Descript vs Loom vs Riverside
A side-by-side look at Descript, Loom and Riverside for filmmakers: what each one can do, what it costs, and where they actually differ.
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Edit video and podcasts by editing the transcript, with an AI co-editor built in
- Price
- Free (1 hr/mo, 720p, watermarked) · Hobbyist $16/mo annual ($24 monthly) · Creator $24/mo annual ($35 monthly) · Business $50/mo annual ($65 monthly, per person)
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Podcast and interview editing from the transcript
-
Screen and camera video messages for teams, with AI summaries and edit-by-transcript.
- Price
- Free Starter plan; Business $18/user/mo and Business + AI $24/user/mo billed monthly (annual saves up to 17%)
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Client review of a rough cut or dailies with time-stamped comments
-
Record remote podcast and video interviews in 4K, then edit by text and prompt.
- Price
- Free; Pro $24/mo billed annually ($29 monthly); Business custom
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Remote podcast interviews recorded at 4K with separate tracks for post
The short version
Where they differ
- Loom is the only one without text to video.
All 3 offer: team collaboration, MCP server, free tier.
Feature by feature
Descript vs Loom vs Riverside: capabilities
| Descript | Loom | Riverside | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (1 hr/mo, 720p, watermarked) · Hobbyist $16/mo annual ($24 monthly) · Creator $24/mo annual ($35 monthly) · Business $50/mo annual ($65 monthly, per person) | Free Starter plan; Business $18/user/mo and Business + AI $24/user/mo billed monthly (annual saves up to 17%) | Free; Pro $24/mo billed annually ($29 monthly); Business custom |
| Node / flow builder | No | Partial | No |
| AI agent | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Chat assistant | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Team collaboration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Text to image | Partial | No | Yes |
| Image editing | Partial | No | Not confirmed |
| Text to video | Yes | No | Yes |
| Voice / TTS | Yes | No | Not confirmed |
| Music & SFX | Yes | No | Not confirmed |
| Upscaling | Not confirmed | Partial | Partial |
| Custom training | Partial | No | Not confirmed |
| Third-party models | Yes | No | Partial |
| Public API | Yes | Not confirmed | Partial |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop / local | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page. "Not confirmed" means the vendor doesn't say.
Plans
Pricing compared
Descript
| Free | $0monthly |
|---|---|
| Hobbyist | $16 annual / $24 monthlyper person |
| Creator | $24 annual / $35 monthlyper person |
| Business | $50 annual / $65 monthlyper person |
| Enterprise | Customcustom |
Loom
| Starter | $0free |
|---|---|
| Business | $18monthly per user |
| Business + AI | $24monthly per user |
| Enterprise | customannual, custom |
Riverside
| Free | $0n/a |
|---|---|
| Pro | $24/mo annual ($288/yr); $29 monthlyannual or monthly |
| Grow | $34/mo annual ($408/yr); $39 monthlyannual or monthly |
| Webinar | $79/mo annual; $99 monthlyannual or monthly |
| Business | Customby request |
The verdict
Which one should you pick?
Descript
Pick it for
- Podcast and interview editing from the transcript
- Talking-head YouTube videos: filler word removal, retakes, captions
- Webinar and course repurposing into clips with captions and translation
Stands out
- Text-first editing: cut, reorder and remove filler words by editing the transcript, which is faster than frame-by-frame cutting for talking-head and interview footage.
- Recording and editing in one place: Rooms records each participant locally (up to 4K on paid plans) and the files open directly in the editor, with SquadCast now part of the product.
Watch out
- Underlord is still labelled beta and its per-prompt credit cost varies between runs of the same prompt
- Free plan is limited to 1 hour per month, 720p, with a watermark, and one seat
Loom
Pick it for
- Client review of a rough cut or dailies with time-stamped comments
- Screen-capture tutorials and how-to videos for a production team
- Recording a script read or a voice-over take for an editor who needs the transcript
Stands out
- Recording-first: screen, camera and mic captured together, shared as a link in seconds, with no export step needed for the viewer.
- Native to Atlassian: Jira, Confluence and Jira Service Management integrations, plus Loom AI turning recordings into tickets and docs.
Watch out
- Free Starter caps at 25 videos per person, 5-minute recordings and 720p
- Not a picture or timeline editor: no multitrack timeline, color, effects or generative video
Riverside
Pick it for
- Remote podcast interviews recorded at 4K with separate tracks for post
- Turning a long interview into vertical clips, show notes and social posts
- Documentary talking-head interviews that need clean multitrack audio from remote subjects
Stands out
- Local multitrack capture: each guest is recorded on their own device, so a bad connection degrades the stream, not the file.
- Transcript-first editing: the AI editing agent and edit-by-prompt work from the transcript, so filler removal and cuts happen in text.
Watch out
- Free plan exports are 720p with a watermark, and recording is capped at 2 hours one-off
- Recording caps are inconsistent: the pricing table lists hours per month, while the FAQ says recording is unlimited and the cap only applies to downloads
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page, checked against vendor pricing and changelog pages (oldest check: ). Sources are listed on each tool's page.