Meetingnotes and StenoAI are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. Meetingnotes: Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key. StenoAI: Open-source desktop app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on-device with no bots, subscriptions, or cloud processing. 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 Meetingnotes when engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker matters most, and StenoAI when capturing and summarizing confidential meetings without sending audio to the cloud matters most. Both record across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams; trial each on real meetings before committing.
Free, open-source macOS AI notetaker that records mic and system audio locally, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using your own OpenAI API key.
Open-source desktop app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on-device with no bots, subscriptions, or cloud processing.
Meetingnotes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); StenoAI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Meetingnotes | StenoAI |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Captures both microphone and system audio on macOS | On-device transcription with Parakeet TDT v3 (Apple Silicon) or Whisper models |
| Standout feature | No meeting bot required to join calls | System audio and microphone capture via native Core Audio Tap (no bots) |
| Team usage | Live transcription plus AI-generated summaries | Real-time on-screen speaker labels distinguishing you from others |
| Integrations | Bring-your-own OpenAI API key cost model | Local LLM summaries through Ollama, with remote Ollama server support |
| Languages & capture | Local storage of meeting data | 25 European languages live, up to 99 languages via Whisper after recording |
| Best-fit workflow | Open-source codebase on GitHub (LGPL-3.0) | Markdown export of transcripts and summaries |
Meetingnotes
Choose Meetingnotes if you need engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker — strengths include free and open source with a transparent codebase.
StenoAI
Choose StenoAI if you need capturing and summarizing confidential meetings without sending audio to the cloud — strengths include fully local, bot-free capture with no cloud processing or subscriptions for core use.
Meetingnotes
StenoAI
It depends on your workflow. Meetingnotes is strong for engineers wanting a free, transparent meeting notetaker, while StenoAI is strong for capturing and summarizing confidential meetings without sending audio to the cloud. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Meetingnotes is a free tier with paid upgrades and StenoAI 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.