ChatGPT answers, unedited

For hours of footage, I’d look at TimeBolt first.

• TimeBolt — best fit if speed is the priority. It automatically detects/removes silence, filler words, false starts, and bad takes, and it’s designed specifically for long recordings. It can export cuts to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve. TimeBolt says its silence/jump-cut processing can handle an hour of video in seconds. TimeBolt TimeBolt

timebolt.io

• Descript — easiest if you want to edit by reading a transcript. It can remove “um,” “uh,” other fillers, and silences, and its AI Edit for Clarity can also cut unnecessary chatter. Descript Descript Descript

descript.com

• Adobe Premiere Pro — good if you're already in Premiere. Its Text-Based Editing can identify filler words and pauses and remove them in bulk directly from your sequence. Adobe Adobe

adobe.com

My pick for your specific use case: TimeBolt. If you're processing multiple hours at a time and mainly want an automated “remove ums + long pauses + dead air → give me a rough cut” workflow, it's more purpose-built for that than a general editor.

If you tell me whether you're using Premiere, DaVinci, Final Cut, or something else, I can recommend the fastest workflow and settings for several hours of footage.

If your priority is processing hours of footage quickly, I’d look at these:

1. descript.com — probably the easiest choice

Descript is built specifically around editing video through its transcript. It can automatically remove “um,” “uh,” “you know,” and other filler words, and its Shorten Word Gaps tool can automatically tighten long pauses. Descript Descript Help Center

Why I’d pick it for your use case:

• Bulk-removes filler words rather than making you find them manually.
• Automatically detects and shortens pauses.
• Works on long-form interviews, podcasts, courses, talking-head footage, etc.
• You can review the cuts in the transcript before exporting.
• Much less fiddly than manually editing a multi-hour timeline.

2. adobe.com — if you already edit in Premiere

Premiere's current Text-Based Editing can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them from a transcript. You can also adjust what counts as a pause, which is useful if you only want to remove long pauses rather than making speech unnaturally tight. Adobe Help Center Adobe

This is probably the better workflow if you're already doing your final color, graphics, multicam, etc. in Premiere.

3. wordcut.video — interesting lightweight/free option

WordCut is a browser-based transcript editor that specifically targets filler words, pauses, silence, and dead air. It also says processing can happen on-device, which may be attractive if you don't want to upload hours of footage. WordCut

My pick: For a pile of multi-hour footage where you want “throw it in → remove ums/uhs/long pauses → review → export,” I'd start with Descript. If you're already a Premiere user, use Premiere's Text-Based Editing instead.

If you tell me what kind of footage it is (podcast/interviews/YouTube/course/etc.) and whether you're on Mac or Windows, I can recommend the fastest workflow and settings for processing several hours at once.

For hours of footage, I’d recommend descript.com.

It’s particularly well suited to exactly this workflow:

• Removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” “like,” etc. automatically. Descript Descript
• Cuts long silences/pauses and can do filler-word and silence cleanup together. Descript
• You can use its AI “Edit for Clarity” to tighten rambling or non-essential speech beyond just individual filler words. Descript
• It works from a transcript rather than requiring you to scrub through the timeline, which is a huge advantage for multi-hour recordings. Descript
• As of July 2026, Descript added automatic “um/uh” detection and improved navigation/search for long recordings. Descript

If you already edit in Premiere Pro

Look at Captain Cut. It's a Premiere Pro extension that automatically finds filler words and cuts them directly in your sequence, so you don't have to move the project to another editor. Captain Cut

Another option

Wisecut is worth considering if your priority is aggressive automatic cleanup: it removes silences, filler words and pauses and can generate a complete cleaned-up version of the footage. wisecut.ai help.wisecut.video

My pick: Descript if you're starting from raw multi-hour interviews, podcasts, lectures, or talking-head footage. Captain Cut if you're already heavily invested in Premiere Pro.

If you tell me whether you're editing podcasts, interviews, courses, YouTube videos, or something else, I can narrow it down to the fastest option for your workflow.

If your priority is processing hours of footage quickly, I’d recommend TimeBolt.

🥇 Best for speed: TimeBolt

timebolt.io

• Automatically removes silence/long pauses, “um,” “uh,” filler words, false starts, and bad takes. TimeBolt TimeBolt
• It’s designed specifically for long-form A-roll, podcasts, interviews, courses, and talking-head footage.
• The company says it can analyze an hour of footage in seconds and supports batch processing. TimeBolt
• It runs locally on Mac and Windows, rather than requiring your entire video to be uploaded to a cloud editor. TimeBolt
• You can export directly to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or MP4. TimeBolt

One particularly useful feature is UMCheck, which specifically identifies filler words and lets you remove them while retaining control over what gets cut. TimeBolt

Other good options

• gling.ai — probably my second choice. It automatically removes silences, filler words, and bad takes, and has Premiere/Final Cut/Resolve export. Gling Gling
• descript.com — excellent if you also want to edit the video by editing its transcript. Its filler-word removal handles “um,” “uh,” “you know,” etc. Descript Descript
• wordcut.video — interesting free/browser option for straightforward filler-word and pause removal. WordCut

My pick for your specific use case: TimeBolt if you're processing hours of footage and want the fastest automated first pass. Gling if you want a more conventional AI video editor around that workflow.

If you tell me whether you're on Mac or Windows and whether your final edit is in Premiere, Resolve, Final Cut, or something else, I can narrow it down to the fastest workflow.

If your priority is hours of footage + fast cleanup of “ums,” filler words, and long pauses, I’d recommend descript.com.

• Filler words: automatically detects and removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” etc. Descript Descript
• Long pauses/silence: automatically detects them and lets you remove them in bulk. Descript
• Long recordings: it transcribes the footage and lets you edit by deleting text rather than scrubbing a timeline. Descript
• AI cleanup: its current AI editor can tighten cuts and remove filler/silence in one pass. Descript

Another strong option

wisecut.ai is particularly good if you want to throw in a long recording and have it automatically produce a tightened version. It specifically offers automatic removal of silences, filler words, pauses, and false starts. Wisecut Wisecut Help Center

My pick: Descript for maximum control and professional editing; Wisecut if you want the most hands-off “upload → cleaned video” workflow.

