. A panel recording will need more correction than a solo monologue, which is editing time the price does not remove.
Annual billing saves $24 on Basic and commits you for a year. On a bill this size the saving is not worth locking yourself in before you know your monthly video count, so run a couple of months monthly first.
How Headliner compares
The three tools below are the ones weighed against Headliner, and the axis is cheap video output against broader repurposing. Prices are each vendor's published rates with the date we checked them, and those dates differ, so compare them with that in mind. The wider field sits in the content repurposing tools category.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headliner | Audiograms and captioned clips from podcast audio | Free, $9.99/mo Basic ($7.99 annually), October 2026 | No written assets; creation count caps unpublished here |
| Castmagic | Written assets generated from a recorded episode | $23.75/mo Hobby (October 2026) | Text only, so no video output at all |
| ContentFries | Format control across every aspect ratio | Free, $39/mo Creator (October 2026) | Manual work and a real learning curve |
| Munch | AI clip extraction from long form video | $49/mo Creator, 200 video minutes (June 2026) | Video first, with a high monthly floor |
What to test on the Headliner free plan
Our 1 October 2026 check records a permanent free plan with one video a month and no separate time limited trial, so the evaluation is free and limited by count rather than by days.
- Spend the single free video on a real episode clip rather than a sample. One good test tells you more than three rushed ones.
- Judge the captions on your own audio, including any guest with an accent. Captioning accuracy on your material is the thing that decides whether the output is publishable.
- Build one audiogram end to end and time it. The speed of that build is the main reason to pay $9.99 a month rather than edit manually.
- Count your monthly video needs. A weekly show needs at least four creations a month, and the paid allowances are not recorded in our snapshot, so read them off headliner.app.
- Test the RSS automation if you publish on a schedule. Having clips start themselves when an episode drops is the feature that removes a recurring chore.
- Decide whether you also need written assets. If so, price Castmagic at $23.75 a month on Hobby, verified 1 October 2026, rather than expecting it here.
- Choose monthly billing for the first few months. The annual saving of $24 on Basic is real and small, and the cost calculators will total the year once your video count is steady.
Headliner questions buyers ask
How much does Headliner cost per month?
On our 1 October 2026 check, Headliner had a Forever Free plan at $0 a month, Basic at $9.99 a month and Pro at $25.99 a month. Annual billing discounts are available for Basic and Pro plans, which bring those two rates to $7.99 and $19.99 a month.
Does Headliner have a free plan?
Yes. Headliner's Forever Free plan is permanent rather than a trial. Our 1 October 2026 check of headliner.app records it at one video a month, with templates, transcription and direct social sharing included. That is enough to test the audiogram builder and the captioning on your own audio, which is the evaluation that matters, but it is not a plan to run a weekly show on.
Who is Headliner best for?
Headliner is built for podcasters who want to promote episodes on social media with video clips and audiograms. It's ideal for solo podcasters and small podcast teams who don't have a dedicated video editor. If you need AI-generated written content (blog posts, newsletters) from your audio, Castmagic is a better fit. If you need automated cross-platform distribution, Repurpose.io covers that.
Headliner vs Repurpose.io: which is better for podcasters?
They do different things. Headliner creates video clips and audiograms from your podcast audio: it is a content creation tool. Repurpose.io takes existing content and distributes it across multiple platforms automatically: it is a distribution tool. Many podcasters use both: Headliner to make the clips, Repurpose.io to push them everywhere. If you can only pick one, Headliner is cheaper, at $9.99 a month on Basic or $7.99 a month billed annually, verified 1 October 2026, and it gives you the actual clips you need.
What is Eddy by Headliner?
Eddy is Headliner's AI assistant that automatically analyzes your podcast episodes and suggests up to 20 shareable clips. It also generates a Promo Pack for each episode, including show notes with chapters, social media captions, blog copy, newsletter drafts, keyword suggestions, and branded episode art images. Eddy removes filler words automatically. Its transcription is strongest on clear, single-speaker English audio and weaker with several speakers or strong accents, and we publish no accuracy percentage for it because the only figure available is the vendor's own claim.
Can Headliner upload full podcast episodes to YouTube?
Yes. The Full Episode Wizard converts your entire podcast episode (up to 4 hours) into a video with your artwork, animated waveforms, and captions. You can connect your RSS feed and YouTube account to automate this: Headliner will upload new episodes as they publish, up to three exports per day. This works on all plans, but the upload counts toward your monthly video limit on Free and Basic.
What platforms does Headliner export to?
Headliner exports clips in multiple aspect ratios: square (1:1) for Instagram feed, vertical (9:16) for Reels, TikTok, and Stories, and market (16:9) for YouTube and Twitter. You can export as MP4 files in 1080p. Direct sharing to YouTube via RSS integration is supported. You can also download clips and manually upload them to any platform.
Is Headliner good for video podcasts?
Headliner now supports video file uploads up to 4 GB through the Eddy editor, along with AI autoframing and video cropping. If you record a video podcast, you can upload the footage and Headliner will find clips, add captions, and crop for different aspect ratios. It's not a full video editor like Descript or CapCut, but for pulling clips from video podcast recordings, it works well.
How accurate are Headliner's captions?
Headliner's captions hold up well on clear, single-speaker English audio. Accuracy drops with heavy accents, multiple speakers talking over each other, or low-quality recordings. We do not publish an accuracy percentage, because the only figure in circulation is Headliner's own claim with no independent testing behind it. You can edit the transcript before exporting, which is essential for interview podcasts. Headliner supports transcription in 100+ languages, though quality varies by language.
Is Headliner worth paying for or is the free plan enough?
It depends on your publishing frequency. Our 1 October 2026 check records the free plan at one video a month, which is an evaluation allowance rather than a workflow, so a weekly show that wants even one clip per episode will outgrow it at once. Basic is $9.99 a month, or $7.99 a month billed annually, and is worth it for the unlimited transcription and custom branding alone. Pro is $25.99 a month, or $19.99 a month billed annually, and is only necessary once your monthly video count passes the Basic allowance, which our snapshot does not record, so read that cap off headliner.app.