The 9 Best Podcastle Alternatives in 2026 (Now That It's Async)
Podcastle rebranded to Async in January 2026 and pivoted to chat-driven AI editing, with every paid tier metered by AI credits. If that pushed you to shop around, our top pick is EchoWave: it handles the editing, captions, audiograms and clips after your recording with no credit meter. Free and cheaper options are below, including tools that beat both of us at remote recording.
The 9 Best Podcastle Alternatives in 2026 (Now That It's Async) Features
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Why people look for a Podcastle alternative
First, the confusing part: Podcastle no longer exists under that name. On January 28, 2026 the company rebranded to Async, and podcastle.ai now redirects to async.com. The company says existing accounts, projects, pricing and billing carry over unchanged, and the product has repositioned around a chat-driven AI editing agent plus a developer voice API.
The reasons people leave are less about the name. Every paid tier runs on monthly AI credits (450 on Storyteller, 1,200 on Pro), which makes real costs unpredictable for heavy AI users. Trustpilot reviews report trials rolling into annual plans with charges of roughly $300 to $700 and refunds refused, and reviewers describe features being re-gated, including AI clips pulled from Pro subscribers and moved to a higher tier. There are also reliability complaints: failed recordings, upload and processing errors, and trouble downloading finished files. The free Basic plan watermarks videos and caps remote recording at 1 hour, lifetime.
How we picked: we tested each alternative in the browser and re-checked every pricing page in August 2026. Prices are USD, as checked August 2026.
TL;DR: EchoWave is the best overall Podcastle alternative for editing, captioning and repurposing episodes without a credit meter. Riverside if multi-guest remote recording is the job. Descript if you want the deepest text-based editing and audio production.
The best Podcastle alternatives in 2026, ranked
Every pick tested in the browser. Prices checked August 2026.
- 1
EchoWave
Our pickBest overall for podcasters who want everything after the recording, unmetered
EchoWave covers the half of Async's job that happens after capture, without the credit system. You can edit episodes by deleting words in the transcript (the video ripple-cuts to match), strip filler words and silences, and run auto subtitles in 50+ languages with 170+ caption presets and no monthly minute cap on free fast subtitles. Where Async meters transcription at 1 hour a month on Storyteller, none of this draws from a credit pool.
For promotion, podcast-to-video, the audiogram maker and waveform videos turn episodes into shareable clips, and the text-to-speech studio with voice cloning covers intros and corrections. A built-in recorder captures screen, camera or both for 60-minute solo takes. The honest caveat: EchoWave has no remote multi-guest recording studio at all. If you interview guests over the internet, Async or Riverside handles the capture and EchoWave takes over from the file.
- Pricing:
- Free plan; paid from $9/mo billed annually
- Free plan:
- Free forever: full editor, videos up to 60 minutes, 720p exports with a small badge; quick tools export with no watermark
- Best for:
- Podcasters who record locally or solo and want unmetered editing, captions and clips
Pros
- No AI credits for editing, captions or transcript-based cuts
- Text-based editing: delete words in the transcript, remove filler words and silences
- Audiograms, waveform videos and podcast-to-video built in
- Subtitles in 50+ languages with translation to 80+ languages, SRT/VTT import and export
- Screen and camera recorder with teleprompter for 60-minute solo takes
- Start with no account; free plan handles 60-minute videos
Cons
- No remote multi-guest recording studio, which is Async's and Riverside's core strength
- Free full-editor exports are 720p with a small badge; 1080p starts at $9/mo
- No AI avatars and no per-word overdub correction of your recorded voice
- 2
Riverside
riverside.comThe recording studio Async competes with, and the stronger one for capture
If Podcastle drew you in for remote interviews, Riverside is the specialist. It records each participant locally in up to 4K with progressive upload, so a bad connection does not ruin the take, and it layers on a text-based AI editor, Magic Clips, captions and translation into 30+ languages. It rates a 4.8 on G2 from over 1,500 reviews and renamed from riverside.fm to riverside.com in May 2026.
