Dscout: Experience research platform for moderated interviews, diary studies, and usability testing with AI transcription, themes, and analysis. Meetingnotes: Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Dscout when running and transcribing moderated user interviews matters most, and Meetingnotes when individuals who prefer paying per-use api costs over subscriptions matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
Experience research platform for moderated interviews, diary studies, and usability testing with AI transcription, themes, and analysis.
Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key.
Dscout is an experience research platform that pairs human participant feedback with AI tools to help teams gather and analyze qualitative insights at scale. It supports a range of research methods, including live and uploaded moderated interviews, usability testing with heat maps and task success metrics, real-time site intercepts, field studies, diary studies with multiple activities, and media-rich surveys. For interviews, Dscout simplifies scheduling across time zones, integrates incentives, supports observers, and can capture both a participant's face and screen, and it also offers an AI Moderator that can autonomously guide participants, seek clarification, and capture feedback. On the analysis side, Dscout provides automated transcription, AI-generated summaries of open-ended and video responses, AI-generated themes presented as smart tags for pattern identification, and surfacing of notable moments that highlight strong opinions or surprising insights. Teams can recruit from Dscout's verified Scout participant pool or bring their own audience. Known historically for mobile and in-context research, Dscout positions itself as an AI-native platform that helps researchers capture high-fidelity feedback and move quickly from raw sessions to organized, analyzable insights. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Meetingnotes is a free, open-source AI meeting notetaker for macOS created and maintained by developer Owen Gretzinger. It is designed for professionals who want private meeting notes without recurring subscription costs. The app captures both microphone and system audio directly on the user's Mac, so it works across any meeting platform without adding a bot to the call. It then provides a live transcript and generates AI-enhanced summaries that combine the transcript with any manual notes the user takes during the meeting. Transcription and summarization run through the user's own OpenAI API key, meaning users pay only for the API usage they consume rather than a flat subscription, and meeting data stays stored locally on the device. The source code is published on GitHub under the LGPL-3.0 license, so it can be inspected, modified, and contributed to. The project lists integrations such as Slack and Notion, with additional features in development. Meetingnotes is best for engineers and individuals who want a lightweight, transparent, bring-your-own-key meeting notetaker that keeps their data on their own machine. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Dscout is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Meetingnotes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Dscout | Meetingnotes |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Moderated live and uploaded video interviews with observer support | Captures both microphone and system audio on macOS |
| Standout feature | AI Moderator that dynamically guides participants and captures feedback | No meeting bot required to join calls |
| Team usage | Automated transcription of interviews and responses | Live transcription plus AI-generated summaries |
| Integrations | AI-generated summaries of open-ended and video responses | Bring-your-own OpenAI API key cost model |
| Languages & capture | AI-generated themes as smart tags and surfaced notable moments | Local storage of meeting data |
| Best-fit workflow | Diary studies, usability testing, intercepts, and media-rich surveys | Open-source codebase on GitHub (LGPL-3.0) |
Dscout
Choose Dscout if you need running and transcribing moderated user interviews — strengths include supports many research methods beyond interviews in one platform.
Meetingnotes
Choose Meetingnotes if you need engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker — strengths include free and open source with a transparent codebase.
Dscout
Meetingnotes
It depends on your workflow. Dscout is strong for running and transcribing moderated user interviews, while Meetingnotes is strong for engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Dscout is a free tier with paid upgrades and Meetingnotes 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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