Zencastr's pricing page now lists a free plan and an enterprise tier, and its terms hand the company a licence to use uploaded content to train and improve AI models. Podcasters leave when they want a different data arrangement, a paid tool with a stated price, or a recorder that stays out of hosting and monetisation. The options split into browser studios, desktop editors and post-production services.
Short answer: Looking for a replacement for Zencastr? Cleanfeed, Hindenburg Pro and Auphonic come first in our podcast recording software ranking. Challengers take places 1 to 3 here. Big brands follow in the order of our category ranking. Start with Cleanfeed if you want a small UK studio with published prices and no hosting attached. Below are 10 alternatives, each taken from the Best Podcast Recording Software in 2026 ranking, with its main difference from Zencastr.
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Pricing: Free plan listed with enterprise tier on sales request; legacy paid suite under separate terms
Established in: United States
Built for: Solo creators who want a no-cost studio, editing chat and hosting in one place
Not for: Teams needing a mid-priced plan with a contract and support terms
01
Why buyers look past Zencastr
01
The licence in the terms covers AI training
Zencastr's terms of service grant the company a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable and sublicensable licence to user content, including for training, operation, improvement and fine-tuning of AI and machine learning models. You keep ownership as between you and the company, and its AI page says that when conversations help improve AI you get paid. Shows with guests under confidentiality should read both pages before uploading.
02
Paid tiers are gone from the pricing page
The page we read shows a free plan, a Producer label that appears only against support and an enterprise tier on request, with no price for any paid step. The terms add that the legacy paid podcasting suite is governed by separate terms. A subscriber from that era has to find those terms to learn what still applies.
03
One vendor holds recording, editing, hosting and income
The free plan packs five shows, unlimited hosting, video RSS, distribution and ad analytics beside the recorder. That suits a beginner, but the files, feed and audience then all depend on one US company that may terminate access at any time under its terms and leaves backups to you. Splitting these jobs across tools lowers that dependence.
voice clean-up matters most and you already use Adobe accounts
#11
03
What each one does differently
1
Cleanfeed
United Kingdom · Published
Cleanfeed LLP began in the UK with two broadcast engineers and prices in the open: Lite costs nothing and allows commercial use, Pro is 12 dollars a month for an individual or 36 for a business, and Cinema is 2,500 dollars a year for the first seat. Lite takes two guests; Pro raises that to 32 and adds separate tracks.
Switch from Zencastr if you want a small UK studio with published prices and no hosting attached.
Hindenburg Systems ApS in Copenhagen sells an editor for spoken word, available as a perpetual licence or as a subscription in Standard, Plus and Premium, with a trial period. Transcription runs on your own machine and edits follow the transcript. It does not host guests, so you pair it with a recording route.
Switch from Zencastr if you want to own the editor and keep the transcripts on your machine.
Auphonic GmbH in Graz does one step after capture: levelling, noise reduction, filler cutting and loudness targets. Each month gives two free hours of processing with a jingle added, then credits are bought by the hour. Because it records nothing, it fits behind whichever tool captures the guest.
Switch from Zencastr if your recordings exist already and you need clean-up from an Austrian service.
Cockos sells REAPER as a one-time licence at 60 dollars for personal use, small commercial use up to 20,000 dollars yearly revenue, schools and non-profits, and 225 dollars otherwise. The evaluation lasts 60 days with every function. It is a general workstation, so templates and guest capture are yours to assemble.
Switch from Zencastr if you prefer paying once and building your own show template.
Ardour is open source under the GNU Public License v2 and runs on Linux, macOS and Windows. Compile it yourself, or pay a price you choose for a ready-built download. It records and mixes multitrack audio, with an engineer's interface. Guests, transcripts and publishing come from other tools.
Switch from Zencastr if licence terms matter to you and you are comfortable in a mixing desk layout.
Audacity is a free download for Windows, macOS and Linux under GPL v3, copyrighted to Muse Group and contributors. Version 4 brings workspaces and a new look. It captures your own microphone and edits tracks on the computer, and the plugins it promotes are distributed through MuseHub.
Switch from Zencastr if you record alone and want a cost-free local editor.
RiversideFM, Inc. lists Free with 2 hours of multitrack recording, 720p and a watermark; Pro at 29 dollars monthly or 24 billed yearly with 4K; Grow at 39 or 34. Separate-track downloads are capped at 15 hours on Pro and 20 on Grow, and Business is on request. Editing, streaming and webinars come in the same tiers.
Switch from Zencastr if you want a video-first studio and accept a download cap on tracks.
SquadCast now sits inside Descript. Its pricing shows Free with one recording hour per editor, Hobbyist, Creator and Business per person, billed monthly or yearly. Unused hours roll over up to twice the monthly amount, and extra time costs 5 dollars an hour. Every plan records guests into separate local-WAV files.
Switch from Zencastr if you need metered cloud recording hours and local WAV for each guest.
