Riverside vs Applio
Plans, free access, limits and intended use side by side, taken from each vendor’s own pages. No score and no winner: the facts show where the two differ.
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Free transcripts, paid speaker labels
Free open-source voice conversion and model training
- Free access
- Riverside: Free trial only
- Applio: Free access
- Paid from
- Riverside: USD 29 per month
- Applio: No fixed price listed
- Plans listed
- Riverside: 6
- Applio: 1
- Public API
- Riverside: Yes
- Applio: Not confirmed
Where Riverside and Applio differ
- AccessRiverside offers a free trial only, while Applio offers free access.
- PlansRiverside lists 6 plans and Applio lists 1.
Head to head
Each value from the tool’s profile and the vendor’s own pages
| Riverside | Fact | Applio |
|---|---|---|
| Access and price | ||
| Free trial onlyTranscription tool · USD 0 | Free accessDiffers | Free access availableFree (open source, MIT) · 0 |
| USD 29 per monthPro · billed monthly · or $24 per month, billed annually | Lowest listed paid plan | No fixed price listed |
| Free transcription tool; plans from $24/month billed annually | Pricing model | Free open-source software; runs on your own computer |
| 6 | Plans listedDiffers | 1 |
| Yes | Public API | Not confirmed |
| Required | Card to start | Not confirmed |
| No | Open source | Not confirmed |
| What it is for | ||
| Transcribing and editing multi-track podcast and video recordings | Built for | Free local voice conversion and voice model training |
| Audio & voice | CategorySame | Audio & voice |
| Platforms |
|
| Works with |
|
| How current | ||
| Profile sources checked | ||
| Prices confirmed · Sep 29, 2026 | Pricing checkSame | Prices confirmed · Oct 6, 2026 |
Official source check for both tools. No hands-on testing and no score: “Differs” marks a documented difference, not a better tool.
Plans and prices
Riverside
Prices confirmed · Sep 29, 2026- Transcription toolUSD 0no account needed
- Free trialUSD 0 for 14 dayscard required
- ProUSD 29 per monthbilled monthly · or $24 per month, billed annually
- GrowUSD 39 per monthbilled monthly · or $34 per month, billed annually
- WebinarUSD 99 per monthbilled monthly · or $79 per month, billed annually
Show 1 more plan
- BusinessCustom quote
Strengths and limits
Riverside
Strengths
- Transcriber needs no account: Files can be uploaded and downloaded as TXT or SRT without signing up.
- Speaker labels from separate tracks: Each participant recorded on a separate track is labeled in the transcript.
- Transcript drives the edit: Text edits, captions and clips all work from the same transcript.
Limits to plan around
- No free plan: The official trial guide says the free plan was replaced by a 14-day trial that needs a card.
- Content may train Riverside models: The terms allow training on inputs and outputs; opting out is limited to Business agreements.
- Capped separate track downloads: Pro allows 15 hours of separate track downloads a month.
Applio
Strengths
- No licence fee: The MIT-licensed code, Desktop app and portable package download without an account or payment.
- Local by design: The official security page says audio and models stay on your device unless you share them.
- Full workflow in one app: Conversion, training, blending, text-to-speech and dataset checks sit in one interface.
Limits to plan around
- Slower development: The README says Applio will no longer receive frequent updates; expect security patches, dependency updates and occasional features.
- GPU for training: Docs recommend an Nvidia RTX 20-series GPU or newer for training, and real-time conversion is GPU only.
- Manual setup: Source installs need scripts or Python 3.10 environments, and the macOS Desktop build is not Apple-notarized yet.
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Questions about comparing tools
How does the comparison work?
Add two tools to the comparison tray from any tool card, then open this page. The table pulls each tool's verified plan details, platforms, strengths and limits from its profile, so both columns carry the same kind of evidence, with a separate source-check date for each tool.
Do you declare a winner?
No. The table sets two tools against each other on documented facts, not on a score. Which one wins depends on your task, your budget and your usage volume — three things we cannot see from here.
Why are some cells empty or marked unverified?
Because we could not confirm that detail on the vendor's own pages. Rather than filling the gap with a figure from elsewhere, we mark it and say why on the tool's profile.
Can I compare more than two tools?
Not at once. Two columns keep the differences readable and force a real decision. Remove either selected tool to replace it, or clear both to start a new pair.
Every figure in the table above comes from the linked profile, where the source and the verification date are listed. Browse all tools or read the editorial policy.