Comparison

Backpack Studio Soundboard vs Riverside

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Backpack Studio Soundboard

Record, mix, and master professional-sounding podcasts and radio shows directly from your mobile device. This app automates post-production, allowing you to focus on creativity with live sound triggering and advanced audio processing.

Highlights
  • Live sound triggering with automatic volume adjustment
  • Unlimited soundboard pages with customizable pads
  • Import sounds from various cloud services and apps
  • Optional subscription for remote guest recording and live streaming
  • Create video versions of podcasts with animations
  • Automatic studio-quality audio mastering and EQ
  • Customizable shortcuts for recording and sound triggering
Features
Read full description

Backpack Studio turns your iPhone or iPad into a live soundboard and a complete mobile podcast studio. It’s easy to get started, but there’s plenty here for professionals too. Under the hood is a studio-quality sound engine built for recording and live mixing. Need a soundboard? Load your music, sound effects, cues, intros, voice clips, or anything else you want to play. Arrange everything across multiple pages, then trigger sounds instantly during a podcast, performance, event, class, or stream. We think it’s the most powerful soundboard you can put on an iPhone or iPad. Making a podcast? Record in high quality, mix microphones and sound pads live, invite remote guests, edit the recording, stream your show, and export the finished episode—all from one app. When the recording is finished, Backpack’s optional AI tools can create a transcript, show notes, chapters, and highlight clips. You can even generate original sound effects and music for your show or soundboard. People use Backpack Studio for: Podcasts and radio shows Live events and streams Theatre productions Church services Workshops and classes Voice presentations Weddings and dance recitals Stage management Magic and puppet shows With Backpack Studio you can: Import multiple sounds from iCloud Drive, your device, Google Drive, Dropbox, our free sound library, or your AI generations Arrange pads quickly across multiple soundboard pages Play music, effects, intros, outros, cues, and clips while recording Keep separate soundboards for different shows, clients, and events Record high-quality audio anywhere Mix microphones and sound pads live Bring remote guests into interviews and podcasts Edit and export MP3, M4A, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, or Apple Lossless Live stream your show Create transcripts, show notes, chapters, and highlight clips with AI Generate original sound effects and music Back up and sync recordings and soundboards Backpack Pro unlocks Batch Import, Pad Arranger, transcripts, show notes, chapters, highlight clips, cloud backup and syncing, guest rooms, live streaming, uncompressed recording, lossless exports, and sound generation. Backpack Studio is designed to work well with VoiceOver and has won awards from the AppleVis community. Visit backpackstudioapp.com for more info Send feedback to backpackstudioapp@gmail.com Privacy Policy: https://backpackstudioapp.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Riverside

Record and edit high-quality video and audio podcasts and social media clips from anywhere. Features AI-powered transcription, text-based editing, and teleprompter for professional content creation on the go.

Highlights
  • PRO quality HD audio and video recording
  • AI-powered transcription and speech-to-text
  • Text-based video and audio editing
  • Teleprompter with customizable settings
  • Automatic captions and subtitles
  • Create and share short clips for social media
  • Multi-cam recording
Read full description

Studio-quality recording, editing, and live streaming, right from your phone. Riverside turns your phone into a portable studio for conversations and talking head videos. Record crisp video and audio anywhere, polish it on the spot, go live to your audience, and turn the best bits into posts, without a laptop or a production team. Whether you're creating a podcast, a YouTube channel, a personal brand, or content for your business, this is where it gets made. RECORD ANYWHERE, IN STUDIO QUALITY Record solo, bring on a remote guest, or go audio-only. Riverside captures every track locally, so your quality stays sharp even when your connection doesn't. A built-in stabilizer keeps your shot steady, and your footage uploads in the background as you record, so it's ready to edit and clip the moment you stop. CLIPS FOR SOCIAL, MADE FOR YOU Knowing what to post is hard. Making it is harder. Riverside's AI does both. It finds your most engaging moments, then cuts them, frames them, and adds the captions. You get the best clips from every recording, ready to publish with a tap. EDIT WITH A PROMPT Describe your edit, and Riverside's AI agent makes it. No timeline. No pinching and dragging clips around on a small screen. Tell it which parts to cut and keep, ask it to clean up audio and remove filler words, or add captions and branding. It's the fastest route from raw recording to ready to post, and when you want more control, your project is waiting for you in the Riverside desktop editor. TURN ONE RECORDING INTO A CONTENT ENGINE WITH AI Riverside's AI agent takes a single recording and makes the rest for you: social clips, a thumbnail, captions, a blog post, full show notes. Just ask. LIVE STREAM TO EVERYWHERE AT ONCE Go live and multistream to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Twitch, TikTok, and custom RTMP destinations at the same time — one session, every audience. PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF Started a recording or an edit on your computer? Open it on your phone, watch it back, and leave comments waiting for you when you're back at your desk. Already a Riverside desktop user? The app carries your work with you, so your studio isn't stuck at one location. A SECOND CAMERA IN YOUR POCKET Recording on desktop? Add your phone as a second angle and capture an extra video track for your edit. BUILT FOR CREATORS OF EVERY KIND Podcasters, YouTubers, personal brands, and marketing teams — anyone who wants studio-quality content without the studio. WHY RIVERSIDE True local recording for quality independent of your connection One recording = instantly generated clips, thumbnails, posts, and more. AI editing and audio cleanup Full production suite across mobile and desktop Download Riverside and take your studio anywhere. Terms & Conditions: https://riverside.com/terms-conditions Privacy: https://riverside.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Backpack Studio Soundboard4 screens
Riverside4 screens

