Shadow and Whisper Notes are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. Shadow: A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant. Whisper Notes: Offline, on-device speech-to-text app for Mac and iPhone that records and transcribes meetings locally using Whisper, with auto meeting detection and summaries on Mac. 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 Shadow when capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining matters most, and Whisper Notes when recording and transcribing confidential meetings without cloud uploads matters most. Both record across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams; trial each on real meetings before committing.
A bot-free, Mac-based AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls locally without joining as a participant.
Offline, on-device speech-to-text app for Mac and iPhone that records and transcribes meetings locally using Whisper, with auto meeting detection and summaries on Mac.
Shadow is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Whisper Notes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Shadow | Whisper Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Bot-free capture that records system audio without joining the meeting as a participant | 100% offline, on-device transcription with Whisper-based models |
| Standout feature | On-device (local) transcription on macOS | Automatic meeting detection for Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom on Mac |
| Team usage | Speaker identification during transcription | Auto-generated summaries and titles for recordings on Mac |
| Integrations | Captures on-screen content in addition to spoken audio | On-device AI chat with longer transcripts |
| Languages & capture | Customizable prompts/Skills to generate notes, summaries, and emails | Import of MP3, M4A, and WAV audio files for transcription |
| Best-fit workflow | Webhook integration to connect outputs to other tools | System-wide dictation via the function key on Mac |
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.
Whisper Notes
Choose Whisper Notes if you need recording and transcribing confidential meetings without cloud uploads — strengths include audio and transcripts never leave the device.
Shadow
Whisper Notes
It depends on your workflow. Shadow is strong for capturing notes and summaries across multiple conferencing platforms without a bot joining, while Whisper Notes is strong for recording and transcribing confidential meetings without cloud uploads. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Shadow is a free tier with paid upgrades and Whisper Notes 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.