Ava: AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings. Meetingnotes: Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Ava when real-time captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing participants matters most, and Meetingnotes when individuals who prefer paying per-use api costs over subscriptions matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
AI live captioning and transcription app for accessibility, providing real-time captions for conversations and video meetings.
Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key.
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
Meetingnotes is a free, open-source AI meeting notetaker for macOS created and maintained by developer Owen Gretzinger. It is designed for professionals who want private meeting notes without recurring subscription costs. The app captures both microphone and system audio directly on the user's Mac, so it works across any meeting platform without adding a bot to the call. It then provides a live transcript and generates AI-enhanced summaries that combine the transcript with any manual notes the user takes during the meeting. Transcription and summarization run through the user's own OpenAI API key, meaning users pay only for the API usage they consume rather than a flat subscription, and meeting data stays stored locally on the device. The source code is published on GitHub under the LGPL-3.0 license, so it can be inspected, modified, and contributed to. The project lists integrations such as Slack and Notion, with additional features in development. Meetingnotes is best for engineers and individuals who want a lightweight, transparent, bring-your-own-key meeting notetaker that keeps their data on their own machine. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Ava is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Meetingnotes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Ava | Meetingnotes |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Integration with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams | Captures both microphone and system audio on macOS |
| Standout feature | Real-time live captions for in-person and online conversations | No meeting bot required to join calls |
| Team usage | Color-coded speaker identification | Live transcription plus AI-generated summaries |
| Integrations | Optional professional scribe service for higher accuracy | Bring-your-own OpenAI API key cost model |
| Languages & capture | Mobile, web, and desktop apps | Local storage of meeting data |
| Best-fit workflow | Saved transcripts and conversation summaries | Open-source codebase on GitHub (LGPL-3.0) |
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.
Meetingnotes
Choose Meetingnotes if you need engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker — strengths include free and open source with a transparent codebase.
Ava
Meetingnotes
It depends on your workflow. Ava is strong for real-time captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing participants, while Meetingnotes is strong for engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Ava is a free tier with paid upgrades and Meetingnotes is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
You can — some teams pair them when each covers a different part of the meeting workflow.
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