Cockatoo: AI transcription and note-taking service that records and transcribes meetings and lectures, then turns them into structured notes and summaries. OpenWhispr: Open-source, privacy-first voice-to-text desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux that also transcribes meetings into AI-organized notes. 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 Cockatoo when transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into searchable, structured notes matters most, and OpenWhispr when turning rough in-meeting notes into structured summaries and action items matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
AI transcription and note-taking service that records and transcribes meetings and lectures, then turns them into structured notes and summaries.
Open-source, privacy-first voice-to-text desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux that also transcribes meetings into AI-organized notes.
Cockatoo is an AI transcription and note-taking service available through the web and an iOS app that converts spoken audio and video into text and structured notes. Users can record meetings and lectures directly or upload existing audio and video files in a wide range of formats, after which Cockatoo automatically generates a transcript with punctuation and capitalization, identifies speakers, and produces summaries with key takeaways and action items. Beyond transcription, the product offers voice typing, an AI chat agent for asking questions about content, full document translation across many languages, and video transcription with subtitles and captions. Transcripts and notes can be searched and exported to formats including PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT, and audio, and the app syncs to the cloud. Cockatoo supports more than one hundred languages and is designed for individuals and professionals who need affordable, accurate transcription of recordings such as meetings, interviews, lectures, podcasts, and other spoken content. The service is operated by Cockatoo Inc. and is actively running in 2025 and 2026 at cockatoo.com. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
OpenWhispr is an open-source desktop application for macOS, Windows, and Linux that converts speech to text and includes a meeting notes capability built on the same engine. Its core function is global-hotkey dictation that inserts transcribed text at the cursor in any application, but it also ships an AI Notepad for meetings, an AI Chat that can reference past meetings, and an audio upload feature for transcribing recorded files. For meetings it captures the computer's audio directly rather than sending a bot into the call, transcribes the conversation in the background, and combines rough notes with the transcript to produce structured minutes that highlight decisions, action items, and next steps. Transcription can run locally using bundled Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet models or connect to cloud models with a bring-your-own-key setup, and the project emphasizes that audio can be processed and discarded for privacy. The codebase is publicly available on GitHub and the app is actively maintained through 2026. It is aimed at developers, writers, and individuals or small teams who want a private, auditable, cross-platform transcription and meeting-notes tool. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Cockatoo is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); OpenWhispr is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Cockatoo | OpenWhispr |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Record or upload audio and video, then transcribe to structured text | Open-source and auditable, with code published on GitHub |
| Standout feature | AI summaries with key takeaways and action items | Cross-platform desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker detection and punctuation | Local transcription via bundled Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet models |
| Integrations | AI chat agent and full document translation across 100+ languages | Bring-your-own-key cloud model option for flexibility |
| Languages & capture | Video transcription with subtitles and captions | AI Notepad that turns rough meeting notes plus transcript into structured minutes |
| Best-fit workflow | Export to PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT, and audio with cloud sync | Full-text search and AI Chat across captured meetings |
Cockatoo
Choose Cockatoo if you need transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into searchable, structured notes — strengths include handles both live recording and bulk upload of existing audio and video files.
OpenWhispr
Choose OpenWhispr if you need privately transcribing computer-audio meetings without a bot joining the call — strengths include fully open source, so users can inspect and self-host the code.
Cockatoo
OpenWhispr
It depends on your workflow. Cockatoo is strong for transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into searchable, structured notes, while OpenWhispr is strong for privately transcribing computer-audio meetings without a bot joining the call. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Cockatoo is a free tier with paid upgrades and OpenWhispr is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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