Decision Engine
Consultation
Ready · tell me how you record
01 · How you record
How do you record?
Tell me how you record. Get the tool built for that, and the features you can skip for now.
Reference & methods
How recommendations work. Every pick names what a tool is for and what it is not for. No perfect tools, no crowned winner.
By Sean Duncombe · How we compare tools
Recording remote guests means capturing everyone in full quality even when the internet isn't. Riverside records each guest locally, in up to 4K video and separate audio tracks, then syncs the files so a dropped connection doesn't cost you the audio. Podcastle does remote capture too, inside a broader studio, and Adobe Podcast records remotely in the browser with nothing to install, though without a local backup track. If your show is interviews or co-hosts in different places, this is the job to get right first — you can't fix audio you never captured.
Default pick
Records each guest locally in up to 4K, on separate audio and video tracks, so quality holds even when the connection doesn't.
Built for remote capture and priced for it (from $24/mo); more than you need if you only ever record solo into one mic.
When the recording itself is rough — a noisy room, a cheap mic, an untreated space — reach for a tool built to clean audio, not one built to capture guests. Adobe Podcast's Enhance Speech turns rough voice into clean, studio-sounding audio in one pass, and it's free to start. Alitu automates the same cleanup as part of making the episode, and Riverside cleans audio inside its recorder. Fix the audio you have; better recording conditions later reduce how much cleanup you need at all.
Default pick
Its Enhance Speech turns rough, noisy audio into clean, studio-sounding voice in one pass, free to start.
A cleanup and browser-recording tool, not a full remote studio — no local backup track or multitrack video.
Some creators want to shape every part of the episode themselves rather than hand it to automation. Podcastle is a full studio to record, edit, and shape audio and video by hand, with AI assists when you want them. Riverside gives you hands-on editing on top of studio-grade remote capture. If the hands-on part you care about is really the edit — cutting, arranging, sound design — that's the Editing guide's decision, not a recording tool's. This band is for people who want the studio, not the shortcut.
Default pick
A full studio to record, edit, and shape every part of the episode yourself — audio and video, with AI assists on hand.
Broad rather than specialized; a dedicated remote recorder still captures multitrack guests more reliably.
If you're new and don't want to learn an editor, reach for a tool that automates the audio engineering for you. Alitu records in the browser and handles leveling, noise, filler, and music automatically, so a finished episode comes out without you touching a waveform. Adobe Podcast does the cleanup free, and Podcastle offers simple hands-on controls with a free plan. The trade is fine control and video for speed — the right call when getting the episode made matters more than shaping every second.
Default pick
Records in the browser and automates the audio engineering — leveling, noise, filler, and music — so you never open an editor.
Audio only, no video, and a flat $38/mo; you trade fine control and video for a done-for-you result.
The full index for this vertical. Nothing here is ranked. Tools link to a compare page or their home category when one exists.
Continue with PodcastAI
PodcastAI automates the production around your episodes, transcripts, clips, show notes, an episode site, hosting, and publishing, so most of the work after you record takes care of itself.