What is the difference between Riverside and Daily.co?

Riverside is best for Podcasters and creators recording high-quality video, while Daily.co is best for Developers wanting to embed video calls in their app. Riverside starts at $15/mo and Daily.co starts at Free.

Is Riverside or Daily.co cheaper?

Riverside starts at $15/mo. Daily.co starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Riverside?

Yes, Daily.co offers a free tier (Free for 2K min/day).

Riverside vs Daily.co

Riverside is studio-quality recording platform for podcasts and video with local recording and AI transcription, while Daily.co is video calling API and SDK for building custom video experiences in web and mobile apps. The biggest difference up front: Daily.co is free, while Riverside starts at $15/mo. Riverside is built for podcasters and creators recording high-quality video, whereas Daily.co targets developers wanting to embed video calls in their app.

At a glance

	Riverside	Daily.co
Best for	Podcasters and creators recording high-quality video	Developers wanting to embed video calls in their app
Starting price	$15/mo	Free
Free tier	—	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	—	✓
Open source	—	—
AI Editing	✓	—
Custom UI	—	✓
Local Recording	✓	—
Recording	—	✓
Screen Recording	✓	—
Transcription	✓	✓
Video API	—	✓

Riverside

Strengths

Includes Local Recording as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows
Includes Transcription as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows
Pricing starts at $15/mo, which includes the full video conferencing feature set
Includes screen recording alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Starts at $15/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Call quality depends heavily on participants' internet connections
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Riverside → Full review

Daily.co

Strengths

Includes Video API as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows
Includes Recording as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows
Free for 2K min/day — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes transcription alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Developer-oriented tooling may not suit non-technical team members
Call quality depends heavily on participants' internet connections
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Daily.co → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Daily.co is completely free (Free for 2K min/day), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Riverside starts at $15/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Riverside offers AI Editing, Local Recording and Screen Recording that Daily.co lacks. Daily.co brings Custom UI, Recording and Video API that Riverside does not have. Both share Transcription.

Team fit: Riverside is geared toward individual users and small setups, while Daily.co is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: Riverside's biggest strengths are: includes local recording as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows. includes transcription as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows. Daily.co's biggest strengths are: includes video api as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows. includes recording as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows.

Watch out for: With Riverside, users commonly note that starts at $15/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users. With Daily.co, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Riverside if...

You need a tool built for podcasters and creators recording high-quality video
You specifically need AI Editing and Local Recording
You care about includes transcription as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows
Your team size fits the individuals profile Riverside is designed for

Choose Daily.co if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: developers wanting to embed video calls in their app
Budget is a hard constraint — Daily.co is free, Riverside is not
You specifically need Custom UI and Recording
You care about includes recording as a core feature, purpose-built for video conferencing workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Daily.co is designed for