Rivendell deserves its reputation: serious, GPL-licensed, broadcast-grade automation on Linux, trusted by community and public stations for two decades, with no license fees and no dongles. What it asks in exchange is a Linux administrator and a toolchain assembled from parts — third-party schedulers, third-party traffic, external streaming and processing. AirWaves is the opposite trade: one supported browser-based platform where all of it is built in. Here is an honest side-by-side.
Comparison based on features publicly advertised at rivendellaudio.org as of August 2026. Rivendell is a trademark of its owner; AirWaves is not affiliated with Rivendell. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
| Capability | AirWaves | Rivendell |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Browser-based; control from any screen (Windows playout engine) | GNU/Linux, self-hosted; open source (GPL v2) |
| Price | Commercial platform — demo available | Free, open source; paid support available from Paravel Systems |
| Radio automation & playout | Yes — own engine, separate Air and Stream schedules simultaneously | Yes — multiple logs, SoundPanel live assist, touchscreen-friendly |
| Music scheduling | Yes — format clocks, rule tree, energy-flow sequencing, built in | Imports from third-party music schedulers via RDLogManager |
| Traffic & billing | Full traffic, invoicing, AR & general ledger, network clearance & barter | Imports from third-party traffic systems; no billing |
| AI tools | AI imaging, AI DJ personas, AI newscasts, AI weathercast, AI show prep, AI program director | None advertised |
| Voice tracking | Yes — markers, dayparts, remote via browser | Yes |
| Streaming | Yes — with VAST ad insertion and stream ad replacement | Not core — typically external tools |
| Audio processing | Full broadcast chain — AGC, multiband, FM clipper, split Air/Stream finals | External (JACK/Linux audio ecosystem) |
| Support | Vendor support plus the HELP community | Community mailing list; commercial support via Paravel |
| Use modules with other automation | Every module runs standalone and feeds any automation — including Rivendell | Designed to integrate with third-party schedulers and traffic |
They solve the same playout problem with opposite philosophies. Rivendell is free, open-source Linux automation you assemble into a full system with third-party schedulers and traffic. AirWaves is a commercial browser-based platform where scheduling, traffic, billing, AI tools, production and streaming are already one product. If the assembling — or the person who did it — has become the risk, AirWaves is the step up.
Yes. As of August 2026, Rivendell is open source under GPL v2 with no license fees, and commercial support is available from Paravel Systems. The real cost is operational: a Linux machine to administer and the surrounding toolchain — music scheduler, traffic system, streaming and processing — to select, connect and maintain yourself.
What comes in the box. Rivendell is deliberately a playout core that imports from third-party music schedulers and traffic systems, with streaming and processing handled by external tools. AirWaves ships the entire chain — scheduling with format clocks and a rule tree, full traffic and billing with network clearance, AI imaging and DJ tools, show prep, multitrack production, processing and streaming with ad insertion — as one platform in the browser.
Yes, and Rivendell is unusually good at accepting them: RDLogManager exists to import third-party schedules and traffic. The AirWaves music scheduler and traffic system can generate the logs Rivendell imports, and AI imaging, weathercasts and show prep land as finished audio files in the folders you already ingest.
Not ready to switch anything? Every AirWaves module — music scheduling, traffic & billing, show prep, AI imaging, the AI DJ and more — also runs alongside the automation you already own.
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