Comparison
Riverside is a VC-backed all-in-one platform trying to serve everyone at once. Iris stays focused on one thing: clean remote recordings with the simplest guest experience possible. Here's the honest comparison.
| Feature | Iris | Riverside |
|---|---|---|
| Local recording per speaker | ✓ | ✓ |
| Guest setup | Browser link, no account | Link, sometimes app needed |
| 4K local video | ✓ | ✓ |
| Separate audio & video tracks | ✓ Both included | ✓ |
| Learning curve | Very low | Medium–high |
| Built-in editing suite | No (use your own editor) | Basic built-in |
| Live streaming | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ (limited) |
| Paid plans start at | $9/mo | $15/mo |
Guests click a link and record — no account, no app. Riverside sometimes prompts guests to install software. Iris never does.
Riverside is trying to be everything for everyone: recording, editing, clips, hosting, webinars, and more. That creates bloat and clutter for podcasters who just want to record interviews. Iris is built around the recording session.
Riverside is a VC-backed company building a broad platform, not a small business focused narrowly on podcast recording. Iris is deliberately simpler. You pay for recording, not for a stack of features you may never touch.
"Iris is amazing. The audio quality is super sharp and the dashboard is so intuitive. This has absolutely saved me hours in the day."
Cleaner guest experience. Simpler workflow. Same studio-quality recording.
★★★★★ 4.9/5 · Helping podcasters since 2019
