A Tactiq alternative for calls outside the browser: Tactiq and Notey compared

Tactiq is a browser extension that transcribes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls without a bot. On Zoom and Teams it reads the meeting's own live captions; on Google Meet it does not need them. It keeps a text transcript and no audio. A Mac recorder such as Notey takes a different route: it records the Mac's microphone and audio as two tracks, from any app, and transcribes them on the Mac. If most of your calls are Meet in Chrome, Tactiq may be all you need. If you also take calls in desktop apps, or want the audio kept, a recorder covers more.

This comparison describes Tactiq from its own site and help centre as of September 2026. Tactiq changes; check Tactiq's help centre before deciding.

At a glance

How Tactiq works

Tactiq says it "transcribes from your browser, so nothing joins the meeting as a separate participant." How it gets the words depends on the platform:

• Zoom: your Zoom admin must turn on automated captions, and participants select Show captions. (Tactiq with Zoom)
• Microsoft Teams: live captions, in Chrome, Edge or the Teams web app. "The Microsoft Teams desktop application is not currently supported." (Tactiq with Teams)
• Google Meet: "You do not need to turn on Google Meet captions (CC) for Tactiq to transcribe a Google Meet meeting." (Tactiq with Meet)
• Zoom desktop on a Mac: a native app to "transcribe Zoom desktop calls without the browser". (Tactiq download)

You can also upload audio, video or transcript files. AI summaries go through Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service, which Tactiq says does not use the data to train models, with content logging disabled. (Tactiq and LLM privacy)

Relying on captions has consequences worth knowing. The transcript is as good as the platform's captions, in the languages the platform captions, and it depends on captions being allowed in that meeting.

How Notey works

Notey records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays as two separate tracks, and transcribes both with Apple's on-device speech recognition. It does not depend on the meeting platform at all, so it records Zoom, Teams and Slack desktop apps, FaceTime, Webex, a phone on speaker, or any browser tab. It notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack and FaceTime, and in Chrome, Safari, Arc and Edge when the browser uses the microphone, and asks before saving anything. For other apps, you press Start.

Recording a meeting that runs in the browser covers the browser case in detail, and recording Google Meet on a Mac the most common one.

What is kept

Tactiq

• Audio: "Tactiq does not record or store the audio from your meetings. The transcript is happening in real-time and saved as a text." (Tactiq FAQ)
• Transcripts are kept in your Tactiq account. Archived meetings are deleted automatically after 30 days, or you purge them yourself.
• Certifications: Tactiq lists SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001.

Notey

• Audio stays on your Mac. It is never uploaded to be transcribed.
• Transcripts are made and kept on your Mac. After an English meeting, Notey reads the recording again on the Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on.
• 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)
• With no account, nothing leaves the Mac. Notey claims no certifications.

A text-only tool has no recording to go back to when a word is wrong. A recorder does, and the recording is a file on your disk that you are responsible for.

Your side and theirs

Captions come labelled with names from the meeting platform, which is useful when the platform knows who is speaking. Notey labels lines You and Them from which track the audio arrived on. On the other side, after the recording stops, it tells voices apart and you name them.

Where Tactiq is stronger

• Nothing to install but an extension, on any computer that runs Chrome or Edge, including Windows and Chromebooks.
• Platform names on lines, where the captions carry them.
• No audio files. If you want no recordings on your laptop, Tactiq keeps none.
• Integrations. Tactiq shares to Slack, Notion, Linear, HubSpot and more; Notey has none.
• Team features on its enterprise plans. Notey has no sharing.

Where Notey makes different choices

• Every app, not only three meeting platforms, and not only in the browser.
• No captions needed. It transcribes the audio itself, on the Mac.
• A recording kept, so every transcript line plays from its timestamp.
• No account to record. Recording, transcription and search are free and work offline; AI notes are paid by the hour. See the pricing section.

If you use both

Nothing stops you running Tactiq in the browser and Notey on the Mac for the same call; neither joins the meeting. You would get two transcripts: Tactiq's from the captions, with the platform's names on lines, and Notey's from the audio, with a recording behind it. Some people keep Tactiq for Google Meet and use a recorder for everything else. If you do record with both, remember that the people in the call should know about each of them, and that Notey does not announce itself in the call.

Which one fits

Tactiq is likely the better fit if:

• your calls are mainly Google Meet, Zoom or Teams in a browser;
• you use Windows or a Chromebook;
• you want text only, with no audio kept;
• you want notes pushed to other tools.

Notey is likely the better fit if:

• you take calls in desktop apps, FaceTime, Slack or anything else;
• you do not want to depend on the meeting's captions being on;
• you want the audio kept on your Mac to replay;
• your transcripts should be made on the device.

For more options, see the best AI notetakers for Mac and bot-free meeting notes.

Frequently asked questions

Does Tactiq record audio?

No. Tactiq's FAQ says it does not record or store the audio from your meetings; the transcript happens in real time and is saved as text.

Why does Tactiq need captions turned on in Zoom?

Tactiq's help centre says that on Zoom and Microsoft Teams it relies on the meeting's live captions, so automated captions must be enabled and shown. On Google Meet it says you do not need to turn captions on.

Does Tactiq work with the Teams desktop app?

Not per its help centre, which says the Microsoft Teams desktop application is not currently supported. It works with Teams in Chrome, Edge and the Teams web app. For Zoom, Tactiq has a Mac app for Zoom desktop calls.

Does Notey work in the browser too?

Yes. Notey records what the Mac plays, so a call in any browser is recorded. It notices calls in Chrome, Safari, Arc and Edge when the browser uses the microphone; in other browsers, press Start.

Can Tactiq transcribe a Slack huddle or FaceTime call?

Tactiq's documentation covers Google Meet, Zoom and Teams. A recorder that captures the Mac's audio, such as Notey, records any app, including Slack, FaceTime and Webex.