Audacity vs Riverside

Audacity is a free, open-source audio editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop computers. It supports multitrack editing, noise reduction, video synchronization, and cloud collaboration. Common audio formats include MP3, M4A, AIFF, FLAC, and WAV, and it handles 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit audio with high-quality resampling and dithering. A Spectrogram view helps visualize and analyze audio clips. Third-party plugins are supported, including VST3, Nyquist, LV2, and Audio Unit formats. Its source code can be viewed or modified under the GNU GPL, and no subscription is required. Audacity has no mobile version for iOS or Android, despite those platforms appearing in some listings. The software is developed by a small remote team supported by the community. Help is available through a manual, forum, and developer Discord.

Riverside is an online studio for recording remote podcasts and video interviews. It supports local recording, separate participant tracks, video, and automatic transcription through browser and desktop recording. The free plan includes two hours of multi-track recordings, video up to 720p, 44.1 kHz audio, and unlimited single-track recording and editing. Standard costs $19 a month, billed monthly, and includes five hours of multi-track recording monthly and 4K video. Pro costs $24 a month, billed $288 annually, and includes up to 4K video, 48 kHz audio, one studio, and 15 hours of separate-track downloads. Paid editing options include text-based editing, an AI editing and repurposing agent, Magic Clips, show notes, and audio enhancement. Pro also includes podcast hosting and analytics. Grow and Webinar have separate-track download limits of 20 and 25 hours per month respectively, although recording itself is unlimited. Webinar supports up to 100 registrants and includes registration forms, Q&A, live call-ins, polls, analytics, and HubSpot lead syncing. Riverside supports Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows; Linux computers are not supported for recording.