Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. Minutes: Open-source, local-first conversation memory layer that records and transcribes meetings, diarizes speakers, and stores searchable notes as markdown for AI agents. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Braina when transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into text or subtitles matters most, and Minutes when recording and transcribing calls locally for users who refuse cloud meeting tools matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews.
Open-source, local-first conversation memory layer that records and transcribes meetings, diarizes speakers, and stores searchable notes as markdown for AI agents.
Braina (short for "Brain Artificial") is a Windows desktop AI assistant and speech-to-text application developed by Brainasoft. For meeting-related work, it transcribes pre-recorded audio and video files (WAV, MP3, M4A, MP4) into text, handling content such as meetings, interviews, lectures, and broadcasts. Transcription runs locally on the user's computer, supports multiple speakers without voice training, and can output plain text, text with timestamps, and subtitle formats (SRT and WebVTT). It also offers live voice dictation into any application across many languages, plus voice commands for controlling the PC. Beyond transcription, Braina provides an interface to local and cloud large language models, note-taking with persistent memory, reminders, and document chat. It runs primarily on Windows, with companion iOS and Android apps that can remotely control a connected PC over Wi-Fi. It is aimed at professionals, students, and researchers who want desktop dictation and offline file transcription rather than an automated bot that joins live meetings.
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
Braina 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 | Braina | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Transcribe recorded audio and video files (WAV, MP3, M4A, MP4) to text | Local transcription with whisper.cpp or Parakeet, no cloud audio upload |
| Standout feature | Offline multi-speaker transcription with no voice training required | Speaker diarization to attribute who said what |
| Team usage | Output to plain text, timestamped text, SRT and WebVTT subtitles | Plain-markdown output with YAML frontmatter stored on your own disk |
| Integrations | Live voice dictation into any application across many languages | MCP server exposing tools so AI agents can query meeting history |
| Languages & capture | Voice commands for PC control plus note-taking and reminders | Cross-meeting search, relationship tracking, and action-item extraction |
| Best-fit workflow | Interface to local and cloud large language models | macOS desktop app plus cross-platform CLI and dictation hotkey mode |
Braina
Choose Braina if you need transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into text or subtitles — strengths include transcription runs locally on your own computer for privacy.
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.
Braina
Minutes
It depends on your workflow. Braina is strong for transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into text or subtitles, 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.
Braina 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.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Braina and Minutes.
Braina and Braindump are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. Braindump: Braindump is an AI voice-notes mobile app that records spoken thoughts and meetings, transcribes them, and auto-organizes them into structured, searchable notes. They overlap on ai-meeting-assistants, so the right pick depends on team size, budget, and which meeting workflows you automate.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. BriefMe: Italian mobile app that records conversations, transcribes them automatically, and generates AI summaries with key points, decisions, and action items. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. Briefly: AI meeting summaries with CRM and Slack delivery Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. Bright Pattern: Bright Pattern is an omnichannel contact center platform that transcribes live and recorded customer interactions and applies AI-powered quality management and analytics across all channels. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. BrightHire: Interview intelligence platform that records, transcribes, and structures job interviews for hiring teams. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. Bubbles: Async video and AI meeting notes with action items Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. BuildBetter: A no-bot meeting recorder (BB Recorder) that captures and processes calls locally on Mac, with optional cloud upload for team collaboration. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. CFAI: CFAI is a Windows desktop AI note taker that transcribes meetings and calls locally on-device with Faster Whisper, so audio never leaves the user's computer. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. CLOVA Note: South Korean AI meeting-minutes service by Naver that records meetings, transcribes speech, separates speakers, and generates summaries and action items. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. Calendly Notetaker: An AI meeting notetaker built into the Calendly scheduling platform that records meetings and generates summaries, transcripts, and action items. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Braina: Braina is a Windows AI assistant and speech-to-text software that handles voice dictation, voice commands, and transcription of recorded audio and video files including meetings and interviews. CallBro: Bot-free AI meeting assistant that transcribes calls from system audio and produces structured notes without joining the call. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.