OpenWhispr and Soniox 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. Soniox: Multilingual speech AI platform offering real-time and async speech-to-text and translation APIs for meetings and voice apps. They overlap on ai-meeting-assistants, ai-transcription, 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, ai-transcription workflows, shortlist OpenWhispr when privately transcribing computer-audio meetings without a bot joining the call matters most, and Soniox when transcribing multilingual meetings and calls in real time 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.
Multilingual speech AI platform offering real-time and async speech-to-text and translation APIs for meetings and voice apps.
OpenWhispr is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Soniox is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | OpenWhispr | Soniox |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Open-source and auditable, with code published on GitHub | Real-time and asynchronous speech-to-text APIs |
| Standout feature | Cross-platform desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux | Speaker separation for multi-participant conversations |
| Team usage | Local transcription via bundled Whisper and NVIDIA Parakeet models | Real-time speech translation across many language pairs |
| Integrations | Bring-your-own-key cloud model option for flexibility | Code-switching support for mid-sentence language changes |
| Languages & capture | AI Notepad that turns rough meeting notes plus transcript into structured minutes | Web and server SDKs for browser and backend integration |
| Best-fit workflow | Full-text search and AI Chat across captured meetings | Enterprise compliance with SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and GDPR |
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.
Soniox
Choose Soniox if you need transcribing multilingual meetings and calls in real time — strengths include strong multilingual and translation capabilities for global meetings.
OpenWhispr
Soniox
It depends on your workflow. OpenWhispr is strong for privately transcribing computer-audio meetings without a bot joining the call, while Soniox is strong for transcribing multilingual meetings and calls in real time. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
OpenWhispr is a free tier with paid upgrades and Soniox 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.