MeetKeep
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MeetKeep vs Fireflies.ai

Fireflies is a cloud meeting assistant: a bot joins by default, transcription, search and workflows all run in the cloud, and its bot-free desktop app needs Pro or above. MeetKeep never joins, transcribes on your Mac, and costs $39 once. Credit where it is due: Fireflies’ privacy policy is unusually firm that your content is never used for model training. Its trade-off is that the audio still goes to the cloud, not what happens to it there.

Facts verified on 2026-08-26

Never joins — and not as a paid upgradeOn Fireflies’ free tier the bot is the only option; the bot-free desktop app needs Pro or above. MeetKeep never joins a call at all — that is how the product works, not a tier you unlock.
Audio stays on your MacFireflies transcribes in the cloud — it promises not to train on your content, but the audio does leave your machine. MeetKeep transcribes on-device and works with no network at all.
$39 once, not $120 a yearFireflies Pro is $10/month billed annually — $120 a year, every year. MeetKeep is $39 once, with free updates forever.
01

Head to head

Feature
MeetKeepLocal meeting notetaker for MacFacts verified on 2026-08-26 ↗
Fireflies.aiCloud meeting assistant, joins via botFacts verified on 2026-08-27 ↗
Privacy & data
No bot joins the call
YesCaptures system audio, never joins
PartialBot by default; bot-free desktop needs Pro
Where audio is transcribed
On-device (never uploaded)
Cloud
Works offline
Yes
No
Audio/transcripts used for training?
NoData never leaves your Mac
No
Pricing
Pricing model
$39 one-time
Subscription: Pro $10/mo billed annually
First-year cost (individual paid tier)
$39
$120
Every year after
$0 — free updates forever
$120 again, every year
Free tier
14-day full trial
Unlimited transcription; storage cappedVendor pages disagree on the quota
Transcription & notes
Speaker separation
Yes
Yes
Voiceprint recognition across meetings
YesLocal voiceprints; any platform, and in person
Not verified
Notes traceable back to the audio
Yes
Not verified
Transcription languages
Chinese, English + 25 European languages
Not verified
Platform
Native Mac app
YesApple Silicon, macOS 15+
Yes
Mobile app
No
Yes
Bring your own AI key (BYOK)
YesAny provider; only text is sent
No
Individuals can buy directly
Yes
Yes

Prices and features belong to their vendors. Each column shows when it was last verified — spot something stale and we would like to hear about it.

02

Which one is for you

Choose MeetKeep if…
You do not want a notetaker everyone in the call can see.
Your meetings cannot go to the cloud: client calls, comp reviews, legal discussions.
You need Chinese transcription, or you meet on Tencent Meeting, Lark or DingTalk.
You would rather pay $39 once than $120 a year.
Try MeetKeep free for 14 days
Fireflies is the better fit if…
You want notes wired into a CRM and team workflows. That is Fireflies’ home turf.
You need it on your phone, or your team is on Windows.
Its free tier’s unlimited transcription is already enough for you.
You want an explicit “not used for model training” commitment. Its policy genuinely gives one.
Where they win, we say so. An all-green table is worth nothing.
03

What three years cost

MeetKeep$39
One purchase. Updates free forever.
Fireflies.ai$360
$120/year × 3 years, and it keeps going.
04

Questions

Fireflies has a bot-free desktop app too — why switch?

Two reasons. First, it needs Pro or above — on the free tier the bot is still the only option. Second, going bot-free only solves who can see the notetaker; the audio still goes to the cloud to be transcribed. MeetKeep solves both at once: no participant, and no upload.

Can I move my Fireflies recordings over?

Yes. MeetKeep imports audio and video files, transcribes them on-device and runs the same speaker separation and notes over them. Export from Fireflies and drop them in.

Is the $39 really the whole price?

$39 once, two Macs, free updates forever, a 14-day trial and a 14-day refund. AI notes use your own API key — only text is sent to the provider you choose, never audio.

Your next meeting, just show up

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Download for MacSee all 12 tools compared
macOS 15+ · Apple Silicon · $39 once