Superwhisper for meetings: a dictation app's Meeting Mode vs a notetaker

Superwhisper is a dictation app: you press a shortcut, speak, and your words appear as text in whatever app you are typing in. It has grown a Meeting Mode that records and summarises meetings, and an option to record system audio, which is what a meeting needs to capture the other people. So Superwhisper can take meeting notes. A dedicated notetaker such as Notey is built only for that job, and differs in how it hears the two sides, when it starts, and what it does with speakers.

This guide describes Superwhisper from its own website and documentation as of September 2026. Check Superwhisper's documentation for the current state before deciding.

Dictation and meeting notes are different jobs

Dictation turns your own voice into text you are writing: an email, a message, a prompt, a document. It needs to be fast, to put text where the cursor is, and to hear only you.

Meeting notes turn a conversation between several people into a record: who said what, what was decided, who will do what. It needs both sides of the call, a way to tell voices apart, and something readable afterwards.

Superwhisper started with the first and added the second. Notey does only the second. If you mainly want to write by voice, a dictation app is the tool, and Notey does nothing for you.

At a glance

How Superwhisper handles meetings

Superwhisper's documentation says "Meeting Mode records and summarizes meetings", highlighting key decisions and action items. Each mode has a switch, Record from System Audio, described as "useful for meetings, video content, interviews, or live audio coming through your speakers". It notes that system-audio capture "records everything the computer plays, including notification sounds." (Superwhisper modes)

On speakers, it says "By default, Meeting Mode doesn't separate speakers", and that speaker labels, when turned on, appear only in the History view's segments, not in AI summaries or action items. (Superwhisper built-in modes)

Models: you choose per mode between local models, such as Parakeet or Whisper Large v3 Turbo, and cloud models. With local models, Superwhisper says nothing you dictate leaves your device; it recommends a cloud model for long recordings and for speaker separation. It says "Offline models only run really well on Apple Silicon macs."

Recordings are kept on your computer, in a superwhisper/recordings folder in your home folder on a Mac, and Superwhisper "doesn't delete recordings on its own." It says it does not train on your data. (Superwhisper history, sensitive data)

AI: summaries can use several hosted models or your own API keys, and local language models are available.

How Notey handles meetings

Notey records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays as two separate tracks. Your lines are labelled You and the other side's Them because of which track the audio arrived on, not because a model guessed. Two-track recording explains why that matters for a transcript, and recording mic and system audio on a Mac compares the ways to capture both.

• It notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack and 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. Other apps: press Start.
• It transcribes on the Mac with Apple's speech recognition, live, in ten languages. After an English meeting, it reads the recording again on the Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on. There is no cloud transcription option. On-device transcription explained covers the approach.
• It separates speakers on the other side after every recording; you name them and can mark where someone starts speaking.
• It writes notes when you ask, sending transcript text, never audio, to Notey's service and OpenAI: a summary with action items, minutes, tough questions, where the sides differed, and a follow-up email. Everything the AI wrote is labelled.
• It shows a red dot and a timer whenever audio is being kept.

Where Superwhisper is stronger

• Dictation. Notey has none.
• Choice of models, local or cloud, and your own API keys. Notey has no choice of model.
• Languages. Superwhisper lists over 100, and translation into English. Notey has ten.
• Platforms. Windows, phones, and Macs from macOS 14.
• One app for both jobs, if you want only one.

Where Notey makes different choices

• Both sides always, as separate tracks. No per-mode switch to remember.
• Starts with the call. It notices the call and asks, and can arm the next call or record from ticked calendars.
• Speakers separated by default on the other side.
• Transcription only on the Mac. Nothing to choose, and no mode that sends audio away.
• 2 hours a month free, with no account; AI notes are paid by the hour. See the pricing section.

Before recording a meeting with any app

Whichever app records the call, the people on the other side cannot see it. Neither Superwhisper nor Notey joins the meeting, so neither shows up in the participant list. Say at the start that you are recording and what for, and stop if someone objects. Where you and they are decides whether their agreement is a legal requirement or only good manners; see how to ask for consent to record for wording.

Check too that the app is capturing both sides. In Superwhisper, that means the mode you use has system audio turned on. In Notey, both lanes move in the live view while people speak.

Which to use

• You mostly write by voice, and take the odd call: Superwhisper, with Meeting Mode and system audio on for calls.
• You mostly need records of calls: a dedicated notetaker such as Notey.
• You do both a lot: use both. A dictation app for writing and a notetaker for calls do not get in each other's way. Check you are not recording the same meeting in both, or you will have two transcripts.

For more meeting notetakers, see the best AI notetakers for Mac.

Frequently asked questions

Can Superwhisper record meetings?

Yes. Superwhisper's documentation describes a Meeting Mode that records and summarises meetings, and a per-mode option to record system audio, which is what captures the other people on a call.

Does Superwhisper transcribe on the device?

If you choose a local model. Superwhisper lets you pick a local or a cloud model for each mode, and says nothing you dictate leaves your device with its local models. Cloud models send audio to a provider.

Does Superwhisper label speakers in meetings?

Not by default, per its documentation. Speaker labels can be turned on and appear in the History view's segments, but are not included in the AI summaries or action items.

Does Notey do dictation?

No. Notey records and transcribes meetings. It does not type your speech into other apps. For that, use a dictation app such as Superwhisper or the Mac's own Dictation.

Can I run Superwhisper and Notey at the same time?

They do different jobs, and neither joins the call. If both record the same meeting, you get two transcripts. Most people use a dictation app for writing and a notetaker for calls.