Riverside vs WaveLab
Riverside
riverside.com
WaveLab
steinberg.netSide by side
| Figure | Riverside | WaveLab |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $19/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 6 | 3 |
| Spec score · Audio Editing Software | 8.7 (#13) | 9.1 (#4) |
| Founded | 2020 | 1984 |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Headquarters | Morgan Hill, California, United States | Hamburg, Germany |
| Integrations | Riverside lists Spotify, Transistor, Castos, HubSpot, Salesforce, webinar webhooks, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Final Cut Pro integrations or workflows. | WaveLab supports third-party VST3 plug-ins, external audio editors and hardware devices, and WaveLab Pro can operate as an ARA extension in compatible applications. |
| Support | Business includes a dedicated customer success manager and 24/7 live priority chat support. | Steinberg’s imprint says technical support is available only to registered users. |
Plans
Riverside
- FreeFree
- Standard$19 a month
- Pro$24 a month
- Grow$34 a month
- Webinar$79 a month
- BusinessPriced on request
WaveLab
- WaveLab LEFree
- WaveLab Elements 13$99.99, paid once
- WaveLab Pro 13$499.99, paid once
In their own words
Riverside
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.
WaveLab
WaveLab is an audio mastering and editing suite for Windows and macOS. Its tools cover audio editing, audio montage, batch processing, and spectral editing, with multitrack editing, noise reduction, and video synchronization also listed. It supports VST 3 plug-ins from other manufacturers. The edition comparison lists podcasting integrations with SoundCloud, Spreaker, Podbean, Buzzsprout, and Castos, and says Pro and Elements can replace audio in video.
WaveLab Pro 13 includes Dolby Atmos mastering tools for ADM file editing, loudness control, and album assembly. It supports sample rates up to 384 kHz and more than 1,000 audio tracks; Elements 13 supports up to 96 kHz and eight tracks. Downloads are listed for Windows 10 64-bit version 22H2 or newer, Windows 11 version 24H2 or newer, and macOS 14, 15, or 26. The pricing note is From $99.99 · 60-day trial. A free WaveLab LE copy is available with qualifying hardware and a Download Access Code. The Pro trial requires signing in or creating a Steinberg ID.