Checked 11 October 2026 · 7 tools
The best alternatives to Riverside's editor
For podcasters frustrated with Riverside's changing editor: where to edit instead, what each option costs, and how to keep recording on Riverside while you edit somewhere else. Read from each tool's own pages on 11 October 2026, with what Riverside users say in their own words.
How we chose. Riverside records well, and most complaints in public threads on r/podcasting ("Is Riverside trying to do too much?" in September 2026, "Riverside sucks, what is everyone using?") are about its editor: features moved or removed, the waveform cut to half, edits it makes on its own, and slowness. So this page starts with Riverside itself, kept for recording, and then the editors people name in those threads. For each we read the pricing page and the product page in a browser, not signed in, on 11 October 2026, and took the pricing screenshot shown (some on 6 October, and the caption says so). None of the tools were tested hands-on for this page. Quotes come from Reddit (r/podcasting) and Trustpilot and were checked word for word against the page each links to; one is from a member of Riverside's team and is labelled. We make Shorts by Slice, which appears once, for the clips part of Riverside (Magic Clips), with its downsides.
We make Slice, a few of whose tools appear here where they do the job; they are marked “ours”. No tool paid to be listed.
Which one, in ten seconds
Find the line that sounds like you.
- Only the editor bothers you, and you still want Riverside's recordingRiverside, for recording only
- You like editing by transcript, just not Riverside'sDescript
- You make a video podcast and want a free editor that stays the sameDaVinci Resolve
- Your show is audio first and you want the full waveform backReaper
- You only need Magic Audio's clean-upAdobe Podcast
- You want edits done for you from plain-word requestsAsync (formerly Podcastle)
- You only need Magic Clips' job: captioned clipsShorts by Slice
Side by side
| Tool | Best for | Price | Free tier | Key limits | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside, for recording only | Best kept for what it does best, recording remote guests on separate local tracks, if it is only the editor you have had enough of | Pro $29/month ($24/month billed yearly); Grow $39/month ($34 yearly); Webinar $99/month ($79 yearly) | No free plan shown on the pricing page on 11 October 2026; a 14-day free trial on paid plans. | Separate-track downloads: 15 hours a month on Pro, 20 on Grow, 25 on Webinar. Recording itself is unlimited, per the pricing FAQ. | Web, Mac app, iOS and Android apps |
| Descript | Riverside users who like editing by transcript and want an editor built around it, with the recording brought in from Riverside | Free; Hobbyist $24/month ($16 billed yearly); Creator $35/month ($24 yearly); Business $65/month ($50 yearly) | 60 media minutes a month, 100 AI credits once, 720p export. | Hobbyist: 10 media hours and 400 AI credits a month, 1080p. Creator: 30 hours, 800 credits, 4K. Every upload counts towards media hours. | Mac, Windows, web |
| DaVinci Resolve | video podcasters who want to take Riverside's separate tracks into a full, free editor and stop relearning a changing one | Free; DaVinci Resolve Studio $295 one-time | Editing, colour and Fairlight audio, 8-bit video up to 60fps and Ultra HD 3840 x 2160, per Blackmagic's page. | AI audio tools and 10-bit video are in the paid Studio version. No transcript editing like Riverside's. | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPad |
| Reaper | audio-first shows that want Riverside's WAV tracks in a proper audio editor with a full waveform, bought once | $60 discounted licence; $225 commercial licence | None; a full 60-day evaluation. | The $60 licence is for personal use or a business under $20,000 a year in revenue. Audio only, no transcript editing. | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| Adobe Podcast | replacing Riverside's Magic Audio on its own: free speech clean-up you run before editing anywhere | Free; premium features with Adobe's Firefly Pro plan at $19.99/month | Enhance Speech on files up to 30 minutes (500 MB), 1 hour a day. | Firefly Pro: files up to 2 hours and 1 GB, 4 hours a day, bulk uploads, adjustable strength. | Web |
| Async (formerly Podcastle) | people who left Riverside's editor because it was too fiddly, and would rather ask for edits in plain words | Free; Essentials £11.99/month, Pro £23.99/month, billed yearly (shown in pounds from the UK) | A free plan, per the pricing page; paid plans start with a free trial. | Credits shared across AI video, image and audio tools: 450 a month on Essentials, 1,200 on Pro. | Web |
| Shorts by Sliceours | replacing Riverside's Magic Clips when you want to choose the moments yourself and style the captions, at a flat price | $14.99/month or $149/year | Your first video and first 3 clips are free, no card | Episodes up to 3 hours and 4GB, uploaded as a file; clips of 30 to 150 seconds; up to 1,000 exports a month | Web, in any browser |
Prices in US dollars from each vendor’s pricing page, unless a row says otherwise.
