Comparison
Published
Local meeting transcription apps for 2027: what to check before you choose
Going into 2027, the questions are changing: where audio becomes text, who can read your archive through MCP, which platforms you need and whether an account is required. The same seven tools compared on those points, with sources.
In 2026 almost every meeting tool stopped sending a bot into calls. That makes “no bot” a poor way to choose for 2027. What separates the tools now is where the audio becomes text, whether an AI assistant reads your archive on your computer or on a vendor's server, and what you have to sign up for. This page compares the same seven apps as our 2026 list on those points. We make Daisy, one of them; facts were checked against each vendor's pages on October 31, 2026.
The comparison
| App | Where audio becomes text | Agent access (MCP) | Account | Open source | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daisy | On your Mac | Local server on your Mac | None | Apache 2.0 | macOS 14+ (Apple Silicon); iPhone and Windows in development |
| MacWhisper | On your Mac, or a cloud provider with your key | None found; CLI tool | Not stated; Pro licence | No | macOS 15+; iPhone and iPad app |
| OpenWhispr | On your device, or OpenWhispr Cloud, your key, self-hosted | Hosted server, Pro plan | Only for the cloud mode | MIT | macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone |
| Meetily | On your computer; Pro adds cloud providers | Local server, Pro only | No; Pro activates online once | Community edition MIT | Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon) |
| Anarlog | On your Mac (Apple Silicon), or cloud in Pro | Local server; optional hosted | Optional | MIT | macOS 15+; Windows, Linux and mobile in beta |
| Superwhisper | On your Mac, or cloud models | Local server, via CLI | Not stated; licence key | No | macOS 14+ (meetings), Windows, iPhone, Android |
| Granola | In the cloud | Hosted server | Google or Microsoft account | No | macOS, Windows, iPhone, Android, Apple Watch |
Five questions for 2027
- Where does the audio become text? “Bot-free” does not answer this — Granola is bot-free and transcribes in the cloud.
- When your AI assistant reads your meetings, does it read them on your computer or on the vendor's server? A hosted MCP server means your archive lives there.
- Do you need the tool on Windows, Linux or a phone this year? Mac-first tools are expanding, but not at the same pace.
- Does it need an account? An account is where a vendor ties your meetings to you.
- Can you check the claims? Open source and a network test you can run beat a privacy page.
The trends behind these questions — bot-free capture, on-device speech models, MCP, consent lawsuits, voiceprints — are in our separate article, with a source for each.