The Castmagic Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Castmagic in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Castmagic
The Insider’s Guide
Turns podcasts and recordings into transcripts, posts and clips
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among writing tools, read from Castmagic’s own pages.
Made by Magic Studio LLC · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Castmagic’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Castmagic’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.0
GPA, above 5 of the 69 other writing tools we grade
Castmagic transcribes podcast episodes, videos, webinars and meetings, then drafts written content from each transcript: show notes, newsletters, blog posts, social posts and quotes. It also cuts captioned clips and image carousels and can answer questions across a whole back catalog of recordings. Plans are set by the total hours of transcription kept in your library rather than by monthly usage.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Castmagic, taken from its own pages and our grades.
There's no free plan or trial, and payments aren't refunded.
- 1
Best for turning podcast episodes into posts
It's a recording-to-content tool more than a writing app, so we've graded it against its alternatives.
- 2
Paid plans start at $19 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $19 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly).
- 3
It runs on 2 platforms
Web and iOS.
- 4
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.
- 5
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.
- 6
Podcast autopilot
Point Castmagic at an RSS feed to import the back catalog and draft content for each new episode as it is published.
- 7
A 2.0 GPA, above 5 of 69
That is against the other writing tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
To replace Castmagic you would be making a video editor. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Castmagic at a glance
- Pricing
- Paid, from $19 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, iOS
- Made by
- Magic Studio LLC
- Category
- Writing Tools
- Our grade
- 2.0 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for turning podcast episodes into posts
Castmagic takes a podcast episode, video or webinar, transcribes it, and drafts the show notes, newsletter, blog post and social posts for you, plus captioned clips. It's a recording-to-content tool more than a writing app, so we've graded it against its alternatives. There's no free plan or trial, and payments aren't refunded.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Graded 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. |
| Free plan and trial | F | No 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. |
| Features | C | It 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. |
| Ease of use | B | No 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. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, 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. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Castmagic is for
- Great if you host a podcast and want show notes and social posts from every episode
- Handy when your marketing team turns webinars and interviews into newsletters
- A treat if you've got years of episodes to mine, with the RSS autopilot
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want to try it before paying, as there's no free plan or trial
- Tight if you publish a lot, since Hobby's 30 hours are a running total
- Not for you if you write from scratch rather than from recordings
Good to know
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$19
A month to start
Castmagic is a paid product, starting at $19 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly).
No free plan and no free trial on the pricing page, and the terms say payments aren't refunded.
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.
Read from castmagic.io on Oct 18, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on castmagic.io
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
2
Places it runs: Web and iOS
Turns podcasts and recordings into transcripts, posts and clips. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, transcription, video editing.
It only writes from recordings, though, a smaller job than a writing app's.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
What it works with
- Zoom
- Google Drive
- Loom
- Zapier
- YouTube
- Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- Claude
Castmagic is made by Magic Studio LLC.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
5/69
Other writing tools it is graded above
Castmagic's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 5 of the 69 other writing tools we grade, and level with 5.
It stands best on ease of use (B, above 32 of 69) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $19 a month, against a middle price of $8 for the category: 42 of the 44 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 15 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 70 writing tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Castmagic’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 13 of 69
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 69
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 69
- BEase of useAbove 32 of 69
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 32 of 69
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 53 writing tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Castmagic is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Castmagic you would be making a video editor. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 59 of the 69 other writing tools grade higher. It costs $228 a year.
What you could not
- A video editor.
- Speech turned into text you can trust.
- A real app for iOS. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Zoom, Google Drive and Loom among them, and has an API.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
What this rests on. Castmagic’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Descript, Riverside, Jasper, Rytr and Otter.ai
The 5 tools Castmagic is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Descript
Free plan · from $16/mo
Audio and video editor that works by editing the transcript.
- Descript has a free plan. Castmagic does not.
- Only Castmagic lists an iOS app.
- Only Descript lists macOS and Windows apps.
- 2.6GPA
Riverside
Free plan · from $9.99/mo
Remote recording studio for podcasts and video interviews.
- Riverside has a free plan. Castmagic does not.
- Only Riverside lists macOS and Android apps.
- Riverside also covers screen recording.
- 2.2GPA
Jasper
Free trial · from $59/mo
AI content platform with marketing agents and brand voice.
- Only Castmagic lists an iOS app.
- Only Jasper lists a browser extension.
- Castmagic also covers transcription and video editing.
- 2.4GPA
Rytr
Free plan · from $7.50/mo
AI copy generator with 40+ use cases and tone matching.
- Rytr has a free plan. Castmagic does not.
- Only Castmagic lists an iOS app.
- Only Rytr lists a browser extension.
- 3.0GPA
Otter.ai
Free plan · from $8.33/mo
Live meeting transcription with summaries and AI chat.
- Otter.ai has a free plan. Castmagic does not.
- Only Otter.ai lists macOS, Windows and Android apps.
- Only Otter.ai lists a browser extension.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Castmagic free?
No. Castmagic is a paid product, starting at $19 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly).
How much does Castmagic cost?
Castmagic lists 4 plans. Hobby: $19 per month for up to 3 seats, billed annually ($29 billed monthly).
What platforms does Castmagic work on?
Castmagic is available on Web and iOS.
Does Castmagic offer any discounts?
Castmagic publicly lists the following: Save 30% with annual billing.
Does Castmagic have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Castmagic is listed for Web and iOS.
Does Castmagic have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Castmagic is listed for Web and iOS.
Is Castmagic open source?
Castmagic is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Castmagic have an API?
Yes. Castmagic offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Castmagic integrate with?
Castmagic's listing names Zoom, Google Drive, Loom, Zapier, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Claude.
Who makes Castmagic?
Castmagic is made by Magic Studio LLC.
What are the alternatives to Castmagic?
The closest alternatives to Castmagic in our directory are Descript, Riverside, Jasper, Rytr and Otter.ai.
How does Castmagic compare with other writing tools?
Castmagic's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 5 of the 69 other writing tools we grade, and level with 5.
Is Castmagic good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Castmagic C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $19 a month, against a middle price of $8 for the category: 42 of the 44 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Castmagic?
To replace Castmagic you would be making a video editor. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Castmagic’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Castmagic's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Magic Studio LLC. Prices change, so check castmagic.io before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
2,021
Tools graded, in 54 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
2,021
tools graded
54
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Castmagic, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/castmagic
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Castmagic: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/castmagic
Know someone choosing between writing tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/castmagic/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded writing tools after Castmagic, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Writing Tools Insider's GuideEvery one of the 70 writing tools we grade, compared
- Microsoft Word Insider's GuideWord processor sold with Microsoft 365, free in the browser3.4 GPA
- Beat Insider's GuideFree, open-source Fountain screenwriting app for Mac and iOS3.2 GPA
- JotterPad Insider's GuideMarkdown and Fountain editor for books, papers and screenplays3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Castmagic’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Castmagic is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Magic Studio LLC. Prices and plans change: check castmagic.io before you buy.