Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Happy Scribe: Transcription/subtitling and GDPR-friendly meeting notes, 150+ languages Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Basil AI when transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device matters most, and Happy Scribe when creating subtitles and captions matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload.
Transcription/subtitling and GDPR-friendly meeting notes, 150+ languages
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
Happy Scribe is a transcription and subtitling platform that converts audio and video into accurate text and captions across a wide range of languages. It offers both automatic and human-made transcription and subtitles, letting users balance speed against accuracy depending on the project. Happy Scribe is widely used to transcribe recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, and videos, and to create subtitles for content, with an in-browser editor for reviewing and correcting transcripts and exporting them in many formats. Its strong language coverage and subtitle tools make it popular with content creators, researchers, and international teams that need reliable text and captions from recordings. Because it focuses on processing recorded audio and video rather than acting as a live meeting bot, it is typically used to handle existing files or recordings. Happy Scribe is valued for its breadth of languages, flexible automatic-versus-human options, and solid subtitle and export capabilities for turning recordings into usable text. Platforms: Web / upload audio and video. Integrations: Zapier. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Happy Scribe is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Basil AI | Happy Scribe |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | 100% on-device transcription with no cloud upload | Automatic and human transcription |
| Standout feature | Speaker diarization to separate participants automatically | Subtitles and captions |
| Team usage | AI-generated summaries, minutes, and key takeaways | Wide multi-language support |
| Integrations | Support for recording live meetings and uploading audio/video files | In-browser transcript editor |
| Languages & capture | Multi-language support and offline (airplane-mode) operation | Multi-format export |
| Best-fit workflow | Export to text, PDF, CSV, and JSON, plus Apple Notes/iCloud/Files | Automatic and human 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.
Happy Scribe
Choose Happy Scribe if you need transcribing recordings and interviews — strengths include strong language and subtitle support.
Basil AI
Happy Scribe
It depends on your workflow. Basil AI is strong for transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device, while Happy Scribe is strong for transcribing recordings and interviews. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades and Happy Scribe 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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