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A local Fireflies.ai alternative for Mac

Fireflies.ai is a full-featured cloud notetaker with support for many languages, Icelandic included. Hearkeeper keeps your meetings on your Mac instead. Here is how they differ, and when each one fits.

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Fireflies.ai is a capable meeting assistant for individuals and teams. Its notetaker can join your Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet calls from your calendar, and its desktop app for Windows and Mac can record without a bot. It has iPhone and Android apps, a free plan, and transcription and summaries in more than 100 languages, Icelandic among them. It says your data is never used for AI training, and it lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA on its security page. If your team wants a shared, cloud-based meeting record across every device, Fireflies does a lot.

Hearkeeper is not released yet. It is a Mac app that does the whole job on your own computer.

The core difference

Where meetings are processed and stored. Fireflies’ help center says that by default your data is stored and processed in its cloud in the United States, on AWS and Google Cloud. On the Enterprise plan, its Private Storage option lets an organisation keep meeting data in its own storage bucket, including in the EU. Fireflies is clear that in that case data is stored in the EU but processed in the US.

Hearkeeper processes and stores everything on your Mac. It transcribes with whisper.cpp, accelerated by Metal, and writes summaries, decisions and to-dos with a local language model, with no API key. Search lives in one SQLite file on your disk. Nothing is uploaded unless you connect a team server or your own API key. If the reason you are looking for an EU alternative is that you would rather meetings did not leave your control at all, this is the difference that matters.

Bot or no bot. Fireflies offers both: the Fireflies.ai Notetaker (fred@fireflies.ai) joins calls, and the desktop app records your computer’s audio with no bot. Fireflies notes that bot-free recording does not save audio or video files. Hearkeeper never uses a bot, and keeps the recording as your own file. It works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack huddles, Webex, FaceTime, and meetings or lectures in the room.

Consent. Fireflies’ desktop app offers ways to tell people: a spoken consent message, a message in the meeting chat (on macOS), and an “AI Taking Notes” watermark on your camera. Hearkeeper also keeps a record. Every recording starts with a consent step (read aloud, posted in the chat, or both), a consent receipt is saved with the recording, and the recording pill stays visible, including in screen shares, with no way to hide it.

Icelandic. Both support it. Fireflies lists Icelandic among its languages. Hearkeeper treats Icelandic as a first-class language and detects mixed Icelandic and English on its own, among 99 languages in all.

Fireflies.ai and Hearkeeper side by side

Fireflies.ai Hearkeeper
Bot in the call Optional: the Fireflies.ai Notetaker joins, or the desktop app records without one No. Records on your Mac; no bot joins
Where audio is processed Fireflies’ cloud in the United States (AWS and Google Cloud) On your Mac (whisper.cpp with Metal)
Where notes are stored Fireflies’ US cloud by default; EU storage via Private Storage on Enterprise (processing stays in the US) One SQLite file and your own audio and note files on your disk
Works offline Not described on the pages we read Yes, fully
Consent step and receipt Desktop app: spoken message, chat message (macOS), camera watermark Consent step before every recording; receipt saved with the recording; pill that can’t be hidden
Icelandic transcription Yes, among 100+ languages Yes, first-class, with mixed Icelandic and English
Platforms Windows 10+, macOS 12+, iPhone, Android Mac (macOS 14.2+, Apple silicon and Intel), when released; other platforms later
Price as listed Free plan; Pro $18 per seat a month, or $10 billed yearly; Business $29, or $19 billed yearly; Enterprise $39 billed yearly (as listed on 28 September 2026) Not announced yet

When Fireflies.ai is the better choice

  • You need it today. Fireflies is available now; Hearkeeper is on a waitlist.
  • You use Windows or a phone. Fireflies runs on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. Hearkeeper starts on the Mac only, and other platforms have no date yet.
  • You want a notetaker that attends for you. Fireflies’ notetaker can join a meeting from your calendar even when you can’t. Hearkeeper only records what your own Mac hears.
  • Your team works from one shared record. Fireflies has Business and Enterprise plans for teams, with options such as Private Storage. Hearkeeper is built for your own Mac first.
  • You want a free plan now. Fireflies has one. Hearkeeper’s pricing is not announced.

When Hearkeeper fits better

  • You want processing, not just storage, under your control. Transcripts, summaries and search are made on your Mac, and they keep working without a connection.
  • You want to keep the audio. Your recordings are your own files, and every summary line and answer cites the second it was said. You can ask questions during the call and across all your meetings.
  • You want a consent record. A consent step before every recording, a saved receipt showing who was told and when, and a pill that can’t be hidden.
  • You meet in Icelandic and English together. Hearkeeper detects the switch on its own.
  • You want plain files. Notes export to Markdown; nothing is locked into a service.

Sources

All read on 28 September 2026.

Hearkeeper is coming to the Mac first. Join the waitlist and we’ll let you know when it’s ready.

Try Hearkeeper first

Private meeting and lecture notes, made on your own Mac. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you when it’s ready.

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