The short answer: timeline editors such as CapCut give you frame-by-frame control: you place every clip, title and transition yourself. Chat-based editors such as Relo build the video from a brief and change it when you describe the change, with no timeline at all. Use a timeline editor when you want precise creative control over your own footage. Use chat-based editing when you need a finished marketing video quickly and don't want to learn editing.
- CapCut: you're the editor. It's flexible and hands-on, and the result depends on your skill and time.
- Relo: you're the director. You write a brief, watch a draft, and ask for changes in plain words.
What is chat-based video editing?
Instead of dragging clips on a timeline, you describe what you want and the software makes the change. "Make the headline bigger." "Cut the intro to two seconds." "End on the website URL." Each request produces a new draft to watch.
In Relo it works in two stages:
- Brief: you describe the video, and optionally attach clips, screenshots or audio. Relo writes, designs and animates it.
- Draft and edits: you watch a preview and ask for changes in plain words until it's right, then render the final file.
How is that different from CapCut?
| Timeline editor (CapCut) | Chat-based editor (Relo) | |
|---|---|---|
| How you edit | Drag clips, trim, add layers by hand | Describe the change in a sentence |
| Starting point | Your footage, or a template | A brief; footage optional |
| Skill needed | Some editing knowledge for good results | None; you need to know what you want |
| Control | Frame-level | Scene-level: you direct, it executes |
| Motion graphics | Templates and keyframes you adjust | Designed and animated for each video |
| Other sizes (9:16, 1:1, 16:9) | Adjust each version yourself | Render each size from the same video |
| Pricing | Free tier and subscription plans | Pay-as-you-go credits, no subscription |
When is a timeline editor the better choice?
- You're editing your own vlog, travel or event footage, and the creative choices are the point.
- You need frame-exact control, such as cutting on a beat or matching an action.
- You enjoy editing, or you edit every day and are fast at it.
- The video is mostly your footage with light titles.
When is chat-based editing the better choice?
- You need a marketing video (a launch, an ad, an explainer) and don't have footage.
- You don't know how to edit, or don't want to spend an afternoon on it.
- You want several versions (hooks, sizes, wording) without rebuilding each one.
- You'd rather review and direct than operate the tools.
What can you change by chatting, and what can't you?
In Relo, plain-language edits can change most of what's on screen:
- Text: headlines, captions, prices, calls to action.
- Timing: make a scene longer, shorter, or move it.
- Look: sizes, colours, positions, how things animate in.
- Structure: cut a scene, swap two scenes, add a closing card.
- New graphics: "add a counter that counts up to 50,000".
Some things are set when the video is created: the stock footage pulled in, the AI voiceover audio and the source clips. To change those, you create a new version.
What does each cost?
CapCut has a free tier, with paid plans for its pro features. Relo has no subscription: a video is 35 credits, each change 5, and each final render 10. Credit packs start at 200 credits for $20, and new accounts get 100 credits free. See pricing.
Can I use both?
Yes, and many people do. Use Relo to make the designed parts quickly (the motion-graphics intro, the product explainer, the ad cut), then bring the MP4 into a timeline editor if you want to combine it with footage you've edited yourself.
FAQ
Is chat-based editing less precise?
It works at the level of scenes and elements rather than individual frames. For marketing videos that's usually what you need; for frame-exact cuts, use a timeline.
Do I need to know video terms to edit by chat?
No. Say it the way you'd say it to a person: "the text is too small", "this part drags".
Can I edit an existing video by chat?
In Relo you can edit any video made in Relo, and you can attach your own clips when you create one. It isn't a general editor for footage you've already cut elsewhere.
Can I edit by chat from ChatGPT or Claude?
Yes. Relo works inside AI assistants over MCP; see how to make videos from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor.