If you’re recording a podcast with guests who aren’t in the same room, choosing the right recording platform can make a huge difference.
You can have a great microphone, a quiet room, and a well-prepared guest, but if the recording platform captures compressed audio or your guest’s internet connection causes problems, the final episode can still sound disappointing.
That’s why tools like Iris and Riverside.fm have become popular with podcasters, YouTubers, interviewers, and remote teams.
Both platforms are designed to record people remotely while creating separate, high-quality tracks for each participant. But they take very different approaches.
Iris is focused on keeping remote recording simple. Riverside.fm is much more of an all-in-one content creation platform. That difference is important.
If all you really want is a reliable way to record a remote podcast interview, Iris may be all you need. If you want recording, editing, AI tools, podcast hosting, video production, clips, and livestreaming in one place, Riverside.fm offers considerably more.
What Is Iris?
Iris is a remote podcast recording platform built around a fairly simple idea. Make it easy to record high-quality conversations with people who aren’t in the same room.
You create a recording room, send your guest a link, and they join through their browser. There’s no complicated software installation process for guests.
Iris records each participant locally, which means the audio and video aren’t simply captured from the live internet call. Instead, each person’s device records their own track.
That matters because internet calls can have all kinds of problems. Your guest’s connection might suddenly slow down. The video might freeze. The call might become distorted for a few seconds.
If you were recording the actual call, those problems could become part of your final recording.
With local recording, the final files can remain clean even if the live conversation has a few connection problems.
Iris provides separate audio and video files for each participant, which makes editing much easier afterward.
It also supports live captions, progressive uploads, different participant roles, and recording on desktop and mobile browsers. Iris currently supports up to nine people in a recording room.
And that’s basically what makes Iris appealing. It doesn’t try to be everything. It’s primarily focused on helping you record a good remote interview.
What Is Riverside.fm?
Riverside started as a remote recording platform too, but it has expanded considerably. Today, Riverside is much closer to an all-in-one content creation platform.
You can use it to record podcasts, interviews, video content, webinars, livestreams, social clips, and other forms of content. It also includes editing tools and AI features.
Riverside records participants locally and automatically uploads the recordings while the session is happening. This gives creators separate audio and video tracks without relying entirely on the quality of the live call.
The free plan currently supports up to 10 participants, 720p video, 44.1 kHz audio, text-based editing, AI-powered editing tools, and Magic Clips.
Paid plans add features such as 4K recording, 48 kHz audio, watermark removal, Magic Audio, advanced transcription, podcast hosting, and higher export limits.
This is where Riverside starts pulling away from Iris. It isn’t just a recording tool anymore. It’s trying to become the place where you record, edit, publish, and repurpose your content.
Recording Quality
Let’s start with the most important thing. How good do the recordings sound? Both Iris and Riverside use local recording. That’s a major advantage over traditional meeting platforms.
Instead of simply recording the compressed video call, both services can capture each participant’s audio and video separately.
Iris specifically advertises local HD recording and up to 4K video. It provides separate files for each speaker.
Riverside’s paid plans support up to 4K video and 48 kHz audio. Its free plan is limited to 720p video and 44.1 kHz audio.
For a normal audio podcast, both platforms can provide excellent results. If you’re recording a video podcast for YouTube, however, the differences in resolution and export options become more important.
I’d call this category a tie for basic recording quality, with Riverside having the advantage if you need its higher-end video production features.
Guest Experience
This is one area where Iris really shines. Imagine you’re interviewing someone who has never used a podcast recording platform before. You don’t want to send them a long email saying:
“Download this app, create an account, change these settings, check your microphone, install this update…”
You want something simple. Iris lets guests join through a browser link without downloading anything or creating an account. That’s exactly what you want when interviewing guests.
Riverside also supports browser-based guest access, but its broader feature set means the experience can feel more involved.
Riverside’s own documentation emphasizes browser recording and local recording, but Iris positions its entire product around reducing guest friction. For simple interviews, I’d give Iris the advantage.
Ease of Use
This is another category where Iris has a very clear advantage. Iris doesn’t have an enormous number of features to learn.
You create a room.
Invite your guest.
Record.
Download your tracks.
That’s basically it.
Riverside has considerably more going on. You can edit your recording using text, generate clips, use AI audio enhancement, add captions, create branded content, host your podcast, and more. Those features are useful.
But every additional feature adds some complexity. If you’re the kind of person who likes having everything in one dashboard, Riverside can feel fantastic.
If you’re thinking, “I just want to record my interview,” Iris may feel much better.
Editing: Riverside Has a Huge Advantage
This is probably the biggest difference between the two. Iris is primarily a recording platform. Riverside has built a much larger editing environment.
Riverside offers text-based editing, meaning you can edit a recording through its transcript rather than manually moving around a traditional timeline.
It also provides AI-powered editing features, Magic Audio, Magic Clips, captions, and other tools designed to turn a long recording into multiple pieces of content.
That’s useful for modern podcasters.
Imagine recording a one-hour interview.
You need:
- The full podcast episode
- A YouTube video
- Three short clips
- Captions
- Social media content
Riverside can help with much of that workflow. Iris isn’t trying to compete with that.
Its goal is to give you clean recordings that you can take into your preferred editing software.
If you’re already comfortable with Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Audition, or another editor, that may actually be exactly what you want.
But if you want your recording platform to handle editing too, Riverside wins easily.
AI Features
Riverside is also much more aggressive with AI. Its current platform includes AI-powered editing and repurposing tools.