If you're dealing with 2–10+ hours per project, I can also recommend the fastest tool based on your footage type (podcast, interviews, talking-head, lectures, etc.) and whether you need Premiere/DaVinci export.

If you're processing hours of talking-head footage, podcasts, interviews, or courses, the best tools are the ones that automatically detect filler words and silence rather than requiring manual editing.

Here are the strongest options:

1. descript.com ⭐ Best overall

• Automatically removes "um," "uh," repeated words, and long pauses.
• Edit by changing the transcript instead of the timeline.
• Handles multi-hour recordings well.
• Great if you also need captions, overdubbing, or podcast editing.
• timebolt.io ⭐ Fastest for bulk cleanup

• Built specifically for removing silence, filler words, and awkward pauses.
• Optimized for creators with many hours of footage.
• Can export timelines directly into Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve for finishing. TimeBolt
• gling.ai

• Popular with YouTubers.
• Removes bad takes, silence, filler words, and hesitations automatically.
• Produces a polished rough cut with minimal effort.
• adobe.com

• If you're already using Premiere, its transcript editing lets you delete words from the transcript to cut the video.
• Excellent for professional workflows, though not quite as automated as dedicated cleanup tools.
• wordcut.video

• Browser-based.
• One-click removal of filler words and pauses.
• Good if you don't want to install software. WordCut

My recommendations by workload

• 10+ hours of footage every week: TimeBolt or Descript.
• Professional YouTube channel: Descript for the full editing workflow, or TimeBolt as a preprocessing step before Premiere.
• Courses, webinars, podcasts: Descript is usually the most efficient because transcript editing scales well.
• Need the fastest automated rough cut: Gling or TimeBolt.

For 100+ hours of footage, a common workflow is:

1. Run everything through TimeBolt (or Gling) to remove silence and filler words automatically.
2. Import the cleaned timeline into Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve for final edits.
3. This can reduce editing time by well over half compared with cutting everything manually.

If your main goal is “throw hours of talking-head/interview footage at it and automatically remove ums, filler words, and long pauses,” I’d look at these:

🥇 Best overall: Descript

descript.com

Why I’d pick it: Descript is built around transcript-based editing. It can automatically detect and remove “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know,” etc., as well as silence/pauses. Its AI Edit for Clarity can also tighten unnecessary chatter in one pass. Descript Descript

For hours of footage, the workflow is basically:

Import → transcribe → remove fillers/pauses → review → export.

It’s especially good if you're editing podcasts, interviews, lectures, courses, or talking-head YouTube footage.

🥈 If you already use Premiere: Adobe Premiere Pro

adobe.com

Premiere's Text-Based Editing can detect pauses and filler words and bulk-delete them from a transcript. You can also adjust the pause threshold so you're removing long dead spots rather than every natural breath. Adobe Help Center Adobe Help Center

This is probably the better choice if you need to end up with a professional Premiere timeline rather than moving your project into another editor.

⚡ If you want maximum automation: CleanCut

cleancut.video

CleanCut is interesting specifically for your use case: it advertises automatic removal of silences, retakes, filler words and ums/uhs, plus batch processing multiple videos. It also runs locally, so footage doesn't have to be uploaded. CleanCut Video

My recommendation

If you're dealing with multiple hours of raw footage regularly, I'd start with Descript. If you're already committed to Premiere, use Premiere's Text-Based Editing instead.

If you tell me what kind of footage you're editing (podcasts, interviews, lectures, YouTube, courses, etc.) and whether you use Premiere/DaVinci/Final Cut, I can narrow it down to the fastest option for your exact workflow, including tools that can process very long recordings in batches.

If you’re dealing with hours of footage, my first recommendation is Descript.

Best overall: descript.com

• Automatically detects “um,” “uh,” “you know,” and other filler words.
• Can remove pauses/silences in bulk, rather than manually cutting them. Descript Descript
• Works from a transcript, so you can clean up hours of talking-head, interview, podcast, or course footage much faster than working on a timeline.
• Its newer AI editing tools can also tighten the overall edit automatically. Descript
• There is a free tier, although 1 media hour/month is listed for the free plan, so you'd likely need a paid plan for a large backlog. Descript

If speed on very long footage is the priority

TimeBolt is worth looking at. It specializes in automatically removing silence and filler-heavy sections, and a published comparison reports it processing a 1-hour recording into a cleaned cut in about 40 minutes, versus substantially longer total cleanup times for several alternatives. TimeBolt

timebolt.io

If you already edit in Premiere

You may not need another app. Adobe Premiere Pro now has Text-Based Editing that can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them directly from the transcript. Adobe Help Center

adobe.com

My pick:

• Simplest/most automated: Descript
• Huge amounts of footage + aggressive silence removal: TimeBolt
• Already living in Premiere: Premiere Pro's built-in text-based editing

If you tell me roughly how many hours of footage you have (e.g. 10, 50, 200+) and whether you're on Premiere/Final Cut/DaVinci, I can recommend the fastest workflow and cheapest option.

You may not need another app. Adobe Premiere Pro now has Text-Based Editing that can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them directly from the transcript. helpx.adobe.com

For hours of footage, my top pick is TimeBolt.

• timebolt.io — Best if speed is the priority. It automatically detects and removes silence, filler words, false starts, and bad takes, and it works locally on Mac/Windows. TimeBolt claims it can analyze an hour of video in roughly 13 seconds for silence removal, making it particularly attractive for multi-hour recordings. Timebolt Timebolt
• descript.com — Best if you also want a transcript-based editor. It detects “um,” “uh,” “like,” etc., and can automatically shorten word gaps/silences. Its newer 2026 releases specifically improved filler detection and long-project searching. Descript Descript

My recommendation

If you're processing 2–10+ hours of talking-head, podcast, interview, lecture, or screen-recording footage: use TimeBolt. It is purpose-built around aggressive cleanup rather than being a general video editor.

If you want to review/edit the transcript at the same time: use Descript.

One important distinction: don't simply remove all pauses. Set a minimum pause duration (e.g. ~0.5–0.8 seconds) so the result doesn't sound unnaturally chopped. TimeBolt provides controls for this. Timebolt

If you tell me what kind of footage you're editing (podcast, interviews, YouTube, lectures, courses, etc.) and whether you're on Mac or Windows, I can recommend the fastest workflow and settings.

