Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Fireflies: AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes calls across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, with the AskFred AI chat and native CRM sync. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Basil AI when transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device matters most, and Fireflies when recruiting and interview notes matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload.
AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes calls across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, with the AskFred AI chat and native CRM sync.
Basil AI (Basil Private AI Note Taker) is a privacy-first AI transcription and note-taking application that processes all audio locally on Apple devices using Apple's on-device speech and machine-learning frameworks. Because recordings, transcripts, and summaries never leave the device and no cloud servers are involved, Basil is positioned for privacy-conscious professionals handling sensitive conversations, including lawyers conducting client meetings and other client-services practitioners where confidentiality matters. The app records live meetings and can also process uploaded audio and DRM-free video files, then generates transcripts with speaker diarization plus AI summaries and key takeaways. It supports a large set of languages and can work offline, including in airplane mode. Outputs can be exported to formats such as text, PDF, CSV, and JSON, and integrated with Apple's ecosystem (Apple Notes, iCloud Drive, Files). Basil is distributed on the Apple App Store by TONSOR LLC and is available as a universal app across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision, with recent iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS versions required. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Fireflies.ai joins video calls to record and transcribe meetings, then generates AI summaries, action items, and fully searchable notes. Its AskFred assistant lets you query past meetings in natural language ("what did we decide about pricing?"), while conversation-intelligence features add topic trackers, talk-time, and sentiment analytics. Fireflies works across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, transcribes in a wide range of languages, and integrates natively with CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot plus Slack, Notion, Asana, and Zapier. A free plan covers limited transcription and AI credits for individuals; paid tiers raise transcription and storage limits and unlock team conversation analytics, making it a strong fit for sales, recruiting, and customer-research teams that live in their CRM.
Best suited for
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Fireflies is from $18/mo (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Basil AI | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | 100% on-device transcription with no cloud upload | Meeting transcription |
| Standout feature | Speaker diarization to separate participants automatically | AI summaries |
| Team usage | AI-generated summaries, minutes, and key takeaways | AskFred AI chat |
| Integrations | Support for recording live meetings and uploading audio/video files | CRM sync |
| Languages & capture | Multi-language support and offline (airplane-mode) operation | Conversation intelligence |
| Best-fit workflow | Export to text, PDF, CSV, and JSON, plus Apple Notes/iCloud/Files | Meeting transcription |
Basil AI
Choose Basil AI if you need transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device — strengths include strong privacy posture since data never leaves the device.
Fireflies
Choose Fireflies if you need sales call capture and crm logging — strengths include powerful meeting search plus the askfred natural-language assistant.
Basil AI
Fireflies
It depends on your workflow. Basil AI is strong for transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device, while Fireflies is strong for sales call capture and crm logging. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades and Fireflies is from $18/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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