Elva vs OpenStudio
Elva
elva.fmOpenStudio
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Elva | OpenStudio |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $19/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Podcast Recording Software | 8.2 (#8) | 7.7 (#13) |
| Spec score · Video Podcast Software | 8.2 (#16) | 7.8 (#27) |
| Audience | Elva describes the service as built for podcasters and content creators. | The project describes itself as built for creators, including community radio hosts and podcast collectives. |
| Privacy | Elva says recordings are encrypted in cloud storage and are not accessed unless the user asks for debugging help. | The README says the audio stays on infrastructure the operator controls and characterizes the project as having zero tracking. |
| Security | Elva says it encrypts data in transit and at rest and does not store passwords in plain text. | The project describes 24-hour JWT room tokens, scoped invite tokens, role-based access, WebSocket message caps, per-IP connection limits, rate limits, CORS controls, and hardened security headers. |
Plans
In their own words
Elva
Elva provides browser-based video and audio recording for podcasters and content creators. It records locally on each participant’s device, so a connection problem need not interrupt the local recording. Participants receive separate audio and video tracks, and guests can join through a link without installing software or creating an account. Elva also lists screen sharing, automatic transcription, and exports for editing in Final Cut via FCPXML or Premiere via XML. Recording workflows can use cloud hosting or self-hosting. The Free plan costs nothing, supports two participants and 1080p recording, and keeps recordings for three days. Pro costs $19 a month, billed monthly, and includes 4K recording, four participants, separate tracks, social clips and transcripts; recordings stay forever. Team costs $49 a month, billed monthly, includes two seats and adds a whitelabel recording booth, AI-powered clips, more AI tokens and priority support. Additional Team members cost $20 per seat. Elva says cloud recordings are encrypted, and recordings are not accessed unless a user asks for debugging help.
OpenStudio
OpenStudio is a free, self-hosted virtual broadcast studio for live call-in shows, multi-host podcasts, and community radio. It runs through web, API, and self-hosted deployments. Browser sessions use peer-to-peer WebRTC mesh audio with mix-minus monitoring for around 15 participants. Operators can send programs through Icecast to unlimited listeners on their own domain. The browser records separate voice tracks and a program mix, exporting WAV or WebM; MP3 export requires ffmpeg. Optional on-device tools add whisper.cpp transcription, audio cleaning, and LLM-generated show notes. Show notes can connect to OpenAI-compatible endpoints, including LM Studio, Ollama, OpenAI, Together AI, and Groq; Anthropic needs a compatibility shim. Self-hosted broadcasts have unlimited airtime, while the live demo expires after 15 minutes. Setup uses git clone, npm install, and npm start, opening localhost:6736. Hosts currently share room URLs manually because invite-link creation is not exposed.