Earkeep
The Read.ai alternative with no bot and no account
Last updated: · Reviewed quarterly
Read.ai measures meetings: talk time, sentiment, a Read Score, a coach for filler words. Earkeep measures nothing. It listens all day on your device, transcribes locally, and never joins a call or asks for anyone's calendar.
14-day full trial, no account required.
- No bot, no account, no calendar access
- Always on, with no Record button to remember
- €39 once, not $15 per user per month
The short answer
If you want meetings graded, Read.ai is the only tool here that does it. If you want every conversation kept with no participant in anyone's call, transcribed on your machine, for one payment, that is Earkeep.
Why people look for a Read.ai alternative
Nothing to invite, nothing to remove
Read.ai's default is a calendar-driven bot that joins Zoom, Teams and Meet as a participant. A recipient who signs in to read a shared report creates an account with calendar access in the same click; the org-wide block is Enterprise+ only.
Earkeep has no bot, server or account.
Always listening, not waiting for a click
Read.ai's bot-free desktop and mobile mode captures in person too, but you press Record, and by its own docs it has no video or coaching and "does not know who is speaking."
Earkeep listens from launch; you mark the meeting afterwards, and a pause releases the microphone.
A record that stays yours, in files that outlive the app
Both Read.ai modes upload, to AWS us-east-1 (EU and Canada through sales), keeping audio and video "in no case for longer than 2 years". Earkeep transcribes in memory and writes one plain .jsonl file per day to your folder.
Read.ai's remote MCP server has four tools, two of which write; Earkeep's has two read-only tools over your own files.
Side by side
| Capability | Earkeep | Read.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Always-on capture | No start button, no stop | Calendar trigger or a Record press |
| Bot-free capture | No bot exists to join | None in desktop mode; the bot is the default for scheduled calls |
| Records a meeting you can't attend | Only what your device hears | The bot goes without you |
| Audio transcribed on your device | In memory, whisper.cpp or Parakeet | Cloud in every mode, AWS us-east-1 |
| Captures in-person meetings | Any app, in person too | Desktop and mobile mode do |
| Retroactive spans on a timeline | Define the meeting afterward | One report per call it recorded |
| AI summary and action items | No, but an agent you connect writes them from the transcript | Summary, topics, action items |
| Labels who said what | Not yet | In bot mode; its own docs say desktop mode has none |
| Keeps a recording you can replay | No audio is ever kept | Audio, video and highlight reels, Enterprise and above |
| Talk time, sentiment and coaching | Nothing like it | Read Score and Speaker Coach |
| Share with people who weren't there | No, but your agent files the notes where your team already reads | Reports auto-share with participants |
| Plain files you own | JSONL in your own folder, no account | A cloud store behind an account |
| Your own agents can read it | ACP agents plus MCP, over local files | MCP server, four tools, two of which write, over its cloud |
| CRM logging and 20+ integrations | None | Salesforce and HubSpot from Pro up |
| Mobile apps | Desktop only | iOS and Android |
| Free tier that doesn't expire | 14 days free, then €39 once | Free forever, but 5 transcripts a month, one hour each |
| Pricing | €39 one time, one device | Free tier, then from $15/user/month annually |
| Platform | macOS 13+, Windows 10+ | Web, Windows 10+, macOS 14+, iOS, Android |
Built inNo, but an agent you connect canPartlyNot available
What each one costs by year five
Switching takes an afternoon
- Install it, then let a day run. Earkeep listens from launch. There is no import tool; keep Read.ai as long as you need its reports.
- Take Read.ai out of your calendar, whichever tool you end up using. Revoke its permission (Google Account, Data & privacy, third-party apps; or myapplications.microsoft.com), and delete any account created for you.
- Mark yesterday, connect a calendar, then stop paying per seat. Read.ai Pro is $19.75 per user per month, or $15 annually: $180 a year per person, with playback from Enterprise at $22.50. Earkeep is €39 once.
Which one fits you
Choose Earkeep if
You want the whole day kept, and nothing leaving your machine.
- Your week has 1:1s and huddles nobody put on a calendar
- No recorder of yours should appear in someone else's participant list
- The audio must not sit in a US region for up to two years
- You would rather pay €39 once than $180 per person a year
- Your own agents should read your meetings from plain files
Choose Read.ai if
Read.ai does several things Earkeep has no answer to.
- You want meetings measured: talk time, engagement, sentiment, Read Score, Speaker Coach
- You need who said what, attributed by its bot
- You need audio, video and highlight reels (Enterprise and above)
- Calls must land in Salesforce or HubSpot (from Pro), plus 20 or so integrations
- You need a phone app; Earkeep is desktop only
Read.ai's free tier is a fair place to start for those. Earkeep is for weeks of unscheduled conversations: see engineering leads and product managers.
Other tools people weigh this against
Frequently asked questions
Is Earkeep a good Read.ai alternative?
If you want everything captured on your device rather than measured in a cloud, yes. It does not grade meetings, label speakers, keep audio, log to a CRM, or attend without you.
Why did Read.ai join my meeting?
Usually because you signed in to read a shared report, which created an account with calendar access. Revoke the permission and delete that account; administrators can block the app in Zoom or Teams.
Does Read.ai work without a bot?
Yes: its desktop and mobile apps record locally with no participant, but you press Record, there is no speaker attribution, video or coaching, and the audio is still processed in its cloud.
Is Read.ai's free plan enough to skip paying for anything?
It depends how much you meet: 5 transcripts a month, one hour each, plus unlimited Ask Read search and the meeting coach. Earkeep caps neither, but its free period is a 14-day trial.
Is my audio ever sent to Read.ai's or Earkeep's servers?
Read.ai stores it in the cloud in both modes (AWS us-east-1; EU and Canada through sales) for "in no case for longer than 2 years". Earkeep transcribes in memory and never writes audio to disk or uploads it.
Keep the whole day, and keep it yours
14-day full trial, no account required.