Meetily transcribes and summarizes meetings for free
Commercial meeting-assistant services typically cost $10 to $20 a month and work by uploading a recording of your meeting to the cloud, which is a problem for anything that needs to stay confidential. Wired's review presents Meetily as a free, open-source alternative: it packages freely available speech-to-text and summarization models into a single app that runs on the user's own machine, rather than sending audio anywhere. It is available for Windows and macOS, and Linux users can build it from source.
Meetily works by capturing both the microphone and the system audio directly, so it isn't tied to any particular videoconferencing tool: it works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or any other service. The reviewer notes it could theoretically even be used for an in-person meeting if a laptop's microphone can pick up everyone in the room. After installing the app, it offers to download the AI models it needs to function. From there, the workflow is simple: hit record during a call, watch the transcript build in near real time or minimize the window and focus on the meeting, then stop the recording to get an AI-generated summary, with the option to give instructions about which points to focus on. A beta feature also lets users drag in an audio or video file recorded earlier, such as an in-person conversation captured on a phone, and get a transcript and summary from it after the fact.
There is a paid Pro version for $10 a month, but the open-source community version is completely free to download from GitHub.
The reviewer flags one significant limitation in the free version: transcripts carry no speaker labels, so there is no way to tell who said what, which they call a deal-breaker for many people. They add that they could not find any free, open-source tool that handles speaker labeling consistently. Because of this and other imperfections common to AI tools, the reviewer says they intend to keep writing their own meeting minutes using the transcript as a guide, treating the AI summary as a secondary aid rather than a replacement.
The review also names three alternatives, each with its own trade-off. noScribe is completely free and can identify speakers, but it can't record meetings in real time and only converts existing files. Anarlog, formerly known as Hyprnote, has an arguably sleeker interface and access to many AI models, but its setup was fiddlier than Meetily's. Quill offers free local transcription, but requires signing up for an account, which the reviewer says undermines the point of an offline tool, and comes with a lot of upselling.
Key facts
- Meetily is a free, open-source meeting transcription and summarization app that runs locally, positioned against subscription meeting-assistant services priced $10 to $20 a month.
- It captures microphone and system audio directly, so it works with any videoconferencing tool, including Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, rather than integrating with specific platforms.
- The free community version has no speaker labels in its transcripts; a Pro version is also available for $10 a month.
- A beta feature can generate a transcript and summary from audio or video files recorded earlier, not just live meetings.
- Alternatives noScribe, Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote) and Quill each trade off speaker identification, real-time recording or offline convenience differently.
Why it matters
Meeting-assistant subscriptions typically run $10 to $20 a month and require uploading recordings to a cloud service, which is a nonstarter for anything confidential. Meetily packages freely available open-source speech and summarization models into one app that runs on the user's own machine, offering a free, private alternative built from much of the same underlying technology paid services use.
Who it affects
Anyone who sits in a lot of video calls and wants transcripts or summaries without a monthly fee or sending recordings to a third party. Windows and macOS users get a ready-to-install app, and Linux users can build it from source. It also suits people who want to transcribe conversations recorded elsewhere, such as a phone recording of an in-person meeting, using the beta file-upload feature.
How to use it
Install Meetily and let it download the AI models it needs, then grant it access to the microphone and system audio. Hit record during a call in Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or any other tool, since it isn't tied to a specific platform. Watch the transcript build in near real time or minimize the window, then stop the recording to get an AI-generated summary, with the option to specify which points it should focus on. The community version is free from GitHub; the Pro version costs $10 a month.
How solid is it
The reviewer used Meetily hands-on and found it genuinely useful, comparing favorably to the other free tools tried. Even so, they plan to write their own meeting minutes from the transcript rather than rely on the AI summary outright, treating the summary as a secondary aid.
Risks and caveats
The free version has no speaker labels, so transcripts cannot show who said what. The reviewer calls this a deal-breaker for many people and says no free, open-source tool solves it consistently. AI summaries, like other AI outputs, may not share the user's priorities. Among the alternatives, noScribe identifies speakers but only processes existing files rather than recording live, Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote) has a sleeker interface but a fiddlier setup, and Quill requires an account and pushes upselling despite being pitched as an offline tool.
“The transcript can't tell you who said what, no speaker labels, which will be a deal-breaker for many people.”
— Wired