In short
Quill Meetings and Notey are close cousins. Both record your meetings from a desktop app without a bot in the call, both transcribe on your own computer, and both keep the audio on the machine that recorded it.
If what you want is on-device transcription with no bot, either one does it.
The differences are in the edges. Quill runs on Mac and Windows, supports more transcription languages, lets you choose your AI provider or run a local model, and has a long list of integrations. Notey is a Mac-only app built on the speech recognition in macOS 26, with a narrower feature set and some specific choices about consent, speakers and labelling that are described below.
This comparison describes Quill from its own website and FAQ as of September 2026. Quill changes; check Quill's FAQ for the current state before deciding.
At a glance
| Quill | Notey | |
|---|---|---|
| Joins the call as a bot | No | No |
| Where transcription happens | On your computer | On your Mac |
| Audio kept | On the machine that recorded it | On your Mac |
| Platforms | Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 12+), Windows 10+, iPhone and Android | Mac only (Apple silicon, macOS 26+) |
| Transcription languages | 29, with auto-detection, per its FAQ | 10 live; the after-meeting improvement is English only |
| AI for notes | Quill's hosted model, your own provider, or a local model | Notey's service, using OpenAI; no choice of model |
| Sync | End-to-end encrypted sync of meetings, transcripts and notes | Optional end-to-end encrypted sync of transcripts and notes between your Macs; audio stays on the Mac that recorded it |
| Integrations | Many, plus MCP | None; Markdown export |
How each one captures and transcribes
Quill says it "records locally through the desktop app, so no bot joins your meeting", taking your microphone for your voice and the sound sent to your speakers or headphones for everyone else. Transcription runs on your machine, and its FAQ says recording, transcription and speaker identification work offline. Data lives in Quill's folder in your user Library on a Mac. (Quill FAQ, Quill)
Notey records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays as two separate tracks, and transcribes both live with Apple's on-device speech recognition. After an English meeting, Notey reads the recording again on your Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on; meetings you have edited are left alone. On-device transcription explained covers how this kind of transcription works and where its limits are.
Both approaches keep audio off the network. The practical differences are language coverage, which favours Quill, and the engine: Notey relies on Apple's recogniser, which is why it needs macOS 26.
Where your data goes
Quill
- Audio stays on the machine that recorded it, per its FAQ: sync "covers meetings, transcripts, and notes; audio stays on the machine that recorded it."
- Sync is end-to-end encrypted, "so we can't read it".
- AI: you can use Quill's hosted model, connect your own provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex, OpenRouter and others), or run a local model through tools such as Ollama or LM Studio.
- Training: "We don't log or train on your private transcripts or notes."
Notey
- Audio is written to your Mac and never uploaded for transcription.
- AI notes send transcript text, never audio, to Notey's service, which passes it to OpenAI as a processor; not used for training and not retained by Notey. That happens when you ask for a note, or when a meeting ends if you turned write-ups on. (Notey's privacy policy)
- Sync between your Macs is optional, sealed on the Mac with a key derived from a recovery key only your Macs hold. Recordings stay on the Mac that made them and are never uploaded, not even encrypted. Lose the key and the synced copy cannot be recovered.
- With no account, nothing leaves the Mac.
The biggest privacy difference is the AI step. With a local model, Quill can write notes without anything leaving the computer. Notey cannot: its AI notes always go through its service.
Where Quill is stronger
- Platforms. Windows and phones as well as Mac, and Macs on macOS versions from 12 onwards.
- Languages. 29 with auto-detection, against Notey's 10.
- Choice of AI. Your own provider or a local model. Notey offers neither.
- Integrations. Quill lists Notion, Obsidian, Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Linear and many more, plus MCP access. Notey has none.
- Teams and enterprise. Quill documents a Teams plan and enterprise options such as SSO. Notey's Team plan is billing only.
Where Notey makes different choices
- Two tracks, kept apart. Your microphone and the Mac's audio are separate recordings, so "You" and "Them" come from how the audio arrived, not from voice analysis. If your speakers put someone on your side, you can move the line.
- Asking before recording. Notey notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack, FaceTime and in Chrome, Safari, Arc and Edge when the browser uses the microphone, and asks; nothing is saved until you press Allow. Any standing choice, such as arming the next call or always recording one app, is shown and can be withdrawn.
- Voice recognition off by default. Recognising people across meetings does nothing until you switch it on, and names are only ever suggested.
- Labels. Everything the AI wrote is labelled as AI-generated, including in exports, and your edits are marked.
- No Screen Recording permission. Notey captures system audio with a Core Audio process tap.
Pricing
Quill has a free plan with local transcription and paid plans for AI notes and sync; see Quill's pricing. Notey's recording, transcription and search are free with no account, and AI notes are paid by the hour; see Notey's pricing.
Which one fits
Quill is likely the better fit if:
- you use Windows or an older macOS version;
- your meetings are in a language outside Notey's ten;
- you want to choose your AI provider, or keep AI notes on the device with a local model;
- you want notes sent into other tools.
Notey is likely the better fit if:
- you want a narrow Mac app built on Apple's own speech recognition;
- you want your side and theirs recorded as separate tracks;
- you want a notetaker that asks before each recording and shows every standing choice;
- you want AI output labelled wherever it appears.
For other comparisons between desktop notetakers, see Notey vs Granola and a jamie alternative, both of which transcribe in the cloud. For the full field, see the best AI notetakers for Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Does Quill transcribe on the device?
Yes, according to Quill's FAQ. It records locally through its desktop app with no bot, and transcription happens on your computer. Notey also transcribes on the Mac, with Apple's speech recognition.
Does Quill run on Windows?
Yes. Quill's FAQ lists Apple silicon Macs with macOS 12 or later, Windows 10 or later, and phone apps. Notey runs only on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 26 or later.
Can I use my own AI model with Quill or Notey?
Quill lets you bring your own provider, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and local models through tools such as Ollama and LM Studio. Notey does not offer a choice of model or your own API key; its AI notes go through Notey's service to OpenAI.
Is Quill or Notey better for privacy?
They take similar approaches: both keep audio on the computer that recorded it and transcribe locally. Quill additionally lets you write notes with a local model, so nothing leaves the machine even for AI notes. Notey sends transcript text to its service when you ask for AI notes.