The best AI note taker for Mac depends on what you need besides the Mac. Pick Shadow if you want calls captured without a bot, transcribed on your Mac and saved as Markdown files you own; Granola if you also need Windows, iPhone or Android apps; Fathom if you want AI call summaries on a free plan; and Otter if your team already shares notes there. Every price and limit below comes from each vendor's own pricing, product or help pages, checked on November 12, 2026.
If your shortlist includes ChatGPT, read Shadow vs ChatGPT Record mode. It compares ChatGPT's own meeting recording with automatic Mac-side capture, on-device transcription, and notes saved as files.
The 7 AI note takers for Mac at a glance
| App | Records on a Mac without a bot | Platforms | Free plan | Paid plans from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow | Yes; Autopilot starts on supported meetings | Mac only: Apple Silicon, macOS 14.2 or later | Unlimited recording, transcription, audio and smart screenshots; no history limit | Plus: $12/month, or $8/month billed yearly |
| Granola | Yes; uses your computer audio | macOS, Windows, iOS, Android | Basic: 30 days of meeting history | Business: $14 per user per month |
| Otter | Yes, in the desktop app; the Otter Notetaker can also join Zoom, Teams and Meet | Desktop app for macOS 13+ and Windows 10+ | Basic: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 25 most recent conversations | Pro: $16.99 per user per month, or $8.33 billed yearly |
| Fathom | Bot-free capture is a beta feature for Mac; bot capture is the other choice | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams; iOS app | Unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI call summaries | Premium: $16 to $20 per user per month, by billing period |
| Fireflies | Yes, with Take Notes in the desktop app (no audio file, generic speaker labels) | Desktop app for macOS and Windows; Chrome extension | 400 minutes of storage per user | Not shown as text on its pricing page; check fireflies.ai |
| Tactiq | Yes; a Chrome extension with no bot | Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams in Chrome | 10 transcripts and 5 AI credits a month | Pro: $8 per user per month, billed annually |
| Jamie | Yes; runs on your device without a meeting bot | macOS, Windows, iOS | 10 AI notes a month, 30-minute meeting limit | Priced in euros |
How we checked: we read each vendor's own pricing page, product page or help center on November 12, 2026, and list only what those pages say. Plans change often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you buy. Recording a call without a bot does not remove the need to tell people: ask everyone in the conversation for permission first.
1. Shadow: bot-free capture, on-device transcription, files you own
Best for: Mac users who want calls captured without a bot, with transcripts and notes kept as Markdown on their own Mac.
Shadow is an AI meeting assistant for Mac that captures what's said and shown in a call without joining as a bot. Turn on Autopilot and Shadow starts Listening when it detects a supported meeting: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, GoTo Meeting, Lark, Slack huddles and Discord. You can also start and stop Listening yourself with a keyboard shortcut, or mark a session as an in-person meeting.
What sets it apart on a Mac:
- On-device transcription. Transcription happens on your Mac, so no audio leaves it for transcription, and your meetings are stored locally. Shadow supports around 100 languages but works best in English.
- Screen as well as sound. Smart Screenshots detect the meeting window and save a screenshot when its content changes meaningfully, so a shared slide or dashboard lands in the meeting folder next to the transcript.
- Markdown you own, with no history limit. Every meeting is saved to a vault folder as Markdown, on any plan. Open the folder as an Obsidian vault, sync it with iCloud Drive or Google Drive, or search it with Spotlight.
- Meeting Skills. When a call ends, Skills you enable can write notes, action items or a follow-up draft, save the result as Markdown in the meeting folder, or send it to a webhook you configure.
Where Shadow is the worse choice: it is Mac only and needs an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 14.2 or later. There is no Windows app and no phone app, so if you take calls on an iPhone or work on a Windows PC, Granola or Jamie fit better. Autopilot detects the platforms listed above; for anything else you start Listening by hand. AI notes on every meeting need Plus, and Skills send the meeting context they use to an AI model when they run (turn them off, along with automatic meeting titles, to keep everything on your Mac).
Want bot-free meeting capture on your Mac? Download Shadow free.
2. Granola: bot-free notes on Mac, Windows and your phone
Best for: people who want one bot-free note taker across a Mac, a Windows PC and a phone.
Granola says it "doesn't join your meeting" and instead transcribes in the background using your computer audio. It is available for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, and its site shows a macOS notification with a Granola button to join and take notes when a meeting starts.
Pricing: Basic is $0 with 30 days of meeting history. Business is $14 per user per month, and Enterprise is $35 per user per month.
Granola or Shadow: choose Granola if you need Windows or a phone app, or if 30 days of free history is enough. Choose Shadow if you want transcription on your Mac, screenshots of what was shown, and every meeting kept as Markdown with no history limit on the free plan.
3. Otter.ai: a long-running transcription service with a bot-free desktop app
Best for: teams that already share conversations in Otter and want a Mac and Windows desktop app.
Otter's desktop app lets you "record with your headphones on and no bot in the meeting," and is available on macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later. Its pricing page also describes an Otter Notetaker that joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet to write and share notes.
Pricing: Basic is free with 300 transcription minutes a month, up to 30 minutes per conversation, and your 25 most recent conversations. Pro lists at $16.99 per user per month, or $8.33 per user per month billed yearly; Business is $30 per user per month, or $19.99 billed yearly.
Otter or Shadow: Otter's free plan caps both minutes and history. Shadow's free plan has no recording or history limit but runs only on Apple Silicon Macs. For the two-product view, see Shadow vs Otter.
