Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Closed Caption Creator: A professional broadcast-grade subtitle and closed-caption editor that uses AI speech-to-text to transcribe audio and video, then exports captions and transcripts in 30+ formats. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Alter when freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot matters most, and Closed Caption Creator when generating and editing ai transcripts of recorded audio or video, then exporting plaintext transcripts or dialogue lists matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required.
A professional broadcast-grade subtitle and closed-caption editor that uses AI speech-to-text to transcribe audio and video, then exports captions and transcripts in 30+ formats.
Alter is a native macOS application that records, transcribes, and analyzes meetings directly on the user's Mac without sending a bot into the call. Instead of joining a meeting as a visible participant, Alter captures audio from the system output and microphone, so it works across Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, WhatsApp, FaceTime, Skype, Discord, and in-person conversations. Transcription runs through on-device models, with a choice of an optimized Parakeet model for major languages or Whisper for broader language coverage, and speaker identification is performed locally. Because processing happens on the device, recordings and transcripts stay on the Mac and the app can operate without an internet connection. Beyond raw transcripts, Alter generates summaries and action items, lets users chat with their meetings, and connects to tools such as Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, and Jira. It targets solopreneurs, freelancers, consultants, and other professionals who want private, bot-free meeting capture on macOS. The product is actively developed and operating in 2025 and 2026. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Closed Caption Creator is a professional subtitle and closed-captioning editor, available as both a desktop and web (Chrome) application, built for broadcast, film, and media-accessibility workflows. It turns audio and video into text using AI speech-to-text transcription, letting users pick from multiple integrated providers, including Deepgram, Assembly AI, Google Speech-to-Text, Rev AI, Speechmatics, and Voicegain, to suit different languages and accuracy needs. Generated captions land in an intuitive timed-text editor where teams can spot, format, and review caption events, with speaker identification, punctuation and capitalization, frame-accurate timing, and custom glossaries for specialized terminology. Quality control features include configurable style guides, automatic error detection, batch editing, custom keyboard shortcuts, tags, notes, and approval states for collaboration. It exports plaintext transcripts, dialogue lists, and captions in 30+ formats such as SRT, VTT, SCC, TTML, and XML, can burn subtitles into video, and machine-translates to 70+ languages. It is aimed at captioners, broadcasters, and content producers rather than general meeting note-takers.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Closed Caption Creator is a free tier with paid upgrades (paid). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | Closed Caption Creator |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | AI speech-to-text transcription with a choice of providers (Deepgram, Assembly AI, Google, Rev AI, Speechmatics, Voicegain) |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Timed-text caption editor with spotting, formatting, speaker IDs, and frame-accurate timing |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | Export to 30+ caption/subtitle formats plus plaintext transcripts and dialogue lists (SRT, VTT, SCC, TTML, XML) |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | Quality control with custom style guides, automatic error detection, batch editing, and custom keyboard shortcuts |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Machine translation of captions to 70+ languages |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | Burnt-in subtitle video export and embedded 608/708 captioning (Pro/Enterprise) |
Alter
Choose Alter if you need freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot — strengths include local processing keeps recordings and transcripts on the user's own mac.
Closed Caption Creator
Choose Closed Caption Creator if you need captioning and subtitling broadcast, film, and online video for accessibility and compliance — strengths include strong professional/broadcast feature set with provider choice for transcription accuracy.
Alter
Closed Caption Creator
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while Closed Caption Creator is strong for captioning and subtitling broadcast, film, and online video for accessibility and compliance. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and Closed Caption Creator is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Alter and Closed Caption Creator.
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