PODCAST TO SHORTS
Turn a podcast episode into Shorts, free and without a watermark
Paste the episode’s link. FastClip suggests the moments worth clipping, crops them to vertical 9:16 while following the speaker, and burns in captions.
Free, no credit card, no watermark. Works in mobile and desktop browsers.
How to turn a podcast into Shorts
1. Add the episode
Paste the episode’s YouTube link, or upload the video file (up to 5 GB). FastClip keeps it in your library, so you can cut as many clips from it as you need.
2. Take a suggested moment
FastClip opens on the part viewers replay most. For episodes without replay data, AI reads the transcript and picks self-contained moments. You can also select the exact words in the transcript, or set the start and end on the timeline.
3. Make it vertical
Turn on the full-screen 9:16 crop. It can follow the speaker’s face automatically, and you can move the frame yourself with keyframes where the speaker changes.
4. Caption it and post
Word-timed captions are burned in, in the language spoken. Download the MP4 for YouTube Shorts and TikTok, or post it to Instagram Reels or X from FastClip.
YouTube’s Shorts rules that decide whether it plays
From YouTube Help, checked on September 30, 2026:
- Up to three minutes. A square or vertical video of up to three minutes, uploaded on or after October 15, 2024, counts as a Short.
- Over one minute plus a Content ID claim means blocked. Any Short longer than one minute with an active Content ID claim of any type is blocked worldwide and earns nothing. Your channel is not penalised, but the Short will not play.
- Music has its own limits. Most Shorts Audio Library songs can run up to 90 seconds in a three-minute Short; some are limited to 60 or 30 seconds.
In practice: for your own show, one to three minutes gives a complete thought room to land. If you clip someone else’s show, or the segment has music, keep the Short under one minute.
Which part of the video to use
Start with what viewers already rewatch: the YouTube Most Replayed tool shows the peaks of any video for free. Then start the Short at the first sentence of that thought and end where it lands. Our guides on hooks and clip length go deeper, and the podcast clipping guide covers what campaigns expect and pay. Posting the same clip elsewhere? See YouTube to TikTok and YouTube to Reels.
Questions
Is it free, and is there a watermark?
FastClip is free with no credit card and no watermark: 100 finished clips and 50 YouTube or upload imports in total.
Does AI choose the clips?
It suggests them; you decide. For YouTube episodes FastClip first uses the “Most replayed” data, which is what viewers already rewatch. Where that is missing, AI picks moments from the transcript that make sense on their own. Each suggestion sets the start and end; you review it before it becomes a clip.
Does it work for audio-only podcasts?
FastClip clips video. Use the video version of the episode (a YouTube upload or a video file). For an audio-only show you need a video first.
How long can a Short be?
Up to three minutes. YouTube counts a square or vertical video of up to three minutes, uploaded on or after October 15, 2024, as a Short.
Can I clip someone else’s podcast?
Only with permission, for example through the show’s clipping program or a campaign. On YouTube, a Short over one minute with an active Content ID claim is blocked, so keep clips of other people’s shows under one minute.
Which languages do captions support?
Captions follow the language spoken in the clip. The app itself is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Indonesian, German, French and Russian.
Make the first Short from your episode
Paste the link, take a suggested moment, download a captioned 9:16 clip.
Start clipping for free