Minutes and Spinach are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. Minutes: Open-source, local-first conversation memory layer that records and transcribes meetings, diarizes speakers, and stores searchable notes as markdown for AI agents. Spinach: AI meeting assistant for agile teams that helps run standups, takes notes, and creates summaries and tickets. 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 Minutes when building a private, searchable memory of meetings and voice notes that ai agents can query matters most, and Spinach when daily standups and sprint planning matters most. Both record across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams; trial each on real meetings before committing.
Open-source, local-first conversation memory layer that records and transcribes meetings, diarizes speakers, and stores searchable notes as markdown for AI agents.
AI meeting assistant for agile teams that helps run standups, takes notes, and creates summaries and tickets.
Minutes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Spinach is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Minutes | Spinach |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Local transcription with whisper.cpp or Parakeet, no cloud audio upload | AI notes and summaries for recurring meetings |
| Standout feature | Speaker diarization to attribute who said what | Standup, retro, and planning support |
| Team usage | Plain-markdown output with YAML frontmatter stored on your own disk | Drafts tickets and updates for project tools |
| Integrations | MCP server exposing tools so AI agents can query meeting history | Recording and transcription |
| Languages & capture | Cross-meeting search, relationship tracking, and action-item extraction | Integrations with project-management tools |
| Best-fit workflow | macOS desktop app plus cross-platform CLI and dictation hotkey mode | AI notes and summaries for recurring meetings |
Minutes
Choose Minutes if you need building a private, searchable memory of meetings and voice notes that ai agents can query — strengths include fully local-first and mit licensed, keeping conversation data private and portable.
Spinach
Choose Spinach if you need daily standups and sprint planning — strengths include built specifically for agile ceremonies.
Minutes
Spinach
It depends on your workflow. Minutes is strong for building a private, searchable memory of meetings and voice notes that ai agents can query, while Spinach is strong for daily standups and sprint planning. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Minutes is a free tier with paid upgrades and Spinach 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.