Last updated: 2026-01-12

For most community managers in the U.S., StreamYard is the most practical place to start: it lets you record multiguest, browser-based podcast sessions, capture local multitrack audio, and pull quick AI clips without asking members to download anything. When your workflow is mostly offline recording with heavier built‑in AI editing and 4K/48kHz spec requirements, Riverside can be a useful alternative.

Summary

• StreamYard gives community managers a simple, browser-based studio with multiguest recording, local multitrack audio, and automatic recording on paid plans.[^1]
• Guests join from a link with no downloads or accounts, which dramatically reduces friction for busy community members.[^2]
• On paid plans, StreamYard removes monthly caps on local recordings, with storage measured in hours and clear per-session limits.[^3]
• Riverside offers local multitrack recording with plan-based hour caps and higher advertised audio/video specs plus AI tools, which may appeal to recording‑first teams.[^4]

What does a community manager actually need from podcast recording software?

If you run a community, your podcast is usually not just a show. It’s a member activation engine: AMAs, office hours, founder interviews, member spotlights, roundtables.

Most managers I work with care less about squeezing every last bit out of a waveform and more about:

• High-quality, reliable audio/video so you’re proud to share episodes.
• No‑drama guest onboarding for members who may only join once.
• Automatic recording so nothing gets lost.
• Custom branding to keep the show on‑brand with your community.
• Fast clips for social posts, recap emails, and community updates.

StreamYard is built around that exact list: a live-first, browser-based studio that captures both cloud and local recordings, lets you brand the experience, and then helps you spin out clips for repurposing.[^1]

How does StreamYard fit community-first podcast workflows?

Think of StreamYard as your lightweight community studio:

• Browser-based studio: You and your guests join via a link in Chrome, Edge, or similar; no software install needed.[^2]
• No account required for guests: Members don’t have to sign up or download anything, which is huge when you’re inviting a busy founder or first‑time guest.[^2]
• Up to 10 people on a recording on paid plans, which comfortably covers panels, member roundtables, and co‑host formats.[^1]
• Automatic recording on paid plans so your live community events are captured without extra steps.[^5]
• Local multitrack audio and video: each participant can be recorded on their own device, with separate files available for download, including uncompressed 48kHz WAV audio per person.[^6]
• 4K local recordings and color controls to give you high‑fidelity masters and a polished look when you do care about visual quality.

For a community manager, the magic is that all of this happens in one place. You can host a live town hall, record it, grab a clean audio mix for your podcast, and then cut clips to share in Slack, Discord, or your member portal.

How can you record remote guest podcasts without downloads?

Remote guests are both a blessing and a risk. They bring fresh perspective—and a high chance of “Wait, what do I need to install?”

With StreamYard, the workflow is deliberately boring (in a good way):

1. You schedule a recording and copy the guest link.
2. Your member or outside guest opens it in a modern browser.
3. They pick mic and camera, and they’re in the studio.

They never need to create an account or install a desktop app.[^2]

Behind the scenes, you can:

• Turn on echo cancellation and background noise removal to clean up less‑than‑ideal environments.[^7]
• Use local recording so that even if their internet hiccups, the file recorded on their device stays clean, then uploads afterward.[^6]

For communities where guests are not “pro creators,” this low‑friction, browser‑only experience ends up mattering more than any spec sheet.

Can StreamYard or Riverside handle multitrack recordings for community podcasts?

Both StreamYard and Riverside support per‑participant recording, but they optimize for different things.

StreamYard for ongoing community shows

• On StreamYard’s free plan, you get 2 hours per month of local recording (record‑only, not live).8
• On paid plans, local recording hours are unlimited, subject to storage and per‑session limits.8
• Local recordings give you separate audio and video tracks per participant and asset, with audio available as WAV files.[^6]
• Advanced plans add separate cloud audio tracks for each participant, also in WAV.9

For a weekly or multi‑weekly community show with multiple guests, not having to think about monthly multitrack quotas is a big deal.

Riverside for recording‑first sessions

Riverside is positioned as a recording‑first tool with strong local multitrack support. On its pricing page, you’ll see:

• Free tier: 2 hours of multi‑track recordings.10
• Standard and Pro tiers: 5 and 15 hours of multi‑track recordings per month, with higher audio/video specs (up to 48kHz audio and 4K video).11

For some teams, those plan‑scoped caps are fine. For community managers running frequent, long panels or office hours, StreamYard’s unlimited local recording on paid plans tends to feel more forgiving over time.8

How do you get separate WAV audio files per guest for post‑production?

If your editor wants to duck background noise, fix crosstalk, or heavily polish an anchor’s mic, separate tracks aren’t optional—they’re the workflow.

StreamYard handles this in two layers:

• Local recordings: For each participant, StreamYard records audio and video on their device and uploads them as separate files after the session.6
• For audio, you can download individual WAV files per participant, giving you clean sources for your DAW.6
• On higher tiers, cloud individual audio tracks add another option: StreamYard captures separate WAV tracks for each participant directly in the cloud.9

A simple example for a community AMA:

• You and your guest join a StreamYard studio.
• You record for an hour, taking live questions from chat.
• Afterward, you export your guest’s WAV, your WAV, and the mixed video.
• Your editor cleans the audio, while you use AI Clips to carve out a few social moments.

You get the control your editor wants without forcing your members into complex setups.

How do StreamYard’s limits and pricing compare for ongoing community shows?

For U.S. community teams, the practical questions are usually: “Will this cap my growth?” and “Is the pricing predictable?”

On StreamYard:

• Free plan: 5 hours of storage and 2 hours/month of local recording; live streams on the free tier aren’t auto‑recorded to your library.12
• Paid plans: unlimited monthly streaming and recording with clear per-session limits (e.g., 10+ hours per stream, depending on tier), plus 50 hours of storage before you add more.13
• You can have up to 10 on‑screen participants on paid plans, with additional backstage slots on higher tiers.1

Riverside’s pricing page, by contrast, organizes around multitrack caps: 2, 5, or 15 hours of multi‑track recording per month across its tiers, with AI tools and higher specs added as you move up.11

For many community managers, StreamYard’s “don’t think about hours, just watch your per‑session length and storage” model is easier to budget and track.13

Where do AI clips and editing fit into a community podcast stack?

StreamYard’s AI strategy is intentionally narrow: give you leverage, not a full editing suite.

In practice, that looks like:

• AI Clips that help you quickly find and export highlight moments for social, newsletters, and member updates.
• Enough in‑app editing to trim and adjust clips, without pretending to replace a full DAW or NLE.

For deeper editorial work—multi‑track audio mastering, structural edits, frame‑level cuts—we at StreamYard recommend pairing your recordings with a dedicated editor. This avoids the “kitchen sink” effect where your recording tool tries to be everything and ends up slowing you down.

Riverside leans more heavily into built‑in AI editing (Magic Clips, AI transcriptions, show notes) on its paid tiers, which can be useful if you do not already have or plan to learn standalone tools.14

For most community managers, a hybrid approach works well: record and clip in StreamYard, then send the few episodes that need heavy polishing to your favorite editor.

What we recommend

• Start with StreamYard for community podcasts: multiguest browser access, local multitrack audio, branding, and AI clips make it a strong default for member‑driven shows.1
• Use Riverside when your workflow is primarily offline recording and you want more built‑in AI editing and plan‑based high‑spec recording.11
• Pair either tool with a dedicated audio or video editor for deep post‑production; don’t rely solely on in‑app editing for complex storytelling.
• As your community grows, standardize a simple guest checklist (browser, mic, quiet room) so your recording software—especially StreamYard—can deliver consistent results with minimal friction.