Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. Swell AI: Swell AI transcribes podcast audio and video with automatic speaker labeling and turns the transcript into show notes, articles, summaries, and social posts. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Alter when freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot matters most, and Swell AI when turning a single episode into show notes, a blog article, and social posts for distribution matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required.
Swell AI transcribes podcast audio and video with automatic speaker labeling and turns the transcript into show notes, articles, summaries, and social posts.
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
Swell AI is a transcription and content-repurposing platform built for podcasters, content creators, marketers, and agencies. Users upload audio or video, or pull episodes in from sources such as RSS feeds, Apple Podcasts, YouTube links, and cloud storage like Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Swell AI generates a transcript in which speakers are automatically identified and labeled, and provides a transcript editor where you can highlight and clip sections, which the platform saves for reuse across a team. From the same transcript it produces repurposed content: show notes, summaries, long-form SEO articles, newsletters, titles and keywords, and social posts such as LinkedIn posts, Twitter/X threads, and Instagram captions. It can also export highlighted sections as video clips and audiograms, and create an episode-trained chatbot that can be embedded on a site. The platform offers a REST API for custom integrations and a dashboard for managing multiple shows. It is distinct in pairing accurate transcription with a broad, podcast-focused repurposing pipeline rather than transcription alone.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Swell AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | Swell AI |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | Audio and video transcription with automatic speaker identification and labeling |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Transcript editor for highlighting and clipping sections, with AI-suggested compelling segments |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | Content repurposing into show notes, summaries, SEO articles, newsletters, and social posts |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | Video clip and audiogram export from highlighted transcript sections |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Bulk import from RSS feeds, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive) |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | REST API and multi-show dashboard for teams and agencies |
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.
Swell AI
Choose Swell AI if you need transcribing podcast episodes and labeling speakers for an accurate, editable transcript — strengths include combines accurate transcription with a wide range of automated repurposing outputs in one tool.
Alter
Swell AI
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while Swell AI is strong for transcribing podcast episodes and labeling speakers for an accurate, editable transcript. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and Swell AI 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 Swell AI.
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.
Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. AmpUp: AI sales coaching platform with a native notetaker that records and transcribes calls, then delivers prep briefs, debriefs, and practice scenarios. 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. Anarlog: Open-source, local-first AI meeting notepad (formerly Hyprnote) by Fastrepl that records and summarizes private meetings on your own device with no bot. 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. AskElephant: AI workflow platform for revenue teams that captures calls and meetings and automates CRM updates, handoffs, and coaching. 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. Aspect: AI interview assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes recruiting interviews, then autofills ATS scorecards. 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. Attendee: Open-source, self-hostable meeting bot API that sends bots into Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams to capture recordings and transcripts. 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. 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.