SquadCast is commonly referred to as the number one podcasting software on the market, and why shouldn’t it be? They continually make additions to the platform, fine-tweak and custom-tailor different features, and have a loyal following.
We’ve seen a lot of online software companies rise, forget where they came from, and fall, but SquadCast actually seems to pay attention to their user base (which is critical to success, to kudos to them so far).
There is no shortage of podcast tools on the market, whether you’re looking to host your show or record, edit, and produce episodes all on one platform.
But there’s just one small problem that many podcasters have come to learn the hard way. You may end up with unreliable podcast tools that could cause series of issues in the middle of recording.
If you are new to podcasting and want a reliable podcasting tool with brilliant features or you are a seasoned podcaster looking for an absolute game-changer, you may want to consider SquadCast.
Read on to learn more.
What is SquadCast?
SquadCast is an in-browser software program designed for remote recording and creating high-quality audio and video content. The all-in-one software is also a podcast hosting platform with streamlined and easy-to-use features to help podcasters cut down editing and post-production time.
The platform was created to make it extremely easy and efficient for podcast hosts, co-hosts, and guests to connect and share their voice with the world without downloading and installing additional software, plugins, or extensions.
Podcasters can produce multiple shows at the same time with SquadCast, thanks to its post-production collaboration services. This is also made possible with the platform’s patent-pending cloud-based technology.
Interviewing guests with this software is a breeze as there is no technical process to walk them through. In other words, both hosts and guests don’t have to worry about glitches or complex setups that may interrupt the interviews.
Considering the simplicity and reliability of the platform, it is not difficult to see why SquadCast is trusted by many big names in the podcasting world, such as The Jordan Harbinger Show, The New York Times, Google, Microsoft, Women In Tech, ESPN, and more.
The software is nothing short of a creator-friendly platform because the user interface is extremely easy to use. Plus, you can manage every detail before recording a video interview with guests in a built-in outlay known as the Green Room.
Who Is It For?
SquadCast is best for independent podcasts looking to record content remotely. The simple recording and editing features make it easy to edit or separate audio tracks recorded remotely.
Professional podcasts will also find this podcast recording and hosting platform very apt as it is designed to create high-quality content to give podcast brands the pro-level touch they need.
Moreover, collaborating with this tool is a lot easier and seamless – another reason it is highly recommended podcasters who want the best software for remote recording.
Regardless of your experience, creating stellar quality podcasts should be difficult with SquadCast.
Pros and Cons
It’s time to look at the pluses and minus of the software. These are the make-or-break features and considerations, so it is crucial to pay closer attention to this part of the SquadCast review.
Pros
- User-friendly platform: Although SquadCast is nothing short of a professional platform, it is pretty easy to use, even for the complete novice. Inviting guests using the invitation system is pretty straightforward. Hosts only need to provide guests’ email addresses and provide a few other details and the software will send an invitation link to guests.
- No additional software: You don’t need to download anything to record your sessions. Everything is done in your computer browser and offers all participants a seamless experience.
- Backup of recordings: All recording sessions are backed up on a cloud service, so if users should ever lose their primary recordings for any reason, they can access them from the backup.
- Great UI: The User Interface of this software has a first-rate feel, thanks to its great design and intuitive features.
- Quick post-production: SquadCast enables recordings to be done in a format that is pretty easy to edit. This significantly cuts down post-production time and allows for seamless publishing.
- Video recording: You can record studio-quality video with up to 10 participants using this software. The video recording feature allows you to prepare individual files for all the participants.
- Superior audio and video quality: The software does an excellent job of quickly rendering your tracks for download as soon as your podcast recording is complete.
- Reliability: The platform is renowned for being very reliable with zero echos, no delays, no audio drifts, and does not have any connection drops.
- Green Room: We’ll go into further detail later, but suffice to say, plenty of people come to SquadCast just for this feature alone, and stay for the rest.
- Reasonable Pricing: The prices are high, mind you, but well worth the value that you get. You can produce an entire video + audio podcast with insane features for under $4K per year.
- Flexible Trial Period: You know how some trial periods just wall you off from some features, leaving you to wonder why they offer a trial in the first place? SquadCast doesn’t do that, so you can actually get a feel for how the entire service works right away.
- Separate Track Saves: Your audio tracks are accessible from one place but stored as separate tracks, so you can isolate certain audio, apply sound design, and everything in between. This feature is critical for any podcaster who wants to focus on the fine-tuned details and come across as professionally as possible.
- First-Time User Walkthrough: Inviting someone who’s never used SquadCast? They get a simple email and they’re set up in a matter of minutes. It doesn’t take long or requires a bunch of complicated access points.
