Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. CFAI: CFAI is a Windows desktop AI note taker that transcribes meetings and calls locally on-device with Faster Whisper, so audio never leaves the user's computer. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Ava when real-time captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing participants matters most, and CFAI when transcribing zoom, teams, meet, or discord conversations entirely on-device for privacy-sensitive work matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings.
CFAI is a Windows desktop AI note taker that transcribes meetings and calls locally on-device with Faster Whisper, so audio never leaves the user's computer.
Ava is a live captioning and transcription service built primarily for deaf and hard-of-hearing users, as well as for organizations that need accessible meetings and conversations. The app captures audio from in-person conversations and from video conferencing tools, then generates real-time captions on a phone, computer, or in the meeting interface. Ava combines automatic speech recognition with an optional professional scribe service for higher-accuracy, ADA-compliant captioning, giving users a choice between fast AI captions and human-assisted transcription. Features include color-coded speaker identification so users can follow who said what, support for many languages, and stored transcripts and summaries after a conversation ends. Through its Ava Connect integration, the service connects with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, and it is available across mobile (iOS and Android), web, and desktop (Windows and Mac). Ava is aimed at individuals who need accessibility support in daily conversations and meetings, as well as at educational institutions, healthcare providers, corporations, and event venues that must provide compliant real-time captioning without committing to a traditional CART contract. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
CFAI (Cognitive Flow AI) is a Windows desktop application that acts as a privacy-focused AI meeting and call note taker. Instead of sending a bot into the call, it captures both microphone and system audio at the operating-system level, so no "recording started" notification appears and the tool works across Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Discord, and any other call. Transcription runs locally on the device using Faster Whisper, with support for many languages, and CFAI states that the audio never leaves the user's computer. From the live transcript it produces speaker-labeled notes, AI summaries, and action items, and it can build a real-time "Cognitive Map" that visualizes the conversation's topics. Summaries can be generated by Claude in the cloud, or users can keep everything offline by connecting a local LLM through Ollama, LM Studio, or Jan.ai. It is aimed at professionals, educators, recruiters, and others who want meeting notes without bots or cloud audio uploads. CFAI is distributed via the Microsoft Store with a free trial and credit-based subscription tiers.
Best suited for
Ava is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); CFAI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Ava | CFAI |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Integration with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams | Local on-device transcription using Faster Whisper, so audio never leaves the computer |
| Standout feature | Real-time live captions for in-person and online conversations | Bot-free capture of microphone and system audio at the OS level (no 'recording started' notice) |
| Team usage | Color-coded speaker identification | Speaker diarization with automatic speaker labels in transcripts |
| Integrations | Optional professional scribe service for higher accuracy | AI summaries and action items, generated by Claude or a local LLM |
| Languages & capture | Mobile, web, and desktop apps | Real-time 'Cognitive Map' that visualizes conversation topics and flow |
| Best-fit workflow | Saved transcripts and conversation summaries | Works across any call platform including Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, and Discord |
Ava
Choose Ava if you need real-time captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing participants — strengths include strong accessibility focus for deaf and hard-of-hearing users.
CFAI
Choose CFAI if you need capturing private meeting notes and summaries without a recording bot joining the call — strengths include local faster whisper transcription keeps meeting audio on-device for strong privacy.
Ava
CFAI
It depends on your workflow. Ava is strong for real-time captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing participants, while CFAI is strong for capturing private meeting notes and summaries without a recording bot joining the call. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Ava is a free tier with paid upgrades and CFAI 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 Ava and CFAI.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Aviso AI: End-to-end AI revenue platform whose conversation intelligence records and analyzes sales calls and meetings for B2B revenue teams. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. BB Recorder: A 100% local, no-bot meeting recorder for Mac and iOS that records, transcribes, and summarizes entirely on-device, built by the BuildBetter team. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Backtrack: An AI meeting intelligence tool for trade shows and hosted buyer events that captures 1:1 conversations and turns them into CRM-ready notes and insights. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Balto: Real-time AI guidance and agent-assist platform that coaches contact-center and sales agents live during calls. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. BarRaiser: AI interview intelligence platform that records interviews and coaches interviewers for better hiring. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. BeAware Conference Captioning: AI real-time captioning and translation app for live in-person and hybrid events, with on-screen overlays and multilingual attendee access. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Bee: Wearable AI device that captures spoken conversations and turns them into transcripts, summaries, and reminders. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Beey: Web app for automatic transcription, subtitle creation, translation, and live transcription. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Berrycast: A screen recorder and AI meeting notes tool with a Chrome extension and desktop app that records, transcribes, and summarizes calls. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Bliro: Bot-free AI meeting assistant that transcribes online and in-person conversations from device audio without recording audio or video. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Bluedot: Bot-free note taker for Meet, Zoom, Teams plus mobile recording Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.