If your priority is hours of footage + very fast cleanup, I’d recommend descript.com.

• Filler words: automatically detects and removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” etc. Descript
• Long pauses: its Shorten word gaps tool can automatically tighten gaps between words, with control over how much silence remains. Descript Help Center
• Bulk/AI editing: Edit for Clarity can remove filler words and other obvious verbal clutter in one operation. Descript
• Workflow: it transcribes the footage and lets you edit the video by editing the transcript, which is much faster than scrubbing through a multi-hour timeline. Descript

If you already use Premiere

adobe.com is also excellent. Its Text-Based Editing can bulk-delete detected filler words and pauses directly from the transcript. Adobe Help Center

One caveat: Adobe reported a pause/filler detection issue in Premiere 26.2–26.3, so I'd make sure you're on a version where that issue is resolved. Adobe

My pick

Descript if you mainly want: “Give me 3–10 hours of talking-head/podcast footage and make it tight automatically.”

Premiere if you already edit professionally in Premiere and want the cleanup integrated into your existing timeline.

There’s also WordCut, a lightweight free option that specifically advertises one-click filler + pause removal and browser-based local processing. wordcut.video

If you tell me Mac or Windows, approximate hours of footage, and whether you need the result back in Premiere/DaVinci, I can narrow it down to the fastest option.

For hours of footage, I’d start with descript.com. It’s probably the best fit for your use case because it edits video/audio from a transcript rather than a timeline: you upload the footage, it transcribes it, then it can automatically find and remove filler words like “um,” “uh,” “you know,” and shorten pauses. Descript Descript

My recommendations by workflow

1. Best overall: Descript

• ✅ Handles long interviews, podcasts, courses, webinars
• ✅ Removes filler words automatically
• ✅ Detects and trims long silences/pauses
• ✅ Lets you review every cut in the transcript before exporting
• Best if you have many hours of talking-head footage and want the fastest professional workflow. Descript Descript
• Best free/lightweight option: wordcut.video

• ✅ Browser-based
• ✅ Transcript-based editing
• ✅ Removes “um,” “uh,” pauses, and dead air
• Good for occasional projects or if you don’t want a full editor. WordCut
• Best if you’re already editing in Premiere Pro

• Use AI transcription tools inside your existing workflow (Premiere’s text-based editing features) or pair Premiere with a filler-removal tool.
• Better if your projects already have complex graphics, color grading, and multicam edits.

For a multi-hour project, I’d use this workflow:

1. Import all footage into Descript.
2. Run filler-word detection.
3. Automatically shorten long pauses (don’t remove every pause—natural breathing room matters).
4. Export the cleaned timeline back to your main editor if needed.

A note: fully automated removal can sometimes make people sound unnaturally fast or robotic, especially with emotional interviews. I’d keep a little room around pauses and manually check the first few minutes before applying the same settings to the whole batch.

If you tell me your footage type (podcast, YouTube interviews, courses, Zoom calls, documentaries) and total hours, I can suggest the fastest/cheapest workflow.

If your priority is processing hours of footage quickly, my top pick is Descript.

Best overall: Descript

descript.com

It’s particularly well suited to long interviews, podcasts, lectures, webinars, and talking-head footage because it:

• Automatically transcribes the entire recording.
• Removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” “like,” and other filler words in bulk. Descript Descript
• Can shorten long pauses/word gaps automatically, with controls over what counts as a pause. Descript Help Center
• Lets you edit the video by editing the transcript rather than manually cutting a timeline.
• Has an AI co-editor that can tighten cuts and remove silences/filler words automatically. Descript

For your use case, I'd choose Descript over a conventional editor. You can dump in several hours of footage, let it transcribe, run the filler-word and pause cleanup, then review the resulting cuts rather than hunting through the footage yourself.

Also worth considering

OpusClip is a strong alternative if you're already using it for clips/social content. It has one-click removal of both filler words and pauses. Opus Clip Opus

opus.pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is better if you're already editing professionally in Premiere. Its Text-Based Editing can detect pauses and bulk-delete filler words or pauses directly from the transcript. Adobe Help Center

My ranking for your specific task:

1. 🥇 Descript — easiest and most purpose-built
2. 🥈 OpusClip — excellent for fast automated cleanup + clips
3. 🥉 Premiere Pro — best if you need a full professional editing workflow

If you're talking about 10–50+ hours of footage at a time, I can also recommend the fastest option specifically for that volume (including whether a desktop/local tool would be better than cloud processing).

OpusClip is a strong alternative if you're already using it for clips/social content. It has one-click removal of both filler words and pauses.

For hours of footage, I’d start with descript.com. It’s probably the closest match to what you’re describing: upload long recordings, let it transcribe, then automatically find and remove “um,” “uh,” filler words, and long pauses without manually scrubbing a timeline. Descript Descript

Best options

1. descript.com — Best overall for long interviews, podcasts, courses

• Removes filler words automatically.
• Detects and trims pauses/silences.
• Lets you edit the video by editing the transcript (much faster for multi-hour footage). Descript Descript
• Good if you also need captions, clips, or polishing afterward.
• adobe.com — Best if you already live in Premiere

• Its Text-Based Editing can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them from transcripts. Adobe Help Center
• Better for professional edits where you’ll continue color, sound, graphics, etc.
• wordcut.video — Best lightweight/free option

• Browser-based transcript editing.
• Removes fillers and pauses by editing text instead of hunting through a timeline. WordCut
• Better for shorter projects or privacy-conscious workflows.
• trimtake.com — Best “upload and clean” workflow

• Designed specifically around removing ums, uhs, and dead air automatically. TrimTake
• Less of a full editor, more of a cleanup pass.

My pick by use case

• 10–100+ hours of interviews/podcasts: Descript
• You already edit in Premiere: Premiere Pro
• Need the fastest “make this recording clean” button: TrimTake
• Want a simple/free experiment: WordCut

For very long footage (multi-camera interviews, lectures, podcasts), I’d run the AI cleanup as a first pass, then manually review the cuts—aggressive filler removal can sometimes remove intentional pauses or conversational rhythm.

If your priority is processing hours of footage quickly, I’d recommend gling.ai.

