Balto: Real-time AI guidance and agent-assist platform that coaches contact-center and sales agents live during calls. Meetingnotes: Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Balto when guiding agents live through objections and compliance requirements matters most, and Meetingnotes when individuals who prefer paying per-use api costs over subscriptions matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
Real-time AI guidance and agent-assist platform that coaches contact-center and sales agents live during calls.
Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key.
Balto is a contact-center AI platform centered on real-time guidance during live customer and sales calls. Rather than focusing on post-call review, Balto listens to conversations as they happen and surfaces dynamic prompts, objection-handling cues, compliance checklists, and knowledge-base answers to the agent in the moment. Its Agent Assist pulls relevant information so reps can respond to customer questions instantly, while real-time QA automatically scores interactions across all calls and flags compliance risk early, maintaining an audit trail for supervisors. Coaching automation tailors recommendations to each agent's performance, and real-time note generation produces call summaries without manual write-ups. Balto also offers voice AI agents to handle high-volume, repeatable calls and supports omnichannel context across voice and digital channels. It integrates with CRMs and telephony systems such as Salesforce and RingCentral. The platform is used across industries including healthcare, insurance, banking, collections, and home improvement, and is aimed at contact centers and sales teams that want in-the-moment guidance, compliance assurance, and automated quality management at scale. 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
Balto 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 | Balto | Meetingnotes |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Real-time, in-call guidance with dynamic prompts and objection cues | Captures both microphone and system audio on macOS |
| Standout feature | Agent Assist that surfaces knowledge-base answers live | No meeting bot required to join calls |
| Team usage | Automated quality assurance scoring across 100% of calls | Live transcription plus AI-generated summaries |
| Integrations | Real-time compliance monitoring with audit trails | Bring-your-own OpenAI API key cost model |
| Languages & capture | Automated call summaries and coaching recommendations | Local storage of meeting data |
| Best-fit workflow | Integrations with CRMs and phone systems such as Salesforce and RingCentral | Open-source codebase on GitHub (LGPL-3.0) |
Balto
Choose Balto if you need guiding agents live through objections and compliance requirements — strengths include guides agents during the call rather than only analyzing afterward.
Meetingnotes
Choose Meetingnotes if you need engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker — strengths include free and open source with a transparent codebase.
Balto
Meetingnotes
It depends on your workflow. Balto is strong for guiding agents live through objections and compliance requirements, while Meetingnotes is strong for engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Balto 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.
Often yes: teams combine tools when one handles capture and another handles analysis.
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