We used Oden to analyze Descript, Riverside, VEED, and Kapwing across ratings, pricing, features, and real user feedback. If you’re trying to pick a video & audio editing platform, the marketing pages all sound great—but the trade-offs are buried in pricing tables, G2 reviews, and Reddit threads. In this guide we pull those signals together so you can see where each platform actually shines, where it struggles, and what that means for your workflow. All data here comes from public vendor sites, G2, Reddit, and a small number of third‑party reviews checked as of November 25, 2025.

Which Video & Audio Editing platform has the best rating?

G2 ratings & review counts

Takeaways

• Riverside has the highest G2 rating (4.8) and more than 1,100 reviews, so its score is both strong and statistically robust compared with smaller tools. Source: G2 – Riverside.fm
• Descript and VEED are essentially tied at 4.6, but VEED’s rating is based on roughly double the review volume, which suggests more consistent satisfaction across a broader user base. Source: G2 – Descript, G2 – VEED
• Kapwing’s 4.0 rating on only 38 reviews means any single positive or negative experience can move the average a lot, so treat that score as directional rather than definitive. Source: G2 – Kapwing
• When you zoom out to Reddit, Descript and Riverside both show more polarized sentiment—great when they work, painful when they don’t—while VEED and Kapwing draw more complaints about billing and reliability than their G2 scores alone suggest. Source: Reddit – Descript criticism, Reddit – Riverside issues, Reddit – VEED pricing complaint, Reddit – Kapwing dubbing issues

How much do Video & Audio Editing platforms really cost?

High‑level pricing snapshot (individual & small teams)
(USD, focusing on typical entry points; larger business/enterprise tiers exist for all four.)

What this means in practice

• Descript and Riverside are fairly transparent: your main constraint is recording or “media” hours, not exports. If you publish weekly long‑form content, those hour caps matter more than the headline price. Source: Descript pricing, Riverside pricing
• VEED and Kapwing both bill per workspace member, so inviting collaborators can quietly double or triple your bill if you’re not careful with seat management. Source: VEED collaborator billing, Kapwing subscription FAQ
• VEED’s AI credits and promotions have caused confusion and frustration for some users (for example, around Veo3 credits and price jumps), so scrutinize what’s actually included in your tier before committing annually. Source: Reddit – VEED pricing complaint
• Kapwing’s Pro and Business pricing quickly outgrows “cheap tool” territory once you add a small team, but its free tier is generous for occasional, short social clips if you can live with a watermark. Source: Kapwing free-plan limits, Kapwing subscription FAQ

Always double-check current prices with each vendor's calculator or sales team.

What are the key features of each platform?

Descript

Core positioning: AI video and podcast editor that lets you “edit video by editing text,” with an AI co‑editor (Underlord) layered on top. Source: Descript homepage

Key Features:

• AI co‑editor “Underlord” that can draft scripts, suggest edits, generate B‑roll, redesign scenes, and even create entire social clips from prompts. Source: Descript AI video editor page
• Text‑based editing: automatic transcription of audio/video, then timeline edits driven from the transcript instead of waveforms. Source: Descript AI video editor, Descript podcasting page
• AI audio tools like Studio Sound noise removal, filler‑word removal, and regenerative voice correction (“Regenerate”) to fix flubs by typing. Source: Descript AI tools overview
• Remote recording with Rooms for high‑quality local 4K video and audio, managed by off‑screen producers. Source: Descript podcasting page
• Avatars, dubbing, translation and brand tools on higher tiers, including AI avatars, translation into 24+ languages and Brand Studio for on‑brand layouts. Source: Descript pricing page

Best For:

• Creators and teams who want to drive most edits from a transcript rather than a traditional NLE timeline. Source: Descript AI video editor
• Podcasters and B2B teams (marketing, L&D, enablement) who need lots of conversational video, clips, and captions. Source: Descript podcasting & teams pages
• Users who value integrated AI for scripting, B‑roll, and clean audio in one tool. Source: Descript AI tools overview

Riverside

Core positioning: Remote recording and live‑streaming studio for “studio‑quality” audio and video with local multi‑track capture and AI post‑production tools. Source: Riverside pricing, Riverside free-plan article

Key Features:

