Out of LineBest Podcast Recording Software for Remote Interviews (2026)
Every guest on Out of Line has been somewhere else when we recorded. Different cities, different home offices, different levels of wifi optimism. I have never once had a guest in a studio with me, and I have no plans to start.
So the recording software is not a nice to have. It is the whole production. Here is how I would pick it if I were starting over today.
The one feature that matters more than everything else
Before you look at a single price, ask one question: does this tool record the call, or does it record each person?
Recording the call is what Zoom and most meeting software do. Whatever the internet does during the conversation is what you get. Frozen face, robot voice, that half second where your guest turns into a Minecraft character. All of it is in the file forever.
Local recording works differently. Each person is recorded on their own computer, at full quality, and the file uploads in the background. The live call can stutter and the final recording still comes out clean. You also get a separate track for each person, which means you can fix one voice without wrecking the other.
If you take nothing else from this post, take this: for a show you plan to publish, local recording is not optional.
Quick comparison
Prices below come from each company's official pricing page as of November 2026. They change, so click through before you buy.
| Riverside | Descript | StreamYard | Zoom | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Records each person locally | Yes | Yes, through Rooms | Yes, unlimited from the Core plan up | No, records the call |
| Built for | Recording content to publish | Editing by text | Livestreaming | Meetings |
| Free plan | Yes, up to 720p | Yes, 2 hours of Rooms recording | Yes, 2 hours of local recording a month | Yes |
| Paid plans start at | $24 a month billed yearly, $29 monthly | See Descript pricing | $14.99 a month billed yearly | You probably already pay for it |
| Best for | Interview shows with remote guests | People who hate editing | Live shows | Internal recordings |
Sources: Riverside pricing, Descript pricing, StreamYard pricing.
1. Riverside: my pick for remote interviews
I record every episode of Out of Line on Riverside. I send the guest a link, they open it in their browser, and we are recording. No download, no account, no ten minute tech support session before the interview even starts.
That last part matters more than people think. My guests are founders, CEOs and staffing executives. They are busy, and they are doing me a favor. If joining takes more than one click, some of them will bail, and the ones who stay will be annoyed before we say hello.
What you get, per Riverside's pricing page:
- A free plan that records up to 720p, with a one time trial of separate track downloads
- Pro at $29 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly, with recording up to 4K
- Grow at $39 a month, or $34 a month billed yearly, with more separate track download hours
Recording each person locally is the headline. The AI editing and clip tools are the bonus, and they are how one interview becomes a week of social posts without hiring anyone.
I wrote a full Riverside review if you want the details, and a Riverside vs Zoom comparison if you are trying to talk yourself into staying on Zoom.
2. Descript: pick it if editing is your real problem
Descript's whole idea is that you edit video and audio by editing the transcript. Delete a sentence in the text, it disappears from the recording. For a lot of people that is the part of podcasting that makes them quit, so it is a fair reason to choose it.
Descript records remote guests through a feature called Rooms. According to Descript's pricing page, the free plan includes 2 hours of Rooms recording, and the paid plans range from 5 to 25 hours of Rooms recording a month depending on the tier.
The tradeoff: those recording hours are capped, and the product is built around editing first. If your show is a weekly hour long interview, do the math on those hours before you commit.
3. StreamYard: pick it if you go live
StreamYard is a livestreaming tool first. If your show goes out live to LinkedIn or YouTube and the recording is a byproduct, it is a strong fit.
It does offer local recordings. Per StreamYard's pricing page, the free plan includes 2 hours of local recordings a month, the Core plan ($44.99 a month, or $35.99 a month billed yearly) includes unlimited local recordings, and the Advanced plan adds 4K local recordings.
If you never stream, you are paying for a control room you will not use.
4. Zoom: fine for testing, not for publishing
I am not going to pretend Zoom is useless. Everyone already has it, your guests know how to use it, and it costs you nothing new. If you want to find out whether you even like hosting a show, record three episodes on Zoom and see.
But Zoom records the call. Every glitch is in the file. That is fine for an internal training series. It is not fine for the thing you are using to build your reputation with buyers.
How to choose in about thirty seconds
- You interview remote guests and publish video or audio: Riverside.
- Editing is what keeps you from publishing: Descript.
- Your show is live first: StreamYard.
- It is internal, or a test run: Zoom.
What actually makes a remote interview sound good
Software fixes the connection problem. It does not fix everything. A few things that matter as much as the tool:
Headphones on everyone. Without them, your voice comes out of your guest's speakers and back into their microphone. Echo city.
A small room beats a big one. Hard walls and empty space make everyone sound like they are calling from a parking garage. Closets, bedrooms and rooms with a rug and curtains sound better than a beautiful empty office.
Send the guest one short email. Link, time, headphones, quiet room, laptop plugged in. That is it. Nobody reads a two page setup guide.
Let it run long. The best part of most conversations shows up after the first twenty minutes, when the polished version runs out. Listen to my conversation with Jamee Niles about walking away from a VP title, or Chip Mardis on why companies get veteran hiring wrong. Both were recorded remotely, and both get good once we stop being polite.
The bottom line
Pick the tool that records each person separately, make it easy for your guest to join, and then get out of the way. Your listeners will never notice good audio. They will absolutely notice bad audio, and they will leave.
For remote interviews, that tool is Riverside. It is what I use, and I have not found a reason to switch.
If you are just getting started, read how to start a business podcast as a founder next.
Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you sign up through them I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only link tools I use for my own show.
Questions people ask
What is the best software for recording a remote podcast interview?
For a show you publish, use a tool that records each person on their own device, like Riverside. I record every Out of Line episode on it. Descript and StreamYard also offer local recording; Zoom records the live call.
Can I record a podcast interview on Zoom?
Yes, and plenty of shows start there. The catch is that Zoom records the call itself, so a guest's bad connection ends up in your episode.
Is there free podcast recording software for remote guests?
Riverside, Descript and StreamYard all have free plans with limits. Riverside's free plan records up to 720p, and StreamYard's free plan includes 2 hours of local recordings a month.
What does local recording mean?
Each person's audio and video is recorded on their own computer and uploaded, instead of recording the compressed call. The live call can glitch and the final file still comes out clean.