MacWhisper and Shadow are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. MacWhisper: Native macOS transcription app from Amsterdam-based Goodsnooze that records and transcribes meetings locally using Whisper, with no cloud upload. Shadow: A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant. They overlap on ai-meeting-assistants, so the right pick depends on team size, budget, and which meeting workflows you automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
For ai-meeting-assistants workflows, shortlist MacWhisper when mac users transcribing zoom or teams meetings privately on-device matters most, and Shadow when capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining matters most. Both record across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams; trial each on real meetings before committing.
Native macOS transcription app from Amsterdam-based Goodsnooze that records and transcribes meetings locally using Whisper, with no cloud upload.
A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant.
MacWhisper is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Shadow is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | MacWhisper | Shadow |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | On-device transcription using Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet | Bot-free capture that records system audio without joining the meeting as a participant |
| Standout feature | Records system audio from Zoom, Teams, Webex, and other apps | On-device (local) transcription on macOS |
| Team usage | Supports 100+ languages | Speaker identification during transcription |
| Integrations | Batch transcription and speaker grouping | Captures on-screen content in addition to spoken audio |
| Languages & capture | Real-time dictation | Customizable prompts/Skills to generate notes, summaries, and emails |
| Best-fit workflow | Available on macOS and iOS | Webhook integration to connect outputs to other tools |
MacWhisper
Choose MacWhisper if you need mac users transcribing zoom or teams meetings privately on-device — strengths include all processing stays local, supporting privacy and confidentiality.
Shadow
Choose Shadow if you need capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining — strengths include does not add a visible bot to meetings.
MacWhisper
Shadow
It depends on your workflow. MacWhisper is strong for mac users transcribing zoom or teams meetings privately on-device, while Shadow is strong for capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
MacWhisper is a free tier with paid upgrades and Shadow 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 and the budget is justified.