NotchLive
NotchLive is a local-first speech workspace for Mac that displays live captions over any app audio, including video calls, recordings, lectures, and media playback. It runs speech recognition on the device, so audio is not sent to a cloud transcription service, and it requires no meeting bot or host-side configuration to caption platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. The app is distributed as a macOS download and requires macOS 14 or later, with automatic speaker labels requiring Apple silicon. Beyond live captions, NotchLive bundles dictation into Mac apps, a live timeline, session history, voice notes, a personal dictionary, speaker attribution, translated captions and translated dictation, and export or sharing of transcripts. It ships with a set of local speech models and automatic language detection, and the marketing describes a 'Ghost Mode', meeting analytics, sign cues, and a local MCP integration. The product positions itself as covering the full speech workflow in a single private app rather than as a single-purpose captioning utility. Pricing is described on the site as live captions being free forever, with a one-time Pro purchase (listed at $24.99) and additional team-pack and education options. The download page references release v1.12.1. The vendor emphasizes privacy across local audio handling, analytics, payments, and updates, and compares itself against Apple Live Captions and cloud transcription services such as Otter.
- Category
- AI Transcription
- Pricing
- Unknown
Problem solved
Cloud meeting assistants and transcription services typically join calls as bots or upload audio for server-side processing, which raises privacy, consent, and setup friction. NotchLive captions and transcribes speech locally on a Mac, so users in legal, consulting, research, accessibility, and general business contexts can get real-time captions, transcripts, and translation without a meeting bot, host settings, or a subscription.
Use cases
- Real-time captions for Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams calls without host settings or a meeting bot
- Accessibility captions for hard-of-hearing users watching videos, lectures, or in-person audio
- Dictating text into Mac applications using local speech recognition
- Recording and reviewing meeting transcripts with speaker labels and session history
- Translated live captions and translated dictation for multilingual calls and media
- Private transcription of legal, consulting, or research interview audio kept on device
- Exporting and sharing captions and transcripts with collaborators
Audience
- Business Users
- Researchers
- Enterprise
- Hobbyists
Pros
- On-device, local-first processing keeps meeting and microphone audio off third-party servers
- No meeting bot or host-side settings needed to caption third-party call apps
- Combines captions, dictation, translation, notes, and transcripts in one Mac app
- Live captions are free, with a one-time Pro purchase instead of a subscription
- Includes speaker attribution, personal dictionary, and export/share features
Cons
- Limited to macOS 14 and newer Macs, with no Windows, Linux, or mobile client
- Automatic speaker labels reportedly require Apple silicon
- Some advertised capabilities (Ghost Mode, meeting analytics, local MCP) lack detailed public documentation
- Exact accuracy, supported languages, and model list are not fully specified on the homepage
- No public GitHub repository or open-source code was found for review
Official website: https://notchlive.app/
Canonical LambdaBase page: https://www.lambdabase.com/tools/notchlive