Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Happy Scribe: Transcription/subtitling and GDPR-friendly meeting notes, 150+ languages 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 Happy Scribe when creating subtitles and captions 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.
Transcription/subtitling and GDPR-friendly meeting notes, 150+ languages
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
Happy Scribe is a transcription and subtitling platform that converts audio and video into accurate text and captions across a wide range of languages. It offers both automatic and human-made transcription and subtitles, letting users balance speed against accuracy depending on the project. Happy Scribe is widely used to transcribe recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, and videos, and to create subtitles for content, with an in-browser editor for reviewing and correcting transcripts and exporting them in many formats. Its strong language coverage and subtitle tools make it popular with content creators, researchers, and international teams that need reliable text and captions from recordings. Because it focuses on processing recorded audio and video rather than acting as a live meeting bot, it is typically used to handle existing files or recordings. Happy Scribe is valued for its breadth of languages, flexible automatic-versus-human options, and solid subtitle and export capabilities for turning recordings into usable text. Platforms: Web / upload audio and video. Integrations: Zapier. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Happy Scribe is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | Happy Scribe |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | Automatic and human transcription |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Subtitles and captions |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | Wide multi-language support |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | In-browser transcript editor |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Multi-format export |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | Automatic and human 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.
Happy Scribe
Choose Happy Scribe if you need transcribing recordings and interviews — strengths include strong language and subtitle support.
Alter
Happy Scribe
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while Happy Scribe is strong for transcribing recordings and interviews. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and Happy Scribe 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 Happy Scribe.
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. 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.