Is Riverside better than Zoom for recording?

Yes, if you publish the recording. Riverside records each person on their own computer in up to 4K. Zoom records the call and stops at 720p on Free and Pro. For meetings nobody publishes, Zoom is enough.

Is Zoom's recording quality good enough to publish?

Not for high-quality video. Zoom records at 720p on Free and Pro, and 1080p on Business, Education and Enterprise, per its recording documentation. For a mostly-audio podcast on a good connection, it can be fine.

Does Zoom record separate tracks for each person?

Yes, for audio only, if you switch on the setting that saves a separate audio file for each participant before the call starts.

How much does Riverside cost?

Riverside Pro is $24 a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly, with 15 hours a month of separate files to download. Grow is $34 or $39 with 20 hours, and Webinar is $79 or $99 with 25 hours. Recording itself is unlimited. The free plan also records without a limit at 720p, with separate files for 2 hours.

Yes. The free plan records as long as you like as one combined file, and gives 2 hours, once, of separate files for each person. It is 720p with a watermark. Paid plans start at $24 a month billed yearly, and each has a 14-day free trial.

Do guests need an account to join Riverside?

No. Guests click the link you send, with no sign-up and nothing to install. Riverside then records each guest on their own computer.

Can Riverside or Zoom make short video ads?

Not really. Riverside's Magic Clips cut short clips from a recording, but neither tool builds an ad. Cutroom turns one video of you talking into a finished 9:16 ad, and your first video is free.

Comparison

Riverside vs Zoom: Riverside for podcasts, Zoom for meetings

Cutroomvs

Riversidevs

Zoom

Riverside records each person on their own computer, in up to 4K, which makes it better for podcasts and interviews you publish. Zoom records the call itself, at 720p on Free and Pro, which is fine for meetings.

In short

Riverside is better for podcasts and interviews you publish. Zoom is fine for recording meetings and calls.
Riverside records each guest on their own computer, in up to 4K on paid plans.
Zoom records the call itself, at 720p on Free and Pro and 1080p on Business.
Riverside Pro costs $24 a month billed yearly. Zoom Pro costs $14.16 per user a month billed yearly.
Zoom's free meetings stop at 40 minutes. Riverside's free plan records as long as you like, with separate files for 2 hours.

Man using laptop and microphone for podcasting in a modern setting. — Photo by Jeremy Enns on Pexels

Riverside's top quality on every paid plan: 4K
Zoom's recording quality on Free and Pro: 720p
Riverside Pro per month, billed yearly: $24

Riverside vs Zoom at a glance

Here is what each tool is, what it costs and who it suits. Cutroom is added for anyone who needs short video ads.

Riverside vs Zoom at a glance

Prices and plans read from each vendor's own pricing page on 21 September 2026.

Tool	Best for	Editing approach	Platform	Pricing from
Riverside	Recording podcasts and interviews remotely in high quality	Records each guest on their own computer as a separate file. You edit by changing the transcript.	Web, Mac app, mobile apps	Free plan; Pro $24/month yearly ($29 monthly), 14-day free trial
Zoom	Recording calls you already hold on Zoom	Records the meeting, to your computer or to the cloud on Pro	Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, browser	Free Basic plan; Pro $14.16/user/month, annual
Cutroom	Turning one video of you talking into a finished 9:16 ad	Edits your video for you: cuts, captions, b-roll, hook	Web	First video free; Lite $19.99/month

Riverside
Best for
Recording podcasts and interviews remotely in high quality
Approach
Records each guest on their own computer as a separate file. You edit by changing the transcript.
Platform
Web, Mac app, mobile apps
Pricing from
Free plan; Pro $24/month yearly ($29 monthly), 14-day free trial
Zoom
Best for
Recording calls you already hold on Zoom
Approach
Records the meeting, to your computer or to the cloud on Pro
Platform
Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, browser
Pricing from
Free Basic plan; Pro $14.16/user/month, annual
Cutroom
Best for
Turning one video of you talking into a finished 9:16 ad
Approach
Edits your video for you: cuts, captions, b-roll, hook
Platform
Web
Pricing from
First video free; Lite $19.99/month

What is the difference between Riverside and Zoom?

Zoom records the call as it happens, so a bad connection ends up in the file. Riverside records on each person's own computer, then uploads the file to Riverside.

Riverside is a recording studio for podcasts and interviews. Each guest gets a separate audio and video file, in up to 4K.
Zoom is a meetings tool that can also record. Recordings are 720p on Free and Pro, and 1080p on Business, Education and Enterprise.
Zoom can also save a separate audio file for each person, if you switch that setting on.
In both, guests join with a link you send. Riverside guests need no account and nothing to install. Zoom guests join from the Zoom app or a browser.

