Pluely and Spinach are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. Pluely: A lightweight open-source desktop AI meeting assistant that captures system audio for live transcription and on-call answers without joining as a visible bot. 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.
For ai-meeting-assistants workflows, shortlist Pluely when getting live transcription and ai assistance during meetings without a visible bot in the call 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.
A lightweight open-source desktop AI meeting assistant that captures system audio for live transcription and on-call answers without joining as a visible bot.
Always-on-top overlay app for macOS, Windows, and LinuxBot-free capture of system audio and microphone for live transcriptionBring-your-own-key support for many LLMs (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Mistral, Cohere, Ollama, custom)
Pluely 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.
Bot-free capture of system audio and microphone for live transcription
AI notes and summaries for recurring meetings
Standout feature
Always-on-top overlay app for macOS, Windows, and Linux
Standup, retro, and planning support
Team usage
Bring-your-own-key support for many LLMs (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Mistral, Cohere, Ollama, custom)
Drafts tickets and updates for project tools
Integrations
Multiple speech-to-text providers (Whisper, Deepgram, ElevenLabs, Groq, Azure, and others)
Recording and transcription
Languages & capture
Lightweight (~10MB) and fast to launch
Integrations with project-management tools
Best-fit workflow
Open source under GPL with optional local processing via Ollama
AI notes and summaries for recurring meetings
Best for
Pluely
Choose Pluely if you need getting live transcription and ai assistance during meetings without a visible bot in the call — strengths include free and open source with fully inspectable code.
Spinach
Choose Spinach if you need daily standups and sprint planning — strengths include built specifically for agile ceremonies.
Pros & cons
Pluely
+ Free and open source with fully inspectable code
+ Bot-free and can run locally for privacy when paired with local models
- Requires bringing your own API keys, adding setup effort and external usage costs
Spinach
+ Built specifically for agile ceremonies
+ Connects meeting outcomes to project tools
- Most valuable for agile/software workflows specifically
FAQ
Is Pluely or Spinach better for AI meeting notes?
It depends on your workflow. Pluely is strong for getting live transcription and ai assistance during meetings without a visible bot in the call, while Spinach is strong for daily standups and sprint planning. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
How do Pluely and Spinach compare on price?
Pluely 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.
Can I use both Pluely and Spinach?
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary and the budget is justified.
Pluely vs Spinach: Pricing, Features & Recommendation | Hosiqo