Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Simon Says: AI transcription, captioning, and translation built for professional video and audio workflows. 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 Simon Says when translating subtitles for international distribution matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required.
AI transcription, captioning, and translation built for professional video and audio workflows.
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
Simon Says is an AI transcription, captioning, and translation platform built for professional audio and video production workflows. Users upload audio or video and Simon Says transcribes the speech into text, with speaker identification to separate dialogue, and can generate subtitles and captions using built-in visual editing tools. The platform supports transcription and translation across roughly a hundred languages, making it useful for international distribution and localization. A defining characteristic is its focus on production environments: Simon Says integrates with industry-standard editing software such as Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Avid, so transcripts and captions can move directly into editing timelines. This positions it as a transcription and captioning layer for video editors, producers, post-production teams, and content creators rather than a meeting note-taker. It is aimed at professionals who need accurate, editable transcripts and subtitles that fit into established editing pipelines, as well as researchers and creators who need reliable speech-to-text and multilingual captioning. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Simon Says is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | Simon Says |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | AI transcription with speaker identification |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Subtitle and caption generation with visual editing |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | Translation across many languages |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | Integrations with Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Avid |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Support for professional audio and video formats |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | AI transcription with speaker identification |
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.
Simon Says
Choose Simon Says if you need transcribing and captioning footage for video editing projects — strengths include integrates directly with professional video editing software.
Alter
Simon Says
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while Simon Says is strong for transcribing and captioning footage for video editing projects. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and Simon Says is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Often yes: teams combine tools when one handles capture and another handles analysis.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Alter and Simon Says.
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. 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.