OpenOats and Tana 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. Tana: AI workspace with a bot-less meeting notetaker that transcribes and summarizes meetings directly into a connected knowledge base. 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 Tana when transcribing and summarizing meetings without a bot in the call 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); Tana 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
Bot-less meeting capture using computer system audio
Standout feature
Live retrieval of relevant talking points from your own notes during meetings
Transcription and AI summaries for online and in-person meetings
Team usage
Window hidden from screen sharing by default for privacy on calls
Action items pushed directly to task boards in the workspace
Integrations
Auto-saved transcripts and session logs to local files
Links meeting notes to relevant people and projects
Languages & capture
Works fully local via Ollama or with cloud models (OpenRouter, Voyage AI)
Automatic meeting detection on Mac
Best-fit workflow
MIT-licensed, self-hostable Swift application
60+ language support with automatic detection
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.
Tana
Choose Tana if you need transcribing and summarizing meetings without a bot in the call — strengths include captures meetings without adding a bot to the call.
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
Tana
+ Captures meetings without adding a bot to the call
+ Meeting notes flow into a connected, structured knowledge base
- Requires the Tana desktop app and adopting its outliner workflow
FAQ
Is OpenOats or Tana 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 Tana is strong for transcribing and summarizing meetings without a bot in the call. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
How do OpenOats and Tana compare on price?
OpenOats is a free tier with paid upgrades and Tana 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 Tana?
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary and the budget is justified.