Best Podcast Software

Riverside is a studio quality remote recording and live streaming platform for podcasts, interviews, and video content, founded in Tel Aviv, Israel. It records each participant locally in the browser at up to 4K video and 48kHz audio before uploading tracks to the cloud, which helps avoid the quality loss that can come from unstable internet connections during a call.

Beyond recording, Riverside includes text based editing, an AI editing and repurposing agent, automatic Magic Clips, podcast hosting and analytics, and multi platform publishing to YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Higher tiers add live streaming with unlimited multistream destinations, webinars for up to 100 registrants, and enterprise features like SSO and API access on the custom priced Business plan.

GarageBand is Apple's free digital audio workstation for Mac, iPhone and iPad, designed for musicians, podcasters and beginners who want an approachable way to record and produce music. Developed by Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, California, it comes preinstalled or free to download on Apple devices and requires no purchase or subscription.

The app includes a large sound library with session drummers and percussionists, guitar and bass amp simulations, and support for up to 255 audio tracks. It offers multi-take recording, Flex Time for timing adjustments, Smart Controls for shaping instrument sounds, and built-in lessons for piano and guitar. iCloud syncing lets users move projects seamlessly between Mac and iOS devices.

Audacity is a free, open source audio editing and recording application for Windows, macOS and Linux. First released in 2000, it has been part of Muse Group, which also owns MuseScore and Ultimate Guitar, since 2021, while remaining free and community developed under the GPL license. It is widely used by podcasters, musicians, students and hobbyists for recording, editing and cleaning up audio.

The software supports multi-track recording and editing, a large set of built-in effects such as noise reduction, equalization and pitch shifting, and newer AI powered stem separation for isolating vocals or instruments. It reads and writes common formats including WAV, MP3, FLAC and OGG, and supports VST, LADSPA and Nyquist plugins for extending its effects.

Descript is a San Francisco-based editing platform that transcribes audio and video, then lets users edit the recording by deleting, rearranging, or retyping text in the transcript. It includes Overdub for AI voice cloning to fix flubbed lines without re-recording, Studio Sound for one-click noise and echo removal, and Eye Contact correction for on-camera video. It works as both a web app and downloadable desktop app for Windows and macOS.

Descript offers a free plan with about 60 minutes of media per month, with paid Hobbyist, Creator, and Business plans adding more transcription hours, AI credits, and export quality, plus a custom Enterprise tier. It is popular with podcasters, YouTubers, and marketing teams who want to edit spoken content without traditional timeline-based video editing software.

StreamYard is a browser based live streaming and recording studio used for interviews, podcasts, webinars, and product demos. It runs in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari with no software to install, and guests can join a broadcast simply by clicking a link without creating an account. Streams can go out simultaneously to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, X, and custom RTMP destinations.

The free plan covers basic streaming with a watermark, while paid Core, Advanced, and Business plans remove branding and add features like Full HD and 4K recording, more multistream destinations, AI clips, transcript downloads, and on-air webinars. StreamYard was acquired by Bending Spoons in April 2024, after which subscription prices increased across most plans.

Adobe Audition is a professional digital audio workstation used for recording, editing, mixing and restoring audio for podcasts, video, broadcast and music. It is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud family of apps, published by Adobe, which is headquartered in San Jose, California, and it runs on Windows and macOS as a subscription based desktop application.

Audition offers multitrack and waveform editing, spectral frequency display for precise noise and artifact removal, an Essential Sound panel for quick loudness and clarity adjustments, and tight integration with Premiere Pro and After Effects through Dynamic Link. It is available as a standalone Single App subscription or bundled within the full Creative Cloud All Apps plan, with a free trial for new users.