Bee: Wearable AI device that captures spoken conversations and turns them into transcripts, summaries, and reminders. Meetingnotes: Free, open-source macOS app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings locally using your own OpenAI API key. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Bee when capturing in-person meetings and follow-up action items hands-free matters most, and Meetingnotes when individuals wanting a free, self-controlled alternative to subscription notetakers matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
Wearable AI device that captures spoken conversations and turns them into transcripts, summaries, and reminders.
Free, open-source macOS app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings locally using your own OpenAI API key.
Bee is a wearable personal AI device, now part of Amazon, that continuously captures the conversations happening around the wearer and processes them into transcripts, segmented summaries, suggested to-dos, and timely reminders. The hardware uses dual microphones with noise filtering and is designed to be worn as a wristband or clipped to clothing, with a button press to start and stop capture and an LED indicator to show when it is recording. Captured audio is processed by AI that segments discussions, identifies commitments, and surfaces personal insights over time, rather than leaving the user with a raw recording to comb through. Recordings sync to a companion mobile app on iOS and Android, with Apple Watch support, where users can review their day's conversations, search past discussions, and manage what is stored. Bee supports dozens of languages and emphasizes that only the user can access their own transcripts and summaries. It is aimed at professionals and individuals who want hands-free, in-person meeting and conversation capture without reaching for a phone or laptop. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Meetingnotes is a free, open-source macOS application that records meetings, transcribes them in real time, and generates AI summaries while keeping data stored locally on the user's machine. Built for engineers and privacy-conscious users, it captures both microphone and system audio, produces a live transcript via OpenAI's API, and then combines that transcript with any manual notes the user jots down to create a structured summary. Because it runs locally and requires the user to supply their own OpenAI API key, recordings and notes stay on the device rather than being uploaded to a managed cloud service, and users pay only for their direct API usage instead of a subscription. The app supports customizable system prompts so that summaries can be tailored to a person's preferred note-taking style, and it provides search, copy, and delete capabilities for managing stored notes and transcripts. Released under an open-source license, it invites community contributions and has a roadmap that includes calendar integration and AI-powered question-and-answer chat over past meetings. It is well suited to individuals who want a transparent, self-controlled alternative to commercial meeting notetakers without recurring fees or a call bot joining their meetings. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Bee is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Meetingnotes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Bee | Meetingnotes |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Wearable device with dual microphones and noise filtering | Records both microphone and system audio for meeting capture |
| Standout feature | Automatic transcription with segmented, per-section summaries | Real-time transcription using the OpenAI API |
| Team usage | Suggested to-dos and reminders extracted from conversations | AI summaries that combine transcripts with manual notes |
| Integrations | Companion app on iOS, Android, and Apple Watch | Customizable system prompts for personalized note-taking |
| Languages & capture | Multi-language support across dozens of languages | Local storage of notes and transcripts for privacy |
| Best-fit workflow | On-button capture control with recording indicator | Search, copy, and delete management for stored notes |
Bee
Choose Bee if you need capturing in-person meetings and follow-up action items hands-free — strengths include hands-free in-person capture without needing a phone or laptop.
Meetingnotes
Choose Meetingnotes if you need privacy-focused engineers recording and summarizing local meetings — strengths include completely free and open-source with no subscription.
Bee
Meetingnotes
It depends on your workflow. Bee is strong for capturing in-person meetings and follow-up action items hands-free, while Meetingnotes is strong for privacy-focused engineers recording and summarizing local meetings. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Bee is a free tier with paid upgrades and Meetingnotes is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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