Amical: Amical is an open-source, local-first AI dictation and voice-notes app that transcribes speech to text on your own machine using Whisper and open-source LLMs. Plaud: AI note-taking platform that records conversations and meetings, then transcribes them and generates summaries and action items, via dedicated hardware recorders and a desktop/mobile app. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Amical when dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting matters most, and Plaud when capturing action items and decisions from conversations matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
Amical is an open-source, local-first AI dictation and voice-notes app that transcribes speech to text on your own machine using Whisper and open-source LLMs.
AI note-taking platform that records conversations and meetings, then transcribes them and generates summaries and action items, via dedicated hardware recorders and a desktop/mobile app.
Amical is an open-source, MIT-licensed AI dictation application that turns speech into formatted text directly on your device. It runs OpenAI's Whisper for speech recognition locally and uses open-source LLMs (via Ollama) for intelligent processing, so dictation can work offline once a local model is set up; for machines that can't handle local inference, it offers a cloud fallback. Built with Electron and TypeScript, it runs on Mac and Windows as a desktop app with a floating widget interface and configurable hotkeys. Its standout feature is context-aware formatting: it detects the active application and adapts tone and structure accordingly, producing professional text in email, casual phrasing in chat apps, or prompt and command-style output in IDEs and terminals. It supports many languages plus mixed-language dictation, and custom vocabulary for domain-specific terms. Beyond dictation, it is adding smart voice notes with summaries and task generation. It targets privacy-conscious writers, developers, and professionals wanting a free alternative to paid dictation tools.
Best suited for
Plaud is an AI note-taking platform that turns conversations and meetings into transcripts, structured summaries, and action items. It pairs dedicated hardware recorders (Plaud Note, Note Pro, and the NotePin wearables) with iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and web apps. Its desktop app captures audio natively from online meetings in Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams (and other conferencing apps) without joining as a bot, and can auto-detect when a meeting starts. Plaud transcribes in 112+ languages and offers 10,000+ summary templates. The Starter (free) plan includes 300 transcription minutes per month. Paid tiers add the "Ask Plaud" natural-language search across recordings plus Zapier, Google Calendar, and a beta MCP server integration. Plaud states it holds ISO 27001/27701, SOC 2, GDPR, and HIPAA compliance, and describes itself as trusted by over 2 million users globally.
Best suited for
Amical is open source (open source); Plaud is from $0/mo (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Amical | Plaud |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local speech-to-text transcription powered by OpenAI Whisper | AI transcription |
| Standout feature | On-device LLM processing via Ollama, with a cloud fallback option | Meeting summaries & action items |
| Team usage | Context-aware formatting that adapts tone to the active app (email, chat, IDE, terminal) | Online meeting capture |
| Integrations | Multi-language and mixed-language dictation support | Ask Plaud search |
| Languages & capture | Custom vocabulary for domain-specific terms and configurable hotkeys | Summary templates |
| Best-fit workflow | Smart voice notes with summaries and task generation (in development) | AI transcription |
Amical
Choose Amical if you need dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting — strengths include fully open source (mit) and actively maintained with frequent releases.
Plaud
Choose Plaud if you need recording and summarizing in-person and online meetings — strengths include free starter plan includes 300 transcription minutes per month.
Amical
Plaud
It depends on your workflow. Amical is strong for dictating emails, messages, and documents hands-free with app-appropriate formatting, while Plaud is strong for recording and summarizing in-person and online meetings. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Amical is open source and Plaud is from $0/mo. 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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