Verdict

The call

Backpack Studio Soundboard and Riverside both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 79% of Backpack Studio Soundboard's written reviews are positive against 36% of Riverside's. Riverside's advantage is ratings volume (20K vs 303) and chart position (#190 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Backpack Studio Soundboard sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Riverside sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Backpack Studio Soundboard against 4.7 for Riverside. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Riverside has 20K ratings behind it against 303, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Backpack Studio Soundboard's written reviews are positive against 36% of Riverside's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backpack Studio Soundboard ships an update weekly, Riverside every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Backpack Studio Soundboard versus Riverside: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackpack Studio SoundboardRiverside
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (303 ratings)4.7 (20K ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.7% of reviews — better36.4% of reviews
Number of ratings30320K — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#190 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size133 MB213 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperEd FilowatRIVERSIDEFM, INC

Customer experience

Backpack Studio Soundboard

All ratings303 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral2.6%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews141 reviews
Positive78.7%
Neutral4.3%
Negative17.0%

Riverside

All ratings19,943 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews459 reviews
Positive36.4%
Neutral7.0%
Negative56.6%

User reviews

Backpack Studio Soundboard

From 303 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for video editing
  • 👍 Compatible with screen readers
  • 👍 Easy to create videos with text and audio
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 👍 Flawless performance and stability

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Text displayed in videos differs from original
  • 🐛 Crashes when trying to load pads from Dropbox or Google Drive
  • 🐛 Buttons not responsive, causing issues during live playback
  • 🐛 Crashes when trying to add album art to saved audio files
  • 🔒 Lacks support for Google Drive and 2FA security

Riverside

From 20K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 High-quality audio and video
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient for remote recording
  • 👍 Great platform for podcasters

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues between audio and video
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 Drains battery on mobile devices
  • 👎 Poor customer support
  • 👎 Confusing user experience on mobile app

Bugs and requests

Backpack Studio Soundboard

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Text displayed in videos differs from original
  • Crashes when trying to load pads from Dropbox or Google Drive
  • Buttons not responsive, causing issues during live playback
  • Crashes when trying to add album art to saved audio files

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more audio effects (reverb, echo, etc.)
  • Implement Apple Watch integration for controls
  • Add video recording and editing capabilities
  • Improve multi-track output for further audio editing
  • Provide option to disable the dark pad after playing
Show 1 more
  • Add support for more audio interfaces and inputs

Riverside

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to access recordings through mobile app
  • Inconsistent performance across devices
  • Unreliable upload and download of files

Requested features

3 requests
  • Screen sharing option
  • Ability to edit recordings on mobile app
  • Integration with more platforms like Zoom

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Backpack Studio Soundboard

Subscriptions5
  • Backpack Live 10 Hours3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Pro Subscription$11.991 Month
  • Backpack Live 25 Hours$19.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Backpack Live 60 Hours3 Days trial$29.991 Month
  • backpack pro annual$99.001 Year
One-time1
  • Live Streaming$9.99
9 purchases

Riverside

Subscriptions9
  • Mobile Plus$9.991 Month
  • RS Mobile Plus - monthly$9.991 Month
  • RS Mobile Plus - monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Pro3 Days trial$29.001 Month
  • Grow3 Days trial$39.001 Month
  • RS Mobile Plus - yearly3 Days trial$64.991 Year
  • Mobile Plus$72.001 Year
  • Pro3 Days trial$289.001 Year
  • Grow3 Days trial$409.001 Year

Questions

Is Backpack Studio Soundboard free?
Backpack Studio Soundboard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Riverside free?
Riverside is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Backpack Studio Soundboard or Riverside?
Riverside is rated higher. Backpack Studio Soundboard averages 4.6 out of 5 from 303 ratings, while Riverside averages 4.7 from 20K ratings.
Do Backpack Studio Soundboard or Riverside have ads?
Neither Backpack Studio Soundboard nor Riverside shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Backpack Studio Soundboard or Riverside?
Backpack Studio Soundboard ships an update weekly, and Riverside every 5 days. Most recently, Backpack Studio Soundboard was updated on September 21, 2026 and Riverside on September 26, 2026.

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