Descript vs. Riverside.fm

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Descript
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Descript is a collaborative audio/video editor, from the company of the same name in San Francisco, that works like a doc. It includes transcription, a screen recorder, publishing, full multitrack editing, and AI tools.
$0
Riverside.fm
Score 5.8 out of 10
N/A
Riverside.fm headquartered in Tel Aviv offers a remote recording solution for enterprise teams. It is presented as an easy way for teams to record professional-grade video content and podcasts, from anywhere.
$90
per year
Pricing
DescriptRiverside.fm
Editions & Modules
Free
$0
Annual billing - Hobbyist
$12
per month per user
Monthly Billing - Hobbyist
$19
per month per user
Annual billing - Creator
$24
per month per user
Monthly Billing - Creator
$35
per month per user
Annual billing - Business
$40
per month per user
Monthly Billing - Business
$50
per month per user
Enterprise
Custom
Basic
$90
per year
Standard
$180
per year
Pro
$288
per year
Enterprise
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
DescriptRiverside.fm
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
DescriptRiverside.fm
Considered Both Products
Descript
Chose Descript
Feature rich - always innovating - I love the fact that Descript rolls out innovations on a recurring basis.
Export options are amazing and can't really be matched out in the marketplace
Quite simply others are trying to catch up to Descript - so that's a good position for them …
Chose Descript
It works as well as Otter transcribing and with similar accuracy, but has a much better free tier, and has workspace management features that are more robust.
Chose Descript
I've used Rev and liked them, but I find Descript to be more flexible and, overall, more useful. We're also experimenting with Searchie.io, but it's early days yet, so I can't comment.
Chose Descript
Before the script I use screenflow do script is significantly faster and easier to edit with
Chose Descript
Descript compares favorably to any audio editor where you can't see the transcription. It's so helpful to be able to see what someone said, select only that, and within 30 seconds, the file is exported and you can put it into your project.
Chose Descript
I didn't edit the shows previously because it was so time consuming. I had to use one tool for a transcript, another if I edited, another for creating clips. None had the audiograms. I went with Descript because I liked the idea of editing the audio via the script. And I save …
Chose Descript
Not only does Camtasia have a steep learning curve; everything that Camtasia takes 1 hour to do, but Descript would also do it in less than a minute.
Chose Descript
Descript is by far superior to the other editing software you can get on Apple computers. It's able to do a lot more and really save us tons of time. Other Adobe apps are great, but take a while to learn. Descript is very user-friendly, making it easy to start from day one with …
Chose Descript
I used the most simple editing tools because I don't need anything fancier. Descript does video and text in parallel and I could choose - exactly in a word -- what I wanted to include. Having text and audio/video in parallel is its greatest strength.
Riverside.fm
Chose Riverside.fm
StreamYard may have fewer capabilities than Riverside.fm, but it knows exactly what it is: a place to record/stream video conversations. Riverside.fm, in trying to be all things to all users, may need to improve its UI to serve all constituents.
Chose Riverside.fm
Riverside is far better than trying to record on Zoom or Skype because on both of those platforms you are recording others' videos from over the internet, so you get any glitches that come from inconsistent connections that either you or your guest has. Riverside records …
Best Alternatives
DescriptRiverside.fm
Small Businesses
Ableton Live
Ableton Live
Score 7.9 out of 10
OBS Studio
OBS Studio
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 8.3 out of 10
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 8.3 out of 10
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
DescriptRiverside.fm
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
5.4
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
4.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
DescriptRiverside.fm
Likelihood to Recommend
  • Transcription of internal presentations and web conferences. It's great for capturing and transcribing the audio from presentations, demos, etc. which can then be used to develop training materials, blog posts, etc.
  • Podcasts. Makes it really easy to record, edit, and publish video or audio podcasts.
  • Promotional videos. Streamlines and accelerates the process for developing videos.
Read full review
While Riverside.fm is good for creating videos, it's less well-positioned to create audio-only shows.
Read full review
Pros
  • I like the sidebar - breaking my scripts up into different "chapters" makes it easier to create quickly.
  • I like that it auto-corrects punctuation, capitalization, etc. as I polish the scripts.
  • It's easy for my team and my collaborators to read/listen, remark, and create useable transcripts.
Read full review
  • very easy to use
  • great to have all video files in one location automatically
  • the backup audio files are perfect to download and make sure all files are synced up for editing
  • it's easy to get on as a producer and be there to help everyone else who is recording without being recorded myself.
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Cons
  • When editing a transcript it can get a little cumbersome, as a double click doesn't always do what you think it will
  • Some features aren't that intuitive (what is resize word gap) for beginners
  • A tutorial/wizard as soon as you sign up would be very useful
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  • Unable to upload multiple files at once
  • For the beginner, while the layout looks good it is somewhat opaque as to how to get started
  • Free account features an immovable tile asking for $15/month.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
There are a couple of small technical issues that can effect the quality of the videos produced that is keeping me from giving it a 10. It is far superior to any other tool to get a high quality video recording with multiple people over the internet, so it is hands down the best tool I have found for this use case, but I know it can be better.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
I have not needed to use the Riverside.fm support that much, which in itself is a good sign of how good their product is, but when I have had to use their support it was prompt, and helpful, and the people were very kind. I am glad to know there is someone there to help quickly if I am having a problem.
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Alternatives Considered
Descript is by far superior to the other editing software you can get on Apple computers. It's able to do a lot more and really save us tons of time. Other Adobe apps are great, but take a while to learn. Descript is very user-friendly, making it easy to start from day one with very little training.
Read full review
Riverside is far better than trying to record on Zoom or Skype because on both of those platforms you are recording others' videos from over the internet, so you get any glitches that come from inconsistent connections that either you or your guest has. Riverside records locally and then uploads separately, so everyone's video quality is much greater.
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Return on Investment
  • I can get video completed much more quickly and cheaply
  • We can produce more video content because of the speed with which we can have a finished product
  • We can have shorter timelines for example I record on Monday and we publish on Tuesday which wouldn't be otherwise possible with other methods I've used
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  • Since I need their platform, which again is actually pretty good, I had to waste money to sign up again, so that I had a workable password.
  • from experience, wasted weeks of going back and forth with their support team - throwing off my podcast schedule.
Read full review
ScreenShots