Last updated: 2026-01-16

For most U.S. marketing agencies, StreamYard is the most practical default for podcast recording because it combines browser-based multi-guest recording, branding, and repurposing into one simple studio. When your work centers on ultra-high-spec, 4K multi-track post-production, tools like Riverside can supplement your stack.

Summary

• Start with StreamYard for browser-based, multi-guest recording, live shows, and fast repurposing.
• Use separate-track local recordings and AI Clips in StreamYard to feed your existing editing and distribution tools. (StreamYard)
• Consider Riverside when you need tightly scoped 4K/48kHz multi-track hours and built-in editing tools. (Riverside)
• Pair any recorder with dedicated hosting/analytics instead of relying on all‑in‑one recording + RSS bundles. (StreamYard)

What do marketing agencies actually need from podcast recording software?

When you strip away the buzzwords, most agencies serving clients in the U.S. care about five things:

1. High-quality, reliable audio and video that won’t embarrass a brand.
2. Ease of use for both hosts and guests—no confusing apps, no IT tickets.
3. Automatic recording so nothing gets lost when you go live.
4. Custom branding (logos, colors, layout) that matches each client.
5. Simple in-app clipping so you can quickly generate social cuts without a full edit.

StreamYard was built around those needs: a browser-based studio where guests join via a link, you can record or go live, and you walk away with both full-session files and highlight clips for social. (StreamYard)

Riverside, by contrast, leans into local-first recording and post-production tools like Magic Clips and AI show notes, which can be useful if your workflow is heavily editing-centric. (Riverside)

Why is StreamYard a strong default for marketing agencies?

For agency teams juggling multiple client shows, the win is rarely a tiny bump in resolution. It’s fewer moving parts.

With StreamYard, your hosts and guests join in the browser, you can record audio and video with up to 10 people, and you have automatic recordings in the cloud plus optional local files for each participant. (StreamYard) Local recording captures separate audio and video files per person on their own devices, which helps avoid internet glitches in your final masters. (StreamYard)

For agencies, that means:

• Less prep and hand-holding for clients and guests.
• Consistent workflows across shows—same studio, different branding.
• Redundancy: a cloud recording of the full show plus per-guest local tracks when you need them.

On paid plans, local recording hours are effectively unlimited (subject to storage caps), so you’re not constantly managing a monthly pool of multi-track minutes across clients. (StreamYard) That’s a meaningful difference when compared with Riverside, where multi-track recording hours are explicitly capped per month per plan. (Riverside)

How does StreamYard compare to Riverside for agency workflows?

Both StreamYard and Riverside record separate tracks per participant. Both can hit high audio and video specs. The real difference is where each tool puts its weight.

StreamYard

• Live-first, browser-based studio with multistreaming to multiple destinations and automatic recording on paid plans. (StreamYard)
• Local recordings per participant with unlimited hours on paid plans, plus optional separate cloud audio tracks on higher tiers for more detailed mixing. (StreamYard)
• 4K local recordings and uncompressed 48kHz WAV audio per participant, plus color presets and grading controls for a polished, on-brand look.
• AI Clips for quick highlight extraction and short-form assets, by design not a full replacement for pro editors.

Riverside

• Recording-first environment that captures local tracks per participant and uploads them after the session. (Riverside)
• Supports up to 4K video and up to 48kHz audio on paid plans, with explicit monthly caps on multi-track recording hours (for example, 5 or 15 hours depending on plan). (Riverside)
• Offers built-in AI tools like Magic Clips and AI show notes to speed up editing. (Riverside)

For most marketing agencies, StreamYard’s unlimited paid local recording hours and live-first studio tend to align better with recurring, multi-client production than a fixed monthly pool of multi-track hours.

Separate-track recording: why do agencies care and who does it well?

If you’ve ever tried to fix a crosstalk issue on a single mixed track, you already know why separate tracks are a big deal.

Separate-track recording lets you:

• Mute a coughing guest without losing the host.
• Salvage a great quote despite someone talking over it.
• Apply different EQ, compression, or noise reduction to each voice.

