Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Cresta: Enterprise contact-center AI platform combining real-time agent assist, autonomous AI agents, and conversation intelligence. 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 Cresta when analyzing every interaction to identify behaviors that drive outcomes matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required.
Enterprise contact-center AI platform combining real-time agent assist, autonomous AI agents, and conversation intelligence.
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
Cresta is an enterprise customer-experience AI platform that unifies human and AI agents across voice and digital channels. It captures conversations through integrations with major contact-center systems such as Genesys, NICE, Salesforce, Twilio, and Amazon Connect, then analyzes those interactions at scale to surface behavioral insights and deliver real-time guidance. Its Agent Assist listens to live conversations and provides agents with in-the-moment suggestions, knowledge, and next-best actions, while a Knowledge Agent proactively surfaces context-aware answers without manual prompting. Cresta's conversation intelligence analyzes 100% of interactions to identify the behaviors that drive outcomes, and its automated quality management scores conversations across the board so supervisors gain visibility without manual sampling. The platform also offers autonomous AI agents that can resolve customer conversations end to end, plus an Agent Operations Center that gives supervisors real-time visibility and intervention tools across both human and AI-led conversations. Cresta is built for large enterprise contact centers in industries such as financial services, travel and hospitality, telecommunications, insurance, and healthcare that need real-time assistance, coaching, and analytics at scale. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Cresta is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | Cresta |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | Real-time Agent Assist with live suggestions and knowledge |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Conversation intelligence analyzing 100% of interactions |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | Automated quality management and scoring across all calls |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | Knowledge Agent that proactively surfaces context-aware answers |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Autonomous AI agents for end-to-end conversation resolution |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | Integrations with Genesys, NICE, Salesforce, Twilio, and Amazon Connect |
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.
Cresta
Choose Cresta if you need assisting contact-center agents in real time during customer conversations — strengths include delivers real-time guidance during live conversations, not just post-call review.
Alter
Cresta
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while Cresta is strong for assisting contact-center agents in real time during customer conversations. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and Cresta is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Alter and Cresta.
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