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Stillnote vs Fireflies.ai
Yes, Stillnote is a strong alternative to Fireflies.ai, especially if you want notes without a bot joining the call. Stillnote captures and summarizes the meeting locally from your own Mac, so there is no extra participant in the attendee list and your meeting audio never leaves your device. Fireflies.ai is in the cloud-based note-taker category, which commonly sends a bot to join the call and processes the recording in the cloud.
Both produce automatic transcripts, summaries, and action items. The difference is how the meeting is captured and where it is processed. If your team's policy discourages recorder bots, or you simply do not want one visible in the call, Stillnote works without adding a participant and keeps the audio on your machine.
How Stillnote and Fireflies.ai differ
The honest, category-level difference is architecture. Stillnote does its work on your Mac. Tools in the cloud-based note-taker category process your meeting in their cloud, and many of them send a bot to join the call. Here is the contrast, point by point.
| Stillnote | Fireflies.ai (category: cloud-based note-takers) | |
|---|---|---|
| How the meeting is captured | Stillnote listens through your own Mac's audio. No bot joins the call. | Cloud note-takers commonly send a bot that joins the meeting to record it. |
| Extra participant in the call? | No. Nobody has to admit a recorder and no guest appears in the attendee list. | Often yes, a recorder bot is a visible participant when it joins. |
| Where transcription happens | On your Mac. Transcription and summarization run locally. | In the cloud, on the provider's servers. |
| Does your audio leave your device? | No. Meeting audio and transcripts never leave your Mac or reach a Stillnote server. | Yes, the recording is uploaded for cloud processing. |
| Works with Zoom, Meet, Teams | Yes, plus Slack huddles, Webex, calls on speaker, and in-person meetings. | Yes, typically by having a bot join via calendar or meeting links. |
| Platform and pricing | Native macOS app today (Apple Silicon). Free for 5 notes a month, Plus $8, Pro $13. | Cloud service with tiered plans (see Fireflies.ai for current pricing). |
The on-device and no-bot difference
Stillnote records, transcribes, and summarizes your meeting locally on your Mac. Your meeting audio and transcripts never leave your device, are never sent to a Stillnote server, and are never used to train a model. There is no separate participant in the call: nobody has to admit a recorder, and other attendees do not get a recording-started notice triggered by a guest bot.
Stillnote takes notes by listening through your own computer's audio, so it works the same way across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack huddles, Webex, calls on speaker, and in-person conversations. If your Mac can hear it, Stillnote can take notes on it. Stillnote is a native macOS app today (Apple Silicon). As with any AI tool, review the generated summary before relying on it.
Stillnote vs Fireflies.ai: common questions
Is Stillnote a good alternative to Fireflies.ai?
Stillnote is a good alternative to Fireflies.ai if you want meeting notes without a bot joining the call. Stillnote captures the meeting locally from your own Mac, so no recorder appears in the attendee list and your audio stays on your device. You still get a transcript, a summary, decisions, and action items, produced on-device.
Does Stillnote send a bot to join the meeting?
No. Stillnote does not send a bot to your call. It takes notes by listening through your own computer's audio, so there is no extra participant and nobody has to admit a recorder. Cloud meeting tools like Fireflies.ai often rely on a bot that joins the call to record it.
Where does Stillnote process my meeting compared with Fireflies.ai?
Stillnote processes your meeting on your Mac. Recording, transcription, and summarization all run locally, so your meeting audio and transcripts never leave your device. Cloud note-takers such as Fireflies.ai upload the recording to their servers for processing. That is the core architectural difference.
Will Stillnote work in calls where recorder bots are not allowed?
Because Stillnote does not add a bot to the call, it captures the meeting from your own Mac's audio without a visible recorder joining. Note that the responsibility to obtain any required recording consent from participants always stays with you, the same as with any note-taking tool.
Is Stillnote free, and what platforms does it run on?
Stillnote is free for 5 enhanced notes a month with no credit card required, with Plus at $8 a month and Pro at $13 a month. It is a native macOS app today (Apple Silicon).
Compare Stillnote with other tools
Looking at the privacy-first, on-device category more broadly? See the other side-by-side comparisons, or read how Stillnote works.
This comparison describes Fireflies.ai at the category level (cloud-based note-takers that process meetings in the cloud, often by sending a bot to join the call) and does not assert specifics about its internal implementation. Product details for both tools can change. Stillnote is made by LeapVision Technologies Inc.