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AutoReels and ShortFast do the same job: set up a series once, and each one writes, voices, captions and posts new faceless videos on a schedule. They differ in the visuals, how the next episode gets written, what a plan covers and what you pay for: a posting cadence on AutoReels, credits on ShortFast.
AutoReels and ShortFast are close substitutes: both turn a topic into a faceless series that writes, voices, captions and posts itself. Pick AutoReels for one AI-illustrated series at a fixed cadence, with a free first video and, on paid plans, a calendar to preview and edit each video before it posts; pick ShortFast for documentary stock footage or AI video as well as art styles, several automations on one plan, videos of up to 3 minutes (8 to 15 on Advanced), or an API and MCP server.
The biggest difference is how the next video gets made. An AutoReels series keeps one topic, art style, voice and language, writes a fresh script for every video and publishes at your plan's pace. A ShortFast automation writes the next episode for each posting slot, with a new topic, script, title, description and footage in the same tone, format and length, checks recent titles, then posts it or emails it to you, with no approval step.
AutoReels starts lower, at $19 a month against ShortFast's $29. AutoReels' Starter buys three posts a week for one video series, Daily ($39) one a day and Hardcore ($69) two a day. ShortFast's Starter buys 2,000 credits, about 80 one-minute stock-footage or 50 AI art-style videos, for one automation and one social account. ShortFast has no free plan; every monthly plan starts with a 3-day trial for $1.
Side by side
| Dimension | ShortFast | AutoReels |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A topic, a prompt or your own script; it writes the script and the hook. | One of 26 ready-made topics, such as Scary Stories, ELI5 or Fake Text Message, or a custom prompt. The topic defines the series. |
| Writing the next video | An automation writes the next episode for each posting slot: new topic, script, title, description and footage, in the same tone, format and length, with recent titles checked. The series brief takes up to 500 characters. | Each video gets a fresh AI script from the series topic, which its features page says keeps videos from repeating. The art style, voice and other settings stay the same across the series. |
| Visuals | 27 styles: licensed documentary stock footage, AI video, or AI images in a fixed art style such as comic book, anime or Greek statues. UGC-style videos with AI actors. Your own clips can replace any scene. | 31 AI image styles, one per series: Anime, Manga, Studio Ghibli, 3D Pixar, Comic Book, GTA V, Minecraft, Photo Realism, Watercolor and more. Its features page doesn't list stock footage or AI video clips. |
| Voices and captions | 40+ voices. Burned-in, word-by-word captions: 9 styles, 18 fonts, 60+ languages, detected automatically. | 13 AI narration voices you can preview, with scripts and voiceovers in 32 languages, per its features page. Burned-in subtitles, with subtitle customization. |
| Length and frame | Up to 3 minutes on every plan, or 8 to 15 minutes on Advanced. Vertical, or 16:9 on every plan. | 15–30, 30–60, 60–90 or 90–120 seconds; its FAQ says you can make a video longer by editing the prompt and script. 9:16, 16:9 or 1:1. |
| Review before posting | Automations have no approval step: each episode posts on schedule or is emailed to you, and the next two wait in a queue where you can edit them, though not their script. For a faceless video, write or paste the script first; afterwards edit captions, B-roll, music, title and post text and re-render, but an edited script can't be re-voiced. | On paid plans, a calendar of every upcoming video: preview it, edit its prompt, script, voice, music, title or description, or move its date before it publishes. |
| Platforms and accounts | Posts to TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts on your schedule, or emails you the video. One account per platform per profile: 1 social account on Starter, 3 on Pro, 6 on Advanced (2 profiles). The same video and caption go to every platform. | Posts to connected TikTok, YouTube, Instagram or Facebook accounts with the title and description filled in, or emails the videos; Instagram and Facebook link through one Facebook connection. Each plan lists one video series. |
| Pricing and trial | Credits: $29 (2,000), $39 (5,000) or $99 (15,000) a month; 20% to 48% off billed yearly; extra credits $10 per 1,000. No free plan: each monthly plan starts with a 3-day trial for $1. | A posting cadence: $19 for three posts a week, $39 for one a day, $69 for two a day, one series each; it says yearly billing saves around 30%. A free plan creates one video; editing and preview, HD, background music and watermark-free video start on Starter. |
| Refunds | At ShortFast's discretion, per its terms; the $1 three-day trial lets you test first. | Its terms (updated February 2026) say refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis; its FAQ says it is “unable to issue refunds”. Cancel any time, and the plan runs to the end of the billing period. |
| Developer access | REST API, webhooks and an MCP server for Claude, Cursor and other agents. Free API tier: 50 credits every 30 days, 3 watermarked renders, download only. | Its homepage, pricing, features and terms pages don't mention an API or MCP server. |
AutoReels changes its product and pricing independently of us. Check their site for current details before deciding, and tell us if anything here is out of date.
