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. Minutes: Open-source, local-first conversation memory layer that records and transcribes meetings, diarizes speakers, and stores searchable notes as markdown for AI agents. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
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 Minutes when recording and transcribing calls locally for users who refuse cloud meeting tools matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
AI real-time captioning and translation app for live in-person and hybrid events, with on-screen overlays and multilingual attendee access.
Open-source, local-first conversation memory layer that records and transcribes meetings, diarizes speakers, and stores searchable notes as markdown for AI agents.
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
Minutes, built by Mat Silverstein, is an open-source, privacy-first conversation memory layer that captures meetings, calls, voice memos, and dictation and turns them into searchable, AI-accessible notes. It transcribes audio locally using whisper.cpp or Parakeet so audio never has to leave the machine, performs speaker diarization to separate voices, and extracts decisions and action items, writing everything to the user's own disk as plain markdown files with structured YAML frontmatter. Because the output lives in a local folder (for example ~/meetings/), the notes can sync across devices through iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive and can be read directly by AI tools. A central design goal is integration with AI assistants: Minutes runs an MCP server exposing a large set of tools so coding and chat agents such as Claude, Codex, Gemini CLI, and others can query past conversations, track relationships across meetings, and surface what was promised to whom. It ships as a macOS desktop app with a menu-bar recorder and AI assistant, plus a cross-platform command-line interface, and includes a dictation hotkey mode. The project is MIT licensed, installable via Homebrew, and actively maintained with frequent releases, making it a fully self-hostable option for people who want durable, private, searchable meeting memory rather than a cloud subscription. 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); Minutes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | BeAware Conference Captioning | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Real-time AI transcription with translation into 25+ languages | Local transcription with whisper.cpp or Parakeet, no cloud audio upload |
| Standout feature | Simultaneous translation into multiple languages within seconds | Speaker diarization to attribute who said what |
| Team usage | Customizable on-screen caption overlays (design, text size, background) | Plain-markdown output with YAML frontmatter stored on your own disk |
| Integrations | Attendee access via QR code or URL with no app download required | MCP server exposing tools so AI agents can query meeting history |
| Languages & capture | Integration with Bitfocus Companion and local-network remote control | Cross-meeting search, relationship tracking, and action-item extraction |
| Best-fit workflow | AI-generated summaries and follow-up questions plus offline transcript access | macOS desktop app plus cross-platform CLI and dictation hotkey mode |
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.
Minutes
Choose Minutes if you need building a private, searchable memory of meetings and voice notes that ai agents can query — strengths include fully local-first and mit licensed, keeping conversation data private and portable.
BeAware Conference Captioning
Minutes
It depends on your workflow. BeAware Conference Captioning is strong for providing accessible live captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing conference attendees, while Minutes is strong for building a private, searchable memory of meetings and voice notes that ai agents can query. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
BeAware Conference Captioning is a free tier with paid upgrades and Minutes 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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