Both tools want to own your podcast workflow, but they start from opposite ends. Riverside starts at the recording: high-quality local tracks, guests who do not need to understand audio, separate video files that survive a bad connection. Descript starts after the recording: a transcript you edit like a document, filler-word removal, and a Studio Sound pass that rescues rooms it should not be able to rescue.
If you interview remote guests weekly, Riverside is the safer capture layer. If you spend most of your time cutting, Descript wins on hours saved per episode — and it is the one we would keep if we could only pay for one. The honest answer for a serious show is to record in Riverside and edit in Descript.