The on-device alternative to Otter.ai and Granola.
Silo Transcribe is a private, on-device meeting-notes app for macOS — an offline alternative to cloud transcription tools like Otter.ai and Granola that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on your Mac, with no bot joining the call and no audio leaving your machine.
Silo Transcribe vs Otter.ai.
on-device · vs cloud| Dimension | Silo Transcribe | Cloud (Otter, Granola) |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | On your Mac (Apple Silicon, offline) | Their servers |
| Your audio & transcripts | Stay on your Mac | Uploaded & stored |
| Bot joins your call | No — captures audio locally | Often a meeting bot |
| Account | None required | Required |
| Pricing | One-time $14.99 | Monthly subscription |
| Transcription limits | Unlimited minutes, on-device | Monthly minute caps |
| Summaries | Generated locally | Generated in the cloud |
| Works without internet | Yes, after one model download | No |
Cloud column reflects the typical architecture of Otter.ai and similar hosted tools. Names are trademarks of their owners; not affiliated.
Otter.ai alternative, answered.
Silo Transcribe · on-deviceYes, if privacy matters. Silo Transcribe records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings on your Mac with a Metal-accelerated Whisper model, so confidential conversations never go to a third-party server the way they do with Otter.ai or Granola.
No. Silo Transcribe captures microphone and system audio directly through macOS, so it works with any meeting app without sending a bot into the call.
No. Silo Transcribe is a one-time $14.99 purchase with unlimited on-device transcription. Otter.ai and most cloud tools charge a recurring subscription and cap your minutes.
Yes. After a one-time model download it transcribes and summarizes entirely offline, because everything runs on your Apple Silicon Mac.
Keep your work on your Mac.
Silo Transcribe is a one-time $14.99 purchase on the Mac App Store. No subscription, no account, nothing uploaded — a private, on-device alternative to Otter.ai.