• Local multi‑track recording of hosts and guests in up to 4K video and 48kHz audio on paid plans. Source: Riverside pricing
• Browser‑based studio with producer mode, teleprompter, and support for up to 10 recorded participants on the free plan. Source: Riverside free-plan article
• AI tools including Magic Audio enhancement, AI Voice (text‑to‑voice), AI transcriptions, show‑notes generation, and an AI editing/repurposing agent. Source: Riverside pricing
• Magic Clips for auto‑generated short clips from long recordings, plus text‑based editing in the browser. Source: Riverside free-plan article
• Multistream live to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Twitch and custom RTMP on Live/Webinar tiers. Source: Riverside pricing

Best For:

• Podcasters and video interviewers who prioritize recording quality and remote reliability over advanced in‑app editing. Source: Riverside pricing
• Creators who want to record once and repurpose into clips and social content via Magic Clips and AI tools. Source: Riverside free-plan article
• Teams planning live shows, webinars, and multistream events from a browser‑based studio. Source: Riverside pricing

VEED

Core positioning: Browser‑based AI video suite to “create pro level videos in the blink of AI,” focused on fast social and team workflows. Source: VEED homepage

Key Features:

• All‑in‑one web editor with cutting, timelines, filters, auto‑resizing, and effects optimized for social formats. Source: VEED homepage
• AI auto‑subtitles, translations and dubbing, highly praised in customer stories for accuracy and speed. Source: VEED homepage, G2 – VEED
• AI avatars, text‑to‑video, text‑to‑speech, AI voice cloning and eye‑contact correction for talking‑head and training videos. Source: VEED homepage
• Collaboration features: brand kits, shared assets, review comments, and team workspaces. Source: VEED homepage
• Stock library with 2M+ video and audio assets integrated directly into the editor. Source: VEED homepage

Best For:

• Social teams producing lots of short‑form content with subtitles, translations, and branded templates. Source: G2 – VEED
• Non‑editors (marketing, HR, L&D) who want a simple, Canva‑like interface instead of a pro NLE. Source: G2 – VEED
• Organizations leaning into AI‑assisted avatars and dubbing without leaving the browser. Source: VEED homepage

Kapwing

Core positioning: “Modern video creation platform” that centralizes a team’s video workflow and collaboration in the browser. Source: Kapwing homepage

Key Features:

• Cloud‑based editor for cutting, layering, and compositing video, images, and audio with no desktop install. Source: Kapwing homepage
• Auto subtitles and captions with customizable fonts and animations, widely used by creators for accessibility. Source: Kapwing homepage
• Smart Cut to automatically remove silences from talking‑head videos, speeding up rough‑cuts. Source: Kapwing homepage
• Multi‑platform resizing (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, etc.) from one source video. Source: Kapwing homepage
• Team workspaces and shared brand assets so everyone can use the same templates and visual language. Source: Kapwing homepage

Best For:

• Teams that want a Google‑Docs‑style collaborative editor for short social and marketing videos. Source: Kapwing homepage
• Creators who need quick subtitles and resizing more than advanced color or audio tools. Source: G2 – Kapwing
• Small teams on a budget that can leverage the free plan plus selective Pro seats for power users. Source: Kapwing free-plan article, Kapwing subscription FAQ

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each platform?

Descript

Strengths:

• Huge time savings via text‑based editing: users repeatedly highlight how editing by transcript drastically cuts podcast and tutorial runtimes without manual timeline work. Source: G2 – Descript, Reddit – “Descript literally just saved my video”
• Powerful AI audio and voice tools (Studio Sound, Overdub/AI Speech, filler‑word removal) that non‑engineers can apply with one click. Source: Descript AI tools, G2 – Descript
• Strong ratings and adoption: 4.6/5 on G2 across 800+ reviews and millions of users, with praise for collaboration and ease of onboarding. Source: G2 – Descript seller page, Descript homepage

Weaknesses:

• Performance and stability issues, especially on larger, longer projects—Reddit users describe multi‑second lag on simple actions and processing stalls, calling the app “slow” and “buggiest software I’ve ever encountered.” Source: Reddit – Descript performance thread
• Bugs and confusing UX, including reports of AI features deleting tracks or not behaving as documented, leading some users to cancel Pro subscriptions. Source: Reddit – “Why I cancelled my Descript Pro”, G2 – Descript cons
• Resource‑heaviness: multiple G2 reviews note that Descript can be demanding on system resources and slow to render compared with traditional editors. Source: G2 – Descript reviews

Riverside

Strengths:

• Best‑in‑class rating and large sample: 4.8/5 on G2 with over 1,100 reviews, making it the most highly rated tool in this comparison. Source: G2 – Riverside.fm
• High‑quality local recording with separate audio/video tracks per participant, 4K support, and studio‑quality audio, which podcasters often prefer over Zoom or Meet. Source: Riverside pricing, Riverside free-plan article
• Solid AI repurposing tools (Magic Clips, AI show notes, AI editing agent) that help creators quickly generate shorts and summaries from long interviews. Source: Riverside pricing

Weaknesses:

• Recurring sync and corruption issues: multiple Reddit threads describe out‑of‑sync tracks, lost segments, and even fully corrupted episodes that couldn’t be recovered. Source: Reddit – Riverside.fm reviews, Reddit – “My experience with Riverside.fm”
• Customer support frustration, with users reporting slow, unhelpful responses—sometimes over basic account problems or billing questions. Source: Reddit – Has anyone used Riverside?, Reddit – Riverside support complaints
• Editing tools perceived as limited vs. dedicated editors like Descript or full NLEs—3rd‑party summaries of Reddit sentiment call its built‑in editor “not great” or basic. Source: Toksta – Riverside Reddit sentiment summary

VEED

Strengths:

• High rating with a very large user base: 4.6/5 from over 1,600 G2 reviews, with recurring praise for ease of use, auto‑subtitles and speed. Source: G2 – VEED
• Excellent for social video workflows—users love the Canva‑like interface, quick subtitle workflows, and ability to repurpose content into shorts and reels. Source: G2 – VEED
• Rich AI toolkit (text‑to‑video, avatars, voice cloning, clean audio, AI translations) packaged in a simple browser UI. Source: VEED homepage, eWeek – VEED review

Weaknesses:

• Buggy behaviour and rollbacks: several G2 reviewers mention actions randomly undoing, needing page refreshes, and missing basic alignment tools compared with Canva or Photoshop. Source: G2 – VEED
• Limited for advanced editing: pro editors and motion designers often find the tool shallow compared with dedicated NLEs, especially for complex layering or audio mixing. Source: G2 – VEED, eWeek – VEED review
• Pricing & billing concerns: a detailed Reddit thread accuses VEED of misleading AI credit information and unexpected charges, with the founder acknowledging issues and promising fixes. Source: Reddit – VEED pricing complaint

Kapwing

Strengths:

• Accessible, browser‑only workflow that lets teams collaborate on projects in real time with shared brand assets and templates. Source: Kapwing homepage
• Strong subtitle and accessibility story: users highlight auto‑subtitles in many languages as a big win, especially for deaf or hard‑of‑hearing audiences. Source: Kapwing homepage, G2 – Kapwing
• Good template library and asset reuse, allowing teams to keep media and components in one place for quick variations. Source: G2 – Kapwing

Weaknesses:

• Serious reliability complaints: multiple G2 and Reddit reports of exports hanging indefinitely (“one minute remaining” for hours) and projects becoming unusable. Source: G2 – Kapwing, Reddit – Kapwing dubbing issues
• Harsh criticism of support and refund policies, with some users calling the no‑refund stance “unethical” when the product fails and saying they only received credits for a broken service. Source: G2 – Kapwing negative reviews
• Lower overall rating (4.0/5) and small sample size, which suggests more mixed satisfaction compared with the other three tools. Source: G2 – Kapwing seller page

How do these platforms position themselves?

Descript markets itself as an all‑in‑one AI video editor and podcast tool that makes editing “as easy as typing,” with Underlord as an “AI video agent” that can write, design, and generate B‑roll for you. The site heavily targets marketing, learning & development, sales enablement, support, and creator teams who want to scale content without a traditional post‑production team. Source: Descript homepage, Descript podcasting page

Riverside positions itself as a remote recording and live‑streaming studio—“a plan for every story”—rather than a full editor. Local multi‑track recording quality is the headline, with AI tools and Magic Clips framed as ways to repurpose that primary capture into polished content and live shows. Source: Riverside pricing, Riverside free-plan article

VEED leans hard into the messaging “Create Pro level videos in the Blink of AI,” emphasizing speed, AI‑assisted editing, and “smart video creation tools for teams.” Its homepage highlights social‑first use cases (marketing, L&D, internal comms, sales), with features like AI avatars, Magic Cut, and brand kits pitched at teams that want high‑volume, on‑brand video from the browser. Source: VEED homepage

Kapwing describes itself as a “modern video creation platform” and a “content home base” where teams can go from first draft to final video “10x faster.” The emphasis is on collaboration (Google‑Docs‑style editing), shared brand assets, and AI helpers (subtitles, Smart Cut, resizing) that remove tedious steps rather than on pro‑grade color or audio work. Source: Kapwing homepage

Which platform should you choose?

