AutoScribble vs VideoScribe
Same hand-drawn look, two very different working days.
AutoScribble and VideoScribe both produce hand-drawn whiteboard explainers, and they differ in one decisive way: VideoScribe gives you a canvas to build the video on, AutoScribble takes your script and returns the finished film. Choose VideoScribe if you want to place every image and control every timing yourself. Choose AutoScribble if the script is the real work and you want a narrated video back from it. VideoScribe prices below were read from videoscribe.co/pricing on 13 September 2026.
The short answer
VideoScribe is a whiteboard animation editor. You build the scribe: add images, arrange them on the canvas, set the draw order and timings, add music and narration, then render.
AutoScribble is a write-and-render tool. You give it an idea or a finished script, make four choices, and it returns a narrated sketch video you can watch, download and share. If you enjoy the arranging, VideoScribe wins. If the arranging is the part you were dreading, AutoScribble does.
Who each option suits
- Choose VideoScribe if you want frame-level control, a reusable project file you keep editing, a large stock image and icon library to compose from, and a single annual licence cost you can predict.
- Choose AutoScribble if you write well, you make videos often enough that setup time matters, and you would rather spend the hour on the script than on the canvas.
- Choose both if you are an agency: draft fast in AutoScribble to agree the story with a client, then hand-build the hero film if the brief demands bespoke artwork.
Sourced comparison
Equivalent terms as each company publishes them, checked 13 September 2026.
| VideoScribe | AutoScribble | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Lite US$12.50 per month per licence, US$150 billed annually | Credit packs from £9 for 100 credits (US$12); plans from £19 per month |
| How you pay | Per-licence subscription, monthly or annual | Pay-as-you-go credit packs or a monthly plan |
| Free way in | 7-day free trial, 3 downloads, watermarked exports | 100 credits on signup — one finished minute, no card |
| Unit of cost | Time: a licence covers unlimited projects | Finished seconds: 100 credits = 1 minute |
| Output | Full HD 1080p MP4 download | MP4 download, private share link, email and caption hand-off |
| Making the video | Compose scenes on a timeline canvas | Write or paste a script, then four settings |
| Learning curve | Editor to learn: canvas, draw order, timing | Type, choose, generate |
| Commercial use | Included on paid subscriptions | Included on paid plans |
The same 60-second script, both routes
Here is the script we used. It is a real 60-second explainer: about 150 words, which is the honest limit for a minute of clear narration.
Most invoices are not late because a customer will not pay. They are late because nobody told the customer they were due. Here is what that looks like. You finish the work on Monday. The invoice goes out on Friday, from someone's personal email. It lands under a sales pitch and a calendar invite. Nothing happens. Thirty days later, you are chasing a person who genuinely never saw it. So change one thing: send the invoice the day the work ends, from one address the customer already recognises, with the amount and the date in the subject line. Then let a reminder go out on day seven, day fourteen and day twenty-one without anyone having to remember. That is it. No new software, no awkward phone calls. Just an invoice that arrives when the work is fresh, and a reminder that does the chasing for you.
What each route asks of you
We count steps rather than publishing a stopwatch figure for someone else's software, because the only timing we can stand behind is our own. Here is what each route actually requires with that script in hand.
| Step | VideoScribe route | AutoScribble route |
|---|---|---|
| Get the script ready | Write it elsewhere, paste narration in or record it | Paste it in, or type the idea and edit the drafted narration |
| Decide the visuals | Choose and place an image or icon per beat — roughly 10 for this script | None to place — the sketch is drawn from the script |
| Set the pacing | Set draw time and pause per element, then preview and adjust | Pick 60 seconds; the script is held to that length |
| Narration | Record your own or add a voice track | Pick one of four narration voices |
| Branding | Import and position your logo on the canvas | Attach your logo as one of the four settings |
| Output | Render and download the MP4 | Watch, download the MP4, or send a private link |
Where VideoScribe is the better buy
If the video has to look exactly like the storyboard in your head — this icon, here, drawn at this moment — VideoScribe gives you that control and AutoScribble deliberately does not ask you for it.
It is also the better buy if you make videos rarely but revise them endlessly. A project file you reopen for two years and nudge is a real advantage, and a single US$150 annual licence across unlimited projects is hard to beat for a patient solo maker.
Where AutoScribble is the better buy
Volume and turnaround. When the answer to "can we have a version for the new pricing?" needs to be yes today, editing a script and remaking beats reopening a canvas.
It also suits people who are strong writers and reluctant designers. The four choices — orientation, voice, length, logo — are the whole interface, and the narration stays editable with timestamps before anything is generated.
- Portrait, landscape or square — picking the shape
- Narration voices — how to choose
- How long should a video be? — 30, 60 or 120 seconds
Next step
Paste your own 60-second script below and generate it. New accounts get 100 credits, which covers exactly one minute of finished video, so you can compare the result against a scribe you have already built.
Try it on your own script
Free to write and rewrite. Credits are only used when you generate.
Common questions
- Does AutoScribble look like VideoScribe?
- Both produce hand-drawn sketch animation. The difference is how you get there: VideoScribe is a canvas you compose on, AutoScribble draws the film from your script.
- Which is cheaper?
- VideoScribe Lite is US$150 billed annually for unlimited projects, checked 13 September 2026. AutoScribble charges per finished minute — 100 credits, from £9 pay-as-you-go. Under roughly 16 minutes of finished video a year, the licence is cheaper; above it, per-minute pricing usually wins.
- Can I edit the video after it is made?
- Yes. Edit the script and remake it — that creates a new version, and the credit cost is shown before you confirm.
- How long can the video be?
- AutoScribble films are 30, 60 or 120 seconds, and the length is a hard constraint on the script so the narration always fits.