Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. TeamRetro: Purpose-built online tool for running agile retrospectives, team health checks, and planning poker with AI-assisted idea grouping and summaries. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Alter when freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot matters most, and TeamRetro when conducting recurring team health checks to track morale and agile maturity 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.
Purpose-built online tool for running agile retrospectives, team health checks, and planning poker with AI-assisted idea grouping and summaries.
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
TeamRetro is a web-based platform designed specifically for agile teams to run structured retrospective meetings, team health checks, and estimation (planning poker) sessions. Rather than adapting a generic whiteboard, it provides a guided retrospective workflow with anonymous idea submission, dot voting, grouping, and action-item tracking carried forward between sessions. The tool ships with a large library of retrospective templates (such as Start/Stop/Continue, Sailboat, and 4Ls) and icebreakers, and includes recurring team health-check assessments that visualize how a team's agile maturity and sentiment trend over time. Its AI capabilities focus on the retro itself: automatically grouping similar cards into themes, generating discussion summaries when enabled, and producing icebreaker or custom health-check content from prompts, with organizations able to switch AI features on or off. TeamRetro integrates with tools like Jira, Trello, Microsoft Teams, and Slack so action items flow into existing workflows. It is delivered as a hosted SaaS product with a free trial and is used by teams ranging from startups to large enterprises looking to standardize and improve project retrospectives. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); TeamRetro is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | TeamRetro |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | Action-item tracking carried across sessions |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Guided retrospective workflow with anonymous input, grouping, and dot voting |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | AI-assisted automatic grouping of similar ideas into themes |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | AI-generated retrospective summaries (when enabled by the organization) |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Recurring team health checks with trend and sentiment tracking over time |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | Large library of retrospective templates and icebreaker activities |
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.
TeamRetro
Choose TeamRetro if you need running sprint or project retrospectives for distributed agile teams — strengths include purpose-built for retrospectives rather than a repurposed generic whiteboard.
Alter
TeamRetro
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while TeamRetro is strong for running sprint or project retrospectives for distributed agile teams. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and TeamRetro is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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