Alternative · Comparison
An OpenWhispr alternative that keeps meetings as files you own
Daisy and OpenWhispr are both open source and both transcribe on your computer. The difference is in what happens after: Daisy writes every meeting as a folder of plain Markdown in a folder you choose, and lets AI assistants read it through an MCP server that runs on your Mac. It needs no account at all.
Local core included · Optional Daisy AI coming soon · Apple Silicon (M1+) · macOS 14+
Daisy vs OpenWhispr at a glance
| Feature | Daisy | OpenWhispr |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting recording | No bot — captures both sides of the call on the Mac | No bot — microphone and system audio (the other side needs macOS 14.2+); prompts from microphone activity or the calendar |
| Transcription | On-device, in every language Whisper supports, Russian included | On-device (its own model, Whisper, Parakeet, Cohere Transcribe) or OpenWhispr Cloud, your own key or a self-hosted server |
| Speakers | Separated on the Mac | Separated on the device with voice fingerprints, up to 8; not on Intel Macs |
| AI summary | Your choice: Apple Intelligence, local Ollama / LM Studio, or your own key for Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini and others | Your choice: a local model, self-hosted, your own key, or OpenWhispr Cloud |
| Where meetings live | One folder per meeting in a folder you choose: transcript.md, summary, audio | A local database; notes can be mirrored to a folder; cloud backup off by default |
| AI assistants (MCP) | Local MCP server on 127.0.0.1 — included | Hosted MCP server at mcp.openwhispr.com — Pro plan |
| Account | None | Not needed for local mode; needed for OpenWhispr Cloud |
| Open source | Yes — Apache 2.0 | Yes — MIT |
| Pricing | Local core included; optional cloud AI planned | Free (local unlimited, cloud limits) · Pro $8/mo or $80/yr · Business $16/user-mo |
| Platforms | macOS 14+ (Apple Silicon); iPhone and Windows in development | macOS 12+, Windows 10+, Linux, iPhone and iPad |
Where OpenWhispr is ahead — and who shouldn't switch
OpenWhispr runs on Windows, Linux, Intel Macs and iPhone today; Daisy is Apple Silicon only for now, with iPhone and Windows in development. OpenWhispr also has a translation hotkey, a voice agent, calendar integrations with Google, Microsoft and Apple, and an optional cloud for people who do not want to manage models. If you work across operating systems, it is the more practical choice. Daisy is the trade when you are on a Mac and want plain files per meeting, a local MCP server that needs no plan, no account, and Russian as a first-class language in the app and the docs.
Try Daisy
The local core needs no Daisy subscription. Download the signed DMG, drop it into Applications, grant the permissions on first launch, and start recording. No account, no email wall, nothing to sync.
More comparisons: MacWhisper · Granola · Krisp
Comparison written by the Daisy team. OpenWhispr positioning verified against docs.openwhispr.com as of October 31, 2026. If anything is out of date or wrong, open an issue at github.com/ca33u/daisy-app/issues and we’ll fix it.