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. Stable Audio
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for creators who need instrumental tracks and sound effects with a clearer licensing story.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Async | Stable Audio |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free tier; Essentials $19.99 / creator / month Billed per creator. Yearly billing takes 40 percent off, bringing Essentials to $11.99, Pro to $23.99 and Teams to $49.99 a month. Business is quoted. | Free tier; Pro ~$12 / month Studio and Max tiers sit above Pro. |
| Free trial | Free plan: 3 hours of video recording, 10 lifetime AI credits and 1 hour of transcription, for one creator | Free tier, limited |
| Users | Millions of creators, per the vendor | Not stated |
| Commercial use | Not stated | Paid tiers. Trained on licensed data, which gives a clearer commercial-use framework |
| Output | Edited audio and video, transcripts, captions and short-form clips | Instrumental music and sound effects, no vocals |
| API | Yes, the Async Voice API | Yes |
| What it does | Records, edits and publishes podcasts and video, with the edit driven by chat instructions instead of a timeline | Generates music and sound effects from text prompts |
| 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 | No, it generates and edits audio rather than restoring existing recordings |
| 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 | No mastering or loudness tools |
| Where it runs | In the browser, with remote recording for up to 10 participants and multitrack recording on the higher plans | Browser app, API on the Stability AI developer platform, and open weights for the Small and Medium models |
| 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 | Segment editing to modify, rework or extend a track; model customisation on your own audio library; enterprise licence with legal indemnification |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum | Not stated |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Guided onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
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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
- Starting price Async Free tier; Essentials $19.99 / creator / month Stable Audio Free tier; Pro ~$12 / month
- Free trial Async Free plan: 3 hours of video recording, 10 lifetime AI credits and 1 hour of transcription, for one creator Stable Audio Free tier, limited
- Company size Async Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Stable Audio Freelancers, Small and mid-sized
- Output Async Edited audio and video, transcripts, captions and short-form clips Stable Audio Instrumental music and sound effects, no vocals
- API Async Yes, the Async Voice API Stable Audio Yes
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
- The public pricing page names the plans but leaves the amounts blank, so a price has to be looked up in the help centre or 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
Stable Audio
Strengths
- Licensed training data for a cleaner commercial-use story
- Strong for instrumental beds, ambient and sound design
- Audio-to-audio and style transfer
Limitations
- No vocal or lyric generation
- Free tier is very limited
- High-revenue organisations need an enterprise license
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 $19.99 Per creator per month, or $11.99 a month billed yearly. 8 hours of recording, 450 AI credits a month, 10 hours of transcription, no watermark and 320 kbps MP3 audio.
- Pro $39.99 Per creator per month, or $23.99 a month billed yearly. 20 hours of recording, 1,200 AI credits a month, 25 hours of transcription, 4K video and unlimited cloud storage.
- Teams $84.99 Per creator per month, or $49.99 a month billed yearly. 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.
Stable Audio
- Free $0
- Pro ~$12 Per month.
- Studio Not stated
- Max Not stated
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.
Stable Audio
- 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 · checked against the official source on 2026-09-17
Stable Audio https://www.stableaudio.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.