Basil AI: On-device AI note taker for Apple devices that transcribes and summarizes meetings entirely offline, with no cloud upload. Steno: Steno is a tech-enabled court reporting and litigation support platform that captures, transcribes, and analyzes legal proceedings such as depositions, including an AI transcript analysis tool. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Basil AI when transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device matters most, and Steno when using ai to summarize, search, and compare deposition transcripts for case strategy 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.
Steno is a tech-enabled court reporting and litigation support platform that captures, transcribes, and analyzes legal proceedings such as depositions, including an AI transcript analysis tool.
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
Steno is a court reporting and litigation services company built for law firms and attorneys. It provides access to a network of certified court reporters who capture spoken proceedings and produce transcripts in rough, original, and certified formats, with realtime, next-day, and expedited delivery options. For remote work, Steno Connect is a Zoom app purpose-built for depositions, adding secure exhibit handling, annotation, and a live technical assistant; the company reports SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliance. Video capabilities include standard video plus text-to-video synchronization. Its AI tool, Transcript Genius, reads case transcripts to generate summaries, answer conversational questions with page and line citations, run semantic and exact-match search, and compare multiple transcripts to surface contradictions; users can also upload outside .txt and .pdf transcripts. A Firm Dashboard handles scheduling, file access, and invoicing, and integrations include Zoom, Clio, and Litify. Steno also offers deferred, contingency-friendly payment. It is aimed primarily at litigators and legal support staff rather than general business meetings.
Best suited for
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Steno is custom pricing (contact sales). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Basil AI | Steno |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | 100% on-device transcription with no cloud upload | Certified court reporters producing rough, original, and certified transcripts |
| Standout feature | Speaker diarization to separate participants automatically | Interactive realtime transcription during proceedings |
| Team usage | AI-generated summaries, minutes, and key takeaways | Steno Connect Zoom app for remote depositions with exhibit handling |
| Integrations | Support for recording live meetings and uploading audio/video files | Transcript Genius AI for summaries, semantic search, and Q&A with page/line citations |
| Languages & capture | Multi-language support and offline (airplane-mode) operation | Multi-transcript comparison to surface contradictions and discrepancies |
| Best-fit workflow | Export to text, PDF, CSV, and JSON, plus Apple Notes/iCloud/Files | Firm Dashboard for scheduling, file access, and invoice management |
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.
Steno
Choose Steno if you need scheduling and capturing certified transcripts for remote or in-person depositions — strengths include combines human-certified court reporting with ai-powered transcript analysis.
Basil AI
Steno
It depends on your workflow. Basil AI is strong for transcribing confidential client meetings where data must stay on-device, while Steno is strong for scheduling and capturing certified transcripts for remote or in-person depositions. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Basil AI is a free tier with paid upgrades and Steno is custom pricing. 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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