MacParsleyWhich should I use?
MacParsley can get a transcript and a summary from a model on your Mac, from a cloud model, or from a service that works from the recording itself. This page helps you pick. Everything is set in Settings → Summaries, and you can change any choice later or override it for one meeting.
The short version
| If you want… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Nothing to leave your Mac, ever | Apple's engine or a Whisper/Parakeet model for transcription, and Apple, LM Studio or Ollama for summaries. |
| MacParsley's own prompts and styles (60+ layouts, five styles) | Any model as the Summarization Model. Only models read prompts. |
| The best writing from a strong model, with the transcript made on your Mac | A cloud provider (Claude, GPT, Gemini…) as the Summarization Model. Only the transcript text leaves your Mac. |
| A service to do the whole job from the audio | Fireflies.ai, Pocket or Plaud: set one as both the transcription engine and the summarization model. |
| Your own transcript and a service's summary | A model or engine on your Mac for transcription, and Fireflies.ai, Pocket, Plaud or note1.ai as the Summarization Model. |
| Extra sections like Decisions or Blockers | Fireflies.ai, which can add them per meeting. |
What each one is
| On your Mac | Cloud model | Fireflies.ai | Plaud | note1.ai | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works from | Audio (transcript) and text (summary) | Text | Audio | Audio | Audio | Audio |
| Can transcribe | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No (its transcript isn't usable) |
| Can summarize | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| What leaves your Mac | Nothing | The transcript text | The audio | The audio | The audio | The audio |
| MacParsley prompts and styles | Yes | Yes | No: its own layout | No: its own layout | No: your Plaud template | No: its own layout |
| Needs | Apple Intelligence, or LM Studio/Ollama, or a download | An API key | A paid plan, a key, and a cloud storage | A key with write access | Both Plaud sign-ins (connector and website); unofficial upload | A token; uses a meeting allowance each time |
| Cost to think about | Your Mac's time | The provider's per-use charge | Your Fireflies plan; AI credits for extra sections | Your Pocket plan's minutes | Your Plaud plan's minutes | One note1 meeting allowance per recording |
| Speed | Depends on your Mac and the model | Fast once sent | A few minutes | A minute or two for a short recording | A few minutes | A few minutes |
| Formats | m4a, mp3, wav, ogg | n/a | mp3, m4a, wav, ogg, mp4; up to 200 MB | m4a, mp3, wav, ogg (all tested) | mp3 and ogg as they are; others converted to Ogg Opus | Up to about 2 GB; ogg tested |
How long each takes depends on the recording's length and the service's load, so the speeds are only a rough guide.
Whichever service makes the transcript, speakers are always worked out on your Mac by voice, so the people you've named are recognized the same way everywhere. Your Mac doesn't transcribe the meeting again; it only separates the voices (see Transcripts from Plaud, Pocket or Fireflies).
How the choices combine
The transcription engine and the summarization model are chosen separately. A service that is chosen for either one gets the audio.
| Engine | Summarizer | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Your Mac | A model | Everything stays local, or only transcript text goes to a cloud model. |
| Your Mac | Plaud, Pocket, Fireflies or note1 | Your Mac transcribes (and names the speakers by voice) while the service writes its summary, at the same time. The service's summary is added. Its own transcript isn't used. |
| Plaud, Pocket or Fireflies | A model | The service's transcript is used. A model on your Mac or in the cloud writes the summary, with MacParsley's prompts. The service's own summary isn't kept. |
| Fireflies | Fireflies | One round trip: its transcript and its summary. |
| Pocket or Plaud | The same service | Same, through Pocket or Plaud. |
Only one service can be the engine and one the summarizer, but they can differ (for example Plaud for the transcript and note1 for the summary). If a service fails on a recording, that meeting is processed on your Mac and a message says why, so nothing is left unprocessed.
Speakers
- With your Mac's transcript, MacParsley separates the voices and names the ones it has learned.
- With Plaud's, Pocket's or Fireflies' transcript, the service's words are kept, but your Mac works out who said each line and names the people it has learned. A name the service guessed from what people say ("Thanks, Anna") is kept as a suggestion for anyone no voice matched; confirm names in Identify Speakers.
- With note1, its summary uses its own speaker numbers. MacParsley swaps in the names of speakers it has matched, using the start of note1's transcript. See note1.ai.
Recipes
Keep everything on my Mac. Engine: Apple, or a Whisper/Parakeet model. Summarization Model: Apple, LM Studio or Ollama. Don't set up any service.
Sensitive folders local, the rest in the cloud. Set a strong cloud model as the Summarization Model, and set a model on your Mac on the folders that must stay private (Edit Folder → Summarization). The same menu can send a single folder, say Podcasts, to Plaud, Pocket, Fireflies or note1 while everything else stays as it is. Prompts marked Sensitive also stop and ask before any cloud model sees them.
Best of both: my transcript, a service's summary. Leave the engine on your Mac, and choose Plaud, Pocket, Fireflies or note1 as the Summarization Model. Use Resummarize to compare it with a model's summary: each is kept as its own version.
Try a service on one meeting first. Leave your defaults alone. In Resummarize, choose the service in the Model menu. It uploads that meeting, waits, and adds the summary as a new version. A meeting a service already has isn't sent again.
Everything from one service. Choose it as both engine and summarizer. Titles and the short mind map still use a model (set in the same place), because a service can't write those from audio.
What to know before you switch a service on
- It sends audio. MacParsley asks you to confirm the first time, and says so wherever the service is a choice.
- It keeps a copy. Each service keeps the meeting in your account until you delete it there. MacParsley never deletes anything in them.
- It can fail or be slow. Plans lapse, keys expire and services have limits. The meeting then goes to your Mac. See Troubleshooting.
- You can mix per meeting. The Summarize window and the Import window can pick a different model or service for one meeting.
Related pages
The Summaries tab · Fireflies.ai · Pocket · Plaud · note1.ai · Audio storage · AI models and privacy