DirectorySwell AI vs Castmagic
Swell AI vs Castmagic
Checked October 20, 2026. Swell AI's figures are from the pricing block on swellai.com. Castmagic's figures are from castmagic.io/pricing, on the monthly and annual toggles. Podsqueeze is quoted from its listing, last checked October 17, 2026, which still has no dollar amounts.
Minutes and a library
Swell AI meters transcription minutes. Hobby is $0 for 1 upload a month. Studio is $29/month for 300 minutes. Agency is $49/month for 600 minutes. Pay as you go is $8.99 per 60 minutes. The block labels annual billing as two months free, and it does not print a separate annual dollar total. Each plan lists unlimited GPT-3.5 writing, video clips, and audiograms. Hobby lists no customer support.
Castmagic meters a library of transcribed hours, not a monthly minute cap. Hobby is $29/month, or $19/month billed annually ($239/year), for 30 hours. Starter is $69/month, or $48/month annually ($579/year), for 100 hours. Team is $199/month, or $139/month annually ($1,669/year), for 400 hours, with 5 seats and extra seats at $19/month or $159/year. The annual toggle says save 30%. You can buy more hours. There is no free plan on the pricing page.
What comes out of the upload
Both aim at the pile after the recording: a transcript, titles, show notes, and clips. Swell also names newsletters, articles, social posts, and audiograms on the same page as the plans. Castmagic's table includes unlimited media clipping, unlimited audiograms, and AI image generation on Hobby, Starter, and Team. You still edit the draft. A generated newsletter repeats the episode more often than it finds the line worth sending.
Podsqueeze is the third tool in this job. The listing still quotes no dollar figure, because the pricing page did not render one on the last check. Minutes there can roll over. Use it as a second pass on one episode, not as a price you can compare from this page. The Best AI tools for podcast show notes page is the wider shelf, including the tools that only hand you a transcript.
Which bill matches the show
One episode, to see if the notes are usable: Swell Hobby, one upload, $0. A weekly hour, and you want the writing and the clips in the same place: Studio is 300 minutes, which is about five hour-long episodes if the whole file is transcribed. A back catalog, or a team that will keep the hours: Castmagic, because the hours are a library total and Starter holds 100 of them. A show that only needs the words, and will write the notes by hand, should not buy either of these. The Transcription and show notes list has the flat-price transcribers.
Listings on this page
Questions
Is there a free plan for show notes?
Swell AI Hobby is $0 for 1 upload a month, and that plan includes the writing, clips, and audiograms. Castmagic's pricing page starts at Hobby for $29/month, or $19/month billed annually. There is no free Castmagic plan on that page.
Do unused hours roll over?
Castmagic's hours are a library total, not a monthly cap that resets. You can buy more. Swell sells monthly transcription minutes on Studio and Agency. The page does not say those minutes roll over. Pay as you go is $8.99 per 60 minutes if the monthly pool is the wrong shape.
Will either tool publish the episode?
No. They draft the text and the clips from a file you already have. Hosting, the RSS feed, and the email send are separate. Read the draft before it goes in the show notes.