Maestra vs Simon Says Comparison 2026
Maestra transcribes, subtitles and dubs into another language from the same file, covering 125 languages, at $12 for 60 pay-as-you-go credits or $23 a month billed annually for 180 minutes. Simon Says transcribes and exports straight into Premiere or Resolve as a working document, with an assembly mode for building a rough cut from selected lines, at $15 an hour pay as you go or $20 a month for two hours of credit. Maestra's edge is language reach and dubbing. Simon Says' edge is living inside the edit itself rather than beside it.
At a glance
- Simon Says starts cheaper, at $20.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
Maestra | Simon Says | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $23 | From $20 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Not stated |
Maestra
Transcription, subtitles and dubbing
Maestra transcribes, then subtitles, then dubs into another language with a synthetic voice, and keeps all three views of the same file in one editor. Working across 125 languages is what it sells, and the dubbing is the part that has no cheap equivalent. Minutes are the unit of billing, so a long back catalogue is a budgeting exercise.
Simon Says
Transcription built to land in an edit
Simon Says transcribes and translates, then exports into the editing software the footage is already in rather than handing back a text file to retype. The transcript editor pairs with a visual subtitle editor for checking how captions sit on the picture. An assembly mode on the paid tiers lets a rough cut be built by selecting lines of the transcript, which is the feature documentary editors buy it for.
Our note
The break-even is a little over an hour a month, and below that the pay as you go tier is the right answer. Assembly mode is the feature worth paying the subscription for, and it is the one nothing else in this category does properly.
Why people weigh these two
- Simon Says instead of Maestra
- Simon Says formats transcription to drop straight into an editing timeline, built for a video editor's workflow rather than a multi-language publishing one.
- Maestra instead of Simon Says
- Maestra does transcription, subtitles and dubbing at $23, if the edit ships in several languages.
Which one should you pick
Pick Maestra if the project needs to exist in more than one language: subtitles and a dubbed voice track from the same recording, covering 125 languages. Pay as you go is $12 for 60 credits, or $23 a month billed annually for 180 minutes, both cheaper per minute than Simon Says' equivalent pay-as-you-go rate.
Pick Simon Says if you cut in Premiere or Resolve and want the transcript to land in the timeline rather than a document to retype. Twenty dollars a month covers two hours of credit, and assembly mode lets an editor build a rough cut by selecting lines of the transcript, a feature nothing else in this category does properly.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper per minute of audio?
- Maestra, slightly, at roughly 20 cents a minute pay as you go against Simon Says' 25 cents an hour equivalent. Both charge close to the same on subscription, so the real difference is what each does with the transcript afterward rather than the raw rate.
- Which one dubs audio into another language?
- Maestra does, generating a synthetic voice track in another language from the original recording, a feature Simon Says does not offer. Simon Says translates subtitles into more than 100 languages but does not produce a spoken dub.
- Does Simon Says work inside my video editor?
- Yes, that is its main advantage. Transcripts export directly into Premiere or Resolve as a working document, and assembly mode lets you build a rough cut by selecting lines of text. Maestra keeps everything inside its own editor rather than exporting into a timeline.
- Is there a pay-as-you-go option with no subscription on either?
- Yes, both offer one. Maestra charges $12 for 60 credits with no plan required. Simon Says charges $15 an hour, or 25 cents a minute of file duration, also with no monthly commitment needed.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.