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Research · head to head

Condens vs Riverside.fm

Condens logo

Condens

Research

UX research repository for storing, tagging and sharing qualitative study findings

From
€15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Riverside.fm logo

Riverside.fm

Video Production

High-quality remote podcast and video recording platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Riverside.fm has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Condens the gap between the 15 euro Lite plan and the 500 euro Business plan has nothing in it, so a team adding a second and third researcher jumps roughly thirtyfold in cost at exactly the point budget scrutiny arrives.; Riverside.fm free plan limited to 2 hours of multi-track recording and adds a watermark
  • They diverge on capability: Condens covers Highlight and tag, Riverside.fm covers Remote recording.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Condens and Riverside.fm actually diverge.

Attributes where Condens and Riverside.fm differ
AttributeCondensRiverside.fm
Starting price€15/monthFree
Pricing modelPer contributor per monthfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryResearchVideo Production
FoundedUnknown2019

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Condens

  • Highlight and tag
  • Theme clustering
  • Insight pages
  • Participant profiles
  • Search across studies
  • Viewer seats
  • Video clip reels

Only in Riverside.fm

  • Remote recording
  • High-quality capture
  • Video editing
  • Live streaming
  • Distribution tools
  • Zapier
  • IFTTT
  • Google Drive

Both cover

  • Automatic transcription

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Condens

  • A solo researcher at a 40-person product company building a searchable evidence base for 15 euros a monthnot Riverside.fm
  • A European enterprise research team that needs GDPR-oriented data handling to clear internal procurementnot Riverside.fm
  • A team wanting product managers to click from a stated insight straight to the participant clip that supports itnot Riverside.fm
  • A researcher inheriting years of interview recordings and needing them transcribed, tagged and searchable in one placenot Riverside.fm

Riverside.fm

  • Remote podcast and video interview recording with multi-track separationnot Condens

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Condens

  • The gap between the 15 euro Lite plan and the 500 euro Business plan has nothing in it, so a team adding a second and third researcher jumps roughly thirtyfold in cost at exactly the point budget scrutiny arrives.
  • Lite includes no viewer seats at all, which defeats the main purpose of a repository: anyone outside the research team who wants to read a finding has to be paid for as a contributor or sent a static export.
  • Cross-project participant profiles are capped at 25 on Lite, so a solo researcher doing longitudinal work with a recurring panel outgrows the entry tier on that limit rather than on seats.
  • As a bootstrapped fifteen-person company it ships AI synthesis, automatic theme extraction and moderated-interview features more slowly than venture-funded rivals, so teams that want the repository to do the analysis rather than organise it will find it behind.
  • It is a repository, not a research platform: recruitment, panel management, unmoderated testing and survey fielding all live elsewhere, so it adds a subscription rather than consolidating one.

Riverside.fm

  • Free plan limited to 2 hours of multi-track recording and adds a watermark
  • Pro plan at $29 per month caps separate-track recording at 5 hours per month
  • Business plan with unlimited storage and SSO is quote only, requiring contact with sales

Pricing, plan by plan

Condens

€15/month
  • Lite$15/month
    • 1 contributor included, additional contributors 15 euros each
    • No viewer seats
    • Unlimited projects, transcription hours and storage
  • Business$500/month
    • 5 contributors included, additional contributors 85 euros each
    • Unlimited viewers
    • Unlimited participant profiles and folders
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Minimum 5 contributors
    • Custom contributor rates
    • Unlimited viewers

Riverside.fm

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 2 hours of multi-track recordings
    • 720p video quality
    • 44.1 kHz audio
  • Pro$29/month
    • $24 per month annual
    • 4K video and 48kHz audio
    • No watermark
  • Grow$39/month
    • $34 per month annual
    • 1080p live streaming
    • Social media scheduling
  • Webinar$99/month
    • $79 per month annual
    • Host webinars up to 100 registrants
    • Lead capture tools

Which should you pick?

Choose Condens if

  • You need highlight and tag.
  • You also want theme clustering.
Condens review

Choose Riverside.fm if

  • You need remote recording.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want high-quality capture.
Riverside.fm review

Questions people ask

Is Condens or Riverside.fm better?
Neither clearly leads. Condens starts at €15/month and Riverside.fm at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Condens or Riverside.fm?
Riverside.fm has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €15/month for Condens and Free for Riverside.fm.
Does Condens or Riverside.fm run on more platforms?
Condens runs on Web. Riverside.fm runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Riverside.fm for free?
Yes. Riverside.fm has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Condens starts at €15/month.
What is Condens best used for?
Condens is most often used for a solo researcher at a 40-person product company building a searchable evidence base for 15 euros a month, a european enterprise research team that needs gdpr-oriented data handling to clear internal procurement, a team wanting product managers to click from a stated insight straight to the participant clip that supports it, a researcher inheriting years of interview recordings and needing them transcribed, tagged and searchable in one place. Of those, a solo researcher at a 40-person product company building a searchable evidence base for 15 euros a month and a european enterprise research team that needs gdpr-oriented data handling to clear internal procurement are not what Riverside.fm is typically brought in for.
What can Condens do that Riverside.fm cannot?
Condens covers Highlight and tag, Theme clustering, Insight pages, Participant profiles. Riverside.fm covers Remote recording, High-quality capture, Video editing, Live streaming. Both handle Automatic transcription.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Condens: Is there a free plan?

No, only a 15-day trial on any tier with no card required.

Riverside.fm: How much does Riverside FM cost?

Pro plan is $29/month ($24 annually), Grow is $39/month ($34 annually), and Webinar is $99/month ($79 annually). A Free plan with 2 hours recording is available. Business plan requires contacting sales.

Source
Condens: Can stakeholders read findings without a licence?

Only on Business and above, where viewer seats are unlimited. Lite has none.

Riverside.fm: Does Riverside FM offer annual billing discounts?

Yes, annual billing provides up to 20% discount compared to monthly rates. Specific savings vary by plan tier.

Source
Condens: Is transcription metered?

No. Transcription hours, storage and project count are unlimited on every plan; participant profiles and folders are what the tiers restrict.

Riverside.fm: What is included in the Free plan?

The Free plan includes 2 hours of multi-track recordings, 720p video quality, 44.1 kHz audio, unlimited single-track recording, and a Riverside watermark on exports.

Source
Condens: Where is data hosted?

Condens is a German company with an explicitly GDPR-oriented setup, which is a common reason European enterprises shortlist it.

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