Cons
As great as SquadCast is, it also has a few downsides. Fortunately, the creators behind the in-browser software are working to overcome many of the challenges the platform currently has.
Here’s a rundown of the few major negatives of SquadCast:
- No mobile app support: A lack of mobile app means listeners do not have access to podcast episodes on the go. Hopefully, SquadCast will make that available soonest to increase listener engagement.
- Lack of support for some browsers and devices: Squadcast currently doesn’t support devices running iOS and iPadOS, such as iPhones and iPads. While the platform works on several browsers, it doesn’t support Safari. And users who still use the almost-phased out Internet Explorer won’t be able to run SquadCast.
- No screen-sharing: There is no screen-sharing option as it is available in some other podcast hosting platforms.
- No free version: The software doesn’t have a free version. This would have captured many hobbyists and beginners.
- Pretty expensive: To get the most out of the platform will cost you a pretty penny, especially when compared to similar podcast recording and hosting services. The cheaper subscription plans only come with very basic features that just won’t cut it for the serious podcaster.
Key Features
This part of the SquadCast review sheds light on the standout features that make the podcast hosting service unique.
Every first-rate audio and video podcasting product should come with certain key features, and SquadCast checks nearly all of these, including:
Excellent Audio Quality
Just about any recording software can record audio, but SquadCast goes over and beyond with its refined audio quality that sounds a lot better than many of its competitors. The result is usually a more engaging listening experience for your audience.
SquadCast is revered for having excellent sound quality without skipping on any of the features. Typically, you’ll find one major service that either doesn’t have enough accessibility features but has great sound or vice versa.
The entire point of SoundCast is to make it as close to a studio experience as possible while clearly not being in the same room as the person you’re interviewing on your podcast. Not losing sound quality across all these channels is truly impressive.
Video Recording
In addition to audio recording, SquadCast can record video podcasts or interviews, giving hosts more value for their money.
Also, remote video recording is done using a patented recording engine that not only records in 720p but also offers lightning-fast video rendering.
Auto Backup
All recordings are automatically and continuously saved and backed up to the cloud. This allows podcasters to record confidently, knowing that if anything should go wrong, they can easily access both audio and video files from the cloud.
But that’s not all. SquadCast is equipped with the progressive uploads feature that ensures all your recordings are captured at the source. This means even when there is a total blackout or power loss, you won’t have to worry about a recording catastrophe.
Green Room
Remote video interviews come out best with the Green Room feature – a built-in outlay that allows hosts to micromanage guests and every important detail before video recording starts.
The Green Room is perhaps one of the best selling points for SquadCast because it’s not the most outrageous concept, but it’s something they were able to implement flawlessly.
Do you know how you get nervous waiting to click “Join” on a Zoom or Skype call? That’s because you don’t feel ready. When you hop into the Green Room, the entire point is to be there earlier than the podcast/show starts.
That way, you can fix your hair, check your mic, and have some light-hearted chat with whoever else is waiting to go on the air or begin recording.
It’s so much more useful than a sitting room. It helps reduce anxiety, reduces microphone and video problems before you realize them mid-show or during post-production, and is easily one of SquadCast’s best features.
SquadCast has plenty of features. In fact, if you look at their pricing page, they have at least 23 (not all of them are in-app features, but still). You are only limited by a few of those 23 features when you pay for their lowest plan.
Hassle-free Guest Experience
Unlike other podcast tools that require guests to download software, set up accounts, and contend with tech, SquadCast skips all that hassle. With a simple invitation link, guests can be on your show (even remotely) and focus on sharing their stories, expertise, or experience with your audience.
From all the podcasting services we’ve tried, we can see why SquadCast has become the one-stop-shop, the ultimate go-to for serious podcasters. The service is always up. Sure, any server goes down from time to time, but the uptime on this service is incredible.
Regardless of how much you’re using this online software, there are no bandwidth or quality restrictions.
The only ones you would even face would be on your own end (bad internet connection), because this service lives up to its credibility.
We aim to be as critical as possible, but when the service just doesn’t go down, it’s hard to find something wrong with it. SquadCast takes its integral role in other podcasting businesses very seriously, as we’ve experienced ourselves.
Progressive Upload
We tested progressive uploads in a pretty applicable way. This is essentially how one user’s data is stored during the middle of an interview.
If you’re 30 minutes into a podcast and your teammate’s internet connection dies, wouldn’t it suck to restart the entire process over again?