• Automatically removes “ums,” “uhs,” and other filler words
• Detects and cuts silences/long pauses
• Can also remove bad takes and retakes, which is useful for long recordings.
• It can export an edited video or XML to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve, so you don't have to abandon your normal editing workflow. Gling Gling
• Its current plans include 10 hours/month for Plus, 30 hours for Pro, and 100 hours for Elite; the free tier is limited to 1 hour/month. Gling

My ranking

1. Gling — best for bulk cleanup of hours of talking-head/interview footage.
2. descript.com — excellent if you also want to edit the video by editing its transcript; it removes filler words and silence in the same workflow. Descript Descript
3. adobe.com — best if you're already a Premiere user. Its Text-Based Editing can bulk-delete filler words and pauses directly from the transcript. Adobe Adobe Help Center
4. WordCut — interesting free option if you want something lightweight and browser-based; it specifically targets filler words, pauses, and dead air. WordCut

For your exact use case, I'd start with Gling. If you tell me whether the footage is podcasts, interviews, YouTube talking-head, lectures, or something else, I can recommend the fastest/cheapest option and the ideal pause settings.

If your priority is processing hours of footage quickly, I’d recommend gling.ai.

• Automatically removes filler words like “um,” “uh,” etc.
• Automatically removes silences/long pauses—this is particularly useful for hours of talking-head, podcast, interview, or lecture footage.
• Can also remove bad takes and other unwanted sections.
• It can export an edited video or XML for Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve, so you don't have to do your entire finishing workflow in Gling. Gling Gling
• Its current Elite plan advertises up to 100 hours of AI-edited media/month, which makes it especially compelling if you're dealing with hours rather than occasional short clips. Gling

Runner-up: Descript

descript.com is excellent if you want to edit by editing the transcript. It can automatically detect filler words and silences, and its newer “Um detection” specifically helps with long recordings. Descript Descript

My pick:
Gling for bulk cleanup → Premiere/Resolve for the final edit.
Descript if you also want transcript-based editing, captions, and content repurposing.

If you tell me whether you're using Premiere, DaVinci, Final Cut, or something else, I can recommend the fastest workflow for processing, say, 10–50 hours of footage.

For hours of footage, I’d look at tools that edit from a transcript rather than traditional timeline editors. These are the strongest options:

Best overall: descript.com

Best for: podcasts, interviews, courses, webinars, talking-head videos.

• Upload hours of footage → it transcribes it → you edit like a document.
• One-click removal of “um,” “uh,” “you know,” “like,” and other filler words. Descript Descript
• Can also shorten word gaps and long silences with adjustable settings. Descript
• Good review workflow: you can see every cut before exporting.

Why I’d pick it: For multi-hour recordings, the transcript-based workflow is much faster than scrubbing through a timeline.

Fastest “push button” option: opus.pro

Best for: creators who want automatic cleanup with minimal editing.

• Detects and removes filler words and awkward pauses automatically. Opus Opus
• Designed for long-form recordings that need quick cleanup and repurposing into clips. Opus
• Less manual control than Descript, but very fast.

Free/lightweight alternative: wordcut.video

Best for: simple filler-word and pause removal without paying for a full editor.

• Browser-based transcript editing.
• Removes fillers and pauses by editing the text transcript. WordCut

My recommendation by use case:

• 10+ hours of interviews/podcasts: Descript
• You want “upload → clean → export” automation: OpusClip
• You just need filler/pause removal cheaply: WordCut

For a professional workflow, I’d probably run the footage through Descript first for cleanup, then do final color, sound mix, and graphics in your normal editor (Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci, etc.).

For hours of footage, my top pick is Descript.

descript.com

Why I’d pick it

• Removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” etc. automatically with its filler-word removal tool. Descript Descript
• Shortens long pauses in bulk, with controls for how much gap to remove. Descript Help Center
• Its AI Edit for Clarity can go beyond individual fillers and tighten obvious verbal clutter in one pass. Descript
• You edit from the transcript rather than scrubbing a multi-hour timeline, which is particularly useful for interviews, podcasts, lectures, and talking-head footage. Descript
• It can handle the workflow as a video editor, so the cuts remain synchronized with the footage.

If you already use Premiere Pro, you may not need another tool: Premiere's current Text-Based Editing can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them. Adobe Help Center

My quick ranking:

1. Descript — easiest/fastest for automated cleanup.
2. Premiere Pro — best if you're already doing the final edit in Adobe.
3. WordCut — interesting free/browser option if you want something lightweight; it specifically targets fillers, pauses and dead air. wordcut.video

If you tell me what kind of footage you have (podcast, lectures, interviews, YouTube, etc.) and whether you edit in Premiere/Final Cut/DaVinci, I can recommend the fastest workflow for processing 10–50+ hours of footage.

If your main goal is hours of footage → automatically remove ums, filler words, and long pauses, my top recommendation is descript.com.

• Filler words: automatically detects and removes “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know,” etc. Descript Descript
• Long pauses/silence: can automatically shorten word gaps and remove dead air, with controls over how much silence remains. Descript
• Bulk workflow: transcribe the footage, apply the cleanup, then review the cuts rather than manually hunting through a timeline.
• Good for long recordings: current plans include up to 30 media hours/month on the Creator plan. Descript
• It also has an AI “Edit for Clarity” mode that can remove filler and unnecessary chatter in one pass. Descript

If you're already using Premiere

Adobe Premiere Pro is a strong alternative because its Text-Based Editing can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them directly from the transcript. Adobe Help Center

One caveat: Adobe has reported a pause/filler-detection issue in Premiere 26.2–26.3, so I'd test it on a sample before processing a huge project. community.adobe.com

My pick: Descript if you want the fastest, least-fussy “throw hours of footage at it and clean it up” workflow. Premiere if you need to stay inside a professional editing workflow.

If you’re dealing with hours of talking-head, interview, podcast, or lecture footage, my first pick is Descript.

🥇 Best overall: Descript

descript.com

It’s particularly good for this exact job because it edits video through the transcript:

• Automatically detects and removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” “like,” and other filler words. Descript Descript
• Can automatically detect and remove silences/long pauses, with controls so you don't make the speech unnaturally fast. Descript Descript
• Its AI Edit for Clarity can make a broader cleanup pass for filler and non-essential chatter. Descript
• You can review the cuts in the transcript rather than manually scrubbing through hours of timeline footage.

