Best Meeting Notes App for Mac (2026): Typed vs Recorded

For most people, the best meeting notes app on a Mac is the one already installed: Apple Notes. It's free, has tickable checklists for action items, and can record audio into a note and transcribe it. If your team keeps everything in a shared workspace, use Notion. If you need a full transcript of every call, use a recording app such as MacWhisper, because most typed-notes apps (ours included) don't capture the meeting itself.

Quick picks:

• Apple Notes: best for most Mac users who want free typed notes with checklists, plus optional audio recording.
• Notion: best for teams that keep meeting notes in one shared workspace.
• OneNote: best free option if you also work on a Windows PC.
• Gubb: best for a small notes window pinned over your video call, for a one-time price. It does not record or transcribe meetings.
• MacWhisper: best for recording and transcribing meetings on your own Mac.

We make Gubb, so weigh our view accordingly. We've tried to be fair to every app here, and we say plainly where ours is the wrong choice.

Typed notes or recorded notes: decide first

Typed notes are what you write during or right after the meeting: decisions, action items, who owns what. They are short because you filter as you go, and they're ready to share as soon as the call ends. Any notes app can do this. What matters is how quickly you can start typing, whether checklists are easy, and where the notes end up.

Recorded notes start with audio. A transcription app turns the call into text, sometimes with speaker labels. You get everything that was said, but someone still has to pull the decisions and tasks out of the transcript.

Many people use both: a recording app for the transcript, and a notes app for the action list they actually work from. Before you record, tell everyone on the call and get their agreement. Rules on recording conversations differ between countries and states.

How we chose

We looked at what affects meeting notes specifically, not general note-taking:

• Time to first word: how quickly you can open a fresh note when the call starts.
• Action items: checklists you can tick off, or a way to track tasks after the meeting.
• Recording: whether the app captures audio, and where the transcription runs.
• Sharing: whether colleagues can open the notes, or you have to copy and paste them.
• Where notes live: on your Mac, in iCloud, or in a vendor's cloud.
• Platforms and price model: free, one-time, or per-person subscription.

Prices and features below are as of November 2026 and come from each vendor's pages or, where noted, third-party pricing summaries.

Comparison at a glance

The order below runs from the default most people should try first, to team and cross-platform options, to our app, to recording.

Apple Notes

Apple Notes is the built-in option, and for many people it's the only meeting notes app they need.

What it's good at:

• Nothing to install or pay for, and notes sync to your iPhone and iPad through iCloud.
• Checklists you can tick off, which work well for action items.
• Attachments such as PDFs, photos and links, so the agenda can sit inside the meeting note. There's also a document scanner.
• You can record audio straight into a note and get it transcribed, so one app covers typed and recorded notes.
• Notes can be locked, which matters for sensitive meetings.
• Reviewers point to tags, Smart Folders, collaboration and links between notes. Those help if you want every note for one project in one place.
• Apple Intelligence features are available on M-series Macs.

What it lacks: it only runs on Apple devices, so it's awkward if you or your colleagues also use Windows. Apple Intelligence features need newer hardware.

Price: free, included with macOS.

Pick it if you work mostly on Apple devices and want one free app for typed notes, checklists and the occasional recording.

Notion

Notion is a workspace for pages, notes and team work, with desktop and mobile apps. For meeting notes, its strength is that the team works in the same place, so each meeting's page can sit with the rest of the project.

What it's good at:

• Notes live in a shared team workspace instead of on one person's Mac.
• There is a free plan.
• Third-party pricing summaries list AI Meeting Notes as part of the Business plan, alongside Notion Agent and Enterprise Search.
• Since August 2025, the desktop and mobile apps can work offline.

What it lacks:

• Offline access isn't automatic. You mark each page as "Available offline" in its ··· menu. Do this before a meeting in a room with unreliable Wi-Fi.
• AI and admin features are on paid plans that are charged per member.
• It's a full workspace for pages and team work, which is more than you need if you only want to jot down action items.

Price (third-party figures, as of November 2026): Free; Plus $10 per member per month billed annually; Business $20 per member per month billed annually or $24 monthly; Enterprise quoted by sales.

Pick it if your team already plans work in Notion and meeting notes should live next to projects and docs.

OneNote

OneNote is Microsoft's notebook app. It runs on Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android and the web, and syncs across your devices.

What it's good at:

• Free to use for core note-taking, on almost any device you're likely to own.
• Handles mixed content: typed text, handwriting and clipped media in the same notebook.

What it lacks: some features need a paid Microsoft 365 subscription. It's organized as notebooks rather than a quick scratchpad, so it suits people who file meeting notes into a structure more than people who jot and move on.

Price: free, with some features tied to Microsoft 365.

Pick it if you take notes on a Mac but also work on a Windows PC, and want the same notes on both.

Gubb

Gubb is our app: a small notes window for Mac (also on the Microsoft Store for Windows) with Markdown-style typing, checklists, to-do lists, Kanban boards, clipboard history and timers. For meetings, it's a typed-notes tool. It does not record calls, capture system audio or transcribe meetings.

