embral vs anarlog
anarlog is Hyprnote renamed: MIT-licensed, bot-free, on-device Whisper transcription, local SQLite, offline-capable. Around 9,000 GitHub stars.
Differences are mostly platform. anarlog: macOS only, Windows & Linux marked coming soon. embral: Windows & macOS now, Linux alpha. Dictation shipped in embral, unshipped plumbing in anarlog. Summaries: anarlog points at any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (Ollama, LM Studio) or hosted Pro at $15/month; embral bundles a local model plus metered cloud hours.
anarlog goes further on openness with the entire app MIT on GitHub; embral opens the on-device core, cloud service stays closed.
| embral | anarlog | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux (alpha) | macOS; others listed as coming soon |
| How it records | No bot. Captures mic and app audio on your computer | No bot. Captures mic and system audio |
| Where audio is processed | On your device by default; optional metered cloud | On device (Whisper); your own LLM keys or their cloud |
| Works offline | Yes, after a one-time model download | Yes, with local models |
| Where your data lives | Markdown and SQLite in a folder you choose | Local SQLite; Markdown export |
| Dictation into any app | Yes, one global hotkey with AI cleanup | Not shipped |
| AI assistant access | Built-in read-only MCP server | MCP server over stdio |
| Open source | Open core (embral-core on GitHub) | Yes, MIT |
| Pricing | Local app free; cloud from $7/mo for 10 hours | Free; Pro $15/mo for cloud and sync |
| Account required | No, unