The best way to transcribe calls on Windows: 4 options compared
By the Call Transcriber team (TacAssist)Updated 8 min read
Built-in meeting captions, Windows Live Captions, AI note-taking bots and on-device apps all turn speech into text, but they solve different problems. Here is what each one does well, where it falls short, and how to pick the right one for your calls.
If you want your own live transcript of every call on a Windows PC, in any app, without a bot joining and without uploading audio, use an on-device transcription app such as Call Transcriber ($14 a year). Built-in captions in Zoom, Teams or Meet are free but depend on the host's settings and stay inside one app. Windows Live Captions shows text for any audio but doesn't save it. Meeting bots are best when you want AI summaries after the call and don't mind a visible bot and cloud processing.
At a glance
| What you get | Call Transcriber | Meeting botscloud note-takers | Built-in captionsZoom, Teams, Windows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nobody else joins the call | Yes | No, a bot joins | Yes |
| Audio stays on your PC | Yes | No, uploaded | Depends |
| Copy what was just said, during the call | Yes | Mostly after the call | No |
| Works in any call app, host or guest | Yes | Supported meeting apps only | Only inside that app, if enabled |
| Saved, searchable transcript of both sides | Yes | Yes | Depends on settings |
| Price | $14 / year | Usually billed per user, per month | Included, with limits |
1. Built-in captions and transcripts in Zoom, Teams and Google Meet
All three big meeting apps can show automated captions, and some plans can save a transcript of the meeting.
- Good: no extra software, and the transcript is tied to the meeting it came from.
- Limits: it usually depends on the organiser's or the company's settings and plan. Guests and external attendees often can't turn it on, and saved transcripts typically go to the organiser after the meeting. Every app has its own captions, so WhatsApp, Discord or phone calls get nothing.
Guides: a Zoom transcript without a bot, Teams transcription without admin rights.
2. Windows Live Captions
Windows 11 can caption any audio playing on the PC, and optionally your microphone, in a bar on screen.
- Good: free, built in, and works with every app.
- Limits: it's a caption bar, not a transcript. Text that scrolls away is gone: there is no history, no export and no "who said what". It isn't available on Windows 10.
More: how to save a Live Captions transcript.
3. AI note-takers that join as a bot
Cloud services such as Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai send a bot into your Zoom, Teams or Meet meeting (or record through their own apps), then transcribe and summarise the audio on their servers.
- Good: AI summaries, action items, team sharing and integrations after the meeting.
- Limits: the bot appears as a participant and some hosts or companies don't admit it. The audio is processed in the cloud. Plans are usually billed per user per month, and free plans limit minutes. The value comes mostly after the call, not during it.
More: an Otter.ai alternative for Windows.
4. An on-device transcription app (Call Transcriber)
A Windows app that transcribes your microphone ("Me") and the call audio you hear ("Them") on your own PC, in whatever app the call happens.
- Good: nothing joins the call and the host's settings don't matter. Audio never leaves the PC. You can copy what was just said with one click or a shortcut while you're still talking. Every call is saved and searchable. It costs $14 a year with unlimited calls.
- Limits: Windows only. There are no built-in AI summaries; paste the transcript into the AI assistant you already use. In group calls everyone you hear is "Them".
How to choose
- You need details during the call (numbers, names, exact words for a CRM or ticket): an on-device app with live copy.
- You attend other people's meetings and can't change their settings: an on-device app, since bots need admitting and built-in captions need the host.
- Privacy or company rules forbid uploading calls: an on-device app; check your company's policy either way.
- You mainly want a summary emailed to the team afterwards and everyone is fine with a bot: a cloud note-taker.
- You only need to follow along and don't need to keep anything: Windows Live Captions or the meeting app's captions.
Comparison based on how these approaches generally work as of 2026-10-22. Features and plans of other products change; check their websites for current details. Product names are trademarks of their owners.