Against Async's free 1-hour lifetime remote cap, Riverside's free plan gives 2 hours of multi-track recording, also lifetime, with a watermark. The gripes are hour caps (15 hours of separate-track downloads a month on Pro), guests limited to Chrome and Edge, and an entry price that crept up to $24/mo billed annually.
- Pricing:
- From $24/mo billed annually (Pro, $288/yr); $29 monthly
- Free plan:
- Free: 2 hours of multi-track recording total, 720p, watermark on exports
- Best for:
- Serious interview shows that need studio-grade multi-guest capture
Pros
- Local multi-track recording up to 4K that survives bad internet
- Text-based editing plus Magic Clips for shorts
- G2 4.8 from 1,500+ reviews
- Livestreaming, webinars and publishing tools in one subscription
Cons
- Monthly hour caps on separate-track downloads (15h on Pro)
- Guests effectively limited to Chrome and Edge
- Paid entry crept up to $24/mo annual; the old $19 tier is gone
- Occasional session freezes and stuck uploads reported
- 3
Descript
descript.comThe deepest text-based editor, with real audio production underneath
Descript invented the editing style Async now sells through a chat agent: cut audio and video by editing the transcript. It pairs that with a genuinely strong podcast toolchain, multitrack editing, Studio Sound, filler-word removal, overdub voice cloning and remote recording via SquadCast, with transcription accuracy that leads the category in 25 languages.
The caution flags mirror Async's: a late-2025 pricing overhaul introduced dual metering (media hours plus AI credits), users report a month's credits can disappear in a day, and the rebuilt editor has stability complaints on long projects. Hobbyist starts at $16/mo billed annually with 10 media hours.
- Pricing:
- From $16/mo billed annually (Hobbyist); $24 monthly
- Free plan:
- Free: 60 transcription minutes/mo, 720p export, watermark, 5GB storage
- Best for:
- Podcasters who live in the transcript and want production-grade audio tools
Pros
- Category-defining transcript editing with multitrack and Studio Sound
- Overdub voice cloning and filler-word removal
- Remote recording included via SquadCast
- Top-tier transcription accuracy in 25 languages
Cons
- Dual meters: media hours plus AI credits on every plan
- Reports of crashes and lag on longer projects since the rebuild
- Frame-precise timeline work is clunky
- Per-user pricing
- 4
VEED
veed.ioA broader video suite if your podcast is really a video channel
VEED makes sense for podcasters whose output leans video-first: browser editing, strong auto subtitles with translation in 50+ languages on Pro, a screen recorder, AI avatars and text-to-speech in one per-seat subscription from $10/user/mo billed annually.
It shares Async's core annoyance rather than fixing it: everything AI runs on credit allowances, and users report credits running out before a single video is finished. Its free plan is demo-grade (720p, 10-minute cap, watermark), and Trustpilot reviews lean heavily on auto-renewal and refund complaints. Treat it as a video editor with podcast reach, not a podcast studio; there is no multi-guest remote recording.
- Pricing:
- From $10/user/mo billed annually (Creator, $116/yr); $20 monthly
- Free plan:
- Free: 720p, 10-minute export cap, watermark, 2GB storage, limited AI credits
- Best for:
- Video-first podcasters and clip-heavy marketing teams
Pros
- Wide toolset: editor, subtitles, recorder, avatars, TTS and voice cloning
- Subtitle translation into 50+ languages on Pro
- Cheaper entry than Async's Storyteller when billed annually
- Gen-AI Studio with 25+ text-to-video models
Cons
- AI credits meter everything, the same frustration Async users cite
- Billing complaints dominate its Trustpilot profile
- No remote multi-guest recording
- Free plan too limited for real publishing
- 5
OpusClip
opus.proThe clip-mining specialist for episode promotion
If what you actually used Podcastle for was turning episodes into social clips, OpusClip is the most mature dedicated tool: its ClipAnything model finds moments in any genre, reframes them per platform, scores them for virality and schedules the posts. It claims 16M+ users and offers an API.
