The full episode
Cut, colour-safe, branded intro, lower thirds and your sponsor woven in.
Your 1st episode is freeRecord it today.
Record it today.
Edit & publish in 20 Minutes or Less.
1st Episode is a podcast studio in your browser. Record your show, and AI hands back the edited episode, clips & shorts, captions, thumbnails and show notes — ready to publish.
No editing software, no gear, no experience. Every show is still led by a real human host.
Free first episode•No credit card•No editing experience needed
Actual turnaround depends on your episode and how much you customize.
20 Minutes or Less
after you stop recording
Recording → edited episode, clips & shorts, captions, thumbnails → Approve & Publish
How it works
Three steps from idea to published.
You do the talking. The studio handles the production work that usually eats your week.
1
Record in your browser
No software, no gear required. Invite guests by link, read from the built-in teleprompter, and hit record with a countdown.
2
AI edits everything
The full episode gets cut and branded, plus clips & shorts, burned-in captions, thumbnails, titles and show notes.
3
Approve and publish
Review everything on one screen, tweak what you want, then post straight to YouTube in a click.
Start my 1st episode free No credit card. Nothing to install.
One recording in
A whole content week out.
You hit stop once. Everything below is waiting for your approval.
Clips & shorts
Long-form clips and vertical shorts, picked from the transcript so they never cut mid-sentence.
Burned-in captions
Karaoke-style, on-brand, top or bottom.
Thumbnails
Multiple concepts in your brand colours, ready to A/B.
Show notes & titles
Guest research, segment questions, YouTube-ready descriptions.
One-click publishing
Approve everything, and it posts straight to your channel.
The 20-minute workflow
Drag through a podcast edit. Watch it shrink.
Same conversation, two workflows. Slide to compare what each stage costs you.
The old way
Cut the full episode by hand
2 hrs
of ~4 hrs total
With 1st Episode
AI magic-edit builds the cut
5 min
of 20 Minutes or Less
See it for yourself
Don't take our word for it.
Watch episodes that came out of this exact workflow, then decide.
Watch real episodesReal shows, really published
Every episode on the Productions page was recorded, edited and posted through 1st Episode.
You own everything
Your recordings, edits, clips and artwork are yours. Download the source files any time.
A human is always on the mic
AI does the production grind. Hosting, guests and the conversation stay yours — or hire talent from the network.
Nothing is locked to the AI
Every cut, caption, thumbnail and title is editable before it ever goes live.
Three doors in
Which one are you?
Your first episode is on us.
Record in the browser, get the edit back the same day, and post it without touching a timeline.
Start free- Browser studio with guests, teleprompter and countdown
- AI magic edit: 5 segments and clips & shorts every recording
- Thumbnails, captions and show notes generated for you
- First episode free — no credit card
Simple pricing
Start free. Pay when it's working.
Your 1st episode is free — no card. After that, plans are measured in fully produced episodes, so you always know what you're getting.
Questions
Before you sign up.
The things people ask us most.
The 1st Episode talent marketplace
Hire a human host, or become one.
Also on 1st Episode · Talent marketplace
The AI does the editing. Humans still do the talking.
Brands that don't want to be on camera hire a host from the network. Producers who love the operations side get booked as assistant producers. Everyone sets their own price.
Hosts
Real people on the mic. Set a per-episode rate, cap how many shows you take, and get paid as soon as the recording is completed.
Assistant producers
Handle guest wrangling, approvals and posting. Charge per episode or hold a monthly retainer.
Booked around your life
Cadence limits and monthly caps mean nobody books you into a corner.
Paid on delivery
Hosts are paid once the recording is completed — no waiting for the publish. Assistant producers are paid monthly on retainer or when the episode goes live.
Also on 1st Episode · Spaces
1st Episode Spaces
Airbnb for podcast studios. Turn a spare bedroom or an unused office into a bookable recording room, or find a properly kitted studio a few minutes from you. Hosts earn on the room; creators record somewhere that sounds great.
01
Create your show
Name it, drop in a logo, and we pull your brand colours automatically.
02
Record or upload
Use the browser studio with guests, or bring a file you already have.
03
Approve and publish
Review the edit, shorts, captions and thumbnails — then post.
Your 1st episode is free.
Record it today, publish when you're ready. No card, no editing software, no six-hour timeline.
Claim my free episode