Audio · Podcast

Solo podcast (lean)

All-in-one with Descript. Skip Riverside and Castmagic.

Descript records, edits by transcript, and exports both audio and video. Castmagic's show-notes job becomes a Claude prompt against the Descript transcript. Opus Clip handles shorts.

AUDIOBEGINNERBeginnerFrom $16/mo
The stack
Descript
Record, edit, transcribe

Replaces Riverside (recording) and the editing tool in one. Studio Sound covers what Riverside's local-track usually fixes.

$16/mo Creator · $30/mo ProAlts: Riverside
Opus Clip
Auto-clips for shorts

Free tier covers 1 hour/month of long-form to clips. Drop your Descript export, get 6 to 10 vertical clips with captions.

Free · $19/mo Starter · $59/mo ProAlts: Castmagic
Real monthly cost
small
$16/mo
1 episode/wk, free clips
  • descript$16 Creator
  • opus-clipFree
medium
$35/mo
2/wk + clips
  • descript$16
  • opus-clip$19 Starter
heavy
$110/mo
Daily, multi-show
  • descript$30 Pro
  • opus-clip$59 Pro
  • + hosting$21
Workflow
  1. 1
    Record in DescriptDescript

    Built-in recording with Studio Sound. No second tool. 60-min target.

  2. 2
    Edit by transcriptDescript

    Strip filler words automatically; tighten beats by editing words. ~25 minutes for an hour of audio.

  3. 3
    Show notes from transcript

    Drop the Descript transcript into Claude. The Castmagic prompt works as-is.

    Prompt · Show notes prompt (no Castmagic)
    Episode transcript (exported from Descript):
    """
    {{paste transcript}}
    """
    
    Output (in this order, ready to publish):
    
    1. **Title** — 5 to 8 words, specific noun first, no clickbait. Three options.
    2. **Subtitle** — one sentence, the single most useful takeaway.
    3. **Show notes** (220 to 280 words):
       - 1-paragraph hook (no "in this episode")
       - 5 bulleted timestamps with topic and the specific moment
       - 1 paragraph "what you'll get" with concrete outcomes
    4. **3 quote cards** — under 240 chars each, verbatim from transcript.
    5. **X thread** — 5 to 7 posts, hook first, link at the end.
    6. **LinkedIn post** — 180 words, hook in line 1.
    
    No emojis. No em dashes.
  4. 4
    Auto-clipOpus Clip

    Export the Descript video. Opus picks the 6 best moments, captions them, exports vertical.

  5. 5
    PublishDescript

    Audio to your podcast host (Transistor, Buzzsprout). Video to YouTube. Clips to TikTok/Reels.

What it produced
Solo founder, month 2

Same publish cadence as the recommended stack at $35/mo vs $87/mo. The trade-off: ~10 minutes more editing per episode, no studio-grade local-track recording.

Common pitfalls
Descript Studio Sound != local-track

If you record in a noisy room or with a guest on shaky internet, Riverside's local recording wins. Solo + decent room, Descript is enough.

Opus free tier caps fast

1 hour/month of long-form is one episode. If you ship weekly, you'll need Starter ($19) by week 4.

Other ways to do Solo podcast
Curated by @ryan-c
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