What it's good at:

• A small window you can pin above your video call with Pin window on top, so you can type without switching apps.
• Fast formatting as you type: - then Space for bullets, [ ] then Space for an action item, # then Space for a heading.
• ⌘⇧C (Command-Shift-C) copies the whole note as plain text, ready to paste into an email or chat after the meeting.
• A countdown timer that keeps running while you type, if you time-box meetings.
• Notes are stored on your device in a local database. There's no account and no cloud copy.

What it lacks:

• No recording. Voice-to-text puts what you dictate into the current Gubb note, but the local Whisper models are English-only and transcribe only the first 30 seconds of each recording. That's enough to dictate a short summary after the call. It can't capture the meeting.
• No sync and no sharing. Colleagues can't open your notes. You copy and paste.
• No folders, tags, images, attachments or tables. You can't drop the agenda PDF into a note.
• Deleting a note has no confirmation and no trash, so be careful in the Notes History sidebar.
• Notes aren't encrypted and there's no app lock.
• Bulk export to Markdown or plain text doesn't currently produce clean, readable files. Use ⌘⇧C to move individual notes into other apps.

Price (as of November 2026): $59 one-time for a lifetime license on up to 3 devices, with a 7-day free trial of the direct Mac download. It's also on the Mac App Store.

Pick it if you mostly type notes during calls, want them on your own device, and would rather pay once for a notes window that also covers clipboard history and timers. Skip it if you need recordings, sharing or a team archive.

Set up Gubb for meeting notes

1. Hover over the title bar and click + (Create New Note).
2. Type the meeting name and date on the first line, for example Design review Nov 14. Gubb uses the first 30 characters of the first paragraph as the note's title.
3. Move the pointer to the right edge of the note and click Pin window on top.
4. Take notes with - bullets and add action items with [ ] followed by Space.
5. After the call, press ⌘⇧C and paste the note into your email or team chat.

Three details that save trouble later:

• Search reads titles first. The title-bar search checks titles and the first 50 characters of each note, and only searches full text when nothing matches there. A clear first line makes old meeting notes easy to find.
• Keep tracked tasks in a separate note. If you want due dates, priorities and subtasks, put gubb@todo alone on its own line in a separate note. A note containing a to-do block is retitled "Todo List", so adding one to a meeting note replaces the meeting name. Plain [ ] checklists inside meeting notes don't do this. Due dates don't trigger reminders.
• Break reminders unpin the window. If you use Gubb's break reminders, the window is no longer pinned on top after a break ends. Click Pin window on top again.

For a structure to type into, use our meeting notes template.

MacWhisper (and other recording apps)

If you need what was actually said, not just your summary, you need a recording app. MacWhisper is a Mac app that transcribes audio and video on your own computer using Whisper and other speech models.

What it's good at:

• Transcription runs on your Mac.
• Version 15 added real-time meeting transcription with speaker identification (in beta). Version 15.2 recognizes up to 8 speakers.
• There's a free tier with file transcription using local models and TXT, SRT and VTT export.
• Pro exports to DOCX, PDF and Markdown, according to one review.

What it lacks:

• It's a transcription tool. It has no notes, checklists or task tracking, so you'll still want a notes app for the action list.
• Version 15 needs macOS 15 or later.
• Batch transcription and speaker recognition need Pro.

Price (as of November 2026): free tier. Recent reviews put the direct Pro price at €64 as a one-time purchase, but sources disagree, so check macwhisper.com before you buy. The App Store version, called "Whisper Transcription", is sold separately.

Other recording options:

• Superwhisper includes Meetings, which is Mac-only. Third-party pricing pages list Pro at $8.49 a month, $84.99 a year or $249.99 for a lifetime license. Check which plan includes Meetings before you buy.
• Wispr Flow has a Notetaker for Mac and Windows. Its Pro plan is $15 a month or $144 a year according to third-party summaries, with no lifetime option.

For a closer look at the two Mac-focused options, see Superwhisper vs MacWhisper.

Pick a recording app if you need quotes, a searchable record of calls, or notes for people who weren't there. Pair it with a typed notes app for decisions and tasks.

How to choose a meeting notes app for Mac

• You're on Apple devices and want one free app: use Apple Notes. It covers typed notes, checklists and in-note audio recording.
• Your team needs to work in the same notes: use Notion.
• You switch between a Mac and a Windows PC: use OneNote, which is free on both.
• You want every word of the call: use MacWhisper or another recording app, and keep action items in your notes app.
• You type notes during calls and want a small window that stays on top, stored locally, for a one-time price: Gubb fits. Try it with the free 7-day trial before you pay.
• You want a wider look at notes apps beyond meetings: see our best notes apps for Mac.

FAQ

Can Gubb record or transcribe my meetings?

No. Gubb doesn't capture call audio or transcribe meetings. Its voice-to-text is for dictating into a Gubb note, and with the local models it's English-only and transcribes only the first 30 seconds of each recording.

What's the best free meeting notes app for Mac?

Apple Notes, if you and the people you share with use Apple devices. If you also work on Windows, OneNote is free and runs on both.

Can I share meeting notes from Gubb with my team?

Not directly. Gubb has no sync or sharing. Press ⌘⇧C to copy the note as plain text and paste it into email, chat or a shared doc.

Do I need to tell people before I record a meeting?

Yes, ask first and get everyone's agreement. Recording rules vary by country and state, and some places require consent from everyone on the call.