The free plan includes AI Co-Creator, text-based editing, Magic Clips, captions, and other AI-assisted features. Paid plans add tools such as Magic Audio and more advanced transcription. This can save time.
Instead of listening through an hour-long interview trying to find a 45-second clip for Instagram, you can use AI tools to identify interesting sections.
That doesn’t mean the AI will always choose the perfect clip. You still need human judgment. But it can speed up the process.
Iris takes a much more focused approach. It includes unlimited transcriptions and audio mastering on its paid plans, but it doesn’t try to turn itself into a complete AI editing suite.
If AI-powered editing is important to you, Riverside is the clear winner.
Pricing
Pricing is where the difference becomes especially noticeable. Iris’ current paid plans start at:
Starter: $9/month
Pro: $19/month
Studio: $29/month
The plans include different recording-hour allowances, while Iris says unlimited audio mastering and transcription are included.
Riverside has a free plan. Its Pro plan currently costs $29 per month when paid monthly or $24 per month when paid annually.
Riverside’s free plan is actually quite generous in one way: recording itself is unlimited. But there are important restrictions.
The free plan limits video to 720p and provides only two hours of separate audio/video track downloads. It also adds a watermark to exports.
So don’t look at “unlimited recording” and assume the free plan is equivalent to the paid plan. It’s more useful as a way to try the platform. For someone who records only a few interviews every month, Iris can be significantly cheaper.
For someone who will use AI editing, podcast hosting, 4K video, and content repurposing, Riverside’s higher price may be justified.
Podcast Hosting
Here’s an important difference. Iris is primarily a recording platform. You record your conversation and then take the files to your editing and podcast hosting workflow.
Riverside has moved further into podcast hosting. Its paid Pro plan includes podcast hosting and distribution to services such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
That means you can potentially go from recording to publishing without leaving Riverside. This can simplify your workflow considerably.
If you want a dedicated podcast hosting platform and already use something like Buzzsprout, Libsyn, Podbean, or Castos, you may not need Riverside’s hosting features.
But if you’re starting from scratch, having hosting built into the platform is convenient.
Video Podcasts
Video is becoming a bigger part of podcasting. A lot of creators no longer think of their podcast as audio only.
They want a YouTube version, clips for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other social content. Both Iris and Riverside can record video.
Iris supports up to 4K video recording and provides separate video files for participants.
Riverside’s paid plans also support 4K recording and include tools specifically designed for video content creation.
The difference is what happens after recording. Iris gives you the files. Riverside gives you the files plus editing, clips, captions, AI tools, and publishing options.
For serious video podcasters, Riverside is therefore the better overall package.
Live Streaming
If you’re planning to livestream your podcast, Riverside becomes even more attractive. Its higher plans support live streaming and other production features, while its broader platform is designed to handle more than just recorded interviews.
Iris also offers live broadcast functionality on its Studio plan. But again, Riverside has built a much broader ecosystem around this. If livestreaming is a major part of your content strategy, I’d choose Riverside.
If it’s something you occasionally need, Iris may still be enough.
Which One Is Better for Beginners?
This depends on what kind of beginner you are. If you’re a beginner who just wants to record a podcast interview, Iris is probably easier. You don’t need to learn an enormous platform.
If you’re a beginner who wants to learn everything at once — recording, editing, clips, captions, AI, hosting, and publishing — Riverside may be more useful. Personally, I’d recommend Iris to someone who says:
“I just want to record my podcast.”
I’d recommend Riverside to someone who says:
“I want to build a complete content workflow.”
That’s the real difference.
Iris vs. Riverside.fm: Pros and Cons
Iris Pros
Iris has a very simple guest experience. Guests can join through a browser without downloading software. It records participants locally and provides separate audio and video tracks.
It supports up to 4K video, works across major browsers and mobile devices, and includes automatic backup during recording.
Its pricing is also relatively straightforward, with paid plans starting at $9 per month.
Iris Cons
The biggest limitation is that Iris doesn’t try to be a complete post-production platform.
If you want advanced editing, AI clip generation, podcast hosting, or a large content repurposing toolkit, you’ll need other software.
Riverside.fm Pros
Riverside combines recording with editing, AI tools, podcast hosting, video creation, transcription, captions, clips, and more.
Its local recording system provides separate tracks, while paid plans support 4K video and 48 kHz audio. The platform can potentially replace several separate tools in your workflow.
Riverside.fm Cons
The biggest downside is complexity. There are simply more things to learn. It’s also more expensive than Iris if all you need is basic remote recording.
Some of the most useful features are locked behind paid plans, and the free plan has export, quality, and watermark limitations.
Final Thoughts
So, Iris vs. Riverside.fm — which one is better? The honest answer is that they’re best for different people.
Iris is the better choice if recording quality and simplicity are your priorities.
It’s clean, straightforward, inexpensive, and designed specifically around remote recording. Your guests can join through a browser, each participant is recorded locally, and you get separate files for editing.
Riverside is the better choice if you want more than recording. It has evolved into a much broader platform with recording, editing, AI tools, captions, social clips, podcast hosting, video production, and livestreaming.
But don’t automatically choose Riverside just because it has more features. That’s an easy mistake to make. More features don’t necessarily mean a better experience.
If you’re interviewing one guest a week and all you need are clean audio and video files, Iris may actually be the better product for you.
If you’re producing a weekly video podcast, creating social clips, livestreaming, and publishing across multiple platforms, Riverside’s larger feature set can save you a lot of time.