For several hours of footage, I'd choose Descript over a traditional timeline editor specifically for the first cleanup pass.

If you already use Premiere Pro

adobe.com

Premiere now has Text-Based Editing that can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them from a transcript. Adobe Help Center Adobe Help Center

So if your final edit is already happening in Premiere, you don't necessarily need another program.

Fastest/simple alternative

WordCut is worth trying if you want something lightweight and free. It runs in the browser and specifically removes filler words, pauses, and dead air through transcript editing. WordCut

My ranking for your use case:

1. Descript — best dedicated tool for hours of footage
2. Premiere Pro — best if you're already editing in Premiere
3. WordCut — best lightweight/free option

If you tell me roughly how many hours of footage you have (e.g. 5, 20, 100+) and whether you use Premiere/Final Cut/DaVinci, I can recommend the fastest workflow and tool for that volume.

Premiere now has Text-Based Editing that can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them from a transcript. helpx.adobe.com helpx.adobe.com

So if your final edit is already happening in Premiere, you don't necessarily need another program.

Fastest/simple alternative

If you’re dealing with hours of footage, my first choice is descript.com.

• Automatically removes “ums,” “uhs,” “likes,” “you know,” etc. rather than making you hunt through the timeline. Descript Descript
• Cuts silences/long pauses as well, which is particularly useful for interviews, podcasts, lectures, and talking-head footage. Descript Descript
• It transcribes the entire recording and lets you edit the video by editing the transcript, which makes multi-hour recordings much faster to clean up. Descript
• Descript recently added automatic “um” detection and project-wide search, specifically making long recordings easier to navigate. Descript
• For really aggressive cleanup, its Edit for Clarity feature can remove filler and non-essential chatter in one pass. Descript

For your use case

If you have, say, 5–10 hours of raw interviews, I'd do:

Import everything → transcribe → Remove Filler Words → remove long silences → quickly review the cuts → export.

One caveat: if you're processing dozens of hours every week, the plan limits matter. Descript currently lists 10 media hours/month on Hobbyist and 30 hours/month on Creator, with the ability to buy additional hours. Descript

Bottom line: For “throw hours of footage at it and automatically clean out ums + dead air”, Descript is probably the easiest option I'd try first.

If your priority is processing hours of footage quickly, I’d start with opus.pro.

• One-click filler removal: detects “um,” “uh,” “you know,” “like,” etc. and removes them from the video/audio. Opus
• One-click pause removal: automatically detects and cuts dead air, with controls for how aggressively silence is removed. Opus Opus
• Designed for long recordings: it can ingest videos from sources like Google Drive, YouTube, Vimeo, Zoom, Riverside and others. Opus
• It also has an API, which is worth considering if you're dealing with many hours regularly and want to automate the cleanup rather than manually uploading projects. Opus

Another strong choice: Descript

descript.com is probably better if you want to review the transcript and make more editorial decisions after the automatic cleanup. Its AI can remove filler words and silences, and its newer “Edit for Clarity” feature can also cut non-essential chatter. Descript Descript

My pick for your specific use case: OpusClip if you have hours of raw footage and mainly want it tightened automatically. Descript if you want a human editor to quickly review/refine the AI cuts afterward.

If you're talking about 10–50+ hours of footage at a time, I can also recommend the fastest batch-processing/API workflow rather than a normal editor.

If your priority is hours of footage + speed, I’d recommend timebolt.io.

• Removes long pauses/dead air: It analyzes the audio waveform rather than relying solely on transcription. TimeBolt says it can scan an hour of footage for silence in about 13 seconds. TimeBolt TimeBolt
• Removes “ums,” “uhs,” filler words and bad takes: Its UMCheck system detects filler words, false starts, retakes, and repeated phrases. TimeBolt
• Good for very long recordings: It works locally on Mac and Windows and can export finished video or timelines to Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro. TimeBolt
• You retain control: It shows the proposed cuts so you can quickly review/restore anything it removes instead of trusting a black-box edit.
• Particularly good for interviews, podcasts, lectures, talking-head footage, and screen recordings.

One caveat

The filler-word transcription portion, UMCheck, is pay-per-use at $0.03/minute, according to TimeBolt's current documentation. TimeBolt

For comparison, descript.com is probably the better choice if you want a polished transcript-based editor and more AI editing features. Its current “Edit for Clarity” can automatically remove filler words and non-essential chatter. Descript

My pick for your specific use case: TimeBolt. If you're routinely dealing with 2–10+ hours of raw footage and mainly want to turn it into a tight A-roll quickly, its waveform-first approach is particularly well suited. TimeBolt

If your priority is hours of footage + fast automatic cleanup, I’d start with descript.com.

• Removes “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know,” etc. automatically. Descript Descript
• Removes long silences/pauses and lets you control how aggressively they're trimmed. Descript
• Its AI Edit for Clarity can make a first cleanup pass across the recording rather than requiring you to manually find every problem. Descript
• You edit through the transcript, so reviewing thousands of cuts is much quicker than scrubbing a multi-hour timeline.

Other good options

• wisecut.ai — particularly good if you're working with long talking-head videos, interviews, podcasts, or webinars. It automatically detects/cuts silence and can also remove filler words. Wisecut Wisecut
• getrescript.com — interesting if you want processing on your own computer. It can remove filler words and silences across the whole file, with no upload. Rescript
• trimtake.com — more of a “upload → automatically clean → download” service, rather than a full editor. Its paid tiers specifically target longer footage. TrimTake

My pick: Descript for the best balance of automatic cleanup + control. If you literally have several hours per project and want almost zero editing, I'd also test Wisecut or TrimTake.

If you tell me roughly how many hours of footage you process per week and whether you need Premiere Pro/DaVinci XML or just a finished MP4, I can narrow it down to the fastest/cheapest option.

If your main goal is “throw hours of footage at it and automatically remove ums, uhs, filler words, and long pauses”, I’d look at these:

🥇 Best overall: Descript

• Automatically detects “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know,” etc.
• Has a dedicated Remove Silence feature with adjustable thresholds.
• Its Edit for Clarity can make broader cleanup cuts automatically.
• You edit via the transcript rather than manually scrubbing a timeline. www.descript.com
• Current plans include substantial media-hour allowances; for example, the Creator plan lists 30 media hours/month. www.descript.com

I'd pick this if you want the easiest workflow and still want to review the cuts afterward.

