NoteOwl vs Spokenly
A Spokenly alternative with meeting notes and memory on your Mac
NoteOwl is a Spokenly alternative for Mac that keeps every step on the Mac: tap fn in any app, talk, and your words type at the cursor, polished in the right tone for that app — free, unlimited and offline.
NoteOwl Pro turns your meetings into notes too: no bot in the call, voices recognised from one meeting to the next, a summary and action items when the call ends, and chat across everything — for $79 once.
Read the transcript
Typing is slow. Talking isn’t.
Tap fn, and just talk.
(Dictating) “Um, so, quick update for the team. The budget’s ninety thousand, and, uh, we start on the twenty-first. Can you all send me your plans by Friday?”
Your words land right where you’re typing. In any app.
Tap Polish, and it’s tidied up. Filler words gone, punctuation fixed.
And it all runs on your Mac.
NoteOwl. Free to download. Dictation’s free, forever.
Why choose NoteOwl over Spokenly?
Because every step stays on your Mac, the one-tap polish included, and NoteOwl Pro turns your meetings into notes: a summary and action items when the call ends, voices recognised, and chat across everything. Dictation is free and unlimited; NoteOwl Pro is $79 once.
Free dictation, polished on your Mac
Tap fn in any app, talk, and tap again. Your words type at the cursor, and one tap polishes them in the right tone for that app, on your Mac. In Spokenly, a mode with AI Instructions may send your text and its context to an AI service, even when transcription runs locally.[4]
On your Mac by default
NoteOwl has no cloud models to pick, so every dictation stays on your Mac. Spokenly uses cloud models by default, with free on-device models as an option.[2]
Pay once. No subscription.
NoteOwl Pro is $79 once for your Mac. Spokenly Pro, which adds its cloud models, is $99.99 a year.[1]
Meetings turned into notes
Record Zoom, Teams, Meet or FaceTime from your Mac with no bot. When the call ends, NoteOwl Pro writes the summary and action items, with every speaker labelled — rewrite it in any of 22 templates.
Voices recognised, on your Mac
Name a voice once and it’s recognised in every meeting after. The voice profile stays on your Mac.
A summary in any shape
Summarize as rewrites a meeting’s summary in any of 22 templates, from a 1:1 check-in to a sales call.
Ask every meeting, even offline
In NoteOwl Pro, Chat answers from your own meetings and notes and cites the passage it used — or tells you when nothing matches.
Every promise, and everyone you meet
Also in Pro: a board of what you owe and what you’re owed, a profile for everyone you meet, and prep pages from your Mac’s Calendar.
Spokenly pricing
How much does Spokenly cost compared with NoteOwl?
Dictation with on-device models is free in both. Spokenly Pro, which adds cloud models and hosted AI clean-up, is $99.99 a year — $299.97 over three years — or $9.99 a month. NoteOwl Pro, which adds meeting notes, chat and memory on your Mac, is $79 once.[1,2]
And you can start free: NoteOwl dictation and voice notes are free forever, with no word limit, and every Pro feature is free for 7 days in the app, with no card. Spokenly’s on-device models are free too, with no word caps.[1]
What one person pays
After 1 year
NoteOwl Pro$79Spokenly Pro, billed yearly$99.99After 2 years
NoteOwl Pro$79Spokenly Pro, billed yearly$199.98After 3 years
NoteOwl Pro$79Spokenly Pro, billed yearly$299.97
What is Spokenly, and how is NoteOwl different?
- Where dictation turns into text
- NoteOwlOn your Mac, with on-device AI models; there are no cloud models to choose
- SpokenlyCloud models by default; free on-device models are optional, and Local Only Mode blocks all network traffic except model downloads[2]
- Free dictation
- NoteOwlUnlimited and free forever; no account needed
- SpokenlyUnlimited and free with its on-device models; no account needed[1]
- Polish and AI clean-up
- NoteOwlOne tap polishes your words in the right tone for each app, on your Mac; free
- SpokenlyA separate AI step — Apple Intelligence or your own AI key on the free plan, Spokenly’s hosted AI on Pro; a mode with AI Instructions may send your text and its context to AI services, even when transcription runs locally[1,4]
- Context for the AI
- NoteOwlNothing leaves your Mac; the tone is picked from the app you’re dictating into
- SpokenlyChosen per mode: the clipboard, the focused app, the text around the cursor and the active browser URL[2]
- Analytics
- NoteOwlNone; the app has no analytics or telemetry
- SpokenlyAnonymous usage analytics by default, never audio or transcripts; Local Only Mode blocks them[2,4]
- Price
- NoteOwl$79 once for one Mac, for meetings, chat and memory; dictation is free
- SpokenlyOn-device models and your own AI keys: $0. Pro, for cloud models and hosted AI clean-up: $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year on the website[1,2]
- Meeting recording
- NoteOwlPro: your microphone and your Mac’s audio, no bot; transcribed on your Mac
- SpokenlyOn Mac since 5 September 2026: your microphone and system audio, no bot; saved to History and transcribed afterwards with a local or cloud model[3,7]
- Meeting summaries and action items
