Riverside Review 2025: High-Quality Podcast & Video Recording Platform

Quick Summary

This Riverside review examines its high-quality podcast and video recording capabilities, highlighting key features like 4K video, local tracks, and AI tools. While it offers strong recording quality, there are some editing and support challenges.

Explore the article for insights on whether Riverside is right for you and visit our blog for more in-depth content on optimizing your production workflow.

Is Riverside the Right Tool for Your Podcast?

High-quality podcast and video recording is needed for creators aiming to produce professional content. Riverside has gained attention for its promise of studio-quality remote recordings, offering features like 4K video, local tracks, and AI-powered tools.

But with user feedback citing both strengths and drawbacks, it’s important to understand if Riverside truly delivers on its promises.

In this Cleanvoice review, we’ll explore its key features, advantages, and limitations, helping you decide if Riverside is the right choice for your podcasting and content creation needs.

Why Listen to Us

At Cleanvoice, we’ve helped over 15,000 podcasters, voice artists, and content creators enhance their audio quality with AI-powered editing tools that truly work. From simplifying post-production to saving valuable time, our platform ensures professional-level results every time.

We understand the importance of clear, polished audio, and our users trust us for reliable, consistent editing. As a solo creator or part of a high-volume team, Cleanvoice delivers the tools you need for pristine audio with no technical expertise required.

What is Riverside?

Riverside or Riverside.fm is a remote recording platform built for podcasters and content creators who need studio-quality video and audio. It records each participant locally, preserving quality regardless of internet issues, a key differentiator from typical video conferencing tools.

Beyond capture, Riverside includes AI-powered features like automatic show notes, Magic Clips for social sharing, and text-based editing. Its multitrack support and up to 4K resolution make it ideal for high-production-value podcasts and interviews.

However, Riverside focuses on recording and light editing, not full post-production cleanup. For tasks like removing filler words, silences, and mouth sounds, tools like Cleanvoice are more specialized.

Key Features of Riverside

Here’s a breakdown of its most important features:

  • Separate Tracks: Each participant’s audio and video are recorded on separate tracks, offering flexibility in post-production. This allows editors to clean up or sync each track independently for improved editing control.
  • AI Tools: Riverside’s suite of AI-powered features, like automatic transcriptions and Magic Clips, simplify content creation. Magic Clips identifies highlight moments for quick sharing, while AI transcriptions enhance accessibility and content repurposing.
  • Live Streaming: Riverside allows live streaming directly to platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn, all while recording high-quality files. The ability to stream and record simultaneously expands the reach and engagement of your content.
  • Mobile App: The Riverside app provides the flexibility to record podcasts and interviews from your smartphone. This feature is perfect for remote guests or creators who need to record on-the-go without sacrificing quality.
  • Teleprompter Tool: Riverside’s built-in teleprompter helps hosts stick to scripts during recordings, ensuring smooth, natural delivery. This tool is ideal for staying on-message without losing the conversational tone of your podcast.
  • Multitrack Support: With multitrack recording, Riverside.fm saves each participant’s audio and video on separate tracks. This feature makes editing and post-production easier, especially when syncing or isolating specific speakers for more polished content.

Pricing

Riverside has 4 plans in total, catering to hobbyists, professionals, and enterprise teams. All paid plans offer a 7-day free trial with access to premium features. Each plan includes monthly recording hours for separate audio/video tracks.

  • Free ($0/month): Includes unlimited single-track recording and editing, 2 hours of separate audio and video track recording, up to 720p video quality, 44.1 kHz audio quality, access to Magic Clips, and live streaming in 720p with basic branding. Note: Recordings will have a Riverside watermark. ​
  • Standard ($15/month billed annually): Provides 5 hours of multi-track recording, up to 4K video quality, 48 kHz audio quality, no watermarks, Smooth Speech & Set Pace features, and image & text overlays.
  • Pro ($24/month billed annually): Offers 15 hours of multi-track recording, all Standard features, plus Magic Audio for enhanced sound, AI transcriptions in 100+ languages, AI-generated show notes, Magic Clips controls, AI Voice generation, teleprompter for hosts, full brand kit, live chat support, and live call-ins. ​
  • Business (Contact Sales for pricing): Designed for enterprises requiring unlimited multi-track recording, production workspaces, team collaboration, advanced editing, live studio add-on with lobby branding, producer mode, guest input/output control, advanced camera controls, asynchronous recording, teleprompter for hosts and guests, presentation recorder, and custom frame rates. ​

A Live Studio add-on is available for an additional $10/month, enabling 1080p watermark-free live streaming and studio design customization. ​

What We Like

For many podcasters and interviewers, Riverside simplifies the workflow while offering tools that typically require multiple apps. Below are the standout strengths based on user experiences:

