Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Fellow: Fellow is an AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and Webex, with automatic action items and an AI agent for follow-ups. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Alter when freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot matters most, and Fellow when recording and summarizing sales calls with automatic salesforce or hubspot updates 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.
Fellow is an AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and Webex, with automatic action items and an AI agent for follow-ups.
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
Fellow (fellow.ai, formerly fellow.app) is an AI meeting assistant focused on privacy and security. It records and transcribes meetings with real-time transcripts in 90+ languages, generates structured summaries, and automatically extracts and assigns action items. Recordings can run with a visible bot or "botless" directly from the desktop apps (Mac/Windows), and mobile apps capture in-person conversations. Its AskFellow AI agent searches across meetings you have access to, then drafts follow-up emails, memos, and CRM updates. Fellow works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Slack Huddles, phone calls, and in-person meetings, and integrates with 50+ tools including Salesforce, HubSpot, Asana, Jira, Linear, Notion, Confluence, Slack, and Zapier. It offers SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance. The free plan includes a lifetime cap of 5 AI notes and 5 AI recordings per user.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Fellow is from $7/mo (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | Fellow |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | AI transcription |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Meeting summaries |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | Action item tracking |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | Botless recording |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | AskFellow AI agent |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | AI transcription |
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.
Fellow
Choose Fellow if you need automatically capturing notes, decisions, and action items during recurring team meetings — strengths include records and transcribes across zoom, google meet, teams, webex, plus phone and in-person meetings.
Alter
Fellow
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while Fellow is strong for automatically capturing notes, decisions, and action items during recurring team meetings. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and Fellow is from $7/mo. 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 Fellow.
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.
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