Its economics need eyes open, the same way Async's credits do. Credits expire after 60 days on monthly plans, media and exports vanish 3 days after a subscription ends, and independent testing found around 40% of generated clips get discarded. Starter is $15/mo, monthly billing only.
- Pricing:
- From $15/mo (Starter, monthly only); Pro $29/mo or $14.50/mo annual
- Free plan:
- Free: 60 credits/mo (about 60 source minutes), watermark, 1080p, 3-day storage
- Best for:
- Shows that want automated clip selection and posting at volume
Pros
- Best-known AI clipping with per-clip virality scores
- Auto reframing and multi-platform scheduler
- API for automation
- Free tier to test the clip quality on your own show
Cons
- Credits expire in 60 days on monthly plans
- Projects become inaccessible about 3 days after cancelling
- Roughly 40% of generated clips were discarded in independent testing
- It only clips; you still need an editor for the episode itself
- 6
Headliner
headliner.appSet-and-forget audiograms straight from your RSS feed
Headliner automates the promo work Async treats as an AI feature: hook up your RSS feed and it auto-creates audiogram clips for each new episode, and can even auto-upload full episodes to YouTube. Its Eddy AI transcript editor is bundled in the same subscription, and the free tier is genuinely usable: 5 unwatermarked videos every month, plus unlimited watermarked ones, with ads in the interface.
Limits to know: the mobile app caps clips at 10 minutes of audio and users report hanging exports, output tops out at 1080p, and the paid tiers cap unwatermarked videos (10 a month on Basic) until Pro.
- Pricing:
- From $7.99/mo billed annually (Basic); Pro around $19.99/mo annual per trackers
- Free plan:
- Forever Free: 5 unwatermarked videos/mo plus unlimited watermarked, unlimited transcription, ad-supported
- Best for:
- Hands-off podcasters who want weekly audiograms without opening an editor
Pros
- RSS automations create clips per episode automatically
- Full-episode YouTube upload automation on Pro
- Eddy AI transcript editor included in one price
- Free tier includes 5 unwatermarked videos a month
Cons
- 1080p ceiling, no 4K
- Mobile app caps clips at 10 minutes and exports can hang
- Ads inside the free experience
- Small review footprint; official pricing page is bot-gated, so figures come from trackers
- 7
Wavve
wavve.coClassic audiograms plus a scheduler, now under Disctopia
Wavve is the veteran audiogram maker: waveform videos with captions, AI hot-spot detection to find shareable moments, auto-resizing per platform and a built-in social scheduler. In May 2025 it was acquired by podcast host Disctopia and now runs as 'Wavve powered by Disctopia', with features migrating into the Disctopia dashboard.
Two things to weigh against Async: there is no ongoing free plan (just a trial), and the metering is strict, 70 upload minutes and 18 video exports a month on the $7.99 Starter promo price. Reviews also cite unresponsive support and incorrect billing amounts, and parts of the site still show 2021-2022 testimonials.
- Pricing:
- From $7.99/mo (Starter promo; regular $9.99); annual billing 20% off per FAQ
- Free plan:
- No ongoing free plan; free trial only
- Best for:
- Podcasters wanting cheap audiograms with posting built in, ideally on Disctopia
Pros
- Purpose-built audiogram templates with captions
- AI hot-spot detection finds shareable moments
- Social scheduler included
- Cheapest paid entry on this list at the current promo price
Cons
- 70 upload minutes/mo on Starter; even the $98.99 Agency plan caps at 410
- No ongoing free plan
- Post-acquisition direction uncertain as features fold into Disctopia
- Support and billing complaints in reviews
- 8
HappyScribe
happyscribe.comThe transcription and subtitles specialist, with a human-accuracy upgrade
If transcripts and subtitles were your main Podcastle workload, HappyScribe goes deeper than any generalist: transcription, subtitles and translation across 150+ languages, a proper subtitle editor with SRT/VTT export, and an optional human proofreading service from about $2 per minute for 99%+ accuracy. SOC 2 Type II and EU data residency make it an easy sell to companies.