  • Studio-Quality Local Recording: Audio and video are recorded locally on each participant's device, ensuring high resolution even if the internet connection is poor. This ensures sharper video and cleaner audio than typical cloud-only platforms.
  • Separate Tracks for Post-Production Flexibility: Each participant’s feed is saved as an individual audio and video file. This makes it easier to clean up audio, adjust timing, or isolate speakers during editing.
  • Time-Saving AI Tools: Features like Magic Clips, AI-generated show notes, and automated transcriptions speed up content repurposing and publishing workflows. These tools can save hours each week.
  • Simple Guest Access: Guests join by clicking a link, no account creation or software installation required. This reduces onboarding friction and is appreciated by less tech-savvy participants.
  • Integrated Video Editor: Riverside’s transcript-based editor allows users to trim content by deleting text, a feature that's especially helpful for beginners or solo creators managing their own editing.
  • Live Streaming and Teleprompter: Recordings can be streamed live to platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn, and built-in teleprompter tools help hosts stick to scripts without looking off-camera.
  • Extensive Educational Resources: Riverside offers robust tutorials, workshops, and onboarding materials, which ease the learning curve for new users.
  • Mobile Recording Options: Users can record directly from iOS or Android devices, making it easier to manage remote guests or conduct interviews on the go.

What We Don’t Like

For users working with deadlines or managing professional content, these pain points can be deal-breakers. Below are the most commonly cited issues:

  • Inconsistent AI Performance: Magic Clips often fail to identify usable segments, generating highlights with odd durations or missing key moments. Similarly, AI-generated show notes can be vague or irrelevant, requiring manual rewriting.
  • Sync and Audio Drift Issues: Many users report video/audio desync problems during long recordings. Some also mention audio drifting due to processing inconsistencies, forcing time-consuming manual fixes.
  • Bugs and Crashes: The editing platform has a reputation for freezing, crashing, or failing to render properly, especially with longer recordings or complex edits. Users sometimes default to downloading raw files and using external editors.
  • Customer Support Problems: A recurring complaint is the poor support experience. Users cite long wait times, generic responses, unresolved tickets, and a lack of real-time assistance, even during critical issues.
  • Editing Limitations: While the Magic Editor offers solid tools, its performance is sluggish and lacks flexibility for advanced edits. Some functions, like background customization or name tags, don’t always work as expected.
  • No Pause Option: Users cannot pause recordings mid-session, which limits flexibility during long interviews. Many resort to manual post-editing to remove interruptions.
  • Feature Gating and Upselling: Basic features like virtual backgrounds and faster rendering are restricted to higher-priced plans or available only via manual requests, unlike competitors that include them by default.
  • Mobile App Limitations: Although the mobile app supports recording, it lacks key controls, including editing functions and track management. Some recordings made via the app aren’t fully compatible with desktop sessions.

A Better Alternative for Podcast and Video Editing: Cleanvoice

Complementing your Riverside recording

Cleanvoice addresses many of the technical and workflow issues users face with Riverside.fm. While Riverside focuses on recording quality, Cleanvoice specializes in automated post-production, offering tools that reliably remove filler words, mouth sounds, breathing, and background noise across multi-track files.

Unlike Riverside, which struggles with inconsistent AI editing and occasional performance issues, Cleanvoice offers a more reliable, simple experience.

Cleanvoice provides context-aware silence shortening, highly accurate transcriptions in multiple languages, and SEO-optimized summaries.

With its standard, non-browser-dependent platform, Cleanvoice ensures smooth processing without freezing or sync problems.

Key Features of Cleanvoice

Here are the most important features:

  • Filler Word Removal: Detects and removes common fillers like “um,” “uh,” “you know,” and similar phrases in over 20 languages, including accented speech (e.g., Irish or Australian). Edits are context-aware, preserving flow without making conversations sound cut off.
    • Studio-Sound: This feature enhances your audio or video in clicks and gives you studio-sound, without having one. Even if you record outdoors or in chaos. It fixes Zoom distortions, balances loudness, and adjusts frequencies. And makes your voice sound brighter or smoother.
  • Breath and Mouth Sound Removal: Targets intrusive breathing, lip smacks, saliva crackles, and clicks, muting them without affecting natural speech rhythm or expressive sighs. Especially useful for creators using sensitive microphones or recording in close proximity.
  • Silence Trimming (Deadair Removal): Identifies overly long pauses and shortens them intelligently based on context, keeping longer breaks for topic changes while tightening pacing within ongoing speech.
  • Background Noise Reduction: Removes ambient sounds like wind, AC hums, mouse clicks, and traffic, even from poor recording environments. Also handles audio from video and mobile sources.
  • Transcription and Subtitles: Converts speech to text with high accuracy in multiple languages. Supports subtitle export (.SRT) and can be repurposed into blog content, articles, or episode notes.
  • AI Summarization and Show Notes: Automatically generates a clean, short-form summary of long podcast episodes. Also creates SEO-rich show notes, chapters, and episode titles for faster publishing.
  • Multitrack Support: Processes and edits recordings with multiple speakers on separate tracks. Keeps all tracks in sync, avoiding issues like drifting audio or broken timing.
  • Timeline and Marker Export: Provides exportable markers and edit timelines for use in professional editors like Adobe Audition, Reaper, or DaVinci Resolve. Users can review or fine-tune edits manually with full visibility.
  • Batch Processing: Handles multiple files simultaneously, making it ideal for agencies or podcast production teams working with high volumes and tight deadlines.

