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. VoicePen: Apple-native AI app that records and transcribes meetings, lectures, and voice memos, then turns them into summaries and rewritten notes. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Daisy when recording and transcribing meetings privately on a mac without cloud upload matters most, and VoicePen when transcribing lectures and turning them into study notes matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
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.
Apple-native AI app that records and transcribes meetings, lectures, and voice memos, then turns them into summaries and rewritten 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
VoicePen is a voice-first AI note taker built natively for the Apple ecosystem, running across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. The app records and transcribes spoken audio into text, handling everything from short memos to long lectures, meetings, podcasts, and imported recordings. Once a recording is transcribed, VoicePen uses AI to generate easy-to-read summaries, structured notes, and study materials, and it offers a large set of rewrite options to reformat transcripts into bullet points, professional formats, or more casual styles. It can pull in audio and video from sources such as files, Voice Memos, Zoom recordings, podcasts, and YouTube, and it separates and labels different speakers within a transcript. A chat feature lets users ask questions about the transcribed content to surface key takeaways and action steps. VoicePen supports many languages, includes offline recording, and syncs data through iCloud, positioning itself as a personal second-brain capture tool for individuals who think and work by talking rather than typing. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Daisy is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); VoicePen is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Daisy | VoicePen |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local recording of mic and system audio from any source via ScreenCaptureKit | Records and transcribes meetings, lectures, memos, and imported audio/video |
| Standout feature | On-device transcription with WhisperKit and speaker diarization via Pyannote | AI-generated summaries plus 25+ rewrite and reformatting options |
| Team usage | Structured AI notes with action items and follow-ups | Speaker separation and labeling within transcripts |
| Integrations | Multiple summarization backends: Apple Intelligence, Anthropic, OpenAI, and MCP | Chat-with-your-notes Q&A to extract takeaways and action steps |
| Languages & capture | Local MCP server so Claude Desktop, Cursor, and similar tools can read meetings | Imports from Voice Memos, Zoom recordings, podcasts, YouTube, and files |
| Best-fit workflow | Exports to Notion, Linear, Attio, Slack, or custom webhooks | Multilingual transcription with offline recording and iCloud sync |
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.
VoicePen
Choose VoicePen if you need capturing and summarizing in-person meetings and 1:1 conversations — strengths include native across iphone, ipad, apple watch, and mac with icloud sync.
Daisy
VoicePen
It depends on your workflow. Daisy is strong for recording and transcribing meetings privately on a mac without cloud upload, while VoicePen is strong for capturing and summarizing in-person meetings and 1:1 conversations. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Daisy is a free tier with paid upgrades and VoicePen is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary.
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