Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Monologue: Monologue is an AI voice dictation app for Mac and iOS that turns speech into polished, app-aware text and can record, transcribe, and summarize meetings, calls, and voice notes. 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 Monologue when recording and transcribing personal voice notes, calls, and meetings, then generating summaries matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload.
Monologue is an AI voice dictation app for Mac and iOS that turns speech into polished, app-aware text and can record, transcribe, and summarize meetings, calls, and voice notes.
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
Monologue, built by Every (Every Media Inc), is an AI-powered voice dictation app for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Instead of typing, you speak and Monologue produces clean, finished text: it strips filler words and repetitions, adds punctuation, and uses a language model to infer intent and match your tone. Its standout trait is app-aware formatting, the output adapts to where you are, short conversational messages in iMessage, structured paragraphs in email, and organized lists or headings in Notes. On iOS a custom keyboard works across every app, with Live Activity support in the Dynamic Island, and preferences, modes, and a personal dictionary sync across devices. Beyond dictation, a Notes feature lets you record freeform thoughts, calls, and meetings, then transcribe and summarize them, and route captured notes to tools like Notion via an API, CLI, and MCP integrations. It supports 100+ languages and mixed-language speech. The company states audio and transcripts are not retained on its servers, with offline transcription available. It targets professionals across many fields who want faster, hands-free writing.
Best suited for
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Monologue is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Basil AI | Monologue |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | 100% on-device transcription with no cloud upload | App-aware smart formatting that adapts output to the app in use (iMessage, email, Notes, code) |
| Standout feature | Speaker diarization to separate participants automatically | AI cleanup that removes filler words and repetitions, adds punctuation, and matches tone |
| Team usage | AI-generated summaries, minutes, and key takeaways | Notes feature to record, transcribe, and summarize meetings, calls, and voice memos |
| Integrations | Support for recording live meetings and uploading audio/video files | iOS custom keyboard plus sync of modes, dictionary, and preferences across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch |
| Languages & capture | Multi-language support and offline (airplane-mode) operation | Auto Dictionary that learns names, acronyms, and personal vocabulary |
| Best-fit workflow | Export to text, PDF, CSV, and JSON, plus Apple Notes/iCloud/Files | API, CLI, and MCP integrations for routing notes to tools like Notion |
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.
Monologue
Choose Monologue if you need drafting emails, messages, and documents hands-free by speaking instead of typing — strengths include deep apple-ecosystem integration with a system-wide ios keyboard and cross-device sync.
Basil AI
Monologue
It depends on your workflow. Basil AI is strong for transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device, while Monologue is strong for drafting emails, messages, and documents hands-free by speaking instead of typing. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades and Monologue 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.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Basil AI and Monologue.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. BeAware Conference Captioning: AI real-time captioning and translation app for live in-person and hybrid events, with on-screen overlays and multilingual attendee access. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Bee: Wearable AI device that captures spoken conversations and turns them into transcripts, summaries, and reminders. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Beey: Web app for automatic transcription, subtitle creation, translation, and live transcription. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Berrycast: A screen recorder and AI meeting notes tool with a Chrome extension and desktop app that records, transcribes, and summarizes calls. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Bliro: Bot-free AI meeting assistant that transcribes online and in-person conversations from device audio without recording audio or video. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Bluedot: Bot-free note taker for Meet, Zoom, Teams plus mobile recording The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. BoardBreeze: AI software that converts board meeting recordings into compliant, formatted minutes capturing motions, votes, and action items. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Boardable: Board meeting platform for nonprofits with AI-generated minutes, an in-meeting assistant, and AI insights that turn discussion into action items. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Bold: Bot-free AI notetaker by Bold App Studios that records meetings on-device, transcribes with speaker detection, and writes summaries with action items. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Boostlingo: Language access platform whose AI Pro engine delivers live AI captioning, translation, and transcription for meetings, webinars, and events. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. BriefMe: Italian mobile app that records conversations, transcribes them automatically, and generates AI summaries with key points, decisions, and action items. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Briefly: AI meeting summaries with CRM and Slack delivery The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.