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. oTranscribe: A free, open-source web app that eases manual transcription of recorded interviews by integrating media playback controls beside a text editor. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Whisper Notes when recording and transcribing confidential meetings without cloud uploads matters most, and oTranscribe when academic and qualitative researchers transcribing fieldwork or oral-history recordings matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
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.
A free, open-source web app that eases manual transcription of recorded interviews by integrating media playback controls beside a text editor.
Whisper Notes is an offline speech-to-text application for Mac and iPhone that records and transcribes meetings, lectures, and voice memos entirely on the device. It is built on OpenAI's Whisper speech recognition, with model options including Whisper Large V3 Turbo on Mac, Parakeet on iPhone, and SenseVoice for Asian languages, and it supports transcription across 100-plus languages. On Mac, the app can automatically detect when a meeting starts on platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom, then record and transcribe it locally without sending a bot into the call. Because processing is fully offline, the company states that data physically never leaves the device and that privacy is architectural rather than a policy promise. Additional Mac capabilities include auto-generated summaries and titles, on-device AI chat with longer transcripts, streaming transcription output, and system-wide dictation via the function key. Users can also import existing MP3, M4A, and WAV files for transcription and export results with timestamps. The product is sold as a one-time purchase per platform rather than a subscription. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
oTranscribe is a free, open-source (MIT license) web app, created by Elliot Bentley and maintained by the MuckRock Foundation, that takes the pain out of transcribing recorded interviews. It runs in the browser on desktop computers and places an integrated audio or video player alongside a text editor, so you can pause, rewind, and fast-forward your recording using keyboard shortcuts without taking your hands off the keys or switching between apps. It is built for journalists, researchers, oral historians, and students who type up interviews and recordings themselves. Rather than using automatic speech recognition, oTranscribe assists manual transcription: you listen and type, inserting interactive timestamps (Ctrl+J) that you can click to jump back to that moment in the media. Your transcript autosaves to the browser's local storage, and audio files never leave your computer, keeping work private. Finished transcripts can be exported to Markdown, plain text, or oTranscribe's own .otr format, or sent to Google Drive. Rich-text formatting and adjustable playback speed are supported.
Best suited for
Whisper Notes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); oTranscribe is open source (open source). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Whisper Notes | oTranscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | 100% offline, on-device transcription with Whisper-based models | Integrated audio/video player next to the transcript editor |
| Standout feature | Automatic meeting detection for Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom on Mac | Keyboard shortcuts to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and adjust playback speed without leaving the keyboard |
| Team usage | Auto-generated summaries and titles for recordings on Mac | Clickable interactive timestamps that jump to the matching point in the media |
| Integrations | On-device AI chat with longer transcripts | Automatic saving to browser local storage with transcript history backups |
| Languages & capture | Import of MP3, M4A, and WAV audio files for transcription | Export to Markdown, plain text, .otr format, or send to Google Drive |
| Best-fit workflow | System-wide dictation via the function key on Mac | Local, private processing - audio and transcript never leave the user's computer |
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.
oTranscribe
Choose oTranscribe if you need journalists typing up recorded interviews for articles — strengths include completely free and open source under the mit license.
Whisper Notes
oTranscribe
It depends on your workflow. Whisper Notes is strong for recording and transcribing confidential meetings without cloud uploads, while oTranscribe is strong for journalists typing up recorded interviews for articles. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Whisper Notes is a free tier with paid upgrades and oTranscribe is open source. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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