It is not a video editor, there is no waveform video or episode timeline, and the metering is real: Basic is $8.50/mo billed annually for 120 AI minutes a month, with overages at $0.20 per minute. Accuracy also drops on noisy, multi-speaker audio.
- Pricing:
- From $8.50/mo billed annually (Basic); $17 monthly
- Free plan:
- Free: one-time 10-minute trial of AI transcription; exports gated until paid
- Best for:
- Shows and teams that need accurate multi-language transcripts and subtitle files
Pros
- 150+ languages for transcription, subtitles and translation
- Optional human proofreading for 99%+ accuracy
- Dedicated subtitle editor with SRT/VTT export
- Enterprise-grade compliance (SOC 2 Type II, EU data residency)
Cons
- Minute-metered plans with $0.20/min overages
- Not an editor: no video timeline, audiograms or publishing
- Accuracy dips to 85-95% on noisy multi-speaker audio
- Free trial is a one-time 10 minutes
- 9
CapCut
capcut.comA general editor with real depth, if you outgrow podcast-specific tools
CapCut is here for podcasters who decide they want a full editor with apps everywhere: multi-track timeline, keyframes and chroma key free, 870K+ templates for shorts, and cross-device sync between mobile, desktop and web. For video podcast clips chasing TikTok trends, its template ecosystem is unmatched on this page.
The fine print has grown: free exports now carry a watermark, auto captions moved behind the Pro paywall through 2025, and there is no public price list. CapCut's own help page says cost varies by region, device and promotion; US trackers report Pro around $19.99/mo or $15/mo annual.
- Pricing:
- Pro reported around $19.99/mo or ~$15/mo annual (no public price list)
- Free plan:
- Free: core editing including multi-track and keyframes; watermarked exports, captions paywalled
- Best for:
- Video podcasters editing trend-driven clips across devices
Pros
- Deep free editing tools: keyframes, chroma key, multi-track
- Huge template library tuned for short-form
- Apps on mobile, desktop and web with cloud sync
- Tight TikTok integration
Cons
- Watermark on free exports; auto captions now require Pro
- No published pricing; varies by region and device
- No podcast-specific workflow: no RSS, audiograms or episode tools
Podcastle (now Async) vs EchoWave at a glance
| Feature | EchoWave | Async (formerly Podcastle) |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier reality | Free forever: full editor, videos up to 60 minutes | Free Basic: 3-hour video recording cap, 1 hour lifetime remote recording, 2GB storage |
| Watermark on free plan | None on quick tools; small badge in the full editor | Watermark on videos; removed on Storyteller |
| Starting paid price | $9/mo billed annually (Basic, $19 monthly) | $11.99/mo billed annually per user (Storyteller, $14.99 monthly) |
| AI credit metering | No credit system for editing, captions or transcript cuts | AI credits on every paid tier (450/mo on Storyteller, 1,200/mo on Pro) |
| Transcription and subtitles | Auto-transcribe 50+ languages, 170+ caption presets, no monthly minute cap on free fast subtitles | Metered: 1 hour/mo on Storyteller, 10 hours/mo on Pro |
| Text-based editing | Delete words in the transcript to cut; filler-word and silence removal | Chat-driven AI editing agent |
| Remote multi-guest recording | No remote studio; solo screen/camera recorder with teleprompter, 60-minute takes | Yes, a core feature (1 hour lifetime on the free plan) |
| AI voices | Text-to-speech studio plus voice cloning | AI voices and Revoice voice cloning; 10K characters TTS on free |
| Audiograms and waveform videos | Audiogram maker, waveform videos, podcast-to-video with scrub-accurate previews | Magic clips repurposing and thumbnails; not waveform-centric |
| Platforms | Any browser, plus Mac, Windows and Linux desktop apps | Web and iOS app |
| Privacy and AI training | Files processed for your session, not used to train AI models | Not stated on the pages we checked |
Best free Podcastle alternative
Depends on the job. For editing and captioning episodes, EchoWave is the strongest free option: full editor, 60-minute videos, subtitles without a monthly minute cap, and watermark-free exports from the quick tools. For free audiograms, Headliner gives you 5 unwatermarked videos every month on its Forever Free plan, which beats Async's watermark-on-everything free tier. For free remote recording, Riverside offers 2 lifetime hours of multi-track capture against Async's 1.
