Reviewed by the AI Cilantro team
Independent review
Riverside.fm Review
Record studio-quality podcasts, interviews, and client sessions remotely. No studio required.
Quick answer
Riverside.fm is best for podcast hosts recording remote guests, coaches recording client sessions for delivery, and content creators shooting video interviews or testimonials. Plans start at $0. The catch: annual billing required for best pricing; free plan has a 2-hour recording cap and adds a watermark to exports.
$0
starting price
Video & Content
category
independently reviewed
Try Riverside.fm
Visit the official Riverside.fm site to see current plans and pricing.
How much does Riverside.fm cost?
Riverside.fm plans start at $0/mo. Here's the full breakdown.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Trying it out |
| Standard | $19/mo | Solo podcasters |
| Pro | $29/mo | Professional creators |
| Teams | $24/user/mo | Content teams |
Free
$0
Trying it out
Standard
$19/mo
Solo podcasters
Pro
$29/mo
Professional creators
Teams
$24/user/mo
Content teams
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The verdict
The best remote recording tool for podcasters and coaches who need studio quality without a studio. The local recording architecture is genuinely better than Zoom or Google Meet for anything you plan to publish. Start free to test it.
Who is Riverside.fm best for?
Podcast hosts recording remote guests, coaches recording client sessions for delivery, and content creators shooting video interviews or testimonials. The key difference from Zoom: each participant records locally on their own device, so audio quality stays high even when someone has a poor internet connection. The free plan includes 2 hours of recording with no credit card required.
Riverside.fm, Pros & Cons
What we like
- Local recording architecture means audio quality doesn't suffer from bad internet
- Free plan lets you test the full recording experience before paying
- 20% recurring commission with no time cap, best long-term earning potential
- Magic Clips saves hours of manual clip creation for social repurposing
- $30M Series C (Dec 2024), recently funded, financially healthy
Watch out for
- 30-day cookie window is shorter than ideal for a considered purchase
- Free plan watermarks exports and caps at 2 hours total
Key features
- Local recording, each participant records locally for studio-quality audio even on bad connections
- Up to 4K video recording with separate tracks per participant
- AI-powered transcription, captions, and video clips in the editor
- Magic Clips, AI identifies the best moments and cuts short-form clips automatically
- Call recording for interviews, testimonials, and client sessions
Common questions about Riverside.fm
Does Riverside.fm have a free plan?+
Yes, the Free plan gives 2 hours of total recording time with no credit card required. Exports include a watermark on the Free plan. It's enough to test the recording quality and interface before committing to Standard ($19/mo) or Pro ($29/mo).
Why does Riverside produce better audio than Zoom for podcast recording?+
Riverside uses local recording, each participant's audio and video is captured directly on their own device rather than being compressed and streamed over the internet. This means your guest's audio quality is determined by their microphone, not by their internet connection. Zoom's audio degrades when bandwidth drops; Riverside's doesn't.
What is the difference between the Standard and Pro plans?+
Standard at $19/mo (annual) covers solo podcasters and basic recording needs, unlimited recording time, 1080p video, and basic editing. Pro at $29/mo adds 4K video, 15 hours per month of AI transcription, advanced editing tools, and Magic Clips for automatic short-form content generation. For serious podcasters repurposing content to social, Pro pays for itself quickly.
Can Riverside record video calls as well as podcasts?+
Yes, Riverside is regularly used for recording client testimonials, interviews, and virtual events, not just podcasts. Participants join via a browser link (no app install required for guests), and the host gets separate high-quality tracks for each person in the final recording.
How do I share the recorded files after a session?+
After recording, Riverside uploads the local files from each participant to the cloud. You then access the recording dashboard to download individual tracks, the mixed audio, or the video, or edit directly in Riverside's browser editor. Files can be exported to Google Drive, Dropbox, or downloaded locally.
Does Riverside work on mobile for recording guests?+
Riverside has a mobile app for iOS and Android that participants can use to join as a guest. Mobile recording quality is good but generally lower than desktop due to mobile microphone limitations. For professional-quality output, desktop with a dedicated microphone is recommended for the host; guests joining from mobile is fine for interviews.
What is Magic Clips and how useful is it?+
Magic Clips is Riverside's AI feature that automatically identifies the most engaging segments from a long recording and creates short-form clips suitable for social media. It handles the initial cut, adds captions, and formats the aspect ratio for vertical or square video. It's not perfect, you'll still review and tweak, but it cuts the time to repurpose a 60-minute podcast into 6 social clips from 2 hours to 20 minutes.
Want to try it?
Riverside.fm, try it yourself
Head to Riverside.fm's official site for current plans and pricing.
Try Riverside.fm
Visit the official Riverside.fm site to see current plans and pricing.
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