Castmagic: AI content platform that transcribes podcasts, videos, and recorded meetings with speaker diarization and turns them into show notes, summaries, and other assets. Shadow: A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant. 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 Castmagic when transcribing podcast episodes and generating show notes and summaries matters most, and Shadow when privacy-conscious teams that prefer on-device transcription matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
AI content platform that transcribes podcasts, videos, and recorded meetings with speaker diarization and turns them into show notes, summaries, and other assets.
A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant.
Castmagic is an AI-powered content platform that transforms recorded audio and video into transcripts and a range of derived content. After a file is uploaded or imported, Castmagic transcribes it with speaker diarization and then automatically generates summaries, show notes, timestamps, titles, social media posts, newsletters, and other assets from the same recording. The platform integrates with sources including YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Drive, and Zoom, so recorded meetings and interviews can flow directly into a workspace for processing alongside podcast episodes. Castmagic includes semantic search across a media library, brand-voice customization, reusable templates, and commenting and approval workflows aimed at teams and agencies that manage content for multiple brands. While its marketing centers on podcasters and creators, the transcription, speaker labeling, and summary features make it applicable to meeting and interview recordings as well. It is intended for content teams, marketing agencies, podcasters, coaches, and sales organizations that want to convert recorded conversations into transcripts and repurposed written content rather than only a raw transcript. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Shadow is a bot-free AI meeting assistant for macOS that captures meetings by listening to your computer's audio in the background rather than joining the call as a visible participant. Because transcription runs locally on the Mac, the audio does not need to leave the device for that core processing step, which the company positions as a privacy advantage. Shadow can automatically detect when a meeting starts, transcribe the conversation with speaker identification, and turn the discussion into structured notes, summaries, and follow-up items. It also captures on-screen content alongside the spoken audio, so material shared during a call (slides, dashboards, or shared windows) can be reflected in the output. The tool works across common conferencing platforms including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, Slack, and Discord. Users can configure customizable prompts (described as Skills) to generate notes, summaries, or drafted emails, and connect outputs to other tools via webhooks. It is aimed at professionals and teams who want meeting capture without adding another bot to the call. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Castmagic is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Shadow is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Castmagic | Shadow |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Transcription of audio and video with speaker diarization | Bot-free capture that records system audio without joining the meeting as a participant |
| Standout feature | Automatic generation of summaries, show notes, titles, and timestamps | On-device (local) transcription on macOS |
| Team usage | Repurposing of recordings into social posts, newsletters, and blog content | Speaker identification during transcription |
| Integrations | Direct import from sources including YouTube, Google Drive, and Zoom | Captures on-screen content in addition to spoken audio |
| Languages & capture | Semantic search across a media library of past recordings | Customizable prompts/Skills to generate notes, summaries, and emails |
| Best-fit workflow | Multi-brand workspaces with templates and approval workflows for teams | Webhook integration to connect outputs to other tools |
Castmagic
Choose Castmagic if you need transcribing podcast episodes and generating show notes and summaries — strengths include goes beyond transcription to produce ready-to-use written content from recordings.
Shadow
Choose Shadow if you need capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining — strengths include does not add a visible bot to meetings.
Castmagic
Shadow
It depends on your workflow. Castmagic is strong for transcribing podcast episodes and generating show notes and summaries, while Shadow is strong for capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Castmagic is a free tier with paid upgrades and Shadow 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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