Backchannel
Backchannel is a self-hosted, open-source AI meeting assistant for capturing and understanding conversations without joining calls as a bot.
What Backchannel is
Backchannel is a self-hosted, open-source AI meeting assistant for capturing and understanding conversations without joining calls as a bot. It records microphone audio and can include tab or system audio, then produces live transcripts attributed to speakers. It supports Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and in-person meetings. During a call, five live agents can surface questions, objections, opportunities, and action items. Users can also ask questions about the live transcript and session context while recording continues, and save the answers with the call. Afterward, briefing lenses and an arbiter prepare a summary. Model options include Google Gemini, OpenAI, local ONNX Whisper and Parakeet, and compatible servers such as Ollama and LM Studio. Recordings and transcripts stay on the user's server, according to the maker. The PII Shield can tokenize personal and company data, but is off by default and requires local transcription. Backchannel is free, with no hosted tier, seat pricing, or feature paywall; hardware and configured Gemini or OpenAI API usage may cost extra.
Good
- Live transcripts attribute lines to speakers.
- Five agents surface call insights in real time.
- Ask transcript questions without stopping recording.
- Exports include Excel workbook, HTML, or text.
- Free, open-source, and self-hosted.
Watch out
- No hosted tier is available.
- PII Shield is off by default.
- Shield mode disables cloud live captions.
- Hardware and some API usage may cost extra.
Who it suits
Backchannel suits remote account teams handling high-stakes sales, discovery, or service-delivery calls. It may also fit users who want self-hosted meeting records and live transcript-based assistance.
Verdict
Backchannel combines local meeting capture with live transcript assistance and post-call summaries. It is a fit for users prepared to self-host and configure their own model options.
Plans and prices
From Backchannel's own pricing page, checked 10 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Backchannel (MIT licensed, self-hosted) | Free | Self-hosted on your hardware · optional Gemini or OpenAI API usage may cost extra · No hosted tier, seat pricing, or feature paywall. |
The facts
Each one read from Backchannel's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Audience
- The product is described as built for high-stakes sales, discovery, and service-delivery calls, especially for remote account teams.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Data handling
- The maker says recordings and transcripts stay on the user's server, uploaded documents are read locally, and the shield's real values are held in an encrypted vault.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Exports
- Users can export transcripts, insights, and summaries as Excel workbook, HTML, or text; with the shield enabled, exports contain tokens unless personal data is explicitly included.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Live agents
- Five live agents surface questions, objections, opportunities, and action items during calls; two briefing lenses and an arbiter prepare a post-call summary.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Live transcription
- It captures microphone and optional tab or system audio, and attributes transcript lines to speakers.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Meeting capture
- desktopchecked 20 Sep 2026
- Meeting compatibility
- It works with online meetings including Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, as well as in-person meetings, by capturing audio locally without a meeting bot or platform-specific integration.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Mid-call Ask
- Users can ask questions against the live transcript and related session context while recording continues, and save the answers with the call.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Model providers
- The product supports Google Gemini, OpenAI, local ONNX Whisper and Parakeet, and user-provided OpenAI-compatible servers such as Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, and LiteLLM.checked 10 Oct 2026
- PII Shield
- When enabled, the PII Shield tokenizes personal and company data before storage and model prompts; detection runs on-device and the database stores tokens.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Backchannel is a self-hosted, open-source AI meeting assistant that provides live speaker-attributed transcripts and real-time meeting insights without joining as a bot.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Self-hosting
- Docker Compose is the self-hosting option for the full stack, and CPU-only operation is the default; GPU diarization is optional.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Shield limits
- The PII Shield is off by default and requires local transcription because audio cannot be tokenized; cloud live captions are disabled while it is on.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Summaries and action items
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Transcription
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
Money
- Costs
- The maker states there is no hosted tier, seat pricing, or feature paywall, while users may incur costs for their own hardware and configured Gemini or OpenAI API usage.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
Where it runs
- Desktop platforms
- Desktop builds are listed for Windows x64, macOS Apple Silicon, and Linux x64; the desktop app bundles the app, backend, and per-user database.checked 10 Oct 2026
- Meeting platforms
- Zoom,Google Meet,Microsoft Teams,in-person meetingschecked 20 Sep 2026
Alternatives to Backchannel
- 1
Fellow
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI9.1From $7 a month - 2
Avoma
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI9.1From $19 a month - 3
tl;dv
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI9.1From $18 a month - 4
Notta
Free planAndroidiOSWebExtension9.0From $8.17 a month - 5
Laxis
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI9.0From $9.99 a month - 6
Fathom
Free planiOSWebAPIExtension9.0From $15 a month