Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Pluely: A lightweight open-source desktop AI meeting assistant that captures system audio for live transcription and on-call answers without joining as a visible bot. 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 Pluely when running a privacy-conscious, locally processed meeting helper via ollama 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.
A lightweight open-source desktop AI meeting assistant that captures system audio for live transcription and on-call answers without joining as a visible bot.
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
Pluely is an open-source AI meeting assistant created by independent developer Srikanthnani and released in 2025 as a privacy-first, bot-free alternative to commercial in-meeting copilots. Built with Tauri, the app is roughly 10MB and launches quickly, running as an always-on-top overlay on macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, and Linux. Rather than sending a participant into your call, Pluely captures system audio and microphone input directly on your device, converts speech to text, and can surface AI responses and notes during a meeting, interview, or presentation. It is bring-your-own-key, so users connect their own provider credentials; it supports a wide range of large language models, including OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Grok, Mistral, Cohere, Ollama, and custom endpoints, alongside multiple speech-to-text engines such as Whisper, Deepgram, ElevenLabs, Groq, and Azure. Because it is GPL-licensed and fully inspectable, teams can audit or modify the code, and local model options via Ollama allow processing to stay on the machine. As an indie project it depends on external API keys for most capabilities and is still maturing. Confirm features and any usage policies on the official site. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Pluely is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Basil AI | Pluely |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | 100% on-device transcription with no cloud upload | Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone for live transcription |
| Standout feature | Speaker diarization to separate participants automatically | Always-on-top overlay app for macOS, Windows, and Linux |
| Team usage | AI-generated summaries, minutes, and key takeaways | Bring-your-own-key support for many LLMs (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Mistral, Cohere, Ollama, custom) |
| Integrations | Support for recording live meetings and uploading audio/video files | Multiple speech-to-text providers (Whisper, Deepgram, ElevenLabs, Groq, Azure, and others) |
| Languages & capture | Multi-language support and offline (airplane-mode) operation | Lightweight (~10MB) and fast to launch |
| Best-fit workflow | Export to text, PDF, CSV, and JSON, plus Apple Notes/iCloud/Files | Open source under GPL with optional local processing via Ollama |
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.
Pluely
Choose Pluely if you need getting live transcription and ai assistance during meetings without a visible bot in the call — strengths include free and open source with fully inspectable code.
Basil AI
Pluely
It depends on your workflow. Basil AI is strong for transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device, while Pluely is strong for getting live transcription and ai assistance during meetings without a visible bot in the call. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades and Pluely is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary.
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