A Rev alternative for meetings: Rev and Notey compared

Rev is a transcription company. You upload a recording and Rev transcribes it, either by machine or by people, and it also has a meeting notetaker that joins calls as a bot. Notey records meetings on your Mac and transcribes them there, without uploading anything and without a bot. The choice turns on what you need the transcript for. For your own notes from your own calls, on-device transcription is usually enough. For a transcript someone will rely on as a record, human transcription is the right tool, and Notey does not offer it.

This comparison describes Rev from its own website, help centre and terms as of September 2026. Check Rev and its security page for the current state.

At a glance

How each one works

Rev takes files through its website and phone apps, and transcribes them with "Rev's best-in-class ASR model" or with human transcriptionists. Its human service says "99%+ accurate, guaranteed in 12 hours or less", and its help centre adds: "We offer a 99% accuracy guarantee for files with clear audio." Human transcription is English only; machine transcription covers 37 or more languages. (Rev AI transcription, Rev human transcription)

For meetings, "Rev Notetaker is an AI meeting assistant that automatically joins meetings", using a bot that joins Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Webex meetings on your calendar. (Rev Notetaker) How meeting bots work covers what a bot participant changes.

Rev now describes itself mainly as an investigative intelligence and legal transcription platform, serving law firms, government agencies and courts.

Notey records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays as two separate tracks and transcribes both live, on the Mac. It notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack, FaceTime and supported browsers and asks; nothing is saved until you press Allow. For other apps, press Start. After an English meeting, it reads the recording again on the Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on.

When human transcription is the right choice

Machine transcription, on a device or in the cloud, makes mistakes: names, numbers, crosstalk, accents, poor lines. For notes, a mistake you can check by clicking the line and listening is a small cost. For some transcripts, it is not:

• A legal or evidential record: a deposition, a hearing, an interview that may be quoted in a dispute.
• Poor audio: a phone recording in a noisy room, several people talking over each other.
• Publication: a transcript printed or published with someone's name on it.
• A contractual accuracy requirement, where you need someone to stand behind the result.

In those cases, a human transcription service with a stated accuracy guarantee, such as Rev's, is the better tool. Meeting transcription accuracy explains what affects machine accuracy and how to judge it.

Where your data goes

Rev

• Files are stored in Rev's cloud on AWS; its help centre says "all customer data is processed and stored within the United States." You can delete files from your account at any time, and enterprise customers can set retention policies.
• Human transcriptionists are freelancers, per Rev's security page, with ID verification and NDAs.
• Training: Rev's terms say customer content "will be analyzed by our ASR models and other Rev artificial intelligence models and may be used for continuous training of those models", and "will not be used for any generative AI model training." Its help centre says Enterprise and Unlimited Subscription customers can opt out. (Rev terms, Rev AI training opt-out)
• Certifications: Rev lists SOC 2 Type II, and HIPAA on its enterprise tier.

Notey

• Audio stays on your Mac and is never uploaded to be transcribed. There is no fallback, debug mode or crash report that sends it.
• With no account, nothing leaves the Mac.
• AI notes send transcript text, never audio, to Notey's service and on to OpenAI as a processor; not used for training and not kept by Notey. (Notey's privacy policy)
• Notey claims no certifications.

For the full set of questions to ask about any transcription service, see where does meeting audio go?.

Notes, speakers and search

Rev Notetaker gives a live transcript and a summary with topics and follow-up action items, a chatbot for questions, and follow-up emails. Rev integrates with Clio, Dropbox, Box, Google Drive and OneDrive.

Notey labels lines You and Them from the two tracks, tells voices apart on the other side after the recording, and lets you name them. It writes a summary with action items, minutes, tough questions, where the sides differed, and a follow-up email, and answers questions about one meeting. Everything the AI wrote is labelled as AI-generated. ⌘K searches every meeting by what was said, and every line plays from its timestamp.

Where Rev is stronger

• Human transcription with an accuracy guarantee for clear audio.
• Any recording, not only meetings recorded live on a Mac.
• Legal workflows: Rev is built for law firms and agencies.
• Languages: 37+ for machine transcription.
• Platforms: web and phone apps; any computer.
• A bot for meetings you cannot attend.

Where Notey makes different choices

• No upload. The audio never leaves the Mac to be transcribed, and nobody else listens to it.
• No bot, so nothing appears in the call.
• Transcripts as you talk, then a better English one after the meeting, with no waiting and no per-file cost. Recording and transcription are free; AI notes are paid by the hour. See the pricing section.
• Two tracks, so your side and theirs never depend on voice analysis.

Which one fits

Rev is likely the better fit if:

• the transcript is a record someone will rely on;
• the audio is poor, or accuracy is guaranteed by contract;
• you have existing recordings to transcribe;
• you work in a legal setting that needs Rev's workflows.

Notey is likely the better fit if:

• the transcript is for your own notes;
• meeting audio must not be uploaded or heard by anyone else;
• you want no bot in your calls;
• you work on an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 26.

The two can also work together: record and transcribe on your Mac for day-to-day notes, and use a human service for the rare conversation that needs a transcript someone else will rely on. For more notetakers, see the best AI notetakers for Mac.

Frequently asked questions

Is Rev's transcription done by people or by machine?

Both. Rev offers AI transcription from its own speech recognition model and human transcription by transcriptionists. Its site describes human transcription as 99%+ accurate and guaranteed, and its help centre says the guarantee applies to files with clear audio.

Does Rev's notetaker join the meeting?

Yes. Rev's help centre describes Rev Notetaker as a meeting bot that joins Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Webex meetings from your calendar.

Does Rev use my files to train AI?

Rev's terms say customer content may be used to train its own speech recognition and other AI models, but not generative AI models. Its help centre says Enterprise and Unlimited Subscription customers can opt out. Read the current terms before uploading sensitive recordings.

Can Notey transcribe a file I upload?

No. Notey transcribes the meetings it records on your Mac. For an existing file, use a file transcription service or app.

Is Notey's transcript good enough for a court or a hearing?

Do not rely on it for that. Notey's transcript is machine transcription for your own notes. Where accuracy has legal weight, use a professional human transcription service, and check what your court or regulator requires.