01
Riverside, for recording only
Price Pro $29/month ($24/month billed yearly); Grow $39/month ($34 yearly); Webinar $99/month ($79 yearly)Free No free plan shown on the pricing page on 11 October 2026; a 14-day free trial on paid plans.Runs on Web, Mac app, iOS and Android apps
What it does well
- Records each person locally, up to 4K and 48kHz audio, so a bad connection does not spoil the recording.
- You can download each person's track and edit it anywhere, which is what several people in the threads below do.
- The pricing FAQ says its Riverside MCP lets AI assistants search transcripts and cut clips, if you work that way.
Where it falls short
- Separate-track downloads are capped (15 hours a month on Pro). If you edit elsewhere, that cap is the number to watch.
- Recent threads describe the editor changing often, features moving between plans, and the waveform view cut down.
- No free plan on the pricing page now, only a trial.
What its users say
“I particularly didn't like how they removed the full waveform view for audio and cut it down to half of the waveform, flying in the face of pretty much all audio editing apps.”
“Now I kind of get lost while doing the episodes because everything is changing, and it seems I need to relearn how to do the basics and find stuff in it.”
“I am not fine with them arbitrarily removing, and then re-adding features that are extremely useful and I use every week (until I have to learn a new way), like the timeline export.”
“they have also started to pre:edit my words (muting sections) and adding gaps in - all very frustrating!”
“The magic editor is fantastic imo”
“Our transcript editor has had a lot of work put into it since that comment.”
In the directoryPricing pageread 11 October 2026
02
Descript
Price Free; Hobbyist $24/month ($16 billed yearly); Creator $35/month ($24 yearly); Business $65/month ($50 yearly)Free 60 media minutes a month, 100 AI credits once, 720p export.Runs on Mac, Windows, web
What it does well
- Edit audio and video by editing the transcript, with multitrack transcription and speaker detection, per the pricing page.
- Studio Sound, filler-word removal, Automatic Multicam and clips are on the paid plans.
- Exports a timeline to Final Cut Pro, Pro Tools, Logic, Reaper and Samplitude, so you can finish elsewhere.
- The desktop app keeps files locally while it syncs, which commenters say fixes much of the browser version's slowness.
Where it falls short
- Media hours count every upload, so a long multi-track Riverside session uses them quickly.
- The same complaints people make about Riverside's editor (changes, bugs, AI that misses) are made about Descript in its own threads.
- The free plan exports at 720p.
What its users say
“I started just recording on Riverside and editing on Descript.”
“I must be lucky cause I love descript for my audio only editing.”
“I hate Descript. It updates way too much and changes things they don't need changing.”
In the directoryPricing pageread 11 October 2026
03
DaVinci Resolve
Price Free; DaVinci Resolve Studio $295 one-timeFree Editing, colour and Fairlight audio, 8-bit video up to 60fps and Ultra HD 3840 x 2160, per Blackmagic's page.Runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPad
What it does well
- Free, with a real multitrack timeline, colour and the Fairlight audio page.
- Studio is one payment of $295, so the interface changes only when you choose to update.
- Runs on your own computer: no upload, no processing queue.
Where it falls short
- Much more to learn than Riverside's editor.
- You do the cutting yourself: no automatic layouts, filler removal or clips in the free version.
- Long 4K multi-camera episodes want a capable computer.
What its users say
“Record the session, grab the files, bring them into Resolve, go from there”
“As for editing - Davinci Resolve is free. It’s not the the easiest to learn, but they do have a whole workbook online to teach you how to use it (also free!).”
