Rafiki and Shadow are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. Rafiki: AI sales intelligence platform that records, transcribes, and analyzes sales conversations to surface deal and coaching insights. 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.
For ai-meeting-assistants workflows, shortlist Rafiki when automatically capturing notes and action items from sales calls 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.
AI sales intelligence platform that records, transcribes, and analyzes sales conversations to surface deal and coaching insights.
AI-generated meeting summaries and follow-up email draftsAI role play for rep training and a natural-language 'Ask Rafiki' query toolCall scoring against MEDDIC and BANT frameworks
A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant.
Bot-free capture that records system audio without joining the meeting as a participantCaptures on-screen content in addition to spoken audioCustomizable prompts/Skills to generate notes, summaries, and emails
Rafiki 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.
Records and transcribes calls across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and phone
Bot-free capture that records system audio without joining the meeting as a participant
Standout feature
AI-generated meeting summaries and follow-up email drafts
On-device (local) transcription on macOS
Team usage
Call scoring against MEDDIC and BANT frameworks
Speaker identification during transcription
Integrations
Deal and pipeline-level conversation analysis
Captures on-screen content in addition to spoken audio
Languages & capture
CRM integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, and Pipedrive
Customizable prompts/Skills to generate notes, summaries, and emails
Best-fit workflow
AI role play for rep training and a natural-language 'Ask Rafiki' query tool
Webhook integration to connect outputs to other tools
Best for
Rafiki
Choose Rafiki if you need automatically capturing notes and action items from sales calls — strengths include combines note-taking, coaching, and revenue intelligence in one platform.
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.
Pros & cons
Rafiki
+ Combines note-taking, coaching, and revenue intelligence in one platform
- Some advertised capabilities are listed as upcoming rather than fully shipped
Shadow
+ Does not add a visible bot to meetings
+ Local transcription keeps core audio processing on the device
- Available for macOS only
FAQ
Is Rafiki or Shadow better for AI meeting notes?
It depends on your workflow. Rafiki is strong for automatically capturing notes and action items from sales calls, while Shadow is strong for capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
How do Rafiki and Shadow compare on price?
Rafiki 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.
Can I use both Rafiki and Shadow?
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary and the budget is justified.