How to record a podcast with 2 people in different locations

Your co-host lives in another city, or your guest is on another continent. Here’s how to record a podcast with two people in different locations, and what each free plan covers.

3 ways to record a podcast with 2 people in different locations

1. Record the video call. One app, one Record button.
2. Use a remote studio in your browser. The files upload to you.
3. Run a double-ender. Each person records their own voice during the call, and you line the files up later.

Aim for separate tracks (also called multitrack). Each voice gets its own file, so you can fix one without touching the other.

Option 1: record the video call

Zoom’s computer recording works on the free Basic plan, in the desktop app for Windows, macOS or Linux. It doesn’t work on iOS or Android, so whoever records needs a computer.

To get one file per person, open Settings in the Zoom desktop app. Go to the Recording tab and turn on Record a separate audio file for each participant.

The catch: Zoom records on your computer, so your guest’s file is their voice as it came through the call, glitches included. And as of October 2026, Zoom’s free plan limits meetings to 40 minutes, but not how many you hold. For a 45-minute interview, stop at a natural break and start a new meeting.

Option 2: a remote recording studio in your browser

You send a link, your guest opens it, and you talk. Each device records its own voice, so a weak connection doesn’t ruin the recording.

Riverside’s (opens in a new tab) FAQ says guests join with “no sign-up or installation required.” That’s on a computer. Zencastr (opens in a new tab) and Descript’s (opens in a new tab) Rooms feature work the same way. Here’s what your guest needs, as of October 2026:

Option 3: each person records their own audio (a double-ender)

You talk on a call, and each person records their own voice on a second device, like a phone. Then you line the files up in Audacity (opens in a new tab), a free, open-source editor for Windows, macOS and Linux.

No plan caps the phone recordings, but a free Zoom call ends at 40 minutes. To talk without a break, use Google Meet. As of October 2026, Google’s help page says one-on-one calls can last 24 hours, even without a paid Workspace plan.

The catch is syncing. Each device runs on its own clock, so long recordings slowly drift apart. A clap at the start and the end shows by how much.

Here’s a made-up example: you and your co-host talk on Google Meet on laptops, with headphones on. Each of you records on a phone held close to your mouth. Steps follow the Audacity 4 manual, for version 4.0.1 (current as of October 2026).

1. Start both phone recordings. Count “3, 2, 1” on the call, and both clap.
2. Talk for 45 minutes, then clap together again.
3. In Audacity, import both files and turn off snapping. Drag your co-host’s clip by its header until the first claps line up. The call delays the count, so fine-tune by ear.
4. Check the last claps. Say your co-host’s lands 0.4 seconds late, so their clip runs long.
5. Zoom in on the last claps. On the right edge of your co-host’s clip, drag the lower, clock-marked handle left until the claps line up. That squeezes it to play about 0.015% faster (0.4 ÷ 2,700 × 100 = 0.015).

Before: one call recording, both voices in one file.

After: 2 clean files, one per voice, with the first and last claps lined up.

How far does each free plan go for a weekly show?

A weekly show is about 4 episodes a month: 4 × 45 = 180 minutes. Here’s what $0 covers, as of October 2026:

• Riverside: 2 hours (120 minutes) of separate tracks, one time only. A third would need 3 × 45 = 135. Pro is $24 a month billed yearly ($288), or $29 month to month.
• Descript: 60 media minutes a month, and unused ones don’t carry over. A Rooms session counts once, not once per person, so 4 episodes need 180. Hobbyist ($16 a month billed yearly, or $24 month to month) includes 600 a month.
• Zencastr: the free plan, Vibecastr, lists unlimited separate-track recording.

Which way should you pick?

We haven’t tested these hands-on. Our suggestions are based on each maker’s published plan and help pages, checked October 8, 2026.

Guest 1: a phone, earbuds, no new apps. Ask for wired earbuds. If they have Zoom, record it in 2 meetings, as in Option 1. If they don’t, this guide has no $0 way to record them.

Guest 2: a USB mic on a laptop, happy to record. Send a Riverside link while your 2 free hours last. After that, run a double-ender: they record in Audacity and send you the file.

A 5-step checklist for recording day

1. Send the link a day early, with the device and browser it needs.
2. Ask everyone to wear headphones, wired if possible.
3. Turn on separate tracks if your tool has a setting for it.
4. Record 1 minute, play it back, and listen for echo or a far-away voice.
5. Ask your guest to stay online after you stop. Riverside, Zencastr and Descript all ask guests to wait until their recording has uploaded.

Common mistakes

• No headphones. The other voice leaks from your speakers into your mic as echo, and it’s hard to remove later. Here’s why podcasters wear headphones.
• Bluetooth earbuds as the mic. Descript’s guest guide says a Bluetooth headset used as mic and speaker at once drops to a lower-quality audio mode. Use wired ones. More in why your mic sounds far away.
• Skipping the 1-minute test. A wrong mic shows up in 60 seconds, not 45 minutes.

What to do next

• Pick an option from the decision table, and do a 1-minute test with your co-host today.
• Starting from zero? Read how to start a podcast with just your phone.
• Recording in the same room some weeks? Start with the simplest podcast setup for 2 people. Using 2 USB mics on 1 computer? See whether you can use 2 USB mics at the same time.