Shadow vs Slipbox

Shadow

• Mac users who want meeting notes without a bot in the call
• People who want to write their own prompts for notes and follow-ups
• Keeping transcripts as Markdown files on their own disk
• Using one app for meeting notes and voice typing

Slipbox

• Mac users who want transcription kept on their own machine
• Unlimited transcription without paying
• Obsidian users who want meetings exported as Markdown

Shadow

• Mac only: it requires Apple Silicon and macOS 14.2 or later. Windows and other devices are on a waitlist.
• Data is stored only on the one Mac. Sync across devices is on the roadmap but not available.
• The Free plan lists transcription, recording and screenshots; unlimited AI meeting notes, Skills and AI chat need Plus.
• Skills, Ask and automatic titles send transcripts or screen context to OpenAI, Google or Anthropic. Capture, transcription and storage stay on the Mac.

Slipbox

• The desktop app runs on Apple Silicon Macs only; the FAQ says Windows support is being tested with select users.
• The free plan limits AI use to 10 Ask Slipbox messages and 5 summaries every 2 weeks.
• Transcripts and chat messages are sent through Slipbox's servers to AI models for summaries and answers; the vendor says they are not stored there.
• Notes are stored on the Mac with no cloud backup yet, and speaker identification is an Early Access feature that has to be switched on.

Shadow

Bot-free capture with Autopilot

Shadow records the microphone and system audio from the Mac, so nothing joins the call. Autopilot detects supported meetings and starts and stops listening on its own.

On-device transcription

Transcription and speaker labeling run on the Mac, and raw audio is not sent to an outside provider. The vendor lists around 100 languages and says English works best.

Smart Screenshots

Shadow finds the meeting window and captures it as the visuals change, so questions asked afterwards can cover what was shown as well as what was said.

Meeting Skills

Each Skill is an editable prompt that produces notes, action items, a follow-up email or a BANT breakdown. A Skill can run automatically after a meeting and send its result to a webhook.

Action Skills and voice typing

A keyboard shortcut in any app runs a Skill on what you say, what is on screen or the text you selected, then pastes the result at the cursor.

Local Markdown vault

Transcripts and Skill outputs are saved as Markdown files, with media, in a vault folder you choose on the Mac. You can keep or discard meeting audio.

Slipbox

Local transcription, no bot

Slipbox captures the Mac's system audio and microphone and transcribes on the device, so Zoom, Meet, Teams and iPhone calls routed through the Mac are covered without a meeting bot.

Automatic meeting detection

The app recognizes when a meeting starts and ends and begins or stops transcribing on its own, on every plan including the free one.

Ask Slipbox during a meeting

A chat can catch you up, summarize on the fly or suggest questions to ask while the conversation continues. The free plan allows 10 messages every 2 weeks.

Summaries from templates

Slipbox picks a template such as 1:1, customer meeting, podcast or presentation for each summary, and custom templates can be added. Pro writes summaries automatically when meetings end.

Bring your own key

AI features can run on your own OpenAI API key or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including local models served through Ollama or LM Studio.

Import, search and export

MP4, MOV, MP3 and WAV files can be imported for transcription. Meetings are searchable in natural language and export automatically to PDF, Markdown or Obsidian.

Shadow

• Free$0

  Unlimited transcription, unlimited audio recording and unlimited Smart Screenshots, described as free forever.

• Plus$8

  per month, billed annually; $12 billed monthly

  Everything in Free, plus unlimited AI meeting notes, Meeting Skills, Action Skills and AI chat.

Slipbox

• Hobby$0

  Unlimited transcripts, speaker identification, audio and video import, custom LLM endpoints and auto export, with 10 Ask Slipbox messages and 5 AI summaries per 2 weeks.

• Pro$99

  per year; $10 per month billed monthly

  Everything in the free plan, plus unlimited summaries and Ask Slipbox prompts, enhanced memory, automatic summaries when meetings end and priority support.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Everything in Pro, plus SAML, SCIM and audit logs, on-premises deployment options, consolidated billing, admin controls and local data retention policies.

Shadow

• Annual discount

  Annual billing lowers Plus to $8 a month

  The pricing page's billing toggle shows Plus at $8 a month on annual billing and $12 a month on monthly billing, about a third less.

Slipbox

• Annual discount

  Save 17% with yearly billing

  Pro costs $99 a year or $10 a month, and the pricing page marks the yearly option as a 17% saving.