Alter: macOS-native AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes calls locally with built-in Whisper and Parakeet models, no bots required. WhisperLiveKit: Open-source, self-hosted real-time speech-to-text and speaker diarization toolkit with a FastAPI server and web interface, suitable for meeting transcription. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Alter when freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot matters most, and WhisperLiveKit when building privacy-first transcription into custom applications via compatible apis 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.
Open-source, self-hosted real-time speech-to-text and speaker diarization toolkit with a FastAPI server and web interface, suitable for meeting transcription.
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
WhisperLiveKit is an open-source, self-hosted toolkit for ultra-low-latency real-time speech-to-text and speaker diarization. Rather than naively running Whisper on each audio chunk, it uses state-of-the-art simultaneous-speech research for intelligent buffering and incremental processing, which preserves transcription quality while streaming results with minimal latency. The project ships a complete backend built on FastAPI with WebSocket support, an OpenAI-compatible REST API, a Deepgram-compatible WebSocket protocol, and a simple, customizable HTML and JavaScript web interface that captures microphone audio and streams it to the server. It supports multiple ASR backends including Whisper variants, Voxtral, and Qwen3-ASR, covers 200+ languages with translation, and includes real-time speaker diarization and voice activity detection to reduce processing overhead. It can handle multiple concurrent users on a single backend and is distributed via PyPI with Docker images for both GPU and CPU. Licensed under Apache 2.0 and actively maintained into 2026, the project explicitly lists meeting transcription, accessibility tooling, and podcast or call transcription with speaker identification among its intended use cases, making it a practical building block for private, on-premise meeting transcription pipelines. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); WhisperLiveKit is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Alter | WhisperLiveKit |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using built-in Whisper and Parakeet models | Real-time streaming speech-to-text with low latency over WebSocket |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone across any meeting or call app | Real-time speaker diarization to distinguish multiple speakers |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker identification performed locally | FastAPI backend with OpenAI-compatible REST API and Deepgram-compatible WebSocket protocol |
| Integrations | AI summaries, action items, and chat-with-your-meeting Q&A | Multiple ASR backends (Whisper variants, Voxtral, Qwen3-ASR) and 200+ language support with translation |
| Languages & capture | Integrations with Notion, Slack, Linear, Asana, Jira and other tools | Included customizable HTML/JavaScript web interface and Docker images (GPU and CPU) |
| Best-fit workflow | Offline operation with recordings and transcripts stored locally | Voice activity detection and multi-user support on a single backend |
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.
WhisperLiveKit
Choose WhisperLiveKit if you need self-hosted real-time meeting transcription with speaker labels — strengths include fully open source (apache 2.0) and self-hostable for private, on-premise transcription.
Alter
WhisperLiveKit
It depends on your workflow. Alter is strong for freelancers and consultants privately capturing client calls without a visible bot, while WhisperLiveKit is strong for self-hosted real-time meeting transcription with speaker labels. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Alter is a free tier with paid upgrades and WhisperLiveKit 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 WhisperLiveKit.
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