Pricing

Cleanvoice offers a flexible pricing model designed for both individual podcasters and businesses with ongoing audio production needs. You can choose between a free trial, pay-as-you-go credits, monthly subscriptions, or request a custom plan for large-scale use.

All features are included in every plan, there are no hidden upgrades or feature locks.

  • Free Trial: Try all Cleanvoice features for free with 30 minutes of audio credit. No credit card required.
  • Pay-As-You-Go:
    • 5 hours – $11 ($2.20/hour)**: Best for one-time use or infrequent editing needs.
    • 10 hours – $20 ($2.00/hour)**: Suitable for short series or pilots.
    • 30 hours – $45 ($1.50/hour)**: Ideal for small teams or seasonal podcasting.
    • Credits last for 2 years.
  • Subscription (with credit rollover):
    • 10 hours/month – $11 ($1.10/hour): Great for consistent weekly podcasting.
    • 30 hours/month – $30 ($1.00/hour): Best for content creators with multiple shows or guests.
    • 100 hours/month – $90 ($0.90/hour): Suited for production agencies or high-volume workflows.
    • Unused credits roll over for up to 3x your monthly limit.
  • Custom Plan: Tailored for businesses needing 200+ hours/month. Includes API access, priority support, and custom billing.

Cleanvoice’s pricing is simple, scalable, and designed to grow with your production needs. All prices exclude VAT.

Why Choose Cleanvoice Over Riverside for Audio and Video Editing?

Here are eight reasons why many podcasters and editors choose Cleanvoice instead of Riverside:

1. Audio Cleanup

Cleanvoice specializes in advanced post-production, automatically removing filler words, mouth sounds, breathing, and background noise while preserving vocal clarity. It’s designed for accuracy across languages and accents. Cleanvoice’s AI is context-aware, delivering natural results across languages.

Riverside offers basic enhancements through Magic Audio but lacks comprehensive audio cleanup tools, often requiring users to rely on additional software for professional-level results.

2. Stable and Consistent Output

Cleanvoice offers a cloud-based platform optimized for stability. It handles long or complex recordings smoothly, even with multiple speakers, and rarely experiences crashes or lag — ideal for professional editors and teams.

Riverside’s built-in editor is browser-dependent and known for freezing, slow performance, and frequent bugs, especially with longer recordings. This can interrupt workflows and lead to lost time or corrupted sessions.

3. Accurate Multilingual Support

Cleanvoice supports over 20 languages and regional accents, offering high-accuracy transcription and filler word detection even in accented speech. It’s ideal for global teams or multilingual podcast productions.

Riverside’s transcription tools primarily cater to standard English. Non-native speakers or diverse accents may produce inconsistent or error-prone transcripts, requiring significant manual correction before publishing.

4. Batch Processing

Cleanvoice allows batch uploads and simultaneous processing of multiple files. This is especially valuable for agencies, producers, or creators working with large volumes of content who need to meet tight deadlines.

Riverside does not support batch editing or automation. Each recording must be handled individually, which significantly slows down post-production and increases manual effort for high-output teams.

5. Timeline and Marker Export

Cleanvoice offers timeline and marker export compatible with industry-standard software like Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve. Editors can jump directly to key moments, speeding up final review and advanced edits.

Riverside provides no marker or timeline export. Editors must scrub through content manually, making precision edits more time-consuming and difficult, especially for longer or multi-track sessions.

6. Optimized for Non-Technical Users

Cleanvoice is ideal for non-technical users who want high-quality results without the hassle of manual editing. Its automated process handles filler word removal, noise reduction, and more with just a few clicks.

Unlike Riverside, which requires navigating editing timelines and managing technical settings, Cleanvoice simplifies post-production so creators can focus on content, not complicated tools or time-consuming workflows.

7. Transparent, Flexible Pricing

Cleanvoice provides all features across all plans, including pay-as-you-go and subscriptions, with no locked tools, tier restrictions, or hidden costs. Credits roll over, offering value and flexibility for all user types.

Riverside limits features such as 4K exports, teleprompters, and Magic Audio to more expensive tiers. Entry-level users face constraints unless they upgrade, which can inflate long-term production costs unnecessarily.

Choose the Tool That Prioritizes Quality and Efficiency

Riverside is a solid option for remote podcast and video recording, offering high-resolution capture and useful AI features, but it often falls short in editing reliability and audio cleanup. That’s where Cleanvoice comes in.

Cleanvoice focuses on what Riverside overlooks: fast, accurate, and automated post-production. It removes filler words, breathing, noise, and silences with precision, supports multitrack editing, and handles multilingual content, all with stable performance and flexible pricing.

Use Cleanvoice for your Riverside recording and turn it into a studio-quality audio or video.

Try Cleanvoice for free and simplify your podcast editing today!