# Reline vs Circleback

Reline (reline.so) is an AI meeting notepad for macOS, Windows, the web and Linux (beta). It records your mic and the call audio on your computer, so no bot joins the call, and keeps the audio with the note so any transcript line plays back. Transcription, AI summaries and storage run in the cloud. Chat answers can cite the note or the exact moment they came from. Reline does not claim on-device AI. Granola's security page says it does not store the audio. Free plan, no credit card.

Last updated: 2026-09-26. Canonical page: https://www.reline.so/vs/circleback

## Reline vs Circleback

**Choose Reline if you want a note-taker plus a real notepad: write alongside the transcript, press play on any line to hear the moment, and chat across your corpus. Choose Circleback if you need polished automatic action items with assignees, automations into 1,000+ apps, and formal SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications.**

Circleback is an automated note-taker that ships outputs to other apps. Reline is a note-taker and a real Notion-grade notepad: write alongside the transcript, press play on any transcript line, and chat across your whole corpus with answers that can cite the exact moment.

Circleback is a polished AI meeting assistant: it captures your calls (bot or bot-free), writes clean notes, auto-assigns action items, and pushes them into 1,000+ apps. Reline captures bot-free too, but it's built around a real collaborative notepad: your transcript, summary, and live notes are blocks in one document. Add a play button on every transcript line, RAG chat across notes and folders with answers that can cite the exact moment, and a free plan that keeps every note.

| Feature | Reline | Circleback | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bot-free local capture (mic + system audio on your device) | Yes | Yes | Both offer a bot-free option: Reline on desktop and web; Circleback via its macOS, Windows, and mobile apps. |
| Records without any bot joining the call | Yes | partial | Reline is consistently bot-free. Circleback also auto-joins online meetings with a calendar-connected bot when you choose that mode. |
| Real-time collaborative Notion-style notepad | Yes | No | Reline: write live alongside the transcript and co-edit. Circleback generates notes for you after the meeting. |
| Press play on a transcript line to hear that moment | Yes | partial | Both offer meeting playback and a full transcript; Reline's per-line playback is its specific differentiator. |
| AI search across all past meetings | Yes | Yes | Reline: RAG chat across notes, folders, and workspaces. Circleback: 'Ask' search across your conversations. |
| Auto-assigned action items | partial | Yes | Circleback automatically captures and assigns action items post-meeting, a core strength. Reline surfaces tasks via summaries and Lenses. |
| Reusable saved AI prompts (Lenses) | Yes | partial | Reline: save and rerun a Lens on every note. Circleback offers rule-based automations rather than reusable prompt templates. |
| Multilingual transcription with auto-detect | 60+ languages | 100+ languages | Both auto-detect the spoken language. Reline supports 60+; Circleback advertises 100+ (no exact count published). |
| Speaker labels | Me vs Other | Yes | Circleback identifies speakers by name; Reline labels each turn as 'Me' or 'Other' by audio source. |
| Mobile app (iOS / Android) | No | Yes | Circleback ships iOS and Android apps. Reline runs on macOS, Windows, Linux (beta), and the web, with no mobile app. |
| Linux desktop app (beta) | Yes | No | Reline ships a Linux (beta) AppImage; Circleback's desktop apps are macOS and Windows only. |
| App integrations | Slack, Linear, Notion | 1,000+ (Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Linear, Notion, Zapier…) | Circleback's integration ecosystem is broader, including CRMs Reline doesn't push to (no Salesforce/HubSpot). |
| Calendar sync (Google + Microsoft) | Read-only | Yes | Reline reads your calendar; Circleback uses calendar connections to auto-join meetings with its bot. |
| SSO + audit log | Enterprise · $32/mo · $26 annual | Enterprise ($35/user/mo) | Circleback lists single sign-on (SAML or OIDC) and SCIM provisioning on Enterprise. Reline includes SSO and an audit log on Enterprise. |
| Free plan | Free $0 (1 hr per note, unlimited notes) | Free $0: 30 days of meeting history | Circleback's pricing page lists a free plan with 30 days of meeting and recording history. Reline's free plan keeps unlimited notes, with 1 hour per note and 10 hours of transcription a month. |
| Paid pricing (individual / pro) | Professional $15/user/mo | Pro $15/user/mo | Circleback's pricing page lists Pro at $15, Business at $25 and Enterprise at $35 per user a month, so its entry price matches Reline Professional. Reline Enterprise is $32/user/mo ($26 annual). Prices change, so check both pages. |

### When Circleback is the better choice

Choose Circleback over Reline if you need polished, automatic action-item capture with assignees, deep two-way automations into 1,000+ apps (Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, Notion, Linear, Zapier), and formal enterprise compliance: it is SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, and EU-U.S. DPF certified. It also offers both bot-based and botless recording, so it can capture meetings from accounts other people host.

### FAQ

**Is Reline a Circleback alternative?**

Yes. Circleback is a strong automated note-taker that writes notes, assigns action items, and pushes them into other apps. Reline does the capture-and-summarize part too, but it's built around a real collaborative notepad: you write alongside the transcript, press play on any line to hear the moment, and chat across your whole corpus. It's a fit if you want a workspace, not just an output pipe.

**Does Reline record without a bot like Circleback?**

Yes. Reline captures your microphone and system audio locally on macOS, Windows, Linux (beta), and the web, so no bot joins the call. Circleback also offers a bot-free option through its desktop and mobile apps, and separately it can auto-join online meetings with a calendar-connected bot if you prefer that. Reline stays consistently bot-free.

**How many languages does each one support?**

Reline transcribes 60+ languages and auto-detects the language spoken. Circleback advertises 100+ languages with automatic detection of the predominant language in a meeting (it doesn't publish an exact count). Both detect the language for you rather than requiring you to set it.

**Do Reline and Circleback have free plans?**

Yes, both do. Reline's free plan is $0 with bot-free recording, transcription, AI summaries and Lenses, 1 hour per note, 10 hours of transcription a month and unlimited notes. Circleback's pricing page lists a free plan with 30 days of meeting and recording history, then Pro at $15 per user a month, Business at $25 and Enterprise at $35. Pricing can change, so check the current pages.

**Can Reline replace Circleback for action items and CRM workflows?**

It depends on your stack. Circleback's strength is auto-assigned action items and a large automation library, including CRM syncs to Salesforce and HubSpot that Reline doesn't offer. Reline surfaces tasks and follow-ups through AI summaries and reusable Lenses, and pushes to Slack, Linear, and Notion. If your workflow lives in Salesforce or HubSpot, Circleback covers more ground there.

**What does Reline's notepad add over Circleback's notes?**

Circleback generates notes for you after the meeting. Reline's notepad is a live, collaborative Notion-style document where the transcript, summary, and your own writing are all blocks you can edit together in real time. Every transcript line has a play button, and you can organize notes into folders and chat across them with RAG, turning each call into searchable knowledge instead of a static recap.

**Reline vs Circleback: which is better?**

Reline is better if you want to work in the notes: a Notion-grade notepad beside the transcript, a play button on every transcript line, and chat across your corpus. Circleback is better for automatic action items with assignees, automations into 1,000+ apps, and formal SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications.

### Sources

- [Circleback pricing](https://circleback.ai/pricing)
- [Circleback features and security overview](https://circleback.ai/)

Full page: https://www.reline.so/vs/circleback

---
All comparisons: https://www.reline.so/compare.md · Alternatives hub: https://www.reline.so/alternatives