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. Monologue: Monologue is an AI voice dictation app for Mac and iOS that turns speech into polished, app-aware text and can record, transcribe, and summarize meetings, calls, and voice 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 Daisy when recording and transcribing meetings privately on a mac without cloud upload matters most, and Monologue when recording and transcribing personal voice notes, calls, and meetings, then generating summaries 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.
Monologue is an AI voice dictation app for Mac and iOS that turns speech into polished, app-aware text and can record, transcribe, and summarize meetings, calls, and voice notes.
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
Monologue, built by Every (Every Media Inc), is an AI-powered voice dictation app for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Instead of typing, you speak and Monologue produces clean, finished text: it strips filler words and repetitions, adds punctuation, and uses a language model to infer intent and match your tone. Its standout trait is app-aware formatting, the output adapts to where you are, short conversational messages in iMessage, structured paragraphs in email, and organized lists or headings in Notes. On iOS a custom keyboard works across every app, with Live Activity support in the Dynamic Island, and preferences, modes, and a personal dictionary sync across devices. Beyond dictation, a Notes feature lets you record freeform thoughts, calls, and meetings, then transcribe and summarize them, and route captured notes to tools like Notion via an API, CLI, and MCP integrations. It supports 100+ languages and mixed-language speech. The company states audio and transcripts are not retained on its servers, with offline transcription available. It targets professionals across many fields who want faster, hands-free writing.
Best suited for
Daisy is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Monologue is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Daisy | Monologue |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local recording of mic and system audio from any source via ScreenCaptureKit | App-aware smart formatting that adapts output to the app in use (iMessage, email, Notes, code) |
| Standout feature | On-device transcription with WhisperKit and speaker diarization via Pyannote | AI cleanup that removes filler words and repetitions, adds punctuation, and matches tone |
| Team usage | Structured AI notes with action items and follow-ups | Notes feature to record, transcribe, and summarize meetings, calls, and voice memos |
| Integrations | Multiple summarization backends: Apple Intelligence, Anthropic, OpenAI, and MCP | iOS custom keyboard plus sync of modes, dictionary, and preferences across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch |
| Languages & capture | Local MCP server so Claude Desktop, Cursor, and similar tools can read meetings | Auto Dictionary that learns names, acronyms, and personal vocabulary |
| Best-fit workflow | Exports to Notion, Linear, Attio, Slack, or custom webhooks | API, CLI, and MCP integrations for routing notes to tools like Notion |
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.
Monologue
Choose Monologue if you need drafting emails, messages, and documents hands-free by speaking instead of typing — strengths include deep apple-ecosystem integration with a system-wide ios keyboard and cross-device sync.
Daisy
Monologue
It depends on your workflow. Daisy is strong for recording and transcribing meetings privately on a mac without cloud upload, while Monologue is strong for drafting emails, messages, and documents hands-free by speaking instead of typing. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Daisy is a free tier with paid upgrades and Monologue 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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