Daisy: Local-first, open-source macOS meeting recorder and AI notes app that transcribes on-device and exposes meetings to AI tools through a local MCP server. MacParakeet: Free, open-source local voice app for Apple Silicon Macs offering on-device meeting recording, live transcripts, dictation, and file transcription powered by NVIDIA Parakeet. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Daisy when recording and transcribing meetings privately on a mac without cloud upload matters most, and MacParakeet when system-wide dictation across applications for privacy-conscious users matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
Local-first, open-source macOS meeting recorder and AI notes app that transcribes on-device and exposes meetings to AI tools through a local MCP server.
Free, open-source local voice app for Apple Silicon Macs offering on-device meeting recording, live transcripts, dictation, and file transcription powered by NVIDIA Parakeet.
Daisy, from Addicted Studio, is a local-first meeting recorder and AI notes application for macOS that records meetings on the Mac, transcribes them on the device, and then exposes the captured conversations as a local MCP server for AI tools. It captures both microphone and system audio from any source, including Zoom, Google Meet, Telegram, and other apps, using ScreenCaptureKit, and performs on-device transcription with WhisperKit plus speaker identification via Pyannote diarization, so audio never leaves the Mac unless the user explicitly enables a cloud LLM provider. Beyond raw transcription, Daisy generates structured notes with action items and follow-ups and supports multiple summarization backends including Apple Intelligence, Anthropic, and OpenAI, as well as MCP. Because it runs a local MCP server, tools such as Claude Desktop and Cursor can read recorded meetings directly, and Daisy can export results to Notion, Linear, Attio, Slack, or arbitrary webhooks. It offers several capture modes covering meeting recording, voice dictation, and quick voice notes. Daisy is a native Mac application (not Electron) for Apple Silicon, is fully open source on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license, and emphasizes privacy with no telemetry, tracking, or required account. The project maintains a product site at mydaisy.io with installation, FAQ, and support documentation. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
MacParakeet is a free, open-source voice application for Apple Silicon Macs that runs speech recognition entirely on-device using NVIDIA's Parakeet TDT model via FluidAudio CoreML. Beyond system-wide dictation and file or URL transcription, it includes a meeting recording mode with live transcript preview, in-app note-taking, and export, plus meeting calendar integration through macOS EventKit that can show reminders and optionally auto-start recording. Because all speech recognition runs locally, the project states that audio remains on the device, with no cloud speech-to-text, no required accounts, and opt-out telemetry. It supports around 25 European languages with automatic detection and includes a text cleanup pipeline for filler removal, custom word replacements, and snippet expansion. Optional AI features such as summaries, chat, and text formatting can be enabled through cloud or local providers when the user chooses. Built with Swift and SwiftUI and distributed under the GPL-3.0 license, MacParakeet is actively maintained on GitHub and can be installed via a notarized DMG, a Homebrew cask, or built from source. It is positioned as a privacy-respecting, bot-free option for capturing meetings directly from the Mac. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Daisy is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); MacParakeet is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Daisy | MacParakeet |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local recording of mic and system audio from any source via ScreenCaptureKit | On-device meeting recording with live transcript preview and note-taking |
| Standout feature | On-device transcription with WhisperKit and speaker diarization via Pyannote | Meeting calendar integration via macOS EventKit with optional auto-start |
| Team usage | Structured AI notes with action items and follow-ups | System-wide dictation with hotkey and push-to-talk modes |
| Integrations | Multiple summarization backends: Apple Intelligence, Anthropic, OpenAI, and MCP | File and URL transcription on the device |
| Languages & capture | Local MCP server so Claude Desktop, Cursor, and similar tools can read meetings | Local NVIDIA Parakeet TDT speech recognition with no cloud STT |
| Best-fit workflow | Exports to Notion, Linear, Attio, Slack, or custom webhooks | Text cleanup pipeline including filler removal and custom replacements |
Daisy
Choose Daisy if you need recording and transcribing meetings privately on a mac without cloud upload — strengths include fully local-first with audio kept on-device unless a cloud llm is explicitly enabled.
MacParakeet
Choose MacParakeet if you need capturing and transcribing meetings locally on a mac without a bot — strengths include free and open source with on-device speech recognition.
Daisy
MacParakeet
It depends on your workflow. Daisy is strong for recording and transcribing meetings privately on a mac without cloud upload, while MacParakeet is strong for capturing and transcribing meetings locally on a mac without a bot. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Daisy is a free tier with paid upgrades and MacParakeet 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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