4. Fathom: free AI summaries, with bot-free capture in beta on Mac
Best for: people who want AI call summaries on a free plan and are fine with a bot or a beta.
Fathom's free plan includes "unlimited recordings + transcriptions" and "instant AI call summaries." Its pricing page offers a "choice of bot-free (in beta) or bot capture," and marks bot-free capture as a beta feature for Mac. It works with Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Pricing: Free costs nothing. Premium lists $20 and $16 per user per month across its monthly and annual billing options, and adds advanced call summaries and AI-generated action items. Team lists $19 and $15 per user per month, with a two-user minimum.
Fathom or Shadow: Fathom gives you AI summaries for free; Shadow's free plan gives you unlimited capture and transcription, with AI notes on Plus. If you need bot-free capture that is not a beta, Shadow, Granola or Otter's desktop app are the safer picks today.
5. Fireflies.ai: a bot-free desktop mode on top of a bot-first service
Best for: teams already on Fireflies who sometimes need a call recorded without the bot.
The Fireflies desktop app is available for macOS and Windows. Its Take Notes mode "captures the conversation on your device without adding a Fireflies bot to the meeting"; the bot joins only when you choose Invite Notetaker. Fireflies' help center lists the trade-offs: recording without the bot does not save audio or video files, and speakers appear as Speaker 1 and Speaker 2. There is also a Chrome extension that records Google Meet without the bot.
Pricing: the Free plan stores 400 minutes per user and Pro stores 8,000 minutes per user. Its pricing page did not show dollar amounts as text when we checked, so confirm prices on fireflies.ai.
6. Tactiq: browser-only transcripts for Google Meet, Zoom and Teams
Best for: Mac users whose meetings happen in Chrome and who don't want a desktop app.
Tactiq is a Chrome extension for Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams that says it transcribes meetings "in real-time with no bot." Because it lives in the browser, check whether it covers your calls if you join Zoom or Teams from their desktop apps.
Pricing: Free gives one user 10 transcripts and 5 AI credits a month. Pro is $8 per user per month with annual billing; Team is $16.67 per user per month, billed annually.
7. Jamie: bot-free notes for mixed Mac and Windows teams
Best for: teams split between Mac and Windows that want one bot-free tool and European data storage.
Jamie says it "runs directly on your device and does not require a meeting bot to join your calls." It lists apps for macOS, Windows and iOS, captures in-person meetings from your laptop or phone, and keeps storage and processing within the EEA, Switzerland and the UK.
Pricing: Free includes 10 AI notes a month with a 30-minute meeting limit. Paid plans are priced in euros on Jamie's pricing page.
How to pick on a Mac
- You want every supported call captured without a bot, transcribed on your Mac, and saved as Markdown with no history limit. Shadow.
- You also use Windows, an iPhone or Android. Granola. Jamie also covers Windows and iPhone, with storage in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK.
- You want AI summaries without paying. Fathom.
- Your team already shares conversations in Otter. Otter's desktop app.
- Your team is on Fireflies and only sometimes needs bot-free recording. Fireflies Take Notes.
- All your meetings run in Chrome. Tactiq.
Try bot-free meeting capture on Mac. Download Shadow free.
FAQ
What is the best AI note taker for Mac?
For most Mac-only users, Shadow: it records supported calls without a bot, transcribes on your Mac, captures what's shown on screen, and keeps every meeting as Markdown with no history limit on any plan. Pick Granola instead if you also need Windows or a phone app, and Fathom if free AI summaries matter most.
Is there a free AI note taker for Mac?
Yes, several. Shadow Free includes unlimited transcription, audio recording, and Smart Screenshots. Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings, transcriptions and instant AI call summaries. Granola Basic keeps 30 days of meeting history, Otter Basic gives 300 minutes a month with 30 minutes per conversation, Tactiq gives 10 transcripts a month, and Jamie gives 10 AI notes a month with a 30-minute meeting limit.
Which Mac apps transcribe Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls without a bot joining?
Shadow, Granola, Jamie, Otter's desktop app and Fireflies' Take Notes mode all record from your Mac instead of sending a bot. Fathom's bot-free capture is in beta on Mac. Tactiq transcribes Google Meet, Zoom and Teams from a Chrome extension.
Which AI note taker keeps meetings private on a Mac?
Shadow transcribes on your Mac and stores meetings locally; content leaves the Mac only when an AI or sharing feature uses it, such as a Skill, automatic meeting titles or Share to Web, and you can turn those off. Shadow never uses your meeting content to train AI models.
Does an AI note taker work on any MacBook?
Shadow needs an Apple Silicon Mac (M-series) with macOS 14.2 or later, so it does not run on Intel MacBooks. Otter's desktop app lists macOS 13 or later.
I use a Mac and an iPhone. Which note taker covers both?
Shadow has no iPhone app. Granola lists iOS and Android apps, Jamie lists iOS, and Fathom links an iOS app.
Which AI note taker works best with Obsidian on Mac?
Shadow saves every meeting as Markdown in a vault folder, with transcripts, notes, screenshots and linked Person pages. Open that folder as an Obsidian vault and your meetings are notes there too.
Can I send meeting summaries to Notion or another app?
Shadow's Meeting Skills can save a result as Markdown in the meeting folder or send it to a webhook URL you configure, so a service that accepts that webhook can receive it.
Does Shadow work on Windows or Linux?
No. Shadow is Mac only. If you need Windows, Granola and Jamie both offer bot-free apps for Mac and Windows.
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This article was written by Chad Oh, Shadow's AI writer. While we strive for accuracy, AI-generated content may contain errors. If you spot something off, let us know.