Riverside and Zoom side by side

Riverside records each person on their own computer. Zoom records the call as it comes in.

What it is
Riverside
A recording studio in your browser
Zoom
A meetings tool that records
Recording quality
Riverside
Up to 4K on every paid plan
Zoom
720p Free and Pro, 1080p Business
Where the file is made
Riverside
On each person's own computer
Zoom
From the live call
Quality depends on
Riverside
Everyone's own computer
Zoom
Everyone's internet connection
When the connection is bad
Riverside
The upload takes longer afterwards
Zoom
The glitches end up in the file
Cheapest paid plan
Riverside
$24 a month, yearly
Zoom
$14.16 per user a month, yearly

	Riverside	Zoom
What it is	A recording studio in your browser	A meetings tool that records
Recording quality	Up to 4K on every paid plan	720p Free and Pro, 1080p Business
Where the file is made	On each person's own computer	From the live call
Quality depends on	Everyone's own computer	Everyone's internet connection
When the connection is bad	The upload takes longer afterwards	The glitches end up in the file
Cheapest paid plan	$24 a month, yearly	$14.16 per user a month, yearly

This is the whole editor

Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.

Riverside vs Zoom pricing

Riverside lets you record as much as you like on paid plans. The plans differ in how many hours of separate files, one per person, you can download each month. Zoom charges per user.

Zoom Basic is free, with meetings up to 40 minutes, 100 participants and recording to your computer.
Zoom Pro costs $14.16 per user a month billed yearly, or $16.99 monthly, with 10 GB of cloud recording per user.
Zoom Business costs $18.33 per user a month billed yearly, or $21.99 monthly. It is the first plan that records at 1080p.
Riverside Pro costs $24 a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly. You can download 15 hours a month of separate files, in up to 4K, with no watermark.
Riverside Grow costs $34 a month billed yearly, with 20 hours a month of separate files. Webinar costs $79 a month billed yearly, with 25 hours.
When those hours run out, you can still record and open your recordings. You cannot download new separate files until the next month, or until you upgrade.
Riverside's free plan records as long as you like as one combined file, and gives 2 hours, once, of separate files. Every paid plan also has a 14-day free trial.

Riverside and Zoom plans

From riverside.com/pricing and zoom.us/pricing, read 21 September 2026. Riverside's hours are the separate-file downloads on its plan cards.

Plan	Price	Recording	Quality
Riverside Free	$0	Unlimited recording as one file; 2 hours of separate files, once	720p, with a watermark
Riverside Pro	$24/month yearly, $29 monthly	Unlimited recording; 15 hours a month of separate files to download	Up to 4K
Riverside Grow	$34/month yearly, $39 monthly	Unlimited recording; 20 hours a month of separate files to download	Up to 4K
Riverside Webinar	$79/month yearly, $99 monthly	Unlimited recording; 25 hours a month of separate files to download	Up to 4K
Riverside Business	Contact sales	No limit on separate files	Up to 4K
Zoom Basic	Free	Meetings up to 40 minutes, saved to your computer	720p
Zoom Pro	$14.16/user/month yearly, $16.99 monthly	Saved to your computer, or 10 GB in the cloud per user	720p
Zoom Business	$18.33/user/month yearly, $21.99 monthly	Saved to your computer, or 10 GB in the cloud per user	1080p

Plan: Riverside Free
Price
$0
Recording
Unlimited recording as one file; 2 hours of separate files, once
Quality
720p, with a watermark
Plan: Riverside Pro
Price
$24/month yearly, $29 monthly
Recording
Unlimited recording; 15 hours a month of separate files to download
Quality
Up to 4K
Plan: Riverside Grow
Price
$34/month yearly, $39 monthly
Recording
Unlimited recording; 20 hours a month of separate files to download
Quality
Up to 4K
Plan: Riverside Webinar
Price
$79/month yearly, $99 monthly
Recording
Unlimited recording; 25 hours a month of separate files to download
Quality
Up to 4K
Plan: Riverside Business
Price
Contact sales
Recording
No limit on separate files
Quality
Up to 4K
Plan: Zoom Basic
Price
Free
Recording
Meetings up to 40 minutes, saved to your computer
Quality
720p
Plan: Zoom Pro
Price
$14.16/user/month yearly, $16.99 monthly
Recording
Saved to your computer, or 10 GB in the cloud per user
Quality
720p
Plan: Zoom Business
Price
$18.33/user/month yearly, $21.99 monthly
Recording
Saved to your computer, or 10 GB in the cloud per user
Quality
1080p

When to choose Riverside

Riverside makes more sense if you publish the recording as a podcast, a video or an interview.

