Compare
An Otter alternative that records on your Mac, with no bot in the call
A private Otter alternative for Mac. It records the call on your machine with no bot joining, and transcribes on-device.
Otter is built for shared, cloud-based notes. It works well if you want a meeting assistant your whole team can search later. The trade-off is that your audio goes to Otter’s servers, and in a lot of setups a bot shows up as a participant to capture the call.
Trace takes the other path. It taps the audio your Mac is playing and records your mic on a separate track, both straight from your machine. Nobody else sees a new attendee join, because nothing joins. The recording and the transcript stay in a folder on your machine.
Transcription runs locally too, with Whisper large-v3-turbo as the default model and two faster Parakeet options. The first transcription downloads your chosen model once (about 950 MB for the default) and caches it. After that you can transcribe with the network off. No account, no subscription, no upload step.
How they compare
| Feature | Trace | Otter |
|---|---|---|
| Bot in the call | Never adds one. | Commonly joins as a participant to record. |
| Where audio goes | Stays on your Mac. | Uploaded to its cloud. |
| Transcription | On-device (Whisper by default, faster Parakeet options). | In the cloud. |
| Summary | Optional summary from Trace’s own on-device model. | AI summaries generated in its cloud. |
| Pricing | One-time purchase (from £29). | Subscription with a free tier. |
| Platform | macOS only (14.4+, Apple silicon). | Web, iOS, Android, plus integrations. |
| Team features | Single-user by design. | Shared notebooks, live collaboration, cloud search. |
| Output | mic.wav, system.wav, transcript.json, transcript.md and meta.json you own. | Notes kept in the Otter cloud. |
FAQ
Does Trace send a bot into my meeting?
No. Trace records the system audio coming out of your Mac, so no extra participant appears in Zoom, Meet or Teams. People on the call have no way to tell you are recording with Trace.
Is my audio uploaded anywhere?
No. Recording and transcription both happen on your Mac. Trace downloads its speech model once and caches it locally; the copy bought direct also checks its licence. Neither sends your audio, and offline mode stops both.
How is Trace different from Otter on pricing?
Otter is a subscription. Trace is a one-time purchase, from the Mac App Store or direct from us, with no recurring fee.
Can Trace replace Otter for me?
If you want private, on-device recording of your own meetings, yes. If you need a shared team notebook with cloud search and live collaboration, Otter is still the better fit. Trace is single-user and local by design.
Get Trace
Trace is a one-time purchase, no subscription, no account.
Compare
- Offline transcription for Mac: Everything stays on your machine, and it works with the network off.
- Granola alternative: The same record-the-meeting simplicity, without the cloud notebook.
- No-bot transcription: Capture system audio with no extra participant in Zoom, Meet or Teams.
- MacWhisper alternative: Both stay on your Mac. Trace is shaped around meetings first.
- Fireflies alternative: No notetaker joining your calls, and nothing sent to a cloud.
- Record Zoom meetings: A hotkey instead of recording permissions, transcribed on-device.
- Transcribe Teams meetings: No admin policies, no notification banner, transcribed on your Mac.
- Transcribe Google Meet: Works on any Meet call, any plan, straight from the browser tab.
Related guides
- Where your audio goes: What most cloud notetakers do with your meeting audio, and the on-device alternative.
- Record a meeting on a Mac: Capture your mic and the other people on the call as two tracks, no bot required.
- All guides: the full library of how-tos and explainers.