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Podcastle Alternatives: 9 Audio-First Podcast Tools

The best Podcastle alternative is the one that does the single podcast job you relied on most: recording remote guests, cleaning up audio, editing the episode, or turning it into clips and show notes. Most audio-first tools are strongest at one of those jobs, so match the job first and then compare the tools that do it.

Type podcastle.ai into a browser now and you land on a site called Async, which describes itself as a chat-based AI creative suite for producing video content, covering editing, audio clean-up, captions and clips. If you came to Podcastle for audio recording and editing, that's a good moment to check what the product you use today still offers you.

The nine tools below are mostly audio-first. They're listed in no particular order, nothing is ranked and nothing is linked, and they're grouped by the job each one does best.

What the podcastle.ai address shows now

The page at that address talks about making videos as if you had a team, with editing driven by chat. That may suit some creators very well, but a podcaster whose show lives in audio has different needs: clean voice tracks, a reliable way to record guests, and a quick route from raw recording to finished episode.

So before you compare anything, write down the jobs your current tool does for you each week. Do you record in it? Do you clean and edit there? Do you use it to make clips or written notes? That list is your shopping list, and it's often shorter than you'd expect.

Record, clean, edit or repurpose: one job each

Recording guests. Riverside is an online studio for high-quality podcast and video recording, with editing included. SquadCast records audio and video in the browser and saves recordings to cloud storage automatically, which matters if a guest's connection drops.

Cleaning up audio. Cleanvoice removes background noise, filler words, mouth sounds and silence with AI. Gling does a similar job for video podcasts, cutting bad takes and silent moments for people who publish to YouTube.

Editing the episode. Descript lets you edit audio and video by editing the transcript, and covers recording and publishing too. Hindenburg is audio editing software for journalists and storytellers, built for spoken word without technical complexity.

Repurposing. Castmagic turns long-form audio into transcripts, notes, quotes and social posts. Swell AI does the same for podcasts and videos and adds articles and newsletters. Podsqueeze combines transcripts, summaries and a clip maker with an AI audio enhancer, so it sits between cleaning and repurposing.

The nine podcast tools, one by one

Castmagic

Best for: Podcasters who want transcripts, show notes, summaries, highlights, quotes and social posts made from a single uploaded MP3.

Cleanvoice

Best for: Hosts who record cleanly enough but hate the clean-up, with background noise, filler words, mouth sounds and silences removed by AI.

Descript

Best for: Creators who'd rather edit a transcript than a waveform, with recording, transcription, editing and publishing handled in one tool.

Gling

Best for: Video-first podcasters and YouTube creators who want bad takes, silences, filler words and background noise cut out automatically.

Hindenburg

Best for: Journalists and storytellers editing spoken-word audio, with separate products for editing, narration and field recording, built to avoid technical complexity.

Podsqueeze

Best for: Solo podcasters wanting a transcript generator, summariser, clip maker and AI audio enhancer under one login.

Riverside

Best for: Interview shows with remote guests that want high-quality podcast and video recording, plus editing, in an online studio.

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SquadCast

Best for: Hosts recording remote guests in the browser who want recordings saved to cloud storage automatically as they go.

Swell AI

Best for: Marketers turning podcasts or videos into transcripts, clips, show notes, articles, summaries, newsletters and social posts for every channel.

Podcastle alternatives by job

ToolMain jobGood for
CastmagicRepurposing from audioTurning an episode into written assets
CleanvoiceAI clean-up for episodesRemoving fillers, noise and mouth sounds
DescriptText-based audio and video editorEditing an episode like a document
GlingAuto-cut for talking videosVideo podcasters cutting bad takes
HindenburgSpoken-word editorJournalists and narrative storytellers
PodsqueezeRepurposing and enhancingTranscripts, summaries, clips and enhanced audio
RiversideRemote recording studioRecording guests in high quality
SquadCastRemote recording studioBrowser recording with cloud backup
Swell AIRepurposing from audio and videoShow notes, articles and newsletters from episodes

My advice for podcasters rebuilding their workflow

Don't try to replace everything in one go. Most shows run happily on two tools: one to record and one to clean or edit. Repurposing is a nice extra, but it's the easiest step to add later, once your recording and editing are settled.

If your show is interview-led, start with the recording studios, because a bad recording can't be fully rescued in editing. If you record alone and spend hours trimming, the clean-up tools will save you more time than a new studio would. If your episodes are long and story-driven, an editor built for spoken word is worth trying before a general one.

For a wider look at editing, my guide to the best AI audio editors goes deeper on clean-up and enhancement, my list of alternatives to text-based editors helps if you're weighing text-based editing, and my roundup of podcast recording software covers studios for remote interviews.

Keep your back catalogue safe while you switch

Whichever tool you choose, your old episodes are the part you can't recreate. Before your account changes or lapses, gather everything you'd need to republish or re-edit a show.

  • Download the original recordings for each episode, not only the finished exports.
  • Save separate tracks for each speaker where your tool kept them.
  • Export transcripts and show notes so you can reuse them without paying for new ones to be made.
  • Keep a list of where each episode is published, so links in old show notes still point somewhere useful.
  • Store it all in one folder you control, named by episode number and date.

It's a dull hour's work, but it means the move is about choosing a better tool rather than rescuing old files.

Do you make podcast recording or editing software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.

Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.

Frequently asked questions

What happened to Podcastle?

The podcastle.ai address now loads a site called Async, which describes itself as a chat-based AI suite for video content. Check what your current account still offers before deciding whether to move.

What's the best tool for recording remote podcast guests?

An online recording studio built for remote interviews, since it records each person locally and uploads the files. Look for automatic cloud saving in case a connection drops.

Do I need a separate tool to clean up podcast audio?

Not always. Some editors include clean-up, but a dedicated AI clean-up tool can remove fillers, mouth sounds and noise faster if you mainly record alone.

Can AI write my podcast show notes?

Yes. Repurposing tools turn an episode into transcripts, show notes, summaries and social posts. Read and edit what they produce, because names and details can be wrong.

Is text-based editing good for podcasts?

It suits talk shows well, because you can cut words and sentences by editing the transcript. Music-heavy or highly produced shows may still need a traditional audio editor.

Published and maintained by the Lilach Bullock team, covering marketing, AI and business growth.
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