Best for
Best for podcasters and video creators who want to record, clean up and re-cut a session by describing the edit.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
AI Sound & Audio Comparison
Async vs. Riverside
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for podcasters and teams recording remote interviews in studio quality.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Async | Riverside |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not stated | Free tier; Pro from $24 / month The $24 Pro tier is billed annually ($29 monthly). Grow, Webinar and Business tiers above. |
| Free trial | Free plan: 3 hours of video recording, 10 lifetime AI credits and 1 hour of transcription, for one creator | Free tier, 2 hours of multitrack recording |
| Users | Millions of creators, per the vendor | Not stated |
| Commercial use | Not stated | Yes |
| Output | Edited audio and video, transcripts, captions and short-form clips | Recorded audio and video up to 4K, transcripts, clips |
| API | Yes, the Async Voice API | Yes, on the Business tier |
| What it does | Records, edits and publishes podcasts and video, with the edit driven by chat instructions instead of a timeline | Records remote audio and video locally in high quality, then edits it with AI |
| Noise removal and repair | Yes, Magic Dust removes background noise and clarifies the voice; a separate pass cuts filler words, pauses, repeats and bad takes | Yes, Magic Audio removes background noise |
| Mastering and loudness | AI Auto leveling optimizes the volume and noise levels across a track, but there is no mastering pass and no stated LUFS loudness target | Magic Audio evens out loudness and volume levels and adjusts frequency bands as part of its one-click clean-up |
| Where it runs | In the browser, with remote recording for up to 10 participants and multitrack recording on the higher plans | In the browser: records each participant locally for quality |
| Also included | Transcription, styled automatic captions, AI voice generation, generated B-roll and scenes, beat-synced pacing and short-form clips for TikTok, Reels and Shorts | Text-based AI editor, unlimited transcription, Magic Clips and show notes, live streaming and podcast hosting |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Chat | more entries Email helpdesk, Chat, Chat, 24/7 |
| Onboarding | Guided onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Guided onboarding |
| Company size | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | Not stated | YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify for Creators, HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro |
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Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Free trial Async Free plan: 3 hours of video recording, 10 lifetime AI credits and 1 hour of transcription, for one creator Riverside Free tier, 2 hours of multitrack recording
- Support Async Email helpdesk, Chat Riverside Email helpdesk, Chat, Chat, 24/7
- Output Async Edited audio and video, transcripts, captions and short-form clips Riverside Recorded audio and video up to 4K, transcripts, clips
- API Async Yes, the Async Voice API Riverside Yes, on the Business tier
- What it does Async Records, edits and publishes podcasts and video, with the edit driven by chat instructions instead of a timeline Riverside Records remote audio and video locally in high quality, then edits it with AI
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Async
Strengths
- Records, cleans up, edits and publishes in one browser tool
- Editing by chat instruction rather than by timeline
- Turns one recording into clips, captions and a transcript
- Free plan available, and a developer voice API alongside the studio
Limitations
- Prices are not readable on the public pricing page, so the cost of a plan has to be checked in the app
- Metered in AI credits, so heavy months cost more regardless of seat count
- Free plan's AI credits and transcription are lifetime allowances, not monthly ones
- The vendor cautions that AI edits need reviewing
Riverside
Strengths
- Records each guest locally for high-quality audio and video
- AI editor, transcription and Magic Audio noise removal built in
- Up to 4K video and 48 kHz audio on paid tiers
Limitations
- Free tier includes only a one-time 2 hours of multitrack recording
- API access only on the Business tier
Plans
Pricing
Async
- Free $0 One creator, 3 hours of video recording, 10 remote participants, 10 lifetime AI credits and 1 hour of transcription.
- Essentials Not stated Per creator. 8 hours of recording, 450 AI credits a month, 10 hours of transcription, no watermark and 320 kbps MP3 audio.
- Pro Not stated Per creator. 20 hours of recording, 1,200 AI credits a month, 25 hours of transcription, 4K video and unlimited cloud storage.
- Teams Not stated Per creator. 20 hours of recording, 3,000 AI credits a month, 100 hours of transcription, unlimited multitrack recording and collaboration features.
- Business Not stated Custom, contact sales.
Riverside
- Free $0 2 hours of multitrack recording (one-time), with watermark.
- Pro $24 Per month, billed annually ($29 monthly). Up to 4K, unlimited text-based editing.
- Grow $34 Per month, billed annually ($39 monthly). Adds social scheduling and newsletter.
- Webinar $79 Per month, billed annually ($99 monthly). Adds webinar tools for up to 100 registrants.
- Business Not stated Custom pricing. Unlimited studios, API access and SSO.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Async
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Riverside
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Async https://async.com · no check date recorded yet
Riverside https://riverside.com · no check date recorded yet
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.