Castmagic vs Riverside
We give Castmagic a 2.0 GPA and Riverside a 2.6, out of 4.0. Castmagic grades higher on value for money. Riverside grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Castmagic
Turns podcasts and recordings into transcripts, posts and clips
Riverside
Remote recording studio for podcasts and video interviews
How we grade them
| 2.0GPACastmagicFair | 2.6GPARiversideGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its alternatives. Hobby is $19 a month billed yearly, $29 monthly, for up to 3 seats, in line with Descript and Riverside, and Starter at $48 covers five people. But Hobby's 30 hours is a library total, not a monthly allowance, and more hours cost extra. | DThe bits you actually want, 4K, no watermark and separate tracks, start on Pro at $24 a month on the year, against a $10 middle for this category. Live streaming is $34 and webinars $79. Mobile Plus at $9.99 is phone-only. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no free trial on the pricing page, and the terms say payments aren't refunded. You pay before you see a single draft. | CSingle-track recording and editing is unlimited, but it's 720p with a watermark, and the multi-track recording that's the whole point stops at 2 hours in total. Paid plans have a 14-day trial. |
| Features | CIt does the repurposing job fully: imports from files, YouTube, Spotify or Zoom, labelled transcripts in 60+ languages, drafts in your brand voice, an RSS autopilot, clips and carousels, and chat across your library. It only writes from recordings, though, a smaller job than a writing app's. | BEach person recorded on their own track in up to 4K, transcript editing, Magic Clips, show notes, live streaming, webinars and podcast hosting, all in one place. Nothing missing from the job; it's which plan holds what that stings. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but there's little to set up: drop in a file or paste a link and the transcript and drafts come back. Defining your content pipeline once is the only real work, and it's optional. | A4.74 from 20,064 App Store ratings. Guests join from a link with no account and nothing to install, which is the part that usually goes wrong with remote recording. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with an iPhone app for recording, and links to Zoom, Google Drive, Loom, Zapier, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Claude, plus a REST API from Starter. No desktop or Android app is mentioned. | BBrowser, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android, publishing to YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more. The desktop app is Mac only, so on Windows you're in a browser, and API access is Business only. |
| Best for | turning podcast episodes into posts | recording remote podcasts and interviews |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Castmagic and Riverside. How we grade
Where they differ
- Castmagic starts at $19 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly). Riverside starts at $9.99 per month for Mobile Plus; web plans from $24 per month, billed annually.
- Riverside has a free plan. Castmagic does not.
- Only Riverside lists macOS and Android apps.
- Riverside also covers screen recording.
At a glance
| Castmagic | Riverside | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly) | $9.99 per month for Mobile Plus; web plans from $24 per month, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | 2 hours of multi-track recording, unlimited single-track recording and editing, up to 720p video, 44.1 kHz audio and a Riverside watermark. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial on the Pro, Grow and Webinar plans |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Magic Studio LLC | RiversideFM, Inc. |
| Price read from | castmagic.io | riverside.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Castmagic
- Podcast hosts who want show notes and social posts from every episode
- Marketing teams repurposing webinars and interviews
- Creators with a large back catalog of recordings to mine
Riverside
- Podcasters and interviewers recording remote guests in high quality
- Marketing teams turning long recordings into social clips
- Hosts who want recording, editing, hosting and live streaming in one tool
Worth knowing
Castmagic
- The pricing page shows no free plan or free trial, and the terms say payments are non-refundable.
- Transcription hours are a running library total of 30, 100 or 400 hours, not a monthly allowance; more can be bought.
- API access needs Starter or higher, and Hobby is limited to 3 seats and 3 spaces.
- Apart from an iOS app for recording, it works in the browser; no desktop or Android app is mentioned.
Riverside
- The Free plan allows 2 hours of multi-track recording, tops out at 720p and puts a Riverside watermark on exports.
- Separate-track downloads are capped each month: 15 hours on Pro, 20 on Grow and 25 on Webinar.
