How to Transcribe Meetings on Mac: Zoom, Teams, and In Person

To transcribe a meeting on a Mac, record it first, then turn the recording into text. A meeting bot such as Otter does both inside the call. The other route is to record the meeting yourself and import the audio into Avaan, which gives you the transcript without a bot in the participant list. For hard audio or for knowing who said what, use Avaan's Pro cloud transcription and speaker labels.

This guide covers the recording step for Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, and in-person meetings, then compares the transcription routes.

Before you record

Confirm that recording is allowed. Company policy, school policy, client agreements, and local consent laws all matter, and they differ.

• Tell participants you are recording and why.
• Follow the meeting platform's rules.
• Skip recording for sensitive conversations unless it is approved.
• Decide where the recording and transcript will be stored.

Step 1: Get a recording

Avaan transcribes audio you give it. Record with the tool that fits the meeting.

• Zoom, Teams, Google Meet: use the platform's own recording feature if your account and your organization allow it, then download the file after the meeting. Availability depends on plan and admin settings, so check yours before the call.
• In person: Voice Memos on a Mac or iPhone works well. Put the device near the middle of the table.
• iPhone, no export: record a Note in Avaan on iPhone. It syncs to your account with its transcript.

Avaan's file import accepts audio files. If your recording is a video file, extract the audio track first.

Step 2: Transcribe the file in Avaan

Pro costs $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year and includes 10 hours of cloud transcription each month. A new account gets a 7-day Pro trial, no card, with up to 140 minutes of cloud transcription. Details on the pricing page.

Option: a meeting bot

Tools such as Otter join the call, record, and produce notes automatically. They are a good fit when a team wants a shared record without anyone handling files, and when everyone is comfortable with a bot in the call.

Check current limits on the vendor's page. As of October 2026, Otter's pricing page lists 300 transcription minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation on its free plan, and 1,200 minutes a month with up to 90 minutes per meeting on its paid Pro plan at $16.99 a user per month billed monthly. Those are Otter's numbers, and they can change.

A bot is visible to participants and your meeting audio goes to that provider. For a side-by-side look, read Avaan vs Otter.

Option: Voice Memos for in-person meetings

Apple's Voice Memos app can show a transcription of a recording on Mac: open the recording and click the Transcription button. Apple says it is not available in all countries or regions. It is the simplest path for a short in-person meeting. It is not a fit for a Zoom call you are recording through another tool.

Comparison

Live dictation is a different job

Dictation turns your own speech into text as you talk. It does not capture a meeting. See real-time dictation vs file transcription for when to use each.

Tips for better meeting transcripts

• Use the best microphone available and keep it near the speakers.
• Ask people to avoid talking over each other.
• Use headphones on remote calls to reduce echo.
• Repeat names, numbers, and decisions out loud once.
• Keep the original recording until the transcript is checked.

A transcript is a working draft. Review it before you send it to a team or a client.