Alternatives › SquadCast
Best SquadCast Alternatives for Podcasters in 2026
SquadCast records clean remote interviews. If you also want to edit and publish without switching tools, these are the options worth comparing.
Alternatives › SquadCast
SquadCast records clean remote interviews. If you also want to edit and publish without switching tools, these are the options worth comparing.
Why people switch
Switch when you'd rather not wait for SquadCast to be folded into Descript Rooms, when one recording hour a month on the free plan isn't enough, or when you're paying for a recorder plus a separate editor and host and want the edit, show notes and publishing to happen where the recording lands.
Ranked
Best for recording, editing and publishing a podcast in one place
Hilite records remote guests in the browser with a separate local track per voice, then cleans the audio, edits by transcript, drafts show notes and publishes the episode.
Pros
Cons
Best for high-resolution remote video
Riverside records local audio and video for each participant, with text-based editing and short clips built in.
Pros
Cons
Best for recording plus hosting
Zencastr records each guest locally in the browser and bundles podcast hosting with its plans.
Pros
Cons
Best if you already edit in Descript
Descript owns SquadCast and is building Descript Rooms, its in-app recorder, as SquadCast's eventual replacement. Recordings land straight in its transcript-based editor.
Pros
Cons
Best lightweight audio-only option
Cleanfeed is a browser audio studio popular with radio producers for simple, high-quality remote audio.
Pros
Cons
Side by side
| Feature |  Hilite | SquadCast |
|---|---|---|
| Separate local track per guest | Local track recording | Core feature |
| Free recording time | Free plan available | 1 hour a month, watermarked 720p video |
| Transcript editing | Built in | Through Descript |
| Audio enhancement | Built in | Through Descript |
| Show notes and titles | Drafted from the transcript | Not included |
| Podcast publishing and RSS | Spotify and Apple Podcasts | Needs a separate host |
FAQ
Not yet. Descript's help centre says Descript Rooms will eventually replace SquadCast, but only once Rooms meets or exceeds SquadCast's capabilities. As of 27 October 2026 no sunset date had been set, and Descript says it will give plenty of notice before any change. SquadCast still records in the meantime.
Descript Rooms is the multi-person recording tool built into Descript. Rooms is included with Descript plans and its recording time counts toward your Descript media minutes. Descript describes Rooms and SquadCast as separate products for now.
SquadCast has a free plan with one recording hour a month, one show and watermarked 720p video exports. Unused time rolls over up to twice your monthly hours, and extra time is billed at $5 an hour, according to squadcast.fm (checked 27 October 2026).
On 27 October 2026 squadcast.fm listed Hobbyist at $16 a month billed annually ($24 monthly) for 10 hours, Creator at $24 annually ($35 monthly) for 30 hours, and Business at $50 annually ($65 monthly) for 40 hours. Prices change, so confirm on SquadCast's pricing page.
Yes. Descript announced its acquisition of SquadCast in August 2023, and SquadCast recordings are transcribed and sent into Descript for editing.
Both record each participant locally and give you separate tracks. Riverside leans further into high-resolution video, clips and editing inside the same app; SquadCast hands recordings to Descript. If you want recording, editing and publishing to a podcast feed in one place, Hilite covers all three.
Hilite is the best fit if you want to record remote guests and then edit, enhance and publish without moving files between tools. Riverside is the pick for video-heavy shows, and Zencastr if you want hosting bundled with recording.
Try Hilite when you want fewer tools between the interview and the listener.