Earkeep
The Wispr Flow alternative that transcribes on your device
Last updated: · Reviewed quarterly
Wispr Flow's Notetaker never joins your call, and its dictation is the best in the business. But it records one meeting at a time and transcribes each in Wispr's cloud. Earkeep records all day and transcribes on your machine.
14-day full trial, no account required.
- Transcribed on your device, not in a US cloud
- All day, not one meeting at a time
- €39 once, not $12 per user per month
The short answer
If you already dictate into every text box, Wispr Flow is the better buy: the notetaker comes free, names speakers and writes the summary. But it records one meeting at a time, and transcribes in its cloud. "Records on your device" and "processed on your device" are two claims; only Earkeep makes the second.
Why people look for a Wispr Flow alternative
A meeting you have to catch, or a day already recorded
Notetaker starts when a calendar meeting begins, or when you press Opt+M, and stops when you leave the call or at a maximum "between 30 minutes and 3 hours". The conversation that mattered is often the unscheduled one. Earkeep listens from launch, and you mark the meeting once you know it was one.
Recorded on your device is not processed on your device
Wispr says Notetaker "records on your device, so nothing joins the call", which is true of the recording. Its privacy page adds: "Transcription always happens in the cloud to provide the best speed and accuracy." On every plan, in the United States.
Earkeep transcribes in memory on your device with whisper.cpp or Parakeet. Audio is never written to disk or uploaded.
A record you own, in files that outlive the app
Notetaker's output lives in a Wispr account: copy notes out as markdown one at a time, or reach them through its hosted MCP server. Its retained meeting audio is "not intended to be user-accessible, searchable, replayable, or exportable". Earkeep keeps no audio, and one greppable .jsonl file per day, read by ten in-app ACP agents and a local MCP server.
Side by side
| Capability | Earkeep | Wispr Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Bot-free | No bot ever joins | No bot ever joins |
| Always-on capture | No start/stop, all day | Per meeting, calendar or Opt+M |
| Audio transcribed on your device | In memory, whisper.cpp or Parakeet | Records locally, transcribes in cloud |
| Retroactive spans | Define the meeting afterward | A meeting is one you started |
| Keeps a recording you can replay | No audio is ever kept | Retained, not user-accessible |
| Meetings as plain files you own | One .jsonl per day, greppable | Cloud account, markdown copy out |
| AI summary and action items | No, but an agent you connect writes them from the transcript | Topic summaries, decisions, owners |
| Labels who said what | Not yet | Named from calendar and Slack |
| Ask questions across your meeting history | No, but your agent searches spans over MCP | Cross-meeting search, cited |
| Your own agents can read it | ACP agents plus a local MCP server | MCP server, but over Wispr's cloud store |
| Transcribes languages other than English | Many, on device | Notetaker is English only |
| Dictation across your whole computer | Not what Earkeep does | 100+ languages, the mature half |
| Mobile app | Desktop only | iPhone and Android, dictation only |
| Free tier that doesn't expire | 14 days free, then €39 once | Free plan includes the Notetaker |
| SSO, admin controls, HIPAA BAA | None, and none planned | SAML/OIDC, org toggle, BAA |
| One-time purchase | €39, one device | Per user, per month |
| Pricing | €39 one time, one device | Free tier, then $12-15/user/month |
| Platform | macOS 13+, Windows 10+ | Notetaker macOS only; dictation also Windows and mobile |
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; your Wispr notes stay in your Wispr account.
- Mark yesterday, or connect a calendar. Drag a span where a meeting was, or let your calendar title the spans, then let your agent write the notes.
- Decide what you are actually replacing. Probably not the dictation: plenty of people keep Flow for typing and Earkeep for the record. €39 once against $144 per user per year for Flow Pro.
Which one fits you
Choose Earkeep if
For the meeting you would not put in someone else's cloud.
- The transcription has to happen on your machine, not just the recording
- Your week has conversations nobody scheduled
- Your meetings are not in English, which Notetaker does not handle yet
- You want plain files, read by your own agents
- You would rather pay €39 once, with no account
Choose Wispr Flow if
Wispr Flow does several things Earkeep has no answer to.
- Dictation into every text box is the job; Earkeep does not do it
- You need who said what: Notetaker names speakers from calendar, Slack and Gmail context
- You want a free tier with speaker labels, meeting Q&A and MCP, not a 14-day trial
- You want an iPhone app
- You dictate in 100+ languages, and want summaries, briefs and cross-meeting search
Note that Notetaker shipped on 2026-08-05; the dictation half is mature. For unscheduled 1:1s and at-desk conversations, see product managers and executives.
Other tools people weigh this against
Notetaker took its first cohort from Granola. See also Jamie and Krisp (bot-free), MacWhisper (local transcription), Otter.ai, or all sixteen side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Is Earkeep a good Wispr Flow alternative?
For meetings, yes: both are bot-free, but Earkeep transcribes on your device and records the whole day. It does no dictation, and has no speaker labels, summaries, mobile app or free tier beyond 14 days.
Does Wispr Flow's notetaker run on your device?
The recording does; the transcription does not. Wispr's privacy page: "Transcription always happens in the cloud to provide the best speed and accuracy." No plan changes that, and it happens in the United States. Earkeep transcribes on the device and writes only text to disk.
Does Wispr Flow's notetaker work in languages other than English?
Not yet: Notetaker is English only and Mac only as of 2026-09-01, though dictation handles 100+ languages. Earkeep transcribes many languages on your device: see languages and models.
Is Wispr Flow's free notetaker good enough to skip Earkeep entirely?
For a lot of people, yes: it is free, names speakers and summarises. The free plan caps meetings per week at a number Wispr does not publish. Choose Earkeep if transcription must stay on your machine, or you want the whole day as files you own.
Can I keep Wispr Flow for dictation and use Earkeep for meetings?
Yes, and we expect most people to. Flow turns your voice into text you meant to write; Earkeep keeps the conversations you were having.
Keep the record on your own machine
14-day full trial, no account required.