OpenOats and Simon Says are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. OpenOats: Open-source macOS meeting note-taker that transcribes calls locally and surfaces relevant talking points from your own notes in real time. Simon Says: AI transcription, captioning, and translation built for professional video and audio workflows. They overlap on ai-meeting-assistants, so the right pick depends on team size, budget, and which meeting workflows you automate.
For ai-meeting-assistants workflows, shortlist OpenOats when getting live, context-aware prompts from your own notes during sales or customer calls matters most, and Simon Says when transcribing and captioning footage for video editing projects matters most. Both record across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams; trial each on real meetings before committing.
Open-source macOS meeting note-taker that transcribes calls locally and surfaces relevant talking points from your own notes in real time.
Auto-saved transcripts and session logs to local filesLive retrieval of relevant talking points from your own notes during meetingsMIT-licensed, self-hostable Swift application
OpenOats is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Simon Says is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
Real-time local transcription of both sides of a conversation on Apple Silicon
AI transcription with speaker identification
Standout feature
Live retrieval of relevant talking points from your own notes during meetings
Subtitle and caption generation with visual editing
Team usage
Window hidden from screen sharing by default for privacy on calls
Translation across many languages
Integrations
Auto-saved transcripts and session logs to local files
Integrations with Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Avid
Languages & capture
Works fully local via Ollama or with cloud models (OpenRouter, Voyage AI)
Support for professional audio and video formats
Best-fit workflow
MIT-licensed, self-hostable Swift application
AI transcription with speaker identification
Best for
OpenOats
Choose OpenOats if you need getting live, context-aware prompts from your own notes during sales or customer calls — strengths include local on-device transcription keeps meeting audio private.
Simon Says
Choose Simon Says if you need transcribing and captioning footage for video editing projects — strengths include integrates directly with professional video editing software.
Pros & cons
OpenOats
+ Local on-device transcription keeps meeting audio private
+ Real-time note surfacing acts as a meeting copilot, not just a passive recorder
- Restricted to Apple Silicon Macs on recent macOS versions
Simon Says
+ Integrates directly with professional video editing software
+ Strong multilingual transcription and translation coverage
- Built for video production rather than meeting note-taking
FAQ
Is OpenOats or Simon Says better for AI meeting notes?
It depends on your workflow. OpenOats is strong for getting live, context-aware prompts from your own notes during sales or customer calls, while Simon Says is strong for transcribing and captioning footage for video editing projects. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
How do OpenOats and Simon Says compare on price?
OpenOats is a free tier with paid upgrades and Simon Says is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Can I use both OpenOats and Simon Says?
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary and the budget is justified.