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AI podcast tools · free plans only

Free AI podcast tools, with the limits checked against official pricing pages

Many "best free podcast tools" lists disagree on what the free plans include. We read each vendor's own pricing page, copied the free-plan limits, and dated the check. Ten tools made the list. Three didn't, and the methodology explains why.

Last verified · 10 tools · 0 paid placements · every claim sourced

Seg 01

Quick picks by job

These picks follow from the published limits, not from usage testing. Each links to a page with the reasoning.

  • Record remote guests

    Zencastr's free plan lists unlimited separate-track recording for up to 6 participants. Riverside's 2 hours is a one-off allowance.

  • Clean up noisy audio

    Adobe Podcast Enhance Speech (30-min files, 1 h/day) and Auphonic (2 h/month) both have ongoing free allowances.

  • Edit by transcript

    Descript's free plan gives 60 media minutes a month. Zencastr lists unlimited transcription hours.

  • Make clips & audiograms

    Headliner's free plan allows unlimited watermarked audiograms. OpusClip gives 60 credits a month, with watermarks.

Seg 02

Free-plan comparison

Listed alphabetically, not ranked. "Free plan" means an ongoing $0 tier. "Trial" means a one-time allowance.

Free plan / trial limits as stated on official pricing pages
#ToolTypeFree limits (key points)Source · verified
01Adobe PodcastFree planEnhance Speech: files up to 30 min / 500 MB, 1 h per day. Studio: 2 project downloads per day (up to 30 min).Official features & plans
02Async (formerly Podcastle)Free planRemote multitrack recording 1 h (lifetime). Transcription 1 h (lifetime). 1 export, MP3 up to 160 kbps. 10 AI credits (lifetime).Official pricing
03Audacity + OpenVINO AI pluginsOpen sourceFree, open-source editor. Free AI plugins add noise suppression and Whisper transcription. Plugin compatibility caveat applies.Official plugin page
04AuphonicFree plan2 h of processed audio per month, including AI algorithms. A jingle is added to free productions. Unused hours don't roll over.Official pricing
05CleanvoiceTrialClean 30 minutes free, no credit card required. Files are stored for 7 days.Official pricing
06DescriptFree plan60 media minutes per month. 100 AI credits (one-time). 720p export. Watermark-free export not included. Filler-word removal and Studio Sound "Limited".Official pricing
07HeadlinerFree planUnlimited watermarked audiograms, 1 unwatermarked per month. Transcribe and edit full episodes 2 h per month. Ad-supported.Official pricing
08OpusClipFree plan60 credits per month. Clips up to 1080p with a watermark. No editing. Clips can't be exported after 3 days.Official pricing
09RiversideFree plan2 h multi-track recording (one-off). Up to 720p, 44.1 kHz, Riverside watermark. Unlimited single-track recording and editing.Official pricing
10ZencastrFree planUp to 6 participants. Unlimited separate-track recording. Up to 4K video. Unlimited transcription hours.Official pricing
Seg 03

Can a weekly show stay on free plans?

This is our arithmetic, applied to the published limits above. It is not a usage test. The worked example is a weekly two-person remote interview with about 60 minutes of raw recording per episode. That is roughly 4.3 hours of raw audio a month, using 4.33 weeks per month.

Recording

  • Zencastr lists unlimited separate-track recording on Free, so the published limits cover all ~4.3 h.
  • Riverside's 2 h multi-track allowance is one-off, so it covers about the first two episodes, ever. After that, single-track recording remains unlimited.
  • Async's 1 h of remote multitrack recording is lifetime, so it covers about one episode.

Cleanup

  • Adobe Podcast Enhance Speech caps files at 30 minutes, so a 60-minute track has to be split into two files. The 1 h/day cap fits one episode per day.
  • Auphonic's 2 h per month covers about two of the month's ~4.3 episodes at 60 minutes each. Free productions carry a jingle.

Editing

  • Descript's 60 media minutes per month covers about one 60-minute episode a month.

Takeaway: on the published limits, a weekly show can record free with Zencastr and clean up free with Adobe Podcast, splitting files. Monthly-capped tools like Auphonic and Descript cover only part of a weekly schedule. Limits change, so re-check the vendor's page before you commit.

