Carv: AI assistant for recruiters that records, transcribes, and takes notes during interviews and intake calls, then drafts documents and updates the ATS. Sotto: Sotto is a native macOS voice-to-text dictation app that turns speech into text system-wide using local AI transcription models. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Carv when transcribing and summarizing candidate interviews hands-free matters most, and Sotto when privacy-first transcription of imported audio recordings on-device matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
AI assistant for recruiters that records, transcribes, and takes notes during interviews and intake calls, then drafts documents and updates the ATS.
Sotto is a native macOS voice-to-text dictation app that turns speech into text system-wide using local AI transcription models.
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
Sotto is a native Swift dictation app for macOS 13 and later that converts speech to text in real time. It works as a system-wide push-to-talk layer: the user holds a hotkey, speaks, and Sotto inserts clean text into whatever app is in focus, from Slack and Notion to Xcode and email fields. Audio is transcribed by local engines, including OpenAI Whisper models (Tiny through Large V3 Turbo and Distil Large V3) and NVIDIA Parakeet v2/v3, so by default recordings never leave the Mac; users can optionally connect cloud providers such as OpenAI or Groq with their own API keys for added accuracy. Beyond live dictation, it can import and re-transcribe audio files, supports 90+ languages, keeps a searchable history of recordings with timestamps, and offers a custom vocabulary dictionary. One-click AI processing can rewrite, summarize, translate, or reformat dictated text. It is aimed at developers, writers, and privacy-conscious professionals who want fast, local voice input rather than a cloud meeting-bot service.
Best suited for
Carv is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Sotto is a free tier with paid upgrades (paid). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Carv | Sotto |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Records, transcribes, and takes notes during interviews, intakes, and meetings | System-wide push-to-talk dictation that inserts text into any app |
| Standout feature | Full verbatim interview transcription with unanswered-question flagging | Local on-device transcription via Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet models |
| Team usage | Auto-generated candidate profiles from interview transcripts | Audio file import and re-transcription with searchable, timestamped history |
| Integrations | Automatic job description drafting from intake calls | Support for 90+ languages with per-language hotkeys |
| Languages & capture | ATS and HR system integrations with automated updates | One-click AI processing to summarize, translate, or rewrite dictated text |
| Best-fit workflow | AI companion that retains context on the recruiter's workflow | Optional cloud transcription via user-supplied OpenAI or Groq API keys |
Carv
Choose Carv if you need transcribing and summarizing candidate interviews hands-free — strengths include captures both candidate interviews and hiring-manager intake calls.
Sotto
Choose Sotto if you need hands-free dictation of emails, messages, and documents across mac apps — strengths include local processing keeps audio on-device for strong privacy.
Carv
Sotto
It depends on your workflow. Carv is strong for transcribing and summarizing candidate interviews hands-free, while Sotto is strong for hands-free dictation of emails, messages, and documents across mac apps. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Carv is a free tier with paid upgrades and Sotto 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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