Cockatoo: AI transcription and note-taking service that records and transcribes meetings and lectures, then turns them into structured notes and summaries. StenoAI: Open-source desktop app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on-device with no bots, subscriptions, or cloud processing. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Cockatoo when transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into searchable, structured notes matters most, and StenoAI when generating diarized live transcripts during zoom, teams, or meet calls on a mac matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
AI transcription and note-taking service that records and transcribes meetings and lectures, then turns them into structured notes and summaries.
Open-source desktop app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on-device with no bots, subscriptions, or cloud processing.
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
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
Cockatoo is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); StenoAI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Cockatoo | StenoAI |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Record or upload audio and video, then transcribe to structured text | On-device transcription with Parakeet TDT v3 (Apple Silicon) or Whisper models |
| Standout feature | AI summaries with key takeaways and action items | System audio and microphone capture via native Core Audio Tap (no bots) |
| Team usage | Automatic speaker detection and punctuation | Real-time on-screen speaker labels distinguishing you from others |
| Integrations | AI chat agent and full document translation across 100+ languages | Local LLM summaries through Ollama, with remote Ollama server support |
| Languages & capture | Video transcription with subtitles and captions | 25 European languages live, up to 99 languages via Whisper after recording |
| Best-fit workflow | Export to PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT, and audio with cloud sync | Markdown export of transcripts and summaries |
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.
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.
Cockatoo
StenoAI
It depends on your workflow. Cockatoo is strong for transcribing recorded meetings and interviews into searchable, structured notes, while StenoAI is strong for capturing and summarizing confidential meetings without sending audio to the cloud. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Cockatoo is a free tier with paid upgrades 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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