Cheapest Podcastle alternative
Async's Storyteller runs $11.99/mo billed annually. Under that: Wavve starts at $7.99/mo at its current promo price if 70 upload minutes a month is enough, HappyScribe is $8.50/mo annually for transcription and subtitles, and EchoWave Basic is $9/mo annually for a full editor with the badge removed, no credits attached. Check what you actually use before chasing the lowest sticker.
Podcastle alternative for remote interviews
Honest answer: EchoWave is not it. Riverside is the specialist here, with local multi-track recording up to 4K that survives bad connections, from $24/mo billed annually. Descript includes remote recording via SquadCast alongside its transcript editor. A workable split many shows use: record in Riverside, then edit, caption and cut promo clips in EchoWave with its podcast editor so none of the post work is metered.
How to switch from Podcastle to EchoWave
Your recordings are ordinary files, so moving takes minutes and no account.
-
1. Upload your episode
Export your audio or video from Async and drop it into the podcast editor in any browser. Files up to 60 minutes fit on the free plan.
-
2. Edit by transcript and caption
Delete words in the transcript to cut the recording, remove filler words and silences, then add auto subtitles with karaoke-style presets. None of it draws on credits.
-
3. Export episodes and clips
Render the full episode, then spin the highlights into audiograms and clips with podcast-to-video. Quick tools export with no watermark on the free plan.
Why people choose EchoWave
About the EchoWave team
EchoWave is a browser-based video and audio editor built by Lemon Vault LLC since 2018. The people who build the editor write these guides and test every step in the production app before publishing.
Podcastle alternative FAQ
What happened to Podcastle? Is it now Async?
Yes. Podcastle rebranded to Async on January 28, 2026, and podcastle.ai now redirects to async.com. The company repositioned from a podcast tool to a unified AI content platform with a chat-driven editing agent and a developer voice API, and says existing accounts, projects, pricing tiers and billing remain unchanged. The G2 listing was renamed Async Creator. Your login and projects should still work; only the name and direction changed.
What is the best free Podcastle alternative?
EchoWave for editing: the free plan includes the full editor, 60-minute videos, transcript-based cutting and subtitles without a monthly minute cap, with watermark-free exports from the quick tools. Headliner for audiograms: its Forever Free plan includes 5 unwatermarked videos a month. Riverside for capture: 2 lifetime hours of free multi-track remote recording, double Async's 1-hour lifetime cap.
What is cheaper than Podcastle?
Async's cheapest paid plan, Storyteller, is $11.99/mo billed annually per user. Cheaper options: Wavve from $7.99/mo (promo price, tight 70-minute monthly upload cap), HappyScribe at $8.50/mo annually for transcription and subtitles, and EchoWave Basic at $9/mo annually for a full editor with no credit metering. Prices as checked August 2026.
Does Podcastle (Async) put a watermark on videos?
On the free Basic plan, yes: videos carry a watermark until you pay for Storyteller at $11.99/mo billed annually. EchoWave's approach differs: the dedicated quick tools (trim, crop, compress, convert) export with no watermark even on the free plan, and the full editor's small badge disappears from $9/mo.
Podcastle vs EchoWave: which should I pick?
