In short
You can transcribe meetings on a Mac for free in four ways: with Apple's built-in features, with the transcripts some meeting apps make themselves, with a notetaker's free plan, or with an app whose transcription is free because it runs on your Mac.
Notey is in the last group: the free plan records 2 hours a month, with transcription and search, and no account; AI notes are what you pay for.
Each option costs something other than money: a limit, a missing side of the call, or your meetings stored with a vendor. This guide goes through them. Competitors' features are described from their own documentation as of September 2026; free plans change often, so check each vendor's pricing page for current limits.
The short answer
| Option | Hears the other side of a video call | Where transcription happens | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Notes, Voice Memos | Through the room only | Apple | Microphone recordings; no meeting structure |
| Live Captions | Yes | On the Mac | Live captions, no saving described |
| Meeting apps' transcripts | Yes | The meeting provider's cloud | Plan, host and admin settings |
| Notetakers' free plans | Yes | Usually the vendor's cloud | Limits; meetings stored with the vendor |
| Notey's free plan | Yes, as its own track | On the Mac | Mac only; AI notes are paid |
Apple's built-in features
Notes and Voice Memos
Apple Notes can record audio into a note and transcribe it, on Macs with M1 or later, and Apple Intelligence can summarise the transcript where available. Voice Memos can show a transcript of a recording while you record or afterwards. Both are recordings from the microphone: on headphones, they hear only you. (Apple: Notes, Apple: Voice Memos)
Good for in-person meetings and lectures. Apple Notes audio recording vs a meeting notetaker goes into more detail.
Live Captions
Live Captions give "real-time transcription of spoken audio" in any app, and can switch between the Mac's audio output and the microphone. Apple says the audio is processed on the device, and that the feature is available only on Macs with Apple silicon. (Apple: Live Captions)
Useful for following a call. Apple's guide does not describe saving or exporting the captions, so it is not a way to keep a transcript.
Dictation
Dictation types what you say. It is for writing, not for capturing a meeting.
Your meeting app's own transcript
Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet can produce transcripts or AI notes themselves, on some plans. Whether you get one depends on the plan, the organisation's admin settings, and usually the host. It costs nothing extra if your organisation already pays for the right plan, and nothing at all is available if it does not. How to record a Zoom meeting on a Mac covers Zoom's options.
Notetakers' free plans
Most notetakers have a free plan with limits. As of September 2026, the following list a free plan on their own sites:
- Otter — a Basic plan. Records with a meeting agent or its desktop app. See Otter.ai alternative.
- Fireflies — a free plan. Records with a bot, or without one from its desktop app. See Fireflies alternative.
- Fathom — a free plan. Records with a bot, or without one on Mac. See Fathom alternative.
- tl;dv — a free plan. Records with a bot, or without one from its desktop app. See tl;dv alternative.
- Granola — a free Basic plan. Records without a bot, transcribes in the cloud and keeps no audio. See Notey vs Granola.
- Quill — a free plan with on-device transcription. See Quill Meetings alternative.
The limits differ: meetings per month, meeting length, how long history is kept, which AI features are included. Most of these services transcribe in the cloud and store your meetings with them; Quill transcribes on the device.
Notey's free plan
Notey's free plan is 2 hours of recording a month, with on-device transcription and search, and no account. A meeting in progress is never cut off; once the 2 hours are used, the next recording waits for the 1st of the month. What is paid is AI notes — summaries, action items, minutes, follow-up emails and questions about a meeting — because those are the part with a running cost, and sync between your Macs, which is part of the paid plans. See pricing.
What you get on the free plan:
- Both sides of the call. Notey records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays as two separate tracks, in any app. Nothing joins the call.
- Transcription on the Mac with Apple's on-device speech recognition, live, in ten languages. After an English meeting, Notey reads the recording again on your Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on.
- The recording, kept on your disk, with every line of the transcript playable.
- Search across every meeting by what was said or by time.
Transcription is free because it happens on your Mac, not on a server. On-device transcription explained covers how that works and its limits.
What it needs: a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later. There is no Windows, web or phone version.
To try it, download Notey and open it. There is no account to create.
Which to choose
- In-person meetings and lectures only: Apple Notes or Voice Memos may be all you need.
- Following a call as it happens, without keeping anything: Live Captions.
- Your organisation already pays for Zoom, Teams or Workspace with transcripts: use those for meetings you host.
- You want a notetaker for calls on any app, free, and are content with limits and cloud storage: a notetaker's free plan.
- You want transcription of both sides of your calls, with the audio kept on your Mac: Notey — 2 hours a month on the free plan, without a cap on a paid one.
For a wider comparison of paid options too, see the best AI notetakers for Mac. If what you have is audio files to transcribe rather than calls to record, MacWhisper for meetings vs a meeting notetaker covers a Mac app that transcribes files with local models.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free meeting transcription app for Mac?
Yes, several. Apple Notes and Voice Memos transcribe recordings, Live Captions transcribes any audio live, many notetakers have free plans, and Notey's free plan records 2 hours of meetings a month, transcribes and searches them, with no account.
What does Notey's free plan include?
2 hours of recording a month, on-device transcription and search, with no account. AI notes, such as summaries and action items, are on the paid plans. See the pricing section for current details.
Can I transcribe a meeting for free without uploading the audio?
Yes, with tools that transcribe on the Mac: Apple's Live Captions processes audio on the device, and Notey transcribes with Apple's on-device speech recognition and keeps the audio on your disk.
What is the catch with free notetaker plans?
Usually limits: on meetings a month, meeting length, history, or AI features. Cloud notetakers also store your meetings with the vendor. Each vendor's pricing page lists its current limits.