- NoteOwlPro: a summary and action items when the call ends, rewritten in any of 22 templates; action items become commitments
- SpokenlyNot described in Spokenly’s docs[2]
- Speaker labels
- NoteOwlPro: speakers separated in any call app; name a voice once and it’s recognised in later meetings, with the voice kept on your Mac
- SpokenlyFor file transcription; its release notes tie speaker identification to a cloud speech provider[2,7]
- Asking about past meetings
- NoteOwlPro: Chat answers from your own meetings and notes, cites the passage and works offline; ⌘K searches every meeting, note and person
- SpokenlyChat across meetings isn’t described in its docs; History lets you search past dictations and replay the audio[2,3]
- Transcribe audio or video files
- NoteOwlPro: MP3, WAV, M4A, AIFF, FLAC, AAC and MP4, transcribed with speaker labels
- SpokenlyFree with on-device models, or through its cloud: MP3, WAV, M4A and MP4, with subtitle export[1,5,6]
- Mac requirements
- NoteOwlmacOS 26 or later, Apple silicon, 16 GB memory
- SpokenlymacOS 13.3 or later, and 14.4 for meeting recording; Intel Macs run fewer of its local models[5]
| NoteOwl | Spokenly | |
|---|---|---|
| Where dictation turns into text | On your Mac, with on-device AI models; there are no cloud models to choose | Cloud models by default; free on-device models are optional, and Local Only Mode blocks all network traffic except model downloads[2] |
| Free dictation | Unlimited and free forever; no account needed | Unlimited and free with its on-device models; no account needed[1] |
| Polish and AI clean-up | One tap polishes your words in the right tone for each app, on your Mac; free | A separate AI step — Apple Intelligence or your own AI key on the free plan, Spokenly’s hosted AI on Pro; a mode with AI Instructions may send your text and its context to AI services, even when transcription runs locally[1,4] |
| Context for the AI | Nothing leaves your Mac; the tone is picked from the app you’re dictating into | Chosen per mode: the clipboard, the focused app, the text around the cursor and the active browser URL[2] |
| Analytics | None; the app has no analytics or telemetry | Anonymous usage analytics by default, never audio or transcripts; Local Only Mode blocks them[2,4] |
| Price | $79 once for one Mac, for meetings, chat and memory; dictation is free | On-device models and your own AI keys: $0. Pro, for cloud models and hosted AI clean-up: $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year on the website[1,2] |
| Meeting recording | Pro: your microphone and your Mac’s audio, no bot; transcribed on your Mac | On Mac since 5 September 2026: your microphone and system audio, no bot; saved to History and transcribed afterwards with a local or cloud model[3,7] |
| Meeting summaries and action items | Pro: a summary and action items when the call ends, rewritten in any of 22 templates; action items become commitments | Not described in Spokenly’s docs[2] |
| Speaker labels | Pro: speakers separated in any call app; name a voice once and it’s recognised in later meetings, with the voice kept on your Mac | For file transcription; its release notes tie speaker identification to a cloud speech provider[2,7] |
| Asking about past meetings | Pro: Chat answers from your own meetings and notes, cites the passage and works offline; ⌘K searches every meeting, note and person | Chat across meetings isn’t described in its docs; History lets you search past dictations and replay the audio[2,3] |
| Transcribe audio or video files | Pro: MP3, WAV, M4A, AIFF, FLAC, AAC and MP4, transcribed with speaker labels | Free with on-device models, or through its cloud: MP3, WAV, M4A and MP4, with subtitle export[1,5,6] |
| Devices | Mac | Mac, Windows, Linux and iPhone[3] |
| Mac requirements | macOS 26 or later, Apple silicon, 16 GB memory | macOS 13.3 or later, and 14.4 for meeting recording; Intel Macs run fewer of its local models[5] |
Is Spokenly local or cloud?
Spokenly, in its own words
“It uses modern cloud models by default and offers optional free on-device … models for unlimited offline dictation.”[2]
“With local models, your voice never leaves your Mac.”[3]
“When a Mode uses AI Instructions, your transcription and any optional context for that Mode may be sent to AI services for text processing, even if transcription itself runs locally.”[4]
“The app normally sends anonymous analytics (like which models you select) to help improve Spokenly. This data never includes your transcripts or audio.”[2]
NoteOwl
Dictation, the polish, recording, transcription, speaker detection, summaries, search and chat all run on the Mac, with on-device AI models. There is no cloud model to pick and no AI key to add. Your dictations, recordings, transcripts and notes are never uploaded to NoteOwl or anyone else, and the app has no analytics or telemetry. The tone for each dictation is picked from the app you’re dictating into, on the Mac.
The only network use: the one-time model download, update checks and, for Pro, signing in and an occasional licence check — none of which sends what you say or record. How NoteOwl’s speech to text for Mac works
Does Spokenly take meeting notes?
