Podcast Recording Platforms Comparison
A big part of podcasting is recording the episodes itself. But there are a lot of options to do this especially depending on your budget and what your recording needs are.
To help make this decision a little easier, here is a guide comparing different podcasting platforms, their features and what we like/don’t like about them to help you choose the right option for you.
Audacity
This is a great platform to record in because not only can you record but you can edit right after inside the same program.
Pros
Free
Easy to use and learn
Just one button to start recording
Cons
The program can have glitches and software malfunctions as it is a free software so it certainly isn’t perfect.
You would likely need your guest to record on their end as well as doing a conversation/two tracks is difficult.
Pricing
Free
Descript
This is another popular program for many. We personally haven’t used it but most of our podcasting friends have or currently use this program for all things in their production process.
Pros
High-quality audio/video recordings
Has templates to make videos with aspect ratios to fit social media or YouTube
Can record within or upload audio to edit
Guests can join your recording session with a single click
Cons
Can be harder to learn
Can only mobile record on Android
Pricing
Offers a free plan & paid starts at $12/month
GarageBand
If you are a Mac user this is a great free option for you especially if you want one tool that can record and edit all in one.
Pros
Can record 2 tracks at once
Easy to use and user-friendly
Cons
Can sometimes have glitches/recording issues
Not a ton of features/a more basic program
Pricing
Free
Riverside
We have some clients who use Riverside and love it. It’s easy to provide us the files once recorded and has some other neat features like their magic clip grabber for social media.
Pros
Free plan that includes unlimited single-track audio recording
High-quality audio/video recordings
Easy for guests to join
Has a lot of cool features you can test and play with like I mentioned the clip grabber.
Cons
We haven’t experienced it with our clients but have heard it can have reliability/stability issues
Pricing
Offers a free plan & paid starts at $10/month
Squadcast
The cool thing about Squadcast is they recently teamed up with Descript (above) so you are able to use their quality software and then do post-production within Descript. So, you would get a two from one type bonus when it comes to recording and post-production.
Pros
High-quality audio/video recordings
Has recording backups
Is teamed up with Descript so could record, edit, and publish in all for one.
Cons
Can sometimes have minor glitches/freezing when starting to record
Pricing
Starts at $20/month
Zencastr
This is another great program that some of our clients use and we have again, found it easy for them to record and for us to grab the files directly from the program so no need for them to upload into a separate folder!
Pros
High-quality audio/video recordings
Each episode is in a separate “room” allowing for easy organization of all the files.
Easy for guests to join
Cons
We haven’t experienced it with our clients but have heard it can have reliability/stability issues
Pricing
Offers a free version & paid starts at $20/month
Zoom
This is always a great option if you are just getting started or already use the paid plan for meetings, etc. No need to learn a new program or pay for something additional.
Pros
Easy to use
Most people know how to use it including guests
You likely already use it regularly
Cons
Not the best audio or video quality compared to other platforms
Not a ton of features for podcasting as it’s not specially created for podcast use
Need to set up two track recording with multiple speakers
Pricing
Offers a Free plan & paid starts at $16/month
Whether you go for a program you already use or you are wanting to dabble in a free option (or even paid!) to get your toes wet, all of these programs will do the job that you need when it comes to recording your podcast.
You just need to decide what you are looking for when it comes to recording and what your budget is and then pick the program that best suits your needs - there is no wrong choice!
Let us know your favorite recording platform and why in the comments. 🙂
Aleea
