Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. joinly: Open-source, self-hostable connector that lets AI agents join Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams calls to transcribe, listen, and act in real time via MCP. 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 joinly when self-hosted, privacy-first real-time meeting transcription for regulated teams matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required.
Open-source, self-hostable connector that lets AI agents join Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams calls to transcribe, listen, and act in real time via MCP.
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
joinly is an open-source middleware project (by joinly-ai) that makes meetings accessible to AI agents. It runs as a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that equips any agent with the tools to join a live video call, capture a real-time transcript, and interact by voice or chat during the meeting. Rather than being a finished notetaker app, joinly is a framework developers use to build interactive meeting agents that can listen, answer, search the web, draft documents, and post chat messages while the meeting is in progress. It works cross-platform across Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams (and browser-based calls), and is model-agnostic, supporting OpenAI, Anthropic, and local models through Ollama. Speech-to-text and text-to-speech are modular, with Whisper or Deepgram for transcription and Kokoro, ElevenLabs, or Deepgram for synthesis. The project is MIT licensed and deployed via Docker (with a separate CUDA GPU image), giving teams full data sovereignty. The MCP server exposes join/leave controls, transcript and participant access, audio control, chat messaging, and video snapshots, making it a building block for custom, privacy-first meeting automation. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); joinly is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | joinly |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | MCP server that exposes meeting tools (join/leave, transcript, chat, audio control, snapshots) to AI agents |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Real-time transcription with timestamps and speaker information, subscribable for live updates |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | Cross-platform support for Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and browser-based calls |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | Modular speech-to-text and text-to-speech backends (Whisper, Deepgram, Kokoro, ElevenLabs) |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Model-agnostic: works with OpenAI, Anthropic, and local LLMs via Ollama |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | Docker-based self-hosting with optional CUDA GPU image |
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.
joinly
Choose joinly if you need building custom ai meeting agents that answer questions and run tasks during live calls — strengths include fully open source (mit) and self-hostable for complete data control.
Alter
joinly
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while joinly is strong for building custom ai meeting agents that answer questions and run tasks during live calls. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and joinly is a free tier with paid upgrades. 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 joinly.
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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