In the directorySource pageread 11 October 2026
04
Reaper
Price $60 discounted licence; $225 commercial licenceFree None; a full 60-day evaluation.Runs on Windows, Mac, Linux
What it does well
- A full multitrack audio editor with the whole waveform, keyboard shortcuts and as much control as you want.
- Paid once, $60 for most podcasters.
- Named again and again in the "Riverside sucks" thread as where people edit instead.
Where it falls short
- No transcript editing, video or automatic clean-up out of the box.
- Made for music first, so there is more to learn.
What its users say
“I personally use Reaper - it's geared more for music production, but it handles podcasts really well.”
“The DAW is really good except the complicated workflow and interface.”
In the directoryPricing pageread 11 October 2026
05
Adobe Podcast
Price Free; premium features with Adobe's Firefly Pro plan at $19.99/monthFree Enhance Speech on files up to 30 minutes (500 MB), 1 hour a day.Runs on Web
What it does well
- Enhance Speech cleans up a voice track in the browser, free for files up to 30 minutes.
- Firefly Pro lets you turn the strength down and process files up to 2 hours.
- Works on each person's Riverside track before you edit.
Where it falls short
- Not an editor: you still need one of the others on this page.
- Free files are limited to 30 minutes and 1 hour a day.
- Full-strength enhancement can sound processed; only Firefly Pro lets you turn the strength down.
In the directoryPricing pageread 11 October 2026
06
Async (formerly Podcastle)
Price Free; Essentials £11.99/month, Pro £23.99/month, billed yearly (shown in pounds from the UK)Free A free plan, per the pricing page; paid plans start with a free trial.Runs on Web
What it does well
- Edits by chat: upload, then ask it to cut pauses, tighten the rough cut or make a short version, per its home page.
- Cleans audio (Magic Dust), removes filler and repeats, adds captions and makes clips.
- Also records in the browser, if you ever want to leave Riverside altogether.
Where it falls short
- Handing edits to an AI is the very thing some Riverside users are tired of; you check every cut.
- Credits are shared with AI video and image generation.
- Prices were shown to us in pounds; dollar prices were not read.
In the directoryPricing pageread 11 October 2026
07
Shorts by Sliceours
Price $14.99/month or $149/yearFree Your first video and first 3 clips are free, no cardRuns on Web, in any browser
What it does well
- Upload the finished episode (or the Riverside export) and get a list of moments that stand on their own, to pick from.
- Captions are styled and editable word by word; the same clip exports vertical, square or wide.
- Works on audio-only episodes too, drawing each clip from a template, your cover art and the voices.
- Tick several clips and export them together.
Where it falls short
- It does not edit the full episode: it replaces the clips part of Riverside, not the editor.
- Upload only: no link import and no recording.
- It does not post or schedule, and there are no third-party reviews of it to report yet.
Questions
Can I record on Riverside and edit somewhere else?
Yes. Download each person's separate track and open them in another editor. On Pro you can download 15 hours of separate tracks a month (20 on Grow, 25 on Webinar); recording itself is unlimited, per Riverside's pricing FAQ, read 11 October 2026.
What is the best alternative to Riverside's editor?
For editing by transcript, Descript. For a free full editor for video, DaVinci Resolve. For audio with the whole waveform, Reaper ($60 once). If you only used the clip feature, a clip tool such as Shorts by Slice (ours).
Why are people unhappy with Riverside's editor?
In r/podcasting threads in September and October 2026, users describe features being removed and re-added, the audio waveform cut to half, the editor muting sections and adding gaps on its own, and slowness. Others say it works well for them, and a Riverside team member says the transcript editor has improved. The quotes on this page give both sides.
Is there a free alternative to Riverside's editor?
Yes: DaVinci Resolve (video) and Audacity (audio) are free, and Adobe Podcast cleans up speech free on files up to 30 minutes. Riverside itself no longer showed a free plan on its pricing page on 11 October 2026, only a 14-day trial.
What replaces Riverside's Magic Clips?
Any clip tool that takes an uploaded episode: Shorts by Slice (ours, $14.99 a month) lists moments for you to pick and captions them; Descript and Async also make clips inside their editors.
Did you test these tools?
No. Prices and features were read from each tool's own pages on 11 October 2026, and quotes were checked word for word against the pages they link to. We make Shorts by Slice.