Cockatoo: AI transcription and note-taking service that records and transcribes meetings and lectures, then turns them into structured notes and summaries. Shadow: A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Cockatoo when transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into searchable, structured notes matters most, and Shadow when privacy-conscious teams that prefer on-device transcription 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.
A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant.
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
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
Cockatoo 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 | Cockatoo | Shadow |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Record or upload audio and video, then transcribe to structured text | Bot-free capture that records system audio without joining the meeting as a participant |
| Standout feature | AI summaries with key takeaways and action items | On-device (local) transcription on macOS |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker detection and punctuation | Speaker identification during transcription |
| Integrations | AI chat agent and full document translation across 100+ languages | Captures on-screen content in addition to spoken audio |
| Languages & capture | Video transcription with subtitles and captions | Customizable prompts/Skills to generate notes, summaries, and emails |
| Best-fit workflow | Export to PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT, and audio with cloud sync | Webhook integration to connect outputs to other tools |
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.
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.
Cockatoo
Shadow
It depends on your workflow. Cockatoo is strong for transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into searchable, structured notes, while Shadow is strong for capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Cockatoo 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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