Seg 04

Tool-by-tool free limits

Adobe Podcast

Speech enhancement · browser editorFree plan
  • Enhance Speech on the Free plan: up to 30 minutes per file (up to 500 MB) and 1 hour per day.
  • Studio (editor): download projects up to 30 minutes, 2 projects per day.
  • Mic Check is part of the Free plan.
  • Premium features can be tried with a 30-day free trial.

Source: podcast.adobe.com/en/featuresVerified

Async (formerly Podcastle)

Recording · AI editingFree plan
  • Podcastle's pricing URL now redirects to async.com/pricing.
  • Remote multitrack recording: 1 hour, lifetime.
  • Transcription and subtitles: 1 hour, lifetime, shared across transcription features.
  • Audio export up to 160 kbps MP3. Export limit: 1 file.
  • 10 AI credits, lifetime. No credit card required for the Free plan.

Not claimed: whether Magic Dust or AI noise reduction is on the Free plan. The pricing table shows unlabeled icons for those rows.

Source: async.com/pricingVerified

Audacity + OpenVINO AI plugins

Open-source editor · local AIOpen source
  • Audacity is a free, open-source audio editor and recorder.
  • The free OpenVINO plugins add noise suppression ("works best on spoken word audio") and Whisper transcription, which runs on your own computer.

Caveat: the official plugin page says "The OpenVINO plugins are not yet compatible with the latest Audacity version". Check compatibility before you install.

Sources: audacityteam.org, OpenVINO pluginsVerified

Auphonic

Automatic leveling · loudness · cleanupFree plan
  • Free for 2 hours of processed audio per month, including Auphonic's AI-based audio algorithms.
  • Productions of free users come with a jingle.
  • Free credits don't stack up if you don't use them.

Source: auphonic.com/pricingVerified

Cleanvoice

Filler-word & mouth-sound removalTrial
  • Free trial: clean 30 minutes for free. No credit card required.
  • Original and edited files are stored for 7 days, then removed.

Source: cleanvoice.ai/pricingVerified

Descript

Transcript-based audio & video editorFree plan
  • 60 media minutes per month (imported or recorded media).
  • 100 AI credits, one-time, not monthly.
  • Local video export up to 720p. Watermark-free video export is not included on Free.
  • Remove Filler Words and Studio Sound are marked "Limited" on Free.
  • Transcription in 25 languages. No credit card needed to start.

Source: descript.com/pricingVerified

Headliner

Audiograms · episode transcriptionFree plan
  • "Forever Free" plan, $0. Ad-supported.
  • Unlimited watermarked audiograms, plus 1 unwatermarked audiogram per month.
  • Transcribe and edit full episodes (audio and video): 2 hours per month.
  • 1080p for videos up to 10 minutes long.

Caveat: Headliner's pricing page says its video tools are "FREE for a limited time".

Source: headliner.app/pricingVerified

OpusClip

AI short clips from long videoFree plan
  • "Free forever" plan: 60 credits per month.
  • Rendered clips up to 1080p, with auto reframe and AI captions.
  • Free clips have a watermark and no editing. Clips can't be exported after 3 days.

Source: opus.pro/pricingVerified

Riverside

Remote recording · editingFree plan
  • 2 hours of multi-track recording (separate audio and video tracks). The comparison table labels this "one-off", not monthly.
  • Up to 720p video, 44.1 kHz audio, Riverside watermark.
  • Unlimited single-track recording and editing. Magic Clips included.

Source: riverside.com/pricingVerified

Zencastr

Remote recordingFree plan
  • Pricing page shows two plans, Free and Enterprise (custom).
  • Free: up to 6 participants, unlimited separate audio and video recording and download.
  • Video quality up to 4K. Clips export up to 4K.
  • Unlimited transcription hours and post-production credits.

Source: zencastr.com/pricingVerified

Seg 05

How to read free-plan limits

  • Monthly vs lifetime vs one-off. Descript's media minutes and Auphonic's hours reset monthly. Async's allowances are "lifetime". Riverside's multi-track hours are "one-off". The difference decides whether a tool works for a regular show.
  • Credits vs minutes. AI features often draw on a separate credit pool. Descript's 100 AI credits are one-time even though media minutes are monthly.
  • Watermarks and jingles. Riverside, OpusClip and most Headliner audiograms add a watermark on Free, and Auphonic adds a jingle. Descript doesn't include watermark-free export on Free.
  • Per-file caps. Adobe Podcast's 30-minute file cap matters more for long episodes than its daily allowance does.