Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Fireflies: AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes calls across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, with the AskFred AI chat and native CRM sync. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Alter when freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot matters most, and Fireflies when recruiting and interview notes 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.
AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes calls across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, with the AskFred AI chat and native CRM sync.
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
Fireflies.ai joins video calls to record and transcribe meetings, then generates AI summaries, action items, and fully searchable notes. Its AskFred assistant lets you query past meetings in natural language ("what did we decide about pricing?"), while conversation-intelligence features add topic trackers, talk-time, and sentiment analytics. Fireflies works across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, transcribes in a wide range of languages, and integrates natively with CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot plus Slack, Notion, Asana, and Zapier. A free plan covers limited transcription and AI credits for individuals; paid tiers raise transcription and storage limits and unlock team conversation analytics, making it a strong fit for sales, recruiting, and customer-research teams that live in their CRM.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Fireflies is from $18/mo (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | Meeting transcription |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | AI summaries |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | AskFred AI chat |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | CRM sync |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Conversation intelligence |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | Meeting 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.
Fireflies
Choose Fireflies if you need sales call capture and crm logging — strengths include powerful meeting search plus the askfred natural-language assistant.
Alter
Fireflies
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while Fireflies is strong for sales call capture and crm logging. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and Fireflies is from $18/mo. 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 Fireflies.
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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. 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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