Cluely: Cluely is a real-time AI meeting assistant that runs as a desktop overlay to provide live transcription, automatic meeting notes, and on-demand AI answers during calls. StenoAI: Open-source desktop app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on-device with no bots, subscriptions, or cloud processing. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Cluely when getting live transcripts and notes of sales, client, or team calls matters most, and StenoAI when generating diarized live transcripts during zoom, teams, or meet calls on a mac matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
Cluely is a real-time AI meeting assistant that runs as a desktop overlay to provide live transcription, automatic meeting notes, and on-demand AI answers during calls.
Open-source desktop app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on-device with no bots, subscriptions, or cloud processing.
Cluely is a real-time AI meeting assistant that runs as a desktop overlay (plus an iOS app) rather than joining calls as a visible bot. During a meeting it provides live transcription, automatically generates meeting notes and summaries, and surfaces on-demand AI answers when you press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter (for example, suggesting what to say or follow-up questions). It works across common conferencing tools including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Slack, and supports more than 12 languages such as English, Chinese, and Spanish. Cluely lets users add custom prompting and keybinds and upload reference files. A free Starter plan offers limited AI responses, limited notetaking, and up to three custom files. A notable positioning point is that the app is marketed as "undetectable" and designed to stay invisible to screen sharing and not appear in screen shares, a capability fully unlocked on its top tier.
Best suited for
StenoAI (Steno) is an open-source desktop application that records meetings, transcribes them in real time, and generates AI-powered summaries while keeping all data local on the user's device. It positions itself as a privacy-first meeting notes tool with no cloud processing, no subscriptions, and no bots joining calls, and it is distributed under the MIT license with an actively maintained release history (v0.5.4 in June 2026). On Apple Silicon it can use the Parakeet TDT v3 model for live transcription, and it also supports Whisper models, capturing both system audio and microphone input via a native Core Audio Tap on recent macOS versions so it works across platforms like Zoom, Teams, Meet, Discord, and phone calls without OAuth integrations. During recording it shows live speaker labels distinguishing the user from others, and it supports 25 European languages for live transcription with up to 99 languages available via Whisper after recording. Summaries are produced with local LLMs through Ollama (for example Llama 3.2, Gemma, or Qwen), with optional remote Ollama server support to run larger models on a separate machine, and both transcripts and summaries can be exported as editable Markdown. A Windows build is in alpha alongside the primary macOS app. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Cluely is from $0/mo (freemium); StenoAI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Cluely | StenoAI |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Live transcription | On-device transcription with Parakeet TDT v3 (Apple Silicon) or Whisper models |
| Standout feature | Real-time meeting notes | System audio and microphone capture via native Core Audio Tap (no bots) |
| Team usage | On-demand AI answers | Real-time on-screen speaker labels distinguishing you from others |
| Integrations | Multi-language support | Local LLM summaries through Ollama, with remote Ollama server support |
| Languages & capture | Custom prompting and keybinds | 25 European languages live, up to 99 languages via Whisper after recording |
| Best-fit workflow | Live transcription | Markdown export of transcripts and summaries |
Cluely
Choose Cluely if you need getting live transcripts and notes of sales, client, or team calls — strengths include works across major conferencing tools (zoom, google meet, microsoft teams, webex, slack).
StenoAI
Choose StenoAI if you need capturing and summarizing confidential meetings without sending audio to the cloud — strengths include fully local, bot-free capture with no cloud processing or subscriptions for core use.
Cluely
StenoAI
It depends on your workflow. Cluely is strong for getting live transcripts and notes of sales, client, or team calls, while StenoAI is strong for capturing and summarizing confidential meetings without sending audio to the cloud. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Cluely is from $0/mo and StenoAI is a free tier with paid upgrades. 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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