⚡ Best if speed is the priority: TimeBolt

TimeBolt is particularly interesting for hours of footage. It claims it can remove silence and jump-cut an hour of video in about 13 seconds, and it exports to Premiere, Final Cut, and Resolve. www.timebolt.io

It's more focused on extremely fast automated cleanup than being an all-in-one editor.

🎬 Best for YouTube/talking-head footage: Gling

Gling automatically removes silences, filler words, bad takes, and background noise. It's specifically designed around turning long raw recordings into a clean rough cut, and can export to professional editors. www.gling.ai

My recommendation

One important distinction: removing long pauses is easier and more reliable than deciding whether every “um” should be removed. I would keep a small amount of natural breathing/pause so the final edit doesn't sound unnaturally rushed.

If you're talking about 10–50+ hours of footage at a time, tell me roughly how many hours and whether you're editing in Premiere, DaVinci, Final Cut, or nothing yet—I can narrow this down to the fastest/cheapest workflow.

For hours of footage, I’d start with Descript. It’s probably the most mature tool for this exact workflow: upload long recordings, get a transcript, then automatically remove “um,” “uh,” repeated words, and long pauses without manually scrubbing a timeline. Descript Help Center Descript

Best options

1. descript.com — best overall

• Removes filler words like “um,” “uh,” and similar speech clutter.
• Has tools for shortening long pauses/silences.
• Lets you edit video by editing the transcript (very fast for interviews, podcasts, courses, talking-head content). Descript Descript Help Center
• Best if you also need captions, cuts, audio cleanup, and collaboration.
• veed.io — easiest browser workflow

• Its Magic Cut tool automatically trims pauses, filler words, mistakes, and silences. VEED Help Center
• Good for creators who want quick social/video edits without learning an editor.
• wordcut.video — lightweight/free alternative

• Transcript-based editing: delete words in the transcript and it removes those sections from the video.
• Designed specifically around removing fillers and dead air quickly. WordCut
• pace.video — if you use Final Cut Pro

• Focused on fast cleanup of talking-head footage.
• Removes dead air and filler words, then exports directly into Final Cut workflows. Pace

My pick by use case

• 10–100+ hours of interviews/podcasts/course footage: Descript
• Fast YouTube/social cleanup: VEED
• Free/simple cleanup: WordCut
• Professional Mac + Final Cut workflow: Pace

For multi-hour footage, avoid tools that require manually marking clips; transcript-based editors will save the most time. A typical workflow is: auto-transcribe → remove fillers → shorten pauses → review cuts → export. Descript Help Center Descript Help Center

For hours of footage, the tool I’d recommend first is:

Descript — best overall for bulk cleanup

descript.com

It’s built specifically for this workflow: upload long videos → auto-transcribe → edit the transcript → apply changes to the video. It can automatically find and remove filler words like “um,” “uh,” and similar phrases, and it has tools to shorten long pauses/word gaps. Descript Help Center Descript Help Center

Why it fits your use case:

• ✅ Handles long interviews, podcasts, lectures, webinars, and talking-head footage
• ✅ Removes “ums,” “uhs,” repeated phrases, and some verbal clutter automatically Descript Descript
• ✅ Can tighten pauses without manually cutting the timeline Descript Help Center Descript
• ✅ Lets you review every cut before exporting (important because AI can occasionally remove intentional pauses)

Other good options

• Adobe Premiere Pro — better if you already live in a professional editing workflow. Adobe’s AI tools are improving, but for specifically removing filler words across many hours, Descript is usually faster.
• Wisecut — good for automated talking-head edits, silence removal, and social clips.
• WordCut — a lightweight option focused on transcript-based cutting of filler words and pauses. WordCut

For multi-hour footage where speed matters, my ranking would be:

1. Descript — fastest “clean up everything” workflow
2. Premiere Pro + AI tools — best if you need advanced finishing
3. Wisecut — best for quick creator/social edits
4. WordCut — best simple/free option for basic cleanup WordCut

If you’re processing 10+ hours at a time (e.g., course recordings, podcasts, interviews), I’d also check the pricing/limits around transcription hours before committing, since AI editing plans often meter usage. Descript

For hours of footage, I’d recommend gling.ai.

It’s particularly suited to exactly this workflow:

• Automatically removes “um,” “uh,” and other filler words
• Automatically cuts silences and long pauses
• Can also remove bad takes/retakes and reduce background noise. Gling Gling
• Has desktop apps for Windows and Mac
• You can export to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve via XML, which is useful if Gling is just the cleanup stage of your workflow. Gling
• For a large amount of footage, its paid tiers currently go up to 30 hours/month (Pro) and 100 hours/month (Elite). Gling

My pick

Gling → best if your priority is “throw hours of talking-head/interview footage at it and let it make the boring cuts.”

Another strong option is descript.com. It has very good transcript-based editing, including automatic filler-word removal and a separate Shorten Word Gaps tool for tightening pauses. help.descript.com help.descript.com

If you're dealing with 20–100+ hours of footage, I'd lean Gling because its plans explicitly scale to that volume.

For hours of footage, I’d recommend OpusClip first.

• OpusClip — Its AI cleanup specifically removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” stutters, and long pauses automatically. You can review the detected edits before exporting. help.opus.pro
• It’s particularly suited to long recordings like podcasts, interviews, webinars, and talking-head footage, and it can process the cleanup without manually scrubbing through the timeline. www.opus.pro
• You can also adjust the silence threshold, which is important because cutting every tiny pause can make speech sound unnaturally rushed. www.opus.pro

Another strong option: Descript

Descript is probably better if you want more control over the actual edit. It transcribes the footage and lets you remove filler words and shorten word gaps directly from the transcript. Its “Avoid harsh cuts” option can also skip edits that would sound awkward. help.descript.com

My pick:
OpusClip → fastest “throw hours of footage at it and clean it up” workflow.
Descript → better if you want to inspect/edit the transcript and fine-tune what gets removed.

If you tell me roughly how many hours (e.g. 2, 10, 50+) and whether it's interviews, lectures, podcasts, or YouTube footage, I can recommend the fastest/cheapest workflow for that volume.