- Live streaming starts on Grow, and registration, Q&A and polls for webinars need the Webinar plan.
- Collaborative editing, custom roles, SSO and API access are limited to Business; the desktop app is listed for Mac only.
Key features
Castmagic
- Import and transcription
- Bring in files, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TikTok or Reel links, Zoom, Loom or Google Drive. Transcripts are speaker-labelled and timestamped in 60+ languages.
- Content pipeline
- Define a set of outputs once, such as show notes, a newsletter and social posts, and every new recording gets them drafted in your brand voice.
- Podcast autopilot
- Point Castmagic at an RSS feed to import the back catalog and draft content for each new episode as it is published.
- Studio clips and carousels
- Cut captioned vertical clips in 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9 on a multi-clip timeline, make audiograms, and draft image carousels from what was said.
- Content strategist and library chat
- Ask questions across any set of recordings and get answers that cite the moment, or a weekly publishing plan drawn from your library.
- Audience chatbot, API and Claude
- Put a chatbot trained on your episodes on your site to capture leads, use the REST API from Starter up, or connect Claude to your library.
Riverside
- Local multi-track recording
- Audio and video are recorded on each participant's own device and uploaded in the background, giving a separate track per person in up to 4K.
- Text-based editor
- Edit a recording through its transcript, with AI tools that remove silences and filler words. Paid web plans include unlimited transcriptions.
- Magic Clips and AI show notes
- AI selects short clips for social media and drafts show notes. Magic Clips is also listed on the Free plan.
- Live streaming and webinars
- Grow adds Full HD live streaming to multiple destinations. The Webinar plan adds registration, Q&A, polls, email reminders and analytics.
- Podcast hosting and publishing
- Each studio has its own podcast hosting, analytics and website, and can publish to YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Instagram and LinkedIn.
- Mac and mobile apps
- The Mac app records a shared screen locally as its own track. The iOS and Android apps can record, invite guests and serve as a second webcam.
Plans
Castmagic
Hobby$19
per month for up to 3 seats, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
30 transcribed hours in the library, 3 spaces and 50 GB of storage, with unlimited AI content and clips. No API access. $239 a year.
Starter$48
per month for up to 5 seats, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)
100 transcribed hours, 10 spaces, 250 GB of storage, API access and an onboarding call. $579 a year.
Team$139
per month for 5 seats, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)
400 transcribed hours, 25 spaces, 1 TB and priority support. Extra seats cost $159 a year or $19 a month each. $1,669 a year.
Business & Scale$699
per month and up, billed annually ($999 billed monthly)
Custom transcription volume, seats and storage, an SLA and dedicated support for studios and publishers, sold through a demo with sales.
Riverside
Free$0
2 hours of multi-track recording, unlimited single-track recording, 720p video and a Riverside watermark.
Mobile Plus$9.99
per month
For the mobile apps only: removes watermarks and exports up to 4K video and WAV audio.
Pro$24
per month, billed annually at $288 ($29 monthly)
Up to 4K video and 48 kHz audio, no watermark, 15 hours of separate-track downloads a month and 1 studio.
Grow$34
per month, billed annually at $408 ($39 monthly)
20 hours of separate-track downloads a month, 2 studios, and Full HD live streaming with multistreaming.
Webinar$79
per month, billed annually ($99 monthly)
25 hours of separate-track downloads, 3 studios, and webinars with up to 100 registrants, Q&A, polls and analytics.
BusinessCustom
Unlimited studios and separate-track downloads, up to 10,000 webinar registrants, API access, SSO and a dedicated CSM.
Ways to pay less
Castmagic
- Annual discount
Save 30% with annual billing
Billed annually, Hobby is $19 a month instead of $29, Starter $48 instead of $69 and Team $139 instead of $199. The pricing page calls this a 30% saving.
Riverside
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with yearly billing
Annual billing drops Pro from $29 to $24 per month, Grow from $39 to $34 and Webinar from $99 to $79, which Riverside describes as saving up to 20%.