You don’t have to. Progressive uploads mean that you’re constantly uploading information to the cloud, so if the internet cuts out, it’s still completely safe (you might lose a second or two at the cutoff depending on your upload speeds, but hey, that’s not too bad).
You can pick up from where you left off and just continue. The time that you save is amazing. When we tested it, we let the interview phase run, and then just unplugged our router, plugged it back in, and saw the recording files.
We did this about five or six times before we realized that SquadCast’s progressive uploads aren’t just a good concept; it’s admittedly one of the most attractive and well-thought-out portions of their entire package.
File Formats
Both video and audio recordings in MP4 and WAV formats are available separately for each participant.
Pricing
SquadCast offers a four-tier pricing plan with the option to pay monthly or annually, and you can cancel your subscription at any time without incurring any cancellation fees. The program allows you to start with a 7-day free trial to check out the various features and functionality.
Pricing for Audio Plans
- Dabbler: $10 per month or $110 per year when billed annually. You get two hours of audio recording with up to four participants (the host included) recording in separate tracks. You also get access to a cloud service for backing up all your recordings.
- Indie: $20 per month or $220 per year when billed annually. This plan allows up to five hours of audio recordings with up to four participants and the option to store unlimited recordings.
- Pro: $50 per month or $550 per year when billed annually. This option gives you 12 hours of audio recording with up to 10 participants. You get to create unlimited recordings with this plan and get recording time analytics. You can also download different audio formats and sync to Google and Outlook Calendars.
- Studio: $150 per month or $1,660 per year when billed annually. Allows up to 25 hours of audio recording with up to 10 participants. The plan offers everything in the Pro Audio plan in addition to chatting with guests and getting round-the-clock support.
Pricing for Audio and Video Plans
- Indie: $40 per month or $440 per year when billed annually.
- Pro: $100 per month or $1,100 per year when billed annually.
- Studio: $300 per month or $3,300 per year when billed annually.
Keep in mind that even if you pay for video plans, you have the option to turn video recording off during your sessions.
There are a whopping 14 different prices for Squadcast. We know, that’s a bit much, but it’s dependent on how much you’ll be using it. There’s nothing worse than overpaying for something that you’re not going to get to use all that much.
While their pricing options may overwhelm some users, they’re definitely scaled to meet the different demands by podcasters. If you’re moving an entire team over and it’s become your job, you’ll benefit more from their higher plan, and so on.
This is a quick breakdown of their pricing structure.
For audio-only packages, it’s broken up by how many hours of recording you want. You have four packages: two hours, five hours, twelve hours, and twenty-five hours, scaling up in price as you go.
The latter options grant access to some premium features, but there isn’t a huge disparity in features between the two-hour and twenty-five-hour plans.
Similarly, the same structure carries over to their audio + video service. This has three different tiers which also scale up in cost. These come in blocks of five hours, twelve hours, and twenty-five hours.
Audio Only Pricing (Monthly)
- 2 Hour Package – $10.00
- 5 Hour Package – $20.00
- 12 Hour Package – $50.00
- 25 Hour Package – $150.00
Audio Only Pricing (Annually)
- 2 Hour Package – $110.00 ($9.17/mo)
- 5 Hour Package – $220.00 ($18.33/mo)
- 12 Hour Package – $550.00 ($45.83/mo)
- 25 Hour Package – $1,650.00 ($137.50/mo)
Audio + Video Pricing (Monthly)
- 5 Hour Package – $40.00
- 12 Hour Package – $100.00
- 25 Hour Package – $300.00
Audio + Video Pricing (Annually)
- 5 Hour Package – $440.00 ($36.67/mo)
- 12 Hour Package – $1,100.00 ($91.67/mo)
- 25 Hour Package – $3,300.00 ($275/mo)
Customer Support
Thanks to the SquadCast 24-hour Support Center, users can access active customer support round the clock. There is also an email service available.
SquadCast also has a knowledge base page where many of the common issues users might have are answered. The page includes quite a number of articles grouped into different categories, such as:
- Recording audio and video
- Account settings
- Audio and video equipment
- Task automation and app connections
- SquadCast tutorials
In addition to all of these, the SquadCast website has a ton of content creation ideas aimed at helping podcasters get plenty of value.
Conclusion
Let’s end this SquadCast review by stating the obvious: this is one of the best remote podcast, editing, and hosting platforms by a long shot! However, it might not be the right podcast production and hosting company for everyone, regardless of its superb features.
We strongly recommend SquadCast for both individuals and brands looking to take podcasting very seriously and don’t mind spending extra on an amazing software program. Of course, it does have its downsides, but the advantages make the tool a solid choice for pros and indie creators alike.