For hours of footage, I’d recommend Gling.

Why it fits your use case:

• Automatically removes “um,” “uh,” and other filler words
• Detects and cuts long silences/pauses
• Can also remove bad takes/retakes
• Designed specifically to automate the tedious first-pass editing process. www.gling.ai
• It can export an XML to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve, so you don't necessarily have to finish the edit inside Gling. www.gling.ai
• Current plans support up to 100 hours of AI-edited media/month on the highest tier, so it's actually suited to large volumes. www.gling.ai

My pick: Gling if your priority is “dump several hours of footage in and let AI make the rough cut.”

Runner-up: Descript

Descript is excellent if you want more control. Its AI can remove filler words and automatically shorten long word gaps, with controls for how aggressive the cuts are. help.descript.com

Quick comparison:

If you're dealing with 10–50+ hours of talking-head/interview/podcast footage, I'd start with Gling.

If you’re dealing with hours of footage, I’d recommend TimeBolt.

Why TimeBolt is my top pick

• Very fast silence removal: it claims it can process an hour of video for silence/jump cuts in about 13 seconds. www.timebolt.io
• Removes long pauses/dead air based on the waveform rather than relying entirely on transcription, with adjustable thresholds and padding. www.timebolt.io
• Its UMCheck feature detects and removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” custom filler phrases, repeats, false starts, and retakes. www.timebolt.io
• It works locally for the waveform-based cuts, so your large video files don't need to be uploaded just to detect silence. www.timebolt.io
• You can export to Premiere, Final Cut, or DaVinci Resolve, which is useful if TimeBolt is just your automated cleanup pass. www.timebolt.io

For your specific use case: I'd run TimeBolt over the entire multi-hour recording to automatically strip pauses and filler, then bring the resulting timeline into your normal editor for the creative edit.

Runner-up: Descript

Descript is easier if you want to edit through a transcript. It can automatically remove filler words and shorten word gaps, and its “Edit for Clarity” can also remove retakes and unnecessary chatter. help.descript.com

Bottom line:
TimeBolt = best if speed and processing huge amounts of footage are the priority.
Descript = best if you want transcript-based editing and a more traditional AI editor.

If you tell me whether you're editing podcasts, interviews, talking-head YouTube videos, lectures, or screen recordings, I can recommend the fastest workflow and settings for that type of footage.

For hours of footage, I’d recommend TimeBolt first.

• TimeBolt — particularly good for bulk cleanup. It automatically removes silence/long pauses, “um,” “uh,” filler phrases, and bad takes, and its waveform-based silence detection is designed to be extremely fast. The company says it can process an hour of video for silence/jump cuts in about 13 seconds. It also runs locally, so footage doesn't have to be uploaded to the cloud. www.timebolt.io
• It can export timelines for Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve, so you can do the automated cleanup first and then continue your normal edit. www.timebolt.io

Runner-up: Gling — Gling is probably easier if you want an all-in-one AI editor. It automatically removes silences, filler words, and bad takes and can export to Premiere/Final Cut/Resolve. Its paid tiers currently cover 10, 30, or 100 hours/month, depending on the plan. www.gling.ai

My pick:
TimeBolt if your priority is “throw 5–20 hours of footage at it and get a very clean rough cut quickly.”
Gling if you also want transcript-based editing and other AI editing features.

If you tell me whether you're using Premiere, Resolve, Final Cut, or editing entirely in-browser, I can recommend the fastest workflow and settings for processing multiple hours at once.

For hours of footage, my first choice is Descript. It’s specifically built for this kind of bulk cleanup: it transcribes the footage, then lets you automatically remove filler words such as “um,” “uh,” and “you know,” as well as shorten long pauses/word gaps. help.descript.comwww.descript.com

Descript

Why I’d pick it

• Filler words: bulk-remove ums, uhs, “you know,” etc. help.descript.com
• Long pauses: automatically shorten word gaps/dead air across the recording. help.descript.comwww.descript.com
• Hours of footage: current plans include substantially more media hours as you move up tiers; the Creator plan currently lists 30 media hours/month. www.descript.com
• Fast workflow: you edit the transcript rather than manually scrubbing a timeline.
• Better than simply deleting silence: its “Avoid harsh cuts” option can skip cuts that would sound awkward. help.descript.com

If you're already a Premiere Pro user, you may not need another tool: Premiere's current Text-Based Editing can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them directly from the transcript. helpx.adobe.com

If you want the simplest “upload → automatically clean everything → download” option, TrimTake is worth looking at; it specifically automates ums/uhs and dead air with no timeline editing. Its current limits/pricing are more geared toward chunks of footage, though. www.trimtake.com

Bottom line: Descript for the best combination of speed, control, and handling long recordings. If you tell me roughly how many hours you have (e.g. 5, 20, 100+) and whether you're on Premiere/DaVinci/Final Cut, I can recommend the fastest/cheapest workflow.

For hours of footage, the tool I’d recommend first is Descript. It’s built specifically for this kind of cleanup: you upload your video, it creates a transcript, and you edit the recording by editing the text. help.descript.com

Why it fits your use case:

• Removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” and other filler words automatically across a whole recording. help.descript.com
• Shortens long pauses/silences in bulk instead of manually cutting the timeline. help.descript.comhelp.descript.com
• Works well for podcasts, interviews, lectures, webinars, courses, and talking-head videos. www.descript.com
• Lets you review changes before committing, which is useful because aggressive cleanup can sometimes make a speaker sound unnatural. help.descript.com

A typical workflow:

1. Import your multi-hour footage.
2. Let it transcribe.
3. Run Remove Filler Words.
4. Run Shorten Word Gaps / silence cleanup.
5. Quickly skim the edits.
6. Export the finished video. help.descript.comhelp.descript.com

Other options worth considering:

• Adobe Premiere Pro — better if you already do professional editing, but the workflow is less “one-click cleanup.”
• Riverside — good for recorded interviews/podcasts with AI editing features.
• WordCut — a simpler browser-based option focused on transcript-based cuts and removing fillers/pauses. wordcut.video

For many hours of raw footage where speed matters most, Descript is probably the closest match. If you tell me whether this is podcasts, interviews, YouTube videos, lectures, or security/event footage, I can narrow it down further.