Descript, Inc. is built around editing the transcript, and its Rooms feature takes guests in the browser. The free plan offers 60 media minutes monthly. Paid plans are per person and meter media hours and AI credits, with enterprise on request, so frequent recorders should check the caps.
Switch from Zencastr if your main chore is cutting the episode by editing text.
Adobe Podcast records solo or with remote guests in the browser, with each guest saved as a 16-bit 48 kHz WAV. Its Enhance Speech tool cleans noisy voice files. Studio is labelled beta, and the Premium tier comes through a Firefly Pro subscription that also sells generative credits.
Switch from Zencastr if voice clean-up matters most and you already use Adobe accounts.
You want a recorder that comes with published prices
Cleanfeed: Lite is free with commercial use for two guests, and Pro at 12 dollars a month for an individual adds separate tracks and 32 guests.
02
You want to own the editor and keep transcripts local
Hindenburg Pro: It sells as a perpetual licence or a subscription and transcribes on your machine, though it has no guest studio.
03
You already have recordings and only need them cleaned
Auphonic: It handles levelling, noise reduction and loudness, with two free processing hours a month.
04
You record video interviews and want editing in the same tool
Riverside: Pro at 29 dollars monthly adds 4K, with separate-track downloads capped at 15 hours.
05
You prefer a one-off payment for your own workstation
REAPER: The licence is 60 dollars for personal or small commercial use and 225 dollars otherwise, after a 60-day evaluation.
04
When Zencastr is still the right choice
Zencastr stays a sensible pick for a new show that wants recording, hosting and distribution without a bill. The page lists up to six participants, 4K video, 48 kHz WAV, local recording with cloud backup, unlimited hosting and five shows, which is hard to match at no charge. If you are comfortable with the licence wording and keep your own copies of every file, there is little reason to move.
05
What moving off Zencastr involves
01
Export every file and the feed before you switch
Download the separate tracks and finished episodes for each show, and keep your own backups, because the terms put that duty on you. Then move the RSS feed with a redirect where the new host supports one, so listeners and directories follow.
02
Check what a legacy plan still covers
If you pay under the older suite, read its separate terms first and note when the subscription ends. Test one recording on the new tool, including a guest on a weak connection, before you cancel.
06
Questions about replacing Zencastr
6 answers
What does Zencastr cost now?
The pricing page we read lists a free plan and an enterprise tier with custom pricing, and it shows no price for a paid step between them. Check the live page, since a legacy plan is covered by separate terms.
Can Zencastr use my recordings to train AI?
The terms grant a licence to user content for training, operation, improvement and fine-tuning of AI models.
Its AI page says it is not in the business of scraping and that you get paid when your conversations help improve AI. It does not state an opt-out on the page we read.
Which alternative records guests in separate tracks?
Cleanfeed Pro does, as do Riverside, SquadCast and Adobe Podcast on their respective plans. Cleanfeed Lite does not offer separate tracks.
Is there a cheap way to leave for a local editor?
Audacity is a free download, REAPER has a 60 dollar discounted licence and Ardour can be built from source. None of these hosts guests, so you add a recording route.
Do I need a replacement for hosting too?
The tools here cover recording and editing, and only some touch publishing. Zencastr bundles hosting on its free plan, so plan a separate host for the feed if you leave.
Where is Zencastr based?
Its terms are governed by California law, with disputes heard in Los Angeles County. Hindenburg Pro (Denmark), Auphonic (Austria) and Cleanfeed (UK) are the non-US options among the alternatives.
—
Sources
Checked 6 November 2026
Zencastr pricing: Free plan, Enterprise on request, six participants, 4K, 48 kHz WAV, five shows, unlimited hosting.
Zencastr terms of service: Licence to user content including AI training, legacy suite under separate terms, termination, backups, California law.
Zencastr AI philosophy: Not in the business of scraping; paid when conversations help improve AI.
Zencastr home page: Free recording and hosting, earning milestones, distribution features.
Cleanfeed pricing: Lite free with commercial use, Pro 12 and 36 dollars monthly, Cinema 2,500 dollars yearly, guest limits, multitrack.
Riverside pricing: Free, Pro, Grow prices, 720p and 4K, separate-track caps of 15 and 20 hours.
SquadCast pricing: Plans per person, one free hour, rollover at twice monthly hours, 5 dollars per extra hour.
REAPER purchase: 60 and 225 dollar licences, eligibility, 60-day evaluation.
Hindenburg Pro: Perpetual licence or subscription in three tiers, local transcription.
Auphonic: Two free hours monthly, credits by the hour, processing only.
Ardour: Open source under GPL v2, pay-what-you-want download.
Audacity: Free GPL v3 editor, version 4, MuseHub plugins.
Descript: Free plan with 60 media minutes, Rooms, per-person paid plans.
Adobe Podcast: Browser recording, Enhance Speech, Studio beta, Firefly Pro access.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Author and fact-checker: Sebastiaan Smits. This page was last reviewed on 6 November 2026; our review process is public.
