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. MacParakeet: Free, open-source local voice app for Apple Silicon Macs offering on-device meeting recording, live transcripts, dictation, and file transcription powered by NVIDIA Parakeet. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist BeAware Conference Captioning when providing accessible live captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing conference attendees matters most, and MacParakeet when system-wide dictation across applications for privacy-conscious users matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
AI real-time captioning and translation app for live in-person and hybrid events, with on-screen overlays and multilingual attendee access.
Free, open-source local voice app for Apple Silicon Macs offering on-device meeting recording, live transcripts, dictation, and file transcription powered by NVIDIA Parakeet.
BeAware Conference Captioning is an AI-powered real-time transcription and translation tool designed for live in-person, seminar, and hybrid event settings, with a focus on accessibility for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and non-native-language attendees. Built by BeAware (founded by Saamer Mansoor), the product transcribes a speaker in real time and can translate the output into more than 25 languages, with simultaneous translation into several languages at once. Attendees can follow captions on event screens or join on their own devices via a QR code or URL without downloading an app, and the captioning view can be customized for overlay design, text size, and background color to suit different venues and broadcast setups. The system integrates with production tooling such as Bitfocus Companion and supports remote control over a local network, making it suitable for AV-driven stage productions. It also generates AI summaries and follow-up questions based on the live talk and provides offline access to transcripts and translations after the event. A companion app is available on Apple platforms and is actively maintained, with the latest version released in mid-2026, confirming the product is currently operating. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
MacParakeet is a free, open-source voice application for Apple Silicon Macs that runs speech recognition entirely on-device using NVIDIA's Parakeet TDT model via FluidAudio CoreML. Beyond system-wide dictation and file or URL transcription, it includes a meeting recording mode with live transcript preview, in-app note-taking, and export, plus meeting calendar integration through macOS EventKit that can show reminders and optionally auto-start recording. Because all speech recognition runs locally, the project states that audio remains on the device, with no cloud speech-to-text, no required accounts, and opt-out telemetry. It supports around 25 European languages with automatic detection and includes a text cleanup pipeline for filler removal, custom word replacements, and snippet expansion. Optional AI features such as summaries, chat, and text formatting can be enabled through cloud or local providers when the user chooses. Built with Swift and SwiftUI and distributed under the GPL-3.0 license, MacParakeet is actively maintained on GitHub and can be installed via a notarized DMG, a Homebrew cask, or built from source. It is positioned as a privacy-respecting, bot-free option for capturing meetings directly from the Mac. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
BeAware Conference Captioning is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); MacParakeet is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | BeAware Conference Captioning | MacParakeet |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Real-time AI transcription with translation into 25+ languages | On-device meeting recording with live transcript preview and note-taking |
| Standout feature | Simultaneous translation into multiple languages within seconds | Meeting calendar integration via macOS EventKit with optional auto-start |
| Team usage | Customizable on-screen caption overlays (design, text size, background) | System-wide dictation with hotkey and push-to-talk modes |
| Integrations | Attendee access via QR code or URL with no app download required | File and URL transcription on the device |
| Languages & capture | Integration with Bitfocus Companion and local-network remote control | Local NVIDIA Parakeet TDT speech recognition with no cloud STT |
| Best-fit workflow | AI-generated summaries and follow-up questions plus offline transcript access | Text cleanup pipeline including filler removal and custom replacements |
BeAware Conference Captioning
Choose BeAware Conference Captioning if you need providing accessible live captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing conference attendees — strengths include purpose-built for live in-person and hybrid stage events and av workflows.
MacParakeet
Choose MacParakeet if you need capturing and transcribing meetings locally on a mac without a bot — strengths include free and open source with on-device speech recognition.
BeAware Conference Captioning
MacParakeet
It depends on your workflow. BeAware Conference Captioning is strong for providing accessible live captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing conference attendees, while MacParakeet is strong for capturing and transcribing meetings locally on a mac without a bot. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
BeAware Conference Captioning is a free tier with paid upgrades and MacParakeet 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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