# Reline vs Read AI

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: 2026-07-02. Canonical page: https://www.reline.so/vs/read-ai

## Reline vs Read AI

**Choose Reline if you don't want a notetaker bot on the participant list: it records locally on your computer and turns calls into notes in a real collaborative notepad, with the audio kept on every plan, free to start. Choose Read AI if you want hands-free capture of unlimited scheduled calls plus engagement and sentiment analytics, with SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA.**

Read AI joins your calls as a visible notetaker bot by default and builds its product around meeting analytics. Reline records every meeting bot-free on your own computer, with nothing in the participant list, then gives you speaker separation (Me vs Other: your microphone vs the call audio), the kept recording with a play button on every transcript line, reusable Lenses, and a real collaborative notepad. Free to start.

Read AI is known for meeting analytics (engagement scores, talk-time, and search across your meetings and messages), but its notetaker joins the call as a participant everyone can see, and several organizations block it on Zoom and Teams for exactly that reason. Reline takes the opposite path: it captures your mic and the meeting's system audio locally, so no bot ever joins, then turns that recording into a co-editable team note, with the audio kept for playback.

| Feature | Reline | Read AI | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| No bot joins your meeting | Yes | No | Read AI joins as a visible notetaker participant by default (bot-free only on Google Meet); Reline never joins, on any platform |
| On-device, local audio capture | Yes | No |  |
| Works for in-person meetings | Yes | No | Reline captures room audio via your mic; Read AI needs a virtual call to join |
| Bot-free desktop capture app | Yes | No |  |
| Speaker-separated transcription | 60+ languages | Multiple languages |  |
| Free tier | 1 hr per note, 10 hrs / mo, unlimited notes, full AI + Lenses | Free plan: limited meetings / month | Read AI's free plan caps the number of meetings |
| Professional price | $15/user/mo · $12 annual | Pro ~$15–19.75/user/mo | Read AI public pricing at the time of writing |
| Plan with SSO + audit log | Enterprise · $32/mo · $26 annual | Enterprise+ · $29.75/user/mo annual (SSO, 5+ seats) |  |
| Live speaker-separated transcription | Yes | Yes |  |
| Keeps the recording + click-to-seek playback | Yes | Enterprise tiers only | Reline keeps the recording on every plan, including Free (2 GB of storage), and you can press play on any transcript line to hear that moment. Read AI's full video and audio recording with Meeting Playback starts at Enterprise, so Free and Pro users get the report without a recording. |
| Reusable AI Lenses (templates with 4 output formats) | Yes | partial | Read AI has report templates; Lenses add multi-output + multi-note |
| Notion-grade collaborative notepad (real-time co-edit) | Yes | No |  |
| RAG chat across notes / folders / workspaces | Yes | partial | Read AI offers search/chat across meetings; Reline chat answers can cite the note or the exact moment across your workspace |
| Meeting analytics (engagement, talk-time, sentiment) | No | Yes | Read AI's signature strength |
| Cross-app search (email, messages, meetings) | No | Yes | Read AI Enterprise Search |
| Granular permissions per note and folder | 5 levels | partial |  |
| Calendar sync (Google + Microsoft) | Yes | Yes |  |
| Audio + transcripts never train third-party models | Yes | Yes |  |

### When Read AI is the better choice

Choose Read AI over Reline if you want a bot that auto-joins Zoom, Teams, and Meet to capture unlimited scheduled calls hands-free, plus its signature engagement and sentiment analytics ("Read Score") and video playback on higher tiers. It also offers SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA with BAAs on request, which suits regulated organizations needing formal compliance paperwork.

### FAQ

**Is Reline a good Read AI alternative?**

Yes, if you want bot-free capture and a real notepad rather than meeting analytics. Reline records every call on your own computer with no visible bot, keeps the audio with a play button on every transcript line, and gives your team a collaborative document with granular permissions. Read AI remains strong for engagement analytics and cross-app search; Reline is the better fit when the notes and the team workflow are what matter.

**Does Read AI join the meeting as a bot?**

By default, yes. Read AI joins your call as a visible notetaker participant and posts a message saying it’s recording — and several organizations block it on Zoom and Teams for joining without everyone’s consent. It offers a bot-free path only on Google Meet. Reline never joins any meeting: it captures audio locally on your device, so nothing appears in the participant list on any platform.

**What does Read AI do that Reline doesn’t?**

Read AI's strengths are meeting analytics (engagement scores, talk-time, speaker coaching) and enterprise search across your meetings, email, and messages. Reline doesn't do those. Reline focuses on bot-free capture, the kept recording with per-line playback, a collaborative notepad, reusable Lenses, and RAG chat whose answers can cite the note or the exact moment.

**How is Reline’s transcription different from Read AI’s?**

Both transcribe multiple languages. Reline covers 60+ with auto-detection, then turns the transcript into a co-edited team note with a play button on every line, not an analytics report. Capture is local on your computer; transcription and AI run securely in the cloud (Reline doesn't claim on-device AI).

**How much does Reline cost compared to Read AI?**

Reline is free for solo note-takers (1 hour per note, 10 hours of transcription / month, full transcripts, AI, and Lenses). Professional is $15/user/month ($12 billed annually); Enterprise — with SSO, audit log, DPA, and SLA — is $32/user/month ($26 billed annually). Read AI has a free plan capped by meetings, a Pro tier around $15–19.75/user/month, and Enterprise tiers — SSO (SAML/SCIM) lives on Enterprise+ from $29.75/user/month annually (5+ seats, via sales).

**Reline vs Read AI: which is better?**

Reline is better if you want notes without a bot on the participant list: local capture, the kept audio for playback, and a real collaborative notepad, free to start. Read AI is better if you want hands-free recording of every scheduled call plus engagement and sentiment analytics, with SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA options.

### Sources

- [Read AI plans and pricing](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing)
- [Read AI privacy and opt-out overview](https://www.read.ai/privacy)
- [Read AI privacy policy](https://www.read.ai/privacy-policy)

Full page: https://www.reline.so/vs/read-ai

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