Side-by-side comparison · Video & Audio
Google Flow Music vs Kapwing vs Riverside
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Creators and small businesses who want custom songs, jingles or background music, and hobbyists who just want to make music.
Pick it if: Social media managers, content teams and small businesses who make lots of short videos and want to edit them together.
Pick it if: Businesses running a podcast, interview series or webinar who want guests to sound and look professional without a studio.
Overview
| Attribute | Google Flow Music | Kapwing | Riverside |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Google's AI music studio: chat to make full songs, edit them, and make a music video. | Edit, subtitle and resize videos for social in your browser, with your team. | Records podcasts and video interviews remotely in studio quality, with AI editing. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $0 | $0 | $29/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | No | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Google Flow Music | Kapwing | Riverside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Google Flow Music | Kapwing | Riverside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | No | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | No | No |
| API access | No | No | – |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | No | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | No | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | No | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | – |
| Makes images | Yes | No | No |
| Makes video | Yes | – | No |
| Writes code | Yes | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | Yes | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 7/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 8/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Google Flow Music | Kapwing | Riverside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free $0 Trying it and making the odd song. | Free $0 Trying it on a few short clips. | Free Free Trying it with a test episode. |
StarterOur pick $6/mo Creators who need music every week. | ProOur pick $16/mo billed yearly Creators and small teams posting every week. | ProOur pick $29/mo, or $24/mo billed yearly A business running a regular podcast or interview series. | |
Plus $18/mo Heavy users and music videos. | Business $50/mo billed yearly Teams that dub, clone voices or translate at volume. | Grow $39/mo, or $34/mo billed yearly Teams recording several shows or long interviews. | |
Member $48/mo Musicians who live in it. | Enterprise Custom Large organisations. | Webinar $99/mo, or $79/mo billed yearly Businesses that run webinars and live events. | |
Business Custom Larger teams with several producers. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Start on Free, since the daily credits go a long way for background music. Starter is cheap enough to take once you're making music every week. Yearly billing saves about 25%. | Pro is the plan for almost everyone, because Free's watermark and 4-minute cap rule it out for real work. Business is only worth it if you're dubbing or cloning voices regularly. Paying yearly saves about a third. | Pro on yearly billing covers most company podcasts. Move to Grow only if you record more than about five hours a month, and to Webinar only if you host live events. |
Key features
| Attribute | Google Flow Music | Kapwing | Riverside |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Google Flow Music | Kapwing | Riverside |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Google Flow Music | Kapwing | Riverside |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Google Flow Music, Kapwing or Riverside?
They tie on our overall rating (Google Flow Music 4.3/5, Kapwing 4.0/5 and Riverside 4.3/5). Google Flow Music is best for custom background music for videos and jingles and short brand songs. Kapwing is best for subtitling and resizing clips for every platform and teams editing the same videos together. Riverside is best for company podcasts with remote guests and recording client or customer interviews.
Which is cheaper, Google Flow Music, Kapwing or Riverside?
Google Flow Music: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Kapwing: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Riverside: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $29/mo.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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