In short
If you want Krisp's bot-free meeting notes with the recording kept only on your Mac, Notey is an alternative for Apple silicon Macs. Keep Krisp if you need its noise cancellation, Windows or phone apps, CRM integrations, or transcription in languages Notey does not cover.
Krisp is best known for noise cancellation: it removes background noise and other voices from your microphone before the call app hears it. It also has an AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes and summarises meetings without a bot in the call. Notey does only the second job, on a Mac, and keeps the recording on your disk. If you use Krisp mainly for its notes and want the audio to stay on your Mac, Notey is an alternative. If you use it for noise cancellation, it is not.
This comparison describes Krisp from its own website and privacy policy as of September 2026. Krisp changes; check Krisp's AI Meeting Assistant page and its privacy policy before deciding.
At a glance
| Krisp | Notey | |
|---|---|---|
| Joins the call as a bot | No by default; an optional bot for platforms such as Zoom | No |
| Noise cancellation for your voice | Yes, on the device | No |
| Where transcription happens | English on the device; 15 other languages on Krisp's servers | On your Mac, with Apple's speech recognition |
| Recordings | May be stored on Krisp's servers, per its privacy policy | On your Mac; never uploaded to be transcribed |
| Platforms | Windows and macOS, iPhone and Android, a Chrome extension | Mac only (Apple silicon, macOS 26 or later) |
| Integrations | CRM, project tools and Slack | None; notes export as Markdown |
Two different jobs
Krisp started as a noise-cancellation app, and that is still the part many people pay for. It sits between your microphone and the call app, so the people on the call hear your voice without the dog, the café or the keyboard. Krisp says its noise cancellation runs on the device and that no voice data is visible to its servers when you use it. (Krisp noise cancellation)
The meeting assistant is a separate set of features on top: a transcript, notes, action items and a recording you can play back.
Notey has no noise cancellation. It does not change what the other people hear. It records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays, transcribes them, and writes notes when you ask. If your problem is how you sound on calls, Notey does nothing for it; macOS's own microphone modes do some of that for supported apps, as Mic modes on a Mac explains.
How each one captures a meeting
Krisp says "you don't need a bot in your meeting. Krisp works directly at the audio level on your device." It also offers a bot for platforms such as Zoom, for people who prefer one. It has desktop apps for Windows and macOS, phone apps for iPhone and Android, and a Chrome extension. (Krisp AI Meeting Assistant)
Notey records two separate tracks on your Mac: your microphone and the sound your Mac plays. Nothing joins the call, and it works with any app because it records the Mac's audio. It notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack, FaceTime, and in Chrome, Safari, Arc and Edge when the browser uses the microphone, and asks on its floating button. Nothing is saved until you press Allow. For any other app you press Start.
Both avoid the bot. Bot-free meeting notes covers what that changes for the people on the other side.
Where transcription happens
This is where the two differ most.
Krisp offers "on-device English transcription for maximum privacy and speed, plus server-based transcription in 15 additional languages", including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Hindi, Korean and others. So an English meeting can be transcribed on your computer, and a meeting in another language goes to Krisp's servers.
Notey transcribes every meeting on your Mac with Apple's speech recognition, in ten languages, one language per meeting (the Mac's language). After an English meeting, Notey reads the recording again on your Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on, which makes fewer mistakes than the live transcript. No audio is sent anywhere for either step.
If your meetings are in Hindi, Polish or Dutch, Krisp covers them and Notey does not. If your meetings are in French or German and the audio must not leave the computer, Notey keeps it on the Mac and Krisp, by its own description, sends it to its servers.
Where your data goes
Krisp
- Noise cancellation: on the device. Its privacy policy says it does not have access to or store audiovisual data when you use noise cancellation only.
- Meeting assistant: its privacy policy says Krisp "may store such meeting transcripts, recordings and summaries on our servers", keeps recordings and notes until you tell it to delete them, and primarily processes and stores information in the United States. (Krisp privacy policy)
- Security: Krisp lists SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR and PCI-DSS on its site, with encryption in transit and at rest.
Notey
- Audio is written to your Mac and read from there. It is not uploaded to be transcribed, and there is no fallback, debug mode or crash report that sends it.
- With no account, nothing leaves the Mac. Recording, transcription, search and speaker separation work with no network.
- AI notes send transcript text, never audio, to Notey's service, which passes it to OpenAI as a processor; it is not used for training and not kept by Notey. That happens when you ask, or when a meeting ends if you turned write-ups on. (Notey's privacy policy)
- Sync between your own Macs is optional and part of the paid plans. Each meeting is encrypted on the Mac before it leaves, and recordings stay on the Mac that made them and are never uploaded, not even encrypted.
- Notey holds no security certifications and does not claim any.
Where Krisp is stronger
- Noise cancellation. Notey has none.
- Platforms. Windows, iPhone, Android and a browser extension. Notey is a Mac app for Apple silicon and macOS 26 only.
- Languages. English plus 15 more, against Notey's ten, although the other languages are transcribed on Krisp's servers.
- Integrations. Krisp lists Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Affinity, Asana, Jira, monday.com, Zapier and Slack. Notey has no integrations.
- A bot if you want one. For a meeting you are not attending, a bot can still record. Notey records only what your Mac hears.
- Certifications. Krisp lists several on its site. Notey has none.
Where Notey makes different choices
- Every meeting transcribed on the Mac, in every supported language, with the audio kept on your disk.
- Two tracks. Your side and theirs are recorded separately, so You and Them come from how the audio arrived rather than from voice analysis. On the other side, voices are told apart after the recording, and you name them.
- Asks before recording. Standing choices, such as arming the next call, always recording one app or recording from ticked calendars, are shown before they act and can be withdrawn. A red dot and a timer show whenever audio is being kept.
- Free without an account. The free plan records 2 hours a month, with transcription and search; paid plans record without a cap and add AI notes, by the hour. See the pricing section.
- AI output labelled. Everything the AI wrote is labelled as AI-generated, including in exports, and your edits are marked.
Which one fits
Krisp is likely the better fit if:
- you want your voice cleaned up for the people on the call;
- you use Windows or want phone apps;
- your meetings are in a language Notey does not cover;
- you want notes sent into a CRM or project tool;
- you need a vendor that lists security certifications.
Notey is likely the better fit if:
- you want every transcript made on your Mac, whatever the language it supports;
- you want recordings kept on your disk and never uploaded;
- you want to record and transcribe with no account and no network;
- you want your side and theirs recorded as separate tracks.
Nothing stops you using both: Krisp for how you sound, Notey for the notes. For the full field, see the best AI notetakers for Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Does Krisp need a bot to take meeting notes?
No. Krisp's site says its meeting assistant works at the audio level on your device, without a bot, and that a bot is available as an option for platforms such as Zoom.
Does Krisp transcribe on the device?
Partly. Krisp says English transcription runs on the device, and 15 other languages are transcribed on its servers. Its privacy policy says it may store transcripts, recordings and summaries on its servers.
Does Notey remove background noise like Krisp?
No. Notey records and transcribes; it does not clean up your voice for the other people on the call. For that, use Krisp's noise cancellation or the Mac's own microphone modes.
Can I use Krisp and Notey together?
Neither joins the call, so they do not interfere with the meeting. If Krisp's noise-cancelled microphone is selected as your input, Notey records that device like any other microphone.
Is Notey available on Windows like Krisp?
No. Notey runs only on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 26 or later. Krisp has desktop apps for Windows and macOS, and phone apps.