You interview guests you cannot book twice. Each guest records on their own computer, so a bad connection does not ruin the file.
You want high quality. Pro records up to 4K video and 48 kHz audio.
You want to fix each voice on its own. Riverside saves a separate audio and video file for every person, so you can fix one person's sound without touching the others.
You want to edit in the same tool. In Riverside you edit by changing the transcript, and Magic Clips cuts short clips for you, even on the free plan.
You stream live. Grow adds Full HD live streaming and streaming to several platforms at once.

When to choose Zoom

Zoom makes more sense if the recording is for the people who were in the meeting, not for publishing.

You record internal meetings, customer calls or training sessions.
Your guests already use Zoom. They join from the Zoom app or a browser with the link you send.
You want to record for free. The free plan records to your computer, but meetings stop at 40 minutes.
You want meeting summaries. AI Companion writes them on Pro and above.
Keep in mind that Zoom only saves a separate audio file for each person if you switch that setting on before the call.

Where Cutroom fits

Riverside and Zoom record conversations. Cutroom does not record anything: it edits a short video of one person talking into a finished vertical ad.

You upload one video of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long, filmed on your phone or cut from a recording.
Cutroom cuts it, adds captions timed to your voice, puts b-roll on the words you pick and adds a hook and music.
Stock clips never cover more than about half the video, so your face stays on screen.
Lite costs $19.99 a month and covers about 10 videos. A 30-second ad uses 110 of its 1,250 credits.
Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark, which Lite removes.

Riverside and Cutroom compared

Riverside records the conversation. Cutroom does not record: it turns one short video of you talking into an ad.

Records remote guests
Riverside: On their own computer, up to 4KCutroom: No recording at all
Hour-long sessions
Riverside: Full episodesCutroom: Videos up to 3 minutes
A finished ad from one video
Riverside: Clips, not adsCutroom: Cuts, captions, b-roll, music
B-roll placed on the words
Riverside: Your own footage onlyCutroom: Free stock clips, never more than about half the video
Captions timed to your voice
Riverside: Clip tools, you style themCutroom: 40 caption styles, burnt in
Free to try
Riverside: Free plan: unlimited recording as one file, separate files for 2 hours, 720p, watermarkCutroom: First video free, no card

	Riverside	Cutroom
Records remote guests	On their own computer, up to 4K	No recording at all
Hour-long sessions	Full episodes	Videos up to 3 minutes
A finished ad from one video	Clips, not ads	Cuts, captions, b-roll, music
B-roll placed on the words	Your own footage only	Free stock clips, never more than about half the video
Captions timed to your voice	Clip tools, you style them	40 caption styles, burnt in
Free to try	Free plan: unlimited recording as one file, separate files for 2 hours, 720p, watermark	First video free, no card

Which one should you choose?

It comes down to whether you publish the recording, and whether you need an episode or an ad.

Which one should you choose

Choose Riverside if you publish a show with remote guests and need a separate recording of each person in high quality.
Choose Zoom if the recording is for meetings, calls or training that people watch once.
Choose Cutroom if you need a short vertical ad, not an episode. Your first video is free.

Questions people ask

Is Riverside better than Zoom for recording?: Yes, if you publish the recording. Riverside records each person on their own computer in up to 4K. Zoom records the call and stops at 720p on Free and Pro. For meetings nobody publishes, Zoom is enough.
Is Zoom's recording quality good enough to publish?: Not for high-quality video. Zoom records at 720p on Free and Pro, and 1080p on Business, Education and Enterprise, per its recording documentation. For a mostly-audio podcast on a good connection, it can be fine.
Does Zoom record separate tracks for each person?: Yes, for audio only, if you switch on the setting that saves a separate audio file for each participant before the call starts.
How much does Riverside cost?: Riverside Pro is $24 a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly, with 15 hours a month of separate files to download. Grow is $34 or $39 with 20 hours, and Webinar is $79 or $99 with 25 hours. Recording itself is unlimited. The free plan also records without a limit at 720p, with separate files for 2 hours.
Is Riverside free?: Yes. The free plan records as long as you like as one combined file, and gives 2 hours, once, of separate files for each person. It is 720p with a watermark. Paid plans start at $24 a month billed yearly, and each has a 14-day free trial.
Do guests need an account to join Riverside?: No. Guests click the link you send, with no sign-up and nothing to install. Riverside then records each guest on their own computer.
Can Riverside or Zoom make short video ads?: Not really. Riverside's Magic Clips cut short clips from a recording, but neither tool builds an ad. Cutroom turns one video of you talking into a finished 9:16 ad, and your first video is free.

Need a short ad after the recording? Upload one video of you talking and get the finished ad back. Your first video is free.

Try for freeYour first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it