Pick Async if you record remote interviews inside one platform and like chat-driven AI editing, AI voices and its all-in-one studio. Pick EchoWave if the recording is already done: transcript-based editing, captions in 50+ languages, audiograms and podcast-to-video run without AI credits, and paid plans start at $9/mo billed annually. EchoWave has no remote multi-guest recording, so interview shows may pair it with a dedicated recorder.
Podcastle vs Riverside: which records better?
Riverside, for capture quality. It records each guest locally in up to 4K with progressive upload, holds a 4.8 on G2 from more than 1,500 reviews, and its free plan includes 2 lifetime hours of multi-track recording versus Async's 1. Async counters with a broader AI studio: chat editing, AI voices and thumbnails in one place. Riverside's watch-outs are monthly hour caps and Chrome/Edge-only guest support.
Podcastle vs Descript: which edits better?
Descript has the deeper editing stack: transcript-based cutting with multitrack, Studio Sound, overdub voice cloning and top-rated transcription in 25 languages, from $16/mo billed annually. Async's editing runs through its chat agent and credits. Both meter AI heavily; Descript users report a month's credits can go in a day, and Async plans carry 450 to 1,200 credits a month. For unmetered transcript cuts and captions, EchoWave is the odd one out: no credits at all.
Can I edit a podcast by transcript without paying for AI credits?
Yes, that is EchoWave's setup: deleting words in the transcript ripple-cuts the video, and filler-word and silence removal are included, with no credit system attached to editing or captions. Async structures the same jobs around monthly AI credits (450 on Storyteller), and Descript bills through media hours plus AI credits. If your show runs long or weekly, unmetered editing is the difference between a flat bill and a variable one.
Why are people leaving Podcastle (Async)?
The recurring themes in reviews: trials rolling into annual plans with charges of roughly $300 to $700 and refunds refused, features re-gated to higher tiers after purchase (reviewers cite AI clips pulled from Pro), reliability issues with failed recordings and stuck uploads, and credit allowances that make monthly costs unpredictable. The product itself remains capable, with a 4.5 on G2, which is why the billing pattern frustrates people enough to shop around.
The honest verdict
Edit your podcast without counting credits Free plan, no signup required
Transcript editing, captions and audiograms in your browser. No credit card required.
Get Started →
How we checked
Sources we relied on for the claims above:
- Async pricing (async.com) (Async, formerly Podcastle)
- Podcastle is now Async (async.com) (Async announcement)
- Async reviews on Trustpilot (trustpilot.com) (Trustpilot)
- Riverside pricing (riverside.com) (Riverside)
- Descript pricing (descript.com) (Descript)
- VEED pricing (veed.io) (VEED)
- OpusClip pricing (opus.pro) (OpusClip)
- Headliner pricing (spotsaas.com) (SpotSaaS tracker; headliner.app blocks direct fetch)
- Wavve pricing (wavve.co) (Wavve)
- HappyScribe pricing (happyscribe.com) (HappyScribe)
- How much does CapCut Pro cost? (capcut.com) (CapCut Help Center)
Every competitor claim on this page was re-verified against the sources above on August 3, 2026.
Pricing and limits change often. If anything here is out of date, email hello@echowave.io with a link and we'll correct it. Our editorial policy explains how we test and update comparisons.
Trademark and comparison notice. Async (formerly Podcastle) and all related names, logos, product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. EchoWave is an independent product and is not affiliated with, associated with, authorised by, endorsed by, sponsored by, or in any way officially connected to Async (formerly Podcastle) or its owners. Any third-party names, logos and trademarks are used here only to identify and compare the products honestly (nominative fair use) and do not imply any endorsement, partnership or affiliation.
This comparison reflects EchoWave's own opinion and our understanding of publicly available information believed accurate at the time of writing. Third-party features, pricing and availability change frequently and can vary by region, so figures may be out of date; please confirm the current details on Async (formerly Podcastle)'s official website before making a decision. EchoWave makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any third-party information shown here. If you believe anything on this page is inaccurate or out of date, please contact us and we will review it promptly.
