Carv: AI assistant for recruiters that records, transcribes, and takes notes during interviews and intake calls, then drafts documents and updates the ATS. oTranscribe: A free, open-source web app that eases manual transcription of recorded interviews by integrating media playback controls beside a text editor. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Carv when transcribing and summarizing candidate interviews hands-free matters most, and oTranscribe when academic and qualitative researchers transcribing fieldwork or oral-history recordings matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
AI assistant for recruiters that records, transcribes, and takes notes during interviews and intake calls, then drafts documents and updates the ATS.
A free, open-source web app that eases manual transcription of recorded interviews by integrating media playback controls beside a text editor.
Carv is an AI platform for recruiters that records, transcribes, and takes notes during interviews, intake calls, and hiring meetings so recruiters can stay present in the conversation rather than typing notes. During candidate interviews it captures a full verbatim transcript, flags any planned questions that went unanswered at the end of the call, and uses the transcript to auto-generate a candidate profile. For intake calls with hiring managers, Carv captures the requirements discussed and can automatically draft a job description in the recruiter's own style and tone of voice. Beyond note-taking, Carv positions itself as an agentic recruiting assistant that takes over repetitive administrative work, from document creation to updating the applicant tracking system, and includes an AI companion that carries context about how the user works. The platform integrates with ATS and HR systems and offers analytics and insights across recruiting activity. By turning recruiting conversations into structured notes, profiles, and documents, Carv aims to cut down on coordination and admin time so recruiters can focus on connecting with candidates and hiring managers. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
oTranscribe is a free, open-source (MIT license) web app, created by Elliot Bentley and maintained by the MuckRock Foundation, that takes the pain out of transcribing recorded interviews. It runs in the browser on desktop computers and places an integrated audio or video player alongside a text editor, so you can pause, rewind, and fast-forward your recording using keyboard shortcuts without taking your hands off the keys or switching between apps. It is built for journalists, researchers, oral historians, and students who type up interviews and recordings themselves. Rather than using automatic speech recognition, oTranscribe assists manual transcription: you listen and type, inserting interactive timestamps (Ctrl+J) that you can click to jump back to that moment in the media. Your transcript autosaves to the browser's local storage, and audio files never leave your computer, keeping work private. Finished transcripts can be exported to Markdown, plain text, or oTranscribe's own .otr format, or sent to Google Drive. Rich-text formatting and adjustable playback speed are supported.
Best suited for
Carv is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); oTranscribe is open source (open source). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Carv | oTranscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Records, transcribes, and takes notes during interviews, intakes, and meetings | Integrated audio/video player next to the transcript editor |
| Standout feature | Full verbatim interview transcription with unanswered-question flagging | Keyboard shortcuts to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and adjust playback speed without leaving the keyboard |
| Team usage | Auto-generated candidate profiles from interview transcripts | Clickable interactive timestamps that jump to the matching point in the media |
| Integrations | Automatic job description drafting from intake calls | Automatic saving to browser local storage with transcript history backups |
| Languages & capture | ATS and HR system integrations with automated updates | Export to Markdown, plain text, .otr format, or send to Google Drive |
| Best-fit workflow | AI companion that retains context on the recruiter's workflow | Local, private processing - audio and transcript never leave the user's computer |
Carv
Choose Carv if you need transcribing and summarizing candidate interviews hands-free — strengths include captures both candidate interviews and hiring-manager intake calls.
oTranscribe
Choose oTranscribe if you need journalists typing up recorded interviews for articles — strengths include completely free and open source under the mit license.
Carv
oTranscribe
It depends on your workflow. Carv is strong for transcribing and summarizing candidate interviews hands-free, while oTranscribe is strong for journalists typing up recorded interviews for articles. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Carv is a free tier with paid upgrades and oTranscribe is open source. 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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