Alternatives

The Best Hedy Alternatives

Hedy ranks #1 of the 28 AI meeting assistants we test. If it is not working for you, here is what to move to, matched to the reason you are leaving.

Last updated October 2026

The strongest overall alternative to Hedy is MacWhisper, which scores 3.9 out of 5 on our 13 weighted criteria against Hedy's 4.7. Hedy ranks #1 of the 28 tools we test. The right substitute depends on why you are leaving — the table below maps each alternative to the specific weakness it fixes.

What Hedy does well — and where it falls short

The only meeting assistant among the 28 we tested with a built-in option to run its entire AI pipeline (transcription, summaries, and real-time coaching) on-device on supported hardware, making it the privacy and reliability leader for 2026.

Worth keeping

  • +Built-in option to run the entire AI pipeline on-device: transcription, summaries, and coaching
  • +No meeting bot: silent system-audio capture on any platform
  • +Works fully offline with Local AI on supported hardware
  • +Apple Watch app records meetings on its own, or shows live coaching while the iPhone records

Why people switch

  • −Deep two-way CRM syncs still rely on Zapier/API rather than native connectors
  • −Full on-device AI needs recent Apple Silicon, a capable Windows GPU, or a recent phone (Android needs a supported GPU and roughly 8 GB of memory)
Read our full Hedy review →

Ranked alternatives to Hedy

1

MacWhisper

On-Device

Local transcription app for Mac and iOS with on-device Whisper and Parakeet models

A fast, private transcriber that has grown toward a lightweight meeting assistant for Apple users, though it still stops short of real collaboration or cross-meeting intelligence.

3.9
2

Krisp

On-Device

AI noise cancellation with multilingual transcription and meeting notes

A noise-cancellation leader that has quietly grown into a full AI meeting assistant with multilingual notes, AI chat, and CRM sync.

3.8
3

Microsoft Teams Copilot

Built-In

Microsoft's native, agentic meeting AI built into Teams for the Microsoft 365 stack

A genuinely strong, agentic meeting assistant for Microsoft 365 shops, but it is cloud-only, locked to Teams meetings, and the real meeting AI sits behind a paid Copilot license from $21/user.

3.9
4

Otter.ai

Cloud

Real-time transcription and agentic meeting AI for teams

A powerful, increasingly agentic cloud platform for teams who prioritize collaboration and live AI over on-device privacy.

3.9
5

Fellow

Cloud

Privacy-forward AI meeting assistant with botless recording and an AI Chief of Staff

A privacy-forward AI meeting assistant that captures meetings without a bot and surfaces answers across all of them through its Ask Fellow agent.

3.9
6

Fireflies.ai

Cloud

AI meeting assistant with CRM integration and conversation intelligence

Best for sales teams who need deep CRM integration and conversation analytics, now with real-time meeting features layered on top.

3.8

Hedy alternatives at a glance

Tool Bot-free option AI on device Works offline Trains on your data Free plan
Hedy Yes Full pipeline Yes No 5 hours of meetings per month; real-time coaching for the first 30 minutes of each session
MacWhisper Yes Full pipeline Yes No Free forever with smaller Whisper models and unlimited local transcription
Krisp Yes Transcription only Partly Unclear None (7-day free trial)
Microsoft Teams Copilot Yes Cloud No No None for meeting AI; Copilot Chat only, with limited in-meeting access
Otter.ai Yes Cloud No Yes 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation, 3 lifetime imports, 25 most recent conversations, about 20 AI Chat queries
Fellow Yes Cloud No No Up to 5 seats; 5 AI notes and 5 recordings per user, lifetime
Fireflies.ai Yes Cloud No No Limited transcription, 400 minutes of storage per team, 2-hour recording limit, 20 one-time AI credits

From the Key Facts we verify for every review. See the full fact sheet.

Which alternative fixes which problem

Alternative Score Beats Hedy on Pricing
MacWhisper 3.9 Nothing decisive — Hedy scores at least as well on every criterion. Free tier available; paid from €65 one-time
Krisp 3.8 Nothing decisive — Hedy scores at least as well on every criterion. No free tier; from $8/mo
Microsoft Teams Copilot 3.9 Ease of Use (5 vs 4); Platform Support (5 vs 4); Knowledge Connection (5 vs 4) No free tier; from $21/user/mo (annual)
Otter.ai 3.9 Ease of Use (5 vs 4); Platform Support (5 vs 4); Integration Ecosystem (5 vs 4) Free tier available; paid from $16.99/mo
Fellow 3.9 Integration Ecosystem (5 vs 4); Knowledge Connection (5 vs 4) Free tier available; paid from $7/mo
Fireflies.ai 3.8 Integration Ecosystem (5 vs 4); Knowledge Connection (5 vs 4) Free tier available; paid from $10/mo

Compare Hedy head to head

Hedy vs Krisp Hedy vs Microsoft Teams Copilot Hedy vs Otter.ai Hedy vs Fireflies.ai

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best alternative to Hedy? +
MacWhisper is our highest-rated alternative at 3.9 out of 5, against Hedy's 4.7. A fast, private transcriber that has grown toward a lightweight meeting assistant for Apple users, though it still stops short of real collaboration or cross-meeting intelligence. That said, "best" depends on what pushed you to look. If it was price, cross-check the pricing and value column; if it was privacy or how the vendor handles your data, look at the privacy, consent, and data-retention scores specifically, because those three move independently of the headline number.
Why do people look for Hedy alternatives? +
Based on our scoring, Hedy's weakest criteria are ease of use (4/5), platform support (4/5), integration ecosystem (4/5). Those are the gaps an alternative most often needs to close. Its documented limitations are: Deep two-way CRM syncs still rely on Zapier/API rather than native connectors; Full on-device AI needs recent Apple Silicon, a capable Windows GPU, or a recent phone (Android needs a supported GPU and roughly 8 GB of memory).
Is there a free alternative to Hedy? +
Yes. MacWhisper (from €65 one-time after the free tier), Otter.ai (from $16.99/mo after the free tier), Fellow (from $7/mo after the free tier), Fireflies.ai (from $10/mo after the free tier) all offer genuine free plans. Read the limits carefully though — several tools in this category advertise a "free plan" that is really a lifetime trial capped at a handful of meetings.
How did you rank these Hedy alternatives? +
Every tool is scored 1 to 5 on the same 13 criteria, then combined into a weighted average: privacy, transcription accuracy, and AI analysis quality count triple; eight criteria including recording consent, data retention and training transparency, and real-time capability count double; knowledge connection and pricing count once. Overall equals the sum of score times weight, divided by 27. The formula and every score is published, so you can recompute any ranking yourself.
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