Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Dovetail: Customer insights platform that centralizes interviews and feedback, with AI transcription, analysis, search, and a research repository. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Alter when freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot matters most, and Dovetail when building a searchable repository of customer insights 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.
Customer insights platform that centralizes interviews and feedback, with AI transcription, analysis, search, and a research repository.
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
Dovetail is a customer insights and research platform that centralizes qualitative data from user interviews, sales calls, support tickets, and research studies into a single repository powered by AI. Teams can upload or import interview recordings and let Dovetail handle AI transcription, then analyze the material to turn raw feedback into structured intelligence. Its AI capabilities include automatic analysis, AI chat and search across customer data, AI dashboards that visualize trends alongside business metrics, and AI docs for creating shareable outputs. The research repository organizes studies, transcripts, tags, and highlights so insights remain searchable and reusable across projects, and highlight reels let teams clip and share video evidence of key moments. Dovetail supports transcription in multiple languages and includes redaction of sensitive information for privacy. It connects to other tools through integrations and an API so customer signals can flow across a team's stack. Used by product, design, research, and customer experience teams, Dovetail aims to replace assumption-based decisions with evidence drawn directly from customer conversations and feedback. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Dovetail is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | Dovetail |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | AI transcription of interview and meeting recordings |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Automatic analysis that turns raw feedback into structured insights |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | AI chat and search across all customer data |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | Research repository for transcripts, tags, and highlights |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Highlight reels and video clips of key moments |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | AI dashboards, AI docs, and sensitive-information redaction |
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.
Dovetail
Choose Dovetail if you need transcribing and analyzing user research interviews — strengths include centralizes interviews and feedback from many sources in one repository.
Alter
Dovetail
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while Dovetail is strong for transcribing and analyzing user research interviews. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and Dovetail is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
You can — some teams pair them when each covers a different part of the meeting workflow.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Alter and Dovetail.
Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Amber Notes: EU-focused AI meeting notetaker by Dutch company Amberscript, with EU-only data hosting, multilingual transcription and an Ask Amber chat. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Amberscript: Audio and video to text service offering automatic and human-verified transcripts and subtitles. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
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Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Anarlog: Open-source, local-first AI meeting notepad (formerly Hyprnote) by Fastrepl that records and summarizes private meetings on your own device with no bot. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
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Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Aspect: AI interview assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes recruiting interviews, then autofills ATS scorecards. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Attendee: Open-source, self-hostable meeting bot API that sends bots into Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams to capture recordings and transcripts. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Attention: AI conversation intelligence platform that records and transcribes sales calls, scores them against frameworks, and automates CRM updates and follow-ups. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Attio Call Intelligence: Attio's native call intelligence records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings and syncs every conversation to the Attio CRM automatically. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. AudioNotes: AI note taker for voice, audio, video, and text that records meetings and memos and turns them into structured notes and summaries. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. AudiosTranscribe: French-focused, bot-free meeting transcription tool with European inference, summaries, action plans, and automatic audio deletion. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Audiosum: AI transcription platform with Arabic dialect support that transcribes and summarizes meetings, lectures and videos. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.