Choose Descript If:

1. You edit lots of talking‑head or podcast content and hate timelines. Text‑based editing and filler‑word removal will save you hours per project. Source: Descript AI video editor, G2 – Descript
2. You want integrated AI for scripting, B‑roll, voice fixes and captions in one place, instead of stitching together several tools. Source: Descript AI tools
3. Your team is comfortable with occasional bugs in exchange for speed. If you can tolerate some instability and learn the quirks, you get a lot of power for the price. Source: Reddit – Descript criticism, G2 – Descript cons
4. You need multi‑department adoption (marketing, L&D, sales) and want one tool they can all use with shared templates and brand controls. Source: Descript homepage
5. You plan to grow into advanced features like avatars, dubbing and Enterprise support, where Descript offers higher transcription limits and dedicated onboarding. Source: Descript pricing, Descript Enterprise overview

Choose Riverside If:

1. Recording quality and reliability are your #1 priorities—for example, if you run a podcast with high‑profile guests and can’t risk Zoom‑level audio. Source: Riverside pricing, Riverside free-plan article
2. You host live shows, webinars, or multistream events and want integrated 1080p streaming to multiple platforms with overlays and live chat. Source: Riverside pricing
3. You already edit in another tool (Premiere, Final Cut, Resolve) and mainly need a capture/ingest platform with some helpful AI trimming and show‑notes generation on top. Source: Toksta – Riverside Reddit summary
4. You’re okay with a separate editing workflow and can mitigate risk, e.g., by running backups or doing test sessions to check sync on your setup. Source: Reddit – Riverside sync issues, Reddit – Riverside experience
5. You want a tool non‑technical guests can join easily from the browser, with a central host controlling layout, teleprompter, and recording. Source: Riverside free-plan article

Choose VEED If:

1. Your main workload is social / marketing content where speed, subtitles, and on‑brand templates matter more than granular color grading. Source: VEED homepage, G2 – VEED
2. Most collaborators are non‑editors—marketers, HR, L&D—who’ll be more productive in a Canva‑like interface than in a pro NLE. Source: G2 – VEED
3. You’ll actively use AI features such as avatars, translations, and text‑to‑video; the value of Pro/Business tiers hinges on actually consuming those AI allowances. Source: eWeek – VEED review
4. You’re prepared to watch billing and AI credits closely, especially if you’re on annual plans or adding collaborators, to avoid surprises. Source: Reddit – VEED pricing complaint, VEED collaborator billing
5. You don’t need deep, frame‑accurate editing or advanced audio mixing—you’re fine outsourcing that to another tool if/when it’s required. Source: G2 – VEED

Choose Kapwing If:

1. Collaboration is your biggest requirement, and you want a cloud tool where multiple people can comment and edit projects in a shared workspace. Source: Kapwing homepage
2. You primarily need subtitles, simple cuts, and resizing for social platforms and don’t require advanced color or audio workflows. Source: Kapwing homepage, G2 – Kapwing
3. You’re cost‑sensitive and can do most of your work under the free plan limits (short exports, 720p, watermarks), upgrading only for specific campaigns. Source: Kapwing – Is Kapwing Free?, Kapwing subscription FAQ
4. You’re comfortable with some risk around reliability and support, and you have contingencies (backups, alternate tools) for critical projects. Source: G2 – Kapwing, Reddit – Kapwing dubbing issues
5. You want an easy on‑ramp for non‑technical collaborators, and are okay moving complex or long‑form editing elsewhere if Kapwing starts to choke. Source: Kapwing homepage, G2 – Kapwing

Sources & links

Company Websites

• Descript
• Riverside
• VEED
• Kapwing

Pricing Pages

• Descript Pricing
• Riverside Pricing
• VEED Pricing
• Kapwing Pricing

Documentation

• Descript Docs
• Riverside Docs
• VEED Docs
• Kapwing Docs

G2 Review Pages

• G2 – Descript
• G2 – Riverside.fm
• G2 – VEED
• G2 – Kapwing

Reddit Discussions

• Reddit – Descript performance thread
• Reddit – Descript experience
• Reddit – Riverside issues
• Reddit – VEED pricing complaint
• Reddit – Kapwing reliability

Additional Resources

• Toksta – Riverside FM Review
• Caiti.it – VEED guide