Jellypod vs. Riverside: Which Podcast Studio Is Best?

Podcasting is hard.

90% of podcasts don’t make it past episode 3, and only 1% ever get past episode 20. Many creators underestimate how much effort it takes to record, edit, and publish just one episode, and even fewer can stay consistent in the face of slow-growing metrics.

This is where podcast AI comes in.

Both Riverside and Jellypod are AI podcast studios that drastically reduce the effort required to be a part of that 1% who make it past episode 20.

But Jellypod and Riverside are completely different platforms.

Jellypod is built for users who recognize podcasting as a powerful (and growing) way to reach an audience, but are concerned about the investment.

In Jellypod's case, your entire show is produced by AI hosts, while keeping you in full creative control. By uploading some source content (like a PDF, blog, etc.), Jellypod drafts a conversational script between the AI hosts you create. It's similar to NotebookLM (we compared the platforms here), but built specifically for creators and enterprises who want to get a podcast on Spotify in under 30 minutes.

Riverside, on the other hand, is specifically for what we call "traditionally recorded" podcasts - i.e. a podcast where you actually record humans (a crazy statement, we know) and edit your show's audio. It provides an easy recording interface that minimizes production overhead.

So if you're looking for an AI-first podcast platform to break into podcasting ASAP, Jellypod is the clear winner. But if the overhead of organic conversations isn't a dealbreaker, than Riverside is a great choice.

And to be honest, we use both!

Different Podcasting Philosophies

Riverside is built for capture.

You create a session in your browser, invite guests, and everybody is recorded on separate tracks locally to preserve high-quality uploads, even if a connection hiccups. After recording, you can clean up, edit, export the audio and video, and do anything you want to do.

It's a modern, reliable replacement for a physical studio, especially when your guests are remote.

Jellypod is built for generation.

Instead of coordinating calendars or finding guests who want to talk about a certain topic, you just feed it sources (links, files, or rough notes) and let Jellypod do the heavy lifting. You're always in complete creative control, but Jellypod generates the first draft of your new podcast while giving you the ability to edit it to perfection.

And just to be clear, Jellypod generates a podcast between completely AI hosts who have consistent personalities, realistic voices, and natural human-like speech patterns. It also includes distribution with built-in analytics, custom websites, and is perfect for enterprises looking to break into the podcast game.

Episode Editing

When you're recording a podcast, things happen.

People stutter, there might be some weird background noise, and all of these imperfections degrade the final output. That's why over 70% of podcast effort is during post-production.

Riverside is an extremely powerful tool that uses AI to remove filler words, awkward pauses, and has built-in audio normalization and background noise removal. It even has an AI thumbnail generator that's pretty good!

I actually host a podcast called Creative Flux that's recorded on Riverside! I love it. Each episode is about 45 minutes long and post-production inside Riverside only takes about 30 minutes, which includes publishing via our friends at Transistor. It also automatically creates shorts of key moments that are great for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube.

With Jellypod, these imperfections just don't exist in the first place.

If the script is wrong or just doesn't sound the best, you can make a change like you're editing a document. Your hosts sound great by default, we generate your titles and descriptions, and every podcast automatically comes with a customizable audiogram video that's perfect for YouTube or Instagram.

Major Differences

Because Jellypod makes AI podcasts, it opens up an opportunity to do things that traditionally recorded podcasts just can't do.

For example, let's say you run a wellness company and host a podcast that brings in guests from all around the world. You have a great opportunity to talk with a well-known health guru but during recording, the conversation veers off track and doesn't really position your company in the best light. Maybe that's on you as the moderator, but if you're new to podcasting and it's not your expertise, it's pretty hard.

With Jellypod, that's never a problem. Your hosts are AI and you can guide them to say whatever you want.

If you're creating an episode about your company's new product launches, your hosts can focus on presenting that information in a natural way that showcases your upcoming releases. It's almost like you're a director of a podcast that that can scale without requiring a lot of time or effort. And they can speak over two dozen languages and accents, making your podcast available to listners globally.

Final Verdict

The future of podcasting will include both AI podcasts and traditional recording.

If your format relies on human chemistry and you're trying to build a brand around an individual, Riverside's great. But on the other side, Jellypod's perfect when a listener cares more about the content more rather than who's saying it.

So, which one should you choose?

Choose Riverside if your show is built on real conversations and you want a dependable, modern studio in the browser—with smart AI features that make editing and publishing faster.

Choose Jellypod if you want a complete AI podcast studio that starts with research and scripting, generates believable hosts, and ends with distribution and promotion—helping you publish consistent episodes without a production team.

If you’re ready to see what an AI-first workflow feels like, new Jellypod users get 1,000 free credits to create their first episodes. Sign up here.