OpenWhispr and Shadow are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. OpenWhispr: Open-source, privacy-first voice-to-text desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux that also transcribes meetings into AI-organized notes. 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 OpenWhispr when privately transcribing computer-audio meetings without a bot joining the call 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.
Open-source, privacy-first voice-to-text desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux that also transcribes meetings into AI-organized notes.
A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant.
OpenWhispr 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 | OpenWhispr | Shadow |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Open-source and auditable, with code published on GitHub | Bot-free capture that records system audio without joining the meeting as a participant |
| Standout feature | Cross-platform desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux | On-device (local) transcription on macOS |
| Team usage | Local transcription via bundled Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet models | Speaker identification during transcription |
| Integrations | Bring-your-own-key cloud model option for flexibility | Captures on-screen content in addition to spoken audio |
| Languages & capture | AI Notepad that turns rough meeting notes plus transcript into structured minutes | Customizable prompts/Skills to generate notes, summaries, and emails |
| Best-fit workflow | Full-text search and AI Chat across captured meetings | Webhook integration to connect outputs to other tools |
OpenWhispr
Choose OpenWhispr if you need privately transcribing computer-audio meetings without a bot joining the call — strengths include fully open source, so users can inspect and self-host the code.
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.
OpenWhispr
Shadow
It depends on your workflow. OpenWhispr is strong for privately transcribing computer-audio meetings without a bot joining the call, while Shadow is strong for capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
OpenWhispr 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.