Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Letterly: Letterly is a multilingual AI speech-to-text app that turns dictated speech into polished notes, emails, summaries, and meeting transcripts across iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Web. 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 Letterly when transcribing and summarizing meetings or interviews with speaker separation 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.
Letterly is a multilingual AI speech-to-text app that turns dictated speech into polished notes, emails, summaries, and meeting transcripts across iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Web.
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
Letterly is a voice-to-text application that converts spoken words into clean, structured written text. Aimed at professionals, students, content creators, and anyone who prefers talking to typing, it lets users record speech directly in the app or dictate into other apps, then automatically transcribes the audio. Beyond raw transcription, Letterly applies AI rewriting so a single recording can become an email, a summary, a social post, a task list, a journal entry, or a meeting recap, using preset styles or custom instructions. It automatically detects and transcribes a wide range of languages and can handle mid-sentence language switching. For meetings and interviews, it offers speaker separation and can generate summaries from a recording. The app supports extended recordings, offline and screen-off dictation, quick-record widgets, and live sync across devices, including Apple Watch. It also integrates with external tools via Zapier and webhooks. Letterly states that user data is kept private and not used to train AI models. It runs on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Web.
Best suited for
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Letterly is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Basil AI | Letterly |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | 100% on-device transcription with no cloud upload | Automatic speech-to-text transcription of recorded or dictated audio |
| Standout feature | Speaker diarization to separate participants automatically | AI rewriting into multiple formats (emails, summaries, posts, task lists, journal entries) |
| Team usage | AI-generated summaries, minutes, and key takeaways | Multilingual transcription with automatic language detection and mid-sentence switching |
| Integrations | Support for recording live meetings and uploading audio/video files | Meeting/interview support with speaker separation and summary generation |
| Languages & capture | Multi-language support and offline (airplane-mode) operation | Offline and screen-off recording, plus quick-record widget and Apple Watch dictation |
| Best-fit workflow | Export to text, PDF, CSV, and JSON, plus Apple Notes/iCloud/Files | Cross-device sync and integrations via Zapier and webhooks |
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.
Letterly
Choose Letterly if you need dictating and polishing emails, messages, and notes faster than typing — strengths include broad multilingual coverage with automatic language detection.
Basil AI
Letterly
It depends on your workflow. Basil AI is strong for transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device, while Letterly is strong for dictating and polishing emails, messages, and notes faster than typing. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades and Letterly 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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