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. Handy: Handy is a free, open-source, cross-platform push-to-talk app that transcribes your speech to text completely offline and pastes it into any text field. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist CFAI when capturing private meeting notes and summaries without a recording bot joining the call matters most, and Handy when privacy-sensitive voice-to-text where audio must stay on-device matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
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.
Handy is a free, open-source, cross-platform push-to-talk app that transcribes your speech to text completely offline and pastes it into any text field.
CFAI (Cognitive Flow AI) is a Windows desktop application that acts as a privacy-focused AI meeting and call note taker. Instead of sending a bot into the call, it captures both microphone and system audio at the operating-system level, so no "recording started" notification appears and the tool works across Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Discord, and any other call. Transcription runs locally on the device using Faster Whisper, with support for many languages, and CFAI states that the audio never leaves the user's computer. From the live transcript it produces speaker-labeled notes, AI summaries, and action items, and it can build a real-time "Cognitive Map" that visualizes the conversation's topics. Summaries can be generated by Claude in the cloud, or users can keep everything offline by connecting a local LLM through Ollama, LM Studio, or Jan.ai. It is aimed at professionals, educators, recruiters, and others who want meeting notes without bots or cloud audio uploads. CFAI is distributed via the Microsoft Store with a free trial and credit-based subscription tiers.
Best suited for
Handy is a free, open-source desktop application that turns your voice into text completely offline, with no audio ever leaving your computer. You press a configurable keyboard shortcut, speak, and release (push-to-talk), or use a toggle mode to start and stop; Handy transcribes what you said and automatically pastes the result into whatever text field is active. Because it runs entirely on-device, it is built for privacy-conscious users who want dictation without cloud uploads or subscriptions. Under the hood it is built with Tauri (a Rust backend with a React/TypeScript frontend) and supports multiple local speech-recognition models, including OpenAI's Whisper variants with GPU acceleration and the CPU-friendly Parakeet V3 model with automatic language detection. Silero Voice Activity Detection filters out silence so only speech is processed. Handy runs on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows, and Linux, and is released under the MIT license. It positions itself as an accessible, extensible alternative to paid dictation tools, and is best suited for hands-free typing rather than recording multi-party meetings.
Best suited for
CFAI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Handy is open source (open source). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | CFAI | Handy |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local on-device transcription using Faster Whisper, so audio never leaves the computer | Push-to-talk and toggle dictation modes with a configurable global keyboard shortcut |
| Standout feature | Bot-free capture of microphone and system audio at the OS level (no 'recording started' notice) | Fully offline, on-device transcription with no cloud uploads |
| Team usage | Speaker diarization with automatic speaker labels in transcripts | Multiple local speech models including Whisper (GPU-accelerated) and Parakeet V3 (CPU, auto language detection) |
| Integrations | AI summaries and action items, generated by Claude or a local LLM | Silero Voice Activity Detection to filter silence and process only speech |
| Languages & capture | Real-time 'Cognitive Map' that visualizes conversation topics and flow | Automatically pastes transcribed text into any active application text field |
| Best-fit workflow | Works across any call platform including Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, and Discord | Cross-platform desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux) built with Tauri |
CFAI
Choose CFAI if you need capturing private meeting notes and summaries without a recording bot joining the call — strengths include local faster whisper transcription keeps meeting audio on-device for strong privacy.
Handy
Choose Handy if you need hands-free dictation into emails, documents, chat apps, and code editors — strengths include completely free, open-source (mit) with no subscription or paywall.
CFAI
Handy
It depends on your workflow. CFAI is strong for capturing private meeting notes and summaries without a recording bot joining the call, while Handy is strong for hands-free dictation into emails, documents, chat apps, and code editors. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
CFAI is a free tier with paid upgrades and Handy is open source. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
You can — some teams pair them when each covers a different part of the meeting workflow.
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