--- title: "Best MacWhisper Alternatives in 2026: 6 Compared | Memory Notch" url: https://memorynotch.app/alternatives/macwhisper/ --- MACWHISPER ALTERNATIVES # The best MacWhisper alternatives in 2026 Six transcription tools for people who like MacWhisper’s local models but want live calls, Windows, speaker labels or something free. ON THIS PAGE 01Free MacWhisper alternatives02Why people leave MacWhisper031. Memory Notch042. Meetily053. Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote)064. Goodmeet075. Voice Memos086. Otter.ai09Questions people ask [Open the live demo ↗](https://memorynotch.app/#live-demo) **Short answer:** For live calls with speaker labels, on Mac, Windows and phones, Memory Notch; for open source, on Mac and Windows, Meetily; for open source on Linux too, Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote); for on-device transcription with summaries on request, Goodmeet; for nothing to install, Voice Memos; for AI summaries and team sharing in the cloud, Otter.ai. **Just the two?** [Memory Notch vs MacWhisper, head to head](https://memorynotch.app/vs/macwhisper/) | Tool | Where speech becomes text | Bot in the call | Speaker labels | Platforms | Free option | Price | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Memory Notch](https://memorynotch.app/downloads/) | On your computer or phone; nothing is uploaded | No; records your microphone and your computer’s own audio | Numbered live: Speaker 1, Speaker 2, in the trial too | Mac and Windows, on one licence; iPhone, iPad and Android apps sold separately | Not free to record: free recordings stop at 5 minutes | Free to try with 5-minute recordings; US$79 once or US$7.99 a month for Mac and Windows; a one-time US$5.99 unlock on iPhone, iPad or Android (US price) | | [Meetily](https://memorynotch.app/vs/meetily/) | On-device transcription; summaries local or cloud, by configuration | No | Pro plan only | macOS, Windows | Community edition: free and open source; speaker labels need Pro | Community edition free (MIT licence); Pro US$10 per user per month, billed US$120 a year | | [Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote)](https://memorynotch.app/vs/hyprnote/) | On-device or cloud, by configuration | No | Not stated in its README | macOS, Windows, Linux; local models vary by platform | Free and open source (MIT); hosted AI and sync are optional extras | Open-source community app; optional commercial services | | [Goodmeet](https://memorynotch.app/vs/goodmeet/) | On-device transcription; summaries off the device, in confidential computing | No | Not stated on its site | Macs with Apple silicon, Windows 11 PCs with 16 GB of memory, and iPhone; 15 languages | Free for personal use | Free for personal use; team plans on its pricing page | | [Voice Memos](https://memorynotch.app/vs/voice-memos/) | On the device | No bot; on a Mac it hears the microphone only | No speaker labels | iPhone and Mac, built in | Free, built in | Free, built in | | [Otter.ai](https://memorynotch.app/vs/otter/) | Cloud | Meeting assistant and desktop capture options | Yes: names it has learned from speakers you tag; Speaker # when it can’t match a voice | Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | Basic: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation | Basic free (300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation); Pro US$16.99 a month, or US$8.33 a month billed annually; Business US$30 a month, or US$19.99 billed annually | Checked November 9, 2026 against the vendors’ own pages; a source we could not re-read that day keeps the date we last read it. Sources: [MacWhisper’s own page](https://www.macwhisper.com/) (November 9, 2026) · [Meetily’s own page](https://meetily.ai/) (November 9, 2026) · [Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote)’s own page](https://github.com/fastrepl/anarlog) (November 9, 2026) · [Goodmeet’s own page](https://goodmeet.com/) (November 9, 2026) · [Apple: Voice Memos transcripts](https://support.apple.com/guide/voice-memos/view-a-transcription-of-a-recording-vm4a03609f0d/mac) (November 8, 2026) · [Apple: Notes audio transcription](https://support.apple.com/guide/notes/record-and-transcribe-audio-apdb5106e334/mac) (November 8, 2026) · [Voice Memos transcription limits](https://klu.so/blog/apple-voice-memos-transcription-limits) (November 8, 2026) · [Does Voice Memos transcribe?](https://speakwiseapp.com/blog/does-voice-memos-transcribe) (November 8, 2026) · [Otter.ai’s own page](https://otter.ai/pricing) (November 9, 2026) · [Otter: speaker