Comparison

Otter.ai alternatives that run locally on Windows

Checked and updated 28 October 2026 by Artflow Management, the maker of ScreenBrief.

If you want meeting transcripts without sending audio to a cloud service or adding a bot to the call, use a desktop app that runs a speech-to-text model such as Whisper on your own PC. On Windows the options include ScreenBrief, Meetily, Buzz, Whisper Desktop, OpenWhispr and Double Scribe; they differ in price, live recording, summaries and setup.

What “local” means, and why it matters

A local app turns speech into text on your own processor or graphics card. The recording does not have to be uploaded to be transcribed, which matters for confidential meetings and slow connections. Most local apps use OpenAI’s open-source Whisper model or NVIDIA’s Parakeet, downloaded once and then run on your PC.

“No bot” is a separate question. A cloud notetaker usually joins the call as an extra participant. A desktop app instead records what your PC hears: your microphone and the system audio of Teams, Zoom or Meet. Nobody sees a bot, so tell the other participants that you are recording. More in local AI meeting notes on Windows.

A local transcript does not make every step local. Summaries and chat can still call an external AI service if you connect one, so check each step on its own; offline meeting transcription on Windows shows how.

Is Otter.ai local?

Otter.ai has a desktop app for Mac and Windows that records meetings without a bot joining the call, and an AI notetaker that can join Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet for you. Its site does not describe offline use or transcription on your own computer. If processing on your PC is the requirement, pick an app that states it. Otter’s free Basic plan includes 300 transcription minutes a month; its paid plans are priced by region.

Comparison table (checked 28 October 2026)

The six alternatives below can transcribe on your own PC; Otter.ai is listed for reference. Every fact comes from the maker’s website or GitHub page as read on 28 October 2026. A dash (—) means the maker’s site does not say.

Prices change; check them on each site before you decide. ScreenBrief’s prices are set in Polish zloty and the dollar amounts are approximations. To try it on one of your own recordings, get ScreenBrief from Microsoft Store.

The alternatives, one by one

Each app solves a slightly different problem. Every description ends with the kind of user it suits best.

ScreenBrief: transcript, summaries and chat that cites the exact second

ScreenBrief is a Windows 10 and 11 app from Microsoft Store. It records your screen, one window or audio only, or imports an existing recording from Teams, Zoom or Meet, then transcribes it on your PC with Whisper in about 100 languages. You get speaker labels, a short and a detailed summary, action items, decisions and a chat whose answers cite the second of the recording they come from. Summaries and chat run on local Ollama or on a provider you connect with your own key. There is no account and no bot, and the first 5 transcriptions are free.

Best for: one Windows user who wants notes they can check against the recording.

Meetily: open-source meeting notes for Windows, macOS and Linux

Meetily is an open-source meeting note taker. It captures Zoom, Teams and Meet calls on your device, without a bot or an account, and transcribes them locally with Whisper or Parakeet. Summaries come from a local model or from a provider you choose with your own key. The Community edition is free; Meetily Pro, from $10 per user a month billed annually with a 14-day trial, adds features such as speaker labels. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, so a mixed team can use the same tool.

Best for: people who want a free, open-source note taker for live calls on more than one operating system.

Buzz: free offline transcription of files and the microphone

Buzz is a free, open-source (MIT) app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your computer. You can import audio and video files or YouTube links, or transcribe your microphone live, and export the result as text (TXT) or subtitles (SRT, VTT). It can identify speakers, and summaries are available through plugins. Buzz runs on Windows, macOS and Linux; the Windows installer is published on SourceForge.

Best for: free transcripts and subtitles from files you already have, without an internet connection.

Whisper Desktop: lightweight Whisper on a Windows graphics card

Whisper Desktop (Const-me/Whisper on GitHub) is a free, open-source (MPL-2.0) Windows app that runs the Whisper model on the graphics card through Direct3D 11, so it works with any GPU that supports it, not only NVIDIA cards. It transcribes audio files or live capture from a microphone and can also translate. It needs 64-bit Windows and comes as a ZIP from GitHub, with the model file downloaded separately. Its latest release, 1.12.0, dates from July 2023.

Best for: technical users who want a small, portable transcriber and do not need summaries.

OpenWhispr: dictation plus meeting notes, with local or cloud models

OpenWhispr is an open-source (MIT) dictation app for Windows, macOS and Linux that also takes meeting notes without a bot. You choose between models that run on your device and cloud models; it lists more than 100 languages and lets you upload audio. The free plan includes 2,000 words a week and 5 hours of meetings a month, with unlimited use of local models. Pro costs $80 per user a year.

Best for: people who dictate a lot and want meeting notes in the same app.

Double Scribe: free live transcript labelled Me and Them

Double Scribe is a free, open-source Windows app with no subscription and no limits. It transcribes a call live and fully offline with Whisper on your CPU or GPU. Your microphone is labelled “Me” and whatever comes out of your speakers is labelled “Them”, which keeps a two-person conversation easy to follow. It needs no account and saves the transcript as a text file.

Best for: a simple, free live transcript of one-to-one calls.

How to choose

Start from what you need after the meeting, not from the model name. Three questions narrow the list:

• Summaries and action items, or only the transcript? For notes you can act on, look at ScreenBrief, Meetily or OpenWhispr. For a plain transcript or subtitles, Buzz, Whisper Desktop and Double Scribe are enough. To keep summaries on your PC as well, use a local model, for example Ollama on Windows.
• Live calls or files you already have? Meetily, OpenWhispr, Double Scribe and ScreenBrief record calls as they happen. Buzz, Whisper Desktop, OpenWhispr and ScreenBrief also take existing files, for example a Teams, Zoom or Meet recording.
• Store, installer or ZIP? ScreenBrief installs and updates through Microsoft Store. The open-source apps come from their own sites, GitHub or SourceForge, and Whisper Desktop is a ZIP you unpack yourself. If you would rather avoid the command line and model files, read Whisper on Windows without a terminal.

Whichever app you pick, test it on one of your own recordings first: accuracy depends on the microphone, the language and your hardware.

How ScreenBrief works

ScreenBrief turns a meeting recording into a transcript, summaries and answers you can check, in one Windows app:

1. Install ScreenBrief from Microsoft Store on Windows 10 or 11 (x64). You do not create an account.
2. Record the screen, one window or audio only (microphone and system sound), or import an audio or video file of up to 6 GB.
3. Transcribe on your PC with Whisper, on the processor or the graphics card, in about 100 languages. While you record, a live preview shows the transcript.
4. Read the short and detailed summary, the action items and the decisions, then ask the chat. Each answer cites the second of the recording it comes from. Summaries and chat use local Ollama or a provider you connect with your own key.

Export the results to Markdown, PDF, SRT, VTT or a calendar file (ICS). The first 5 transcriptions are free; Pro costs 299 PLN once (about 76 USD or 68 EUR) or 29 PLN a month (about 7.40 USD or 6.60 EUR), charged in Polish zloty. See pricing.

Frequently asked questions