Riverside vs Zencastr

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

Zencastr

• New podcasters who want recording, editing and hosting at no cost
• Interview shows with remote guests recorded on separate tracks
• Creators who would rather describe edits than work on a timeline

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.

Zencastr

• The free plan caps a recording at 6 participants, a team at 4 seats and an account at 5 podcast shows.
• The pricing table lists 60,000 video views and 6,000 for video RSS on the free plan, without stating the period.
• Apps are listed for the web and iOS only; no Android app is mentioned.
• Anything beyond the free plan's limits is a custom Enterprise quote; no self-serve paid tier is listed.

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.

Zencastr

Separate-track recording

Records each of up to 6 participants locally on their own device, with cloud backup, in up to 4K video and 48 kHz WAV audio, from a browser or an iPhone or iPad.

Editing by chat

Instead of a timeline, you ask the Producer for the edits you want. It also removes background noise, balances levels and cuts long pauses and filler words.

Transcripts, chapters and captions

Every recording or upload is transcribed automatically in 10 languages with speaker labels, then split into chapters and turned into burned-in captions.

Hosting and distribution

Unlimited audio and video hosting for up to 5 shows, with publishing to Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, an embeddable player and listener analytics.

Clips and social posting

Export clips in up to 4K with animated captions and AI layouts, and schedule posts to the major social platforms.

Live streaming

Stream in 1080p to Twitch, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Each stream is recorded and can be turned into an episode or clips.

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.

Zencastr

• Vibecastr$0

  Unlimited recording, hosting and transcription for up to 6 participants, with 4 seats, 5 podcast shows, 4K video and 1080p live streaming.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Custom limits for participants, seats, shows, hosting and support, arranged with the sales team.

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%.

Zencastr

No public discounts listed.