identification](https://help.otter.ai/hc/en-us/articles/21665587209367-Speaker-Identification-Overview) (November 9, 2026). ## Free MacWhisper alternatives MacWhisper has a free version itself. These alternatives are free too, within the limits shown. - **Meetily:** Community edition: free and open source; speaker labels need Pro. - **Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote):** Free and open source (MIT); hosted AI and sync are optional extras. - **Goodmeet:** Free for personal use. - **Voice Memos:** Free, built in. - **Otter.ai:** Basic: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation. Memory Notch is not free for recording. Free recordings stop at five minutes and everything captured is saved (on iPhone and Android, your first two longer recordings run to the end); US$79 once or US$7.99 a month removes the limit on Mac and Windows, and a one-time US$5.99 unlock does on iPhone, iPad or Android (US price). Its dictation is free on Mac and Windows, with no licence. ## Why people leave MacWhisper MacWhisper is a Mac app for transcribing files, meetings and dictation, locally by default. Its pricing, checked November 9, 2026: Free version; Pro is a one-time purchase with lifetime updates (shown as €64 when we checked). People look elsewhere when they mostly record live calls rather than files, need Windows or a phone, or want something open source. ## 1. Memory Notch A recorder that opens from the Mac’s notch, records your microphone and the Mac’s own audio, and writes a live transcript with numbered speakers on the Mac. It can import Apple Voice Memos, and audio placed in ~/memory/inbox is filed and transcribed. The same licence covers the Windows app. **Pick it if** you mostly record live calls and want speaker labels from the first recording, on a Mac or a Windows PC. [Memory Notch vs MacWhisper, head to head](https://memorynotch.app/vs/macwhisper/) ## 2. Meetily An open-source meeting assistant with local transcription and summaries. **Pick it if** you want open source, or AI summaries written on your computer through Ollama. [Memory Notch vs Meetily](https://memorynotch.app/vs/meetily/) · [Meetily’s own page](https://meetily.ai/) ## 3. Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote) An open-source meeting notepad with local or optional hosted AI. **Pick it if** you want open source, Linux, or AI notes from a model you choose. [Memory Notch vs Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote)](https://memorynotch.app/vs/hyprnote/) · [Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote)’s own page](https://github.com/fastrepl/anarlog) ## 4. Goodmeet A bot-free notetaker from Goodnotes’ parent company: transcription on the device, summaries in confidential computing. **Pick it if** you want meeting summaries with next steps and don’t need to keep the audio. [Memory Notch vs Goodmeet](https://memorynotch.app/vs/goodmeet/) · [Goodmeet’s own page](https://goodmeet.com/) ## 5. Voice Memos Apple’s recorder transcribes on iPhone and Mac, but a conversation comes back as one block of text. **Pick it if** you want a quick transcript of one voice, with nothing to install or buy. [Memory Notch vs Voice Memos](https://memorynotch.app/vs/voice-memos/) · [Apple: Voice Memos transcripts](https://support.apple.com/guide/voice-memos/view-a-transcription-of-a-recording-vm4a03609f0d/mac) ## 6. Otter.ai Meeting transcription with AI summaries and team workflows. **Pick it if** you want AI summaries, shared meeting search and team integrations in the cloud. [Memory Notch vs Otter.ai](https://memorynotch.app/vs/otter/) · [Otter.ai’s own page](https://otter.ai/pricing) ## Questions people ask ### Is there a MacWhisper alternative for Windows? Yes. Memory Notch for Windows is in alpha, on the same licence as the Mac app. Meetily and Anarlog run on Windows too, and both are open source. ### Can Memory Notch transcribe audio files like MacWhisper? Partly. On a Mac it imports Apple Voice Memos from the Library tab, and audio placed in ~/memory/inbox is filed and transcribed. It is built for live recording; MacWhisper is the stronger choice for batches of files. ### Is there a free MacWhisper alternative? Meetily’s Community edition is free and MIT-licensed, Anarlog is open source, Goodmeet is free for personal use, and Voice Memos is built into iPhone and Mac. Memory Notch is free to try with five-minute recordings. [All alternatives](https://memorynotch.app/alternatives/) · [All comparisons](https://memorynotch.app/vs/) · [All downloads](https://memorynotch.app/downloads/)