OBS Studio vs Riverside
A side-by-side look at OBS Studio and Riverside for filmmakers: what each one can do, what it costs, and where they actually differ.
-
Free, open-source app for live streaming and recording scenes from any source
- Price
- Free. No paid tier; optional donations via Open Collective or Patreon
- Learning
- Moderate
- Best for
- Recording a live performance, panel or stage event from several cameras with a laptop
-
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
- Only Riverside offers AI agent.
- Only Riverside offers chat assistant.
- Only Riverside offers team collaboration.
- Only Riverside offers text to image.
- Only Riverside offers text to video.
- Only Riverside offers MCP server.
- Only Riverside offers mobile app.
- Only OBS Studio offers open source.
All 2 offer: desktop / local, free tier.
Feature by feature
OBS Studio vs Riverside: capabilities
| OBS Studio | Riverside | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. No paid tier; optional donations via Open Collective or Patreon | Free; Pro $24/mo billed annually ($29 monthly); Business custom |
| AI agent | No | Yes |
| Chat assistant | No | Yes |
| Team collaboration | No | Yes |
| Text to image | No | Yes |
| Text to video | No | Yes |
| Upscaling | No | Partial |
| Third-party models | No | Partial |
| Public API | Yes | Partial |
| MCP server | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | Yes |
| Desktop / local | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Yes | Not confirmed |
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page. "Not confirmed" means the vendor doesn't say.
Plans
Pricing compared
OBS Studio
| OBS Studio | $0free |
|---|
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?
OBS Studio
Pick it for
- Recording a live performance, panel or stage event from several cameras with a laptop
- Recording screen walkthroughs and tutorials for film or editing courses
- Feeding a scene into video calls or a client review via the virtual camera
Stands out
- Free with no paid tier, no watermark, no export or recording-length cap, and no account required
- Unlimited scenes and sources, with Studio Mode, Multiview and per-source audio filters (noise gate, noise suppression, gain) plus VST plugin support
Watch out
- Not an editor: recordings need to go into a separate NLE or export tool
- Interface is dense and has a real learning curve for first-time users
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.