Meeting notesthat never leave your Mac.
Echo records, transcribes and summarises your meetings on your own Mac. It is open source and self-hosted: no bot in the call, no account, no cloud. A private alternative to Fireflies, Otter.ai and Fathom.
From your meeting tab to notes, without leaving your Mac
Record
The extension captures the meeting tab, and your microphone while you are unmuted.
Store
Audio goes to Echo’s server on
localhost, into an encrypted library.Transcribe
Whisper turns speech into text and groups it by speaker, on-device.
Summarise
Ollama writes notes with links back to the source passages.
Everything a notetaker does, kept at home
No bot in your call
The browser extension records the Google Meet, Zoom or Teams tab you are already in. Nobody sees a “notetaker has joined” tile.
Whisper, on your Mac
Transcribe with Whisper Large V3 Turbo in the browser, or Large V3 natively. After the one-time model download, it works offline.
Who said what
Speaker grouping runs on your Mac. Rename speakers, fix passages, and every edit is kept as a version you can return to.
Notes you can check
Summaries, decisions and action items from a local Ollama model. Every note links back to the moment it came from.
An encrypted library
SQLCipher database, encrypted audio, a key in the macOS Keychain, and a 24-word recovery phrase for backups.
Recordings that survive
The extension keeps audio encrypted in the browser while Echo is closed and uploads it later. Nothing is lost if the server is down.
Your calendar, read-only
Connect Google Calendar with your own OAuth client to see upcoming meetings and open their links.
Bring existing audio
Upload recordings you already have, or record an in-person meeting with your microphone.
Where your meeting goes
Every step runs on your Mac. The only internet traffic is the one-time model download and, if you connect it, read-only Google Calendar.
Meeting tab
Brave or Chrome extension, audio encrypted in the browser until uploaded.
Echo server
Listens on loopback only. SQLCipher library, key in the Keychain.
Whisper and Ollama
Transcripts, speakers and notes, computed on your Mac.
All of this stays inside your Mac.
Never involved: an Echo cloud, an Echo account, telemetry, or third-party AI APIs. See every request Echo can make.
Echo and cloud notetakers
Cloud services are easier to start with and work for teams. Echo trades that for keeping everything on your own computer.
| Product | Runs on your computer | Bot joins the call | Account needed | Price | Open source | Where data is stored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Echo | Yes | No | No | Free (MIT) | Yes | Your Mac, encrypted |
| Fireflies | No, cloud service | Yes, by default; a Chrome extension can record without the bot | Yes | Free plan; paid Pro, Business and Enterprise plans | No | Fireflies’ cloud |
| Otter.ai | No, cloud service | Yes; its notetaker joins Zoom, Teams and Google Meet | Yes | Free Basic plan; paid Pro, Business and Enterprise plans | No | Otter’s cloud |
| Fathom | No, cloud service | Yes, by default; bot-free capture is in beta on Mac | Yes | Free plan; paid Premium, Team and Business plans | No | Fathom’s cloud |
Sources, checked 1 November 2026: fireflies.ai/pricing, otter.ai/pricing, fathom.ai/pricing. Plans and prices change; check each vendor for current details. Product names are trademarks of their owners.
What you need
Questions
Is Echo really free?
Yes. Echo is open source under the MIT licence. There is no paid tier, no account and no subscription.
Is Echo a service?
No. Echo is software you install and run on your own Mac. Nobody operates it for you, and the project never receives your recordings, transcripts or notes.
Does a bot join my calls?
No. A browser extension records the meeting tab you already have open in Brave or Chrome. Other participants do not see a notetaker, so ask for their consent.
Which meeting apps does it work with?
Google Meet, Zoom (web) and Microsoft Teams (web). You can also record in person with your microphone, or upload an existing audio file.
What do I need to run it?
An Apple Silicon Mac on macOS 14 or later, Brave or Chrome, and about ten minutes in Terminal to build it from source. Ollama is optional, for notes.
Does it work offline?
Yes, once you have downloaded the models. Recording, transcription, speaker grouping and notes all run on your Mac.
How is my data protected?
Echo only listens on your Mac’s loopback address. The library is encrypted with SQLCipher, its key lives in the macOS Keychain, and a 24-word recovery phrase lets you restore it.
Run your own notetaker
Clone the repository, run one setup script, and record your next meeting on your own Mac.