For hours of footage, the tool I’d recommend first is:

Descript — best overall for removing “ums,” filler words, and pauses quickly

Descript is built specifically for long-form talking content (podcasts, interviews, lectures, webinars). It transcribes your video and lets you edit the footage like a document. help.descript.com

Why it fits your use case:

• ✅ Automatically finds and removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” “like,” and other filler words help.descript.com
• ✅ Can bulk-tighten long pauses / word gaps instead of manually cutting the timeline help.descript.comhelp.descript.com
• ✅ Works well for multi-hour recordings because edits happen through the transcript rather than scrubbing through the timeline help.descript.com
• ✅ Also includes cleanup tools like noise reduction and speech enhancement help.descript.com

A typical workflow:

1. Import the full video.
2. Wait for transcription.
3. Run Remove Filler Words.
4. Run Shorten Word Gaps (adjust how aggressive you want it).
5. Review the cuts and export. help.descript.comhelp.descript.com

Other options:

• WordCut — a simpler, browser-based option focused on transcript editing and removing fillers/pauses. Good if you want something lightweight. wordcut.videowww.descript.com
• Adobe Premiere Pro — better if you already do professional editing, though it’s less “one-click” for this specific task.

For 10+ hours of interviews, courses, podcasts, or Zoom recordings, I’d pick Descript. For a one-off cleanup where you don’t want a full editor, try WordCut. wordcut.videowww.descript.com

For hours of footage, my top recommendation is Descript.

• Descript — probably the easiest/fastest workflow. It transcribes the entire recording, then lets you automatically remove “um,” “uh,” “you know,” etc. It also has Shorten Word Gaps for systematically trimming long pauses, and its newer Edit for Clarity can clean up filler, wordiness, retakes, and other obvious fluff. help.descript.com

Try Descript

• Adobe Premiere Pro — best if you're already editing in Premiere. Its Text-Based Editing can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them from the transcript, with the edits reflected in the timeline. helpx.adobe.com

Adobe Premiere Pro

• WordCut — worth trying if you want a free, lightweight option. It runs in the browser and is specifically designed to remove fillers, pauses, and dead air by editing the transcript. It says the video itself stays in your browser. wordcut.video

WordCut

My pick: If you're dealing with, say, 5–20 hours of interviews/podcasts/talking-head footage, I'd use Descript. If the footage ultimately needs to live in a Premiere project, use Premiere's built-in text-based editing instead.

If you tell me Mac/Windows + how many hours + whether you're already using Premiere/DaVinci/etc., I can recommend the fastest/cheapest option for your exact workflow.

If your priority is hours of footage + speed, I’d recommend OpusClip.

• Automatically removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” etc. in one pass. www.opus.pro
• Removes long pauses/dead air automatically, rather than making you find them manually. www.opus.pro
• Works particularly well for podcasts, interviews, webinars, lectures, and talking-head footage.
• You can upload long recordings and edit by transcript rather than scrubbing through the timeline. www.opus.pro
• It supports local uploads as well as sources such as YouTube, Google Drive, Vimeo, Zoom, and others. help.opus.pro

One alternative worth considering: Descript

Descript is arguably better if you want precise control over the resulting edit. Its AI can remove filler words across a composition and has a separate Shorten Word Gaps tool for automatically tightening pauses. help.descript.com

My pick:
OpusClip → fastest, least hands-on cleanup of hours of footage.
Descript → better if you're going to continue editing the cleaned footage afterward.

If you tell me whether this is podcasts/interviews, YouTube videos, lectures, or something else, I can recommend the fastest workflow and settings for it.

For hours of footage, I’d recommend TimeBolt first.

🥇 Best fit: TimeBolt

It’s specifically built for aggressively cleaning up long-form footage:

• Automatically removes long pauses/silence
• Detects and removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” etc.
• Can remove repeats, false starts, and bad takes
• Processes silence locally using waveform analysis, so it’s extremely fast for long recordings.
• Can export timelines to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve. www.timebolt.iowww.timebolt.io
• Its documentation says an hour of video can have silence detected/cut in roughly 13 seconds, while the AI filler-word processing takes longer. www.timebolt.iowww.timebolt.io

For your specific use case, I'd choose TimeBolt over Descript if the priority is speed across many hours of footage.

🥈 Easier alternative: Gling

Gling is probably the easiest if you want a more conventional AI editor. It automatically removes silences, filler words, bad takes, and retakes, and can export directly or send an XML to Premiere/Resolve/Final Cut. Its higher tiers currently support up to 30–100 hours of AI-edited media/month. www.gling.ai

🥉 If you want transcript-based editing: Descript

Descript has dedicated tools for removing filler words and shortening long word gaps, plus an “Edit for Clarity” feature that can clean up broader verbal clutter. help.descript.com

My ranking for your requirement:

If you're processing, say, 5–20+ hours of interviews/podcasts at once, I'd start with TimeBolt. It also has a particularly useful workflow where waveform analysis handles pauses while its UMCHECK system handles the actual words, rather than relying entirely on transcription. www.timebolt.iowww.timebolt.io

If you tell me what editor you ultimately use (Premiere, Resolve, Final Cut, CapCut, etc.) and roughly how many hours per project, I can recommend the fastest workflow and settings.

For hours of footage, I’d recommend Descript.

Why it fits your use case:

• Automatically finds and removes “um,” “uh,” “you know,” etc. across the transcript. help.descript.com
• Shortens long pauses/word gaps in bulk, rather than making you cut them manually. help.descript.com
• You can edit the footage like a text document—delete words from the transcript and the corresponding video gets cut. www.descript.com
• Its Edit for Clarity feature can go beyond individual ums and remove wordiness, retakes, and unnecessary chatter. www.descript.com
• Current plans include substantial media-hour allowances; for example, Descript lists 10 hours/month on Hobbyist and 30 hours/month on Creator. www.descript.com

If speed and minimal manual work are the priority, Descript is my first choice.

One alternative worth considering: Adobe Premiere Pro if you're already editing there. Its Text-Based Editing can detect filler words and pauses and bulk-delete them, so you don't have to round-trip the footage through another editor. helpx.adobe.com

If you tell me roughly how many hours of footage you process per week/month, I can recommend the fastest and cheapest option for that volume.