ShortFast and AutoReels plans
Prices from each vendor's pricing page, checked
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly, per month | What the plan includes (each vendor's own units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShortFast Starter | $29 | $15 | 2,000 credits a month: about 80 one-minute stock-footage or 50 AI art-style videos; 1 automation; 1 social account |
| ShortFast Pro | $39 | $31 | 5,000 credits a month; 3 automations; 3 social accounts |
| ShortFast Advanced | $99 | $79 | 15,000 credits a month; 6 automations; 6 social accounts (2 profiles); videos up to 3 minutes or 8 to 15 minutes |
| AutoReels Free | Free | Not billed | Creates 1 video; 1 video series; editing and preview, HD, background music and watermark-free video start on Starter |
| AutoReels Starter | $19 | Not shown; see note | Posts 3 times a week; 1 video series; edit and preview videos; HD; background music; no watermark |
| AutoReels Daily | $39 | Not shown; see note | Posts once a day; 1 video series; Starter's features plus fast render and priority support |
| AutoReels Hardcore | $69 | Not shown; see note | Posts twice a day; 1 video series; Starter's features plus fast render and priority support |
AutoReels' pricing page says yearly billing “saves around 30% at checkout” but lists no yearly prices, so we leave them out. Its plans count posts and ours count credits; neither converts into the other, and ShortFast's video counts are estimates, not limits. Per its pricing FAQ, a series pauses until the next billing period when the plan's videos run out.
Sources: ShortFast pricing · AutoReels pricing · AutoReels features · AutoReels FAQ · AutoReels terms
AutoReels keeps the whole job inside one series. You pick where the videos go (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook through one Facebook connection, or your inbox), choose one of 26 ready-made topics or write a prompt, and set the art style, narrator, language, music, aspect ratio and length once. Its 31 image styles run from Anime and Studio Ghibli to Photo Realism and Black & White Noir, and its terms say the videos you make are yours.
Its calendar is its clearest advantage: on paid plans, every upcoming video waits there for you to rewrite the script, change the voice or music, or move the date before it publishes. Add a free first video and plans priced by how often they post, and it is the simpler of the two to price. For one illustrated series with a look at each video before it goes out, AutoReels is the better pick.
ShortFast fits when one look and one series aren't enough. Its 27 styles add licensed documentary stock footage and AI video to art styles such as cartoon explainer or classical painting, it makes UGC-style ads with AI actors, and you can swap your own clips into any scene. Pro runs 3 automations and Advanced 6, each on the schedule you set.
Each automation takes a series brief of up to 500 characters and, for every posting slot, writes the next episode: a new topic, script, title, description and footage in the same tone, format and length, with recent titles checked. Put a call to action in the brief and the scripts end with it. There's no approval step, so watch the first episodes closely.
Automated series live under the platforms' rules. YouTube's monetization policies say channels where content “feels interchangeable from video to video” can't monetize, and its spam policy covers “using automated tools or AI to churn out high volumes of similar content with minimal changes”. TikTok requires a label on realistic AI-generated content. Whichever tool you pick, vary the topics and check the first videos of any automated series.
On October 23, 2026, AutoReels' pricing page listed Starter at $19 a month for three posts a week, Daily at $39 for one a day and Hardcore at $69 for two a day, each with one video series; Daily and Hardcore add fast rendering and priority support. Yearly billing “saves around 30% at checkout”, but the page doesn't show those prices.
ShortFast's Starter is $29 a month, or $15 billed yearly, for 2,000 credits. A minute of stock-footage video uses about 24 credits, a minute in an AI art style 37, and a minute of AI video or of fully animated images 440; extra credits are $10 per 1,000. One sells a posting cadence for one series, the other a monthly credit allowance for 1, 3 or 6 automations, so the units don't convert: decide how often each series should post and in which style, then price that on both.
FAQ
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