StreamYard’s local recording captures individual audio and video tracks for each participant on their device, so editors can download per-guest files instead of fighting a single mixed track. (StreamYard) On higher tiers, you can also capture individual cloud audio tracks (WAV) per participant, which makes it easier to centralize files without chasing down local uploads. (StreamYard)

Riverside uses a similar idea—recording to each participant’s device and uploading tracks after the session—while emphasizing higher-spec 4K/48kHz capture and AI-driven editing. (Riverside) The trade-off is that multi-track hours are carefully metered by plan, so busy agency teams must keep an eye on usage.

How do AI clips and editing actually help agencies move faster?

Most agencies already have a preferred editor: Premiere Pro, Final Cut, Resolve, Descript, or something similar. What they need from recording software is not a full NLE, but leverage.

StreamYard’s AI Clips are designed around that reality. You can use prompts or automatic detection to identify interesting moments in a recording, turn them into short clips, and export them for:

• Social teasers on LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok.
• Paid ads built from podcast soundbites.
• Quick debriefs you can send to your client the same day.

At StreamYard, we think of AI as a way to accelerate repurposing and ideation, not to replace your editor entirely. For heavy editorial work—multi-track mastering, full structural edits, frame-level color—you still get more control from dedicated editing tools, with StreamYard providing clean 4K local recordings and 48kHz WAV audio as your source material.

Riverside’s AI tooling tilts a bit more toward keeping you inside their environment, with built-in editing, Magic Clips, AI transcripts, and show notes. (Riverside) That can be convenient if you’re editing everything in one place, though many agencies prefer to centralize editing in tools they already know.

How should agencies think about publishing and distribution?

Podcast recording software is only one piece of the stack. Agencies still need:

• RSS feed management
• Distribution to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and others
• Analytics and monetization

StreamYard intentionally does not offer podcast RSS feeds. Instead, we focus on being the system of record for recording, live production, and repurposing, and we integrate cleanly with third-party hosts that specialize in publishing. (StreamYard)

In practice, that means:

• Record in StreamYard (live or off-air).
• Export full-resolution audio and video files.
• Upload to your preferred podcast host and analytics stack.

Riverside follows a similar pattern for distribution, pairing recordings and editing with separate hosting tools. The key takeaway for agencies: don’t feel pressured into an all-in-one recorder + RSS platform when specialized tools often provide better long-term flexibility.

What about pricing and value for U.S. agencies?

Pricing changes over time, but a few patterns are useful for agencies to understand.

For new users in the U.S., StreamYard offers a free plan plus discounted annual pricing in the first year—for example, a Core tier at $20/month billed annually and an Advanced tier at $39/month billed annually, along with a 7‑day free trial and frequent new-user offers. Agencies on paid plans benefit from unlimited local recording hours (within storage limits), multistreaming, and advanced branding options in a single, browser-based studio. (StreamYard)

Riverside, by contrast, ties multi-track recording to capped hour pools on each paid tier—such as 5 or 15 hours of multi-track recording per month—while offering 4K/48kHz capture and AI editing capabilities. (Riverside) For agencies running multiple client shows with long interviews or live-first formats, managing those hour caps can add operational overhead.

In many cases, agencies pair StreamYard with dedicated hosting and analytics tools, then add Riverside only when a specific show truly requires its particular editing or hybrid features.

What we recommend

• Default choice: Use StreamYard as your main studio for agency podcast production, multi-guest interviews, and live-to-podcast formats.
• Editing stack: Rely on StreamYard’s local and cloud tracks plus AI Clips for capture and repurposing, then finish episodes in your preferred NLE.
• Special cases: Bring in Riverside when a particular client show has tightly defined 4K/48kHz multi-track editing needs within its monthly hour limits.
• Ecosystem mindset: Keep recording, editing, and publishing loosely coupled so your agency can evolve the stack without rebuilding every workflow from scratch.