Who said what. NoteOwl separates every speaker in any call app, and a voice you name once is recognised in every meeting after; the voice profile stays on your Mac. Transcription with speaker identification
What was promised. Action items become a board of what you owe and what you’re owed, and everyone you meet gets a profile. Track meeting action items
What was said, months later. Ask Chat about any meeting and the answer cites the passage it came from — offline. Chat with your meetings
Can you switch from Spokenly to NoteOwl?
Yes, in a few minutes. Download NoteOwl, allow the permissions it asks for, and tap fn in any app: your words type at the cursor, turned into text on your Mac. Your next meeting can be recorded with NoteOwl Pro, free for 7 days.
Spokenly starts dictation with Right Command by default[5]; NoteOwl uses fn — tap it to start and tap again to stop. NoteOwl sets the tone for each app for you — Mail gets a professional email, Slack a casual message — and you can change any of them in Settings → Auto-Context. Teach it your names and jargon with custom vocabulary (NoteOwl Pro), and they’re spelled your way in dictation and meetings. Recordings you already have as audio or video files can be imported into NoteOwl Pro and transcribed with speaker labels. And your words are never locked in: copy any note into any app, or export your meeting notes as Markdown, PDF, text or SRT — or all of your data at once as plain files.
Sources
Last checked . Spokenly facts are quoted or summarised from Spokenly’s own website, docs, privacy policy and release notes, with prices in US dollars. Plans and policies change; check them before you decide.
- [1]Spokenly, Pricing
- [2]Spokenly, Documentation, full text — the complete docs, searched for summaries and chat
- [3]Spokenly, Home page and FAQ
- [4]Spokenly, Privacy policy (updated 7 July 2026)
- [5]Spokenly, Dictation for Mac
- [6]Spokenly, Spokenly for Linux
- [7]Spokenly, macOS release notes
FAQ
Questions about NoteOwl and Spokenly
Is there a Spokenly alternative with meeting notes?
Yes. NoteOwl offers free, unlimited dictation into any Mac app, as Spokenly does with its on-device models, and NoteOwl Pro adds meeting notes with no bot: speaker labels, a summary and action items when the call ends, and chat across every meeting, all on your Mac. Spokenly records and transcribes meetings on a Mac; its docs don’t describe summaries.
Is Spokenly free?
Spokenly is free with its on-device models, which it says are unlimited and need no account, and free with your own AI keys, which the provider bills. Spokenly Pro, for its cloud models, is $99.99 a year or $9.99 a month. NoteOwl dictation is also free and unlimited, and NoteOwl Pro, for meetings, chat and memory, is $79 once. Prices checked on 27 September 2026.
Does Spokenly work offline?
Yes, with its on-device models: Spokenly’s local models work offline, and its Local Only Mode blocks all network traffic except model downloads. Its docs say it uses cloud models by default. NoteOwl has no cloud models: dictation, the polish, meeting notes and chat always run on your Mac and work offline after a one-time model download.
Does Spokenly send my text to an AI service?
It can. Spokenly’s privacy policy says that when a mode uses AI Instructions, your transcription and any optional context for that mode may be sent to AI services for text processing, even if transcription runs locally. NoteOwl polishes your words in the right tone for each app on your Mac, so nothing is sent.
Is NoteOwl dictation really free?
Yes. Dictation into any app is part of NoteOwl Free, with no word limit, no account and no end date, and every dictation is saved as a voice note you can search, play and export. Rewrite by voice and custom vocabulary are NoteOwl Pro features: $79 once, after a 7-day free trial.
Does NoteOwl run on Windows, Linux or iPhone?
No. NoteOwl is a Mac app for macOS 26 or later on Apple silicon with 16 GB of memory. Its speech recognition and AI run on the Mac itself, which is what keeps your dictation and meetings off the cloud.
Related
- AI meeting summaries on your Mac The summary, decisions and action items when the call ends, written on the Mac.
- AI meeting notes without a bot How NoteOwl records any call from your Mac, and what you get when it ends.
- A Wispr Flow alternative for Mac NoteOwl and Wispr Flow side by side: dictation on your Mac or in the cloud.
- Pricing: Free vs Pro What is free forever, what Pro adds, and the free trial.
Keep exploring
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- NoteOwl vs VoiceInkWhy NoteOwl over VoiceInk, the total cost, and a sourced side-by-side
- NoteOwl vs MonologueWhy NoteOwl over Monologue, the total cost, and a sourced side-by-side
How NoteOwl does it
- Free dictation into any appFree, unlimited speech to text in every app on your Mac: tap fn, talk, and the words type at your cursor; one tap polishes them in the right tone for that app
- Custom vocabularyTeach NoteOwl names, jargon and spellings once, and every dictation, meeting and import uses them
- Voice notes on your MacVoice notes and dictations saved as searchable text on your Mac, with the raw words beside the polished version; free
- Offline AI meeting notesEvery NoteOwl feature works offline after a one-time model download; what the app sends over the network, and what it never does
Try free dictation that stays on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a one-time purchase.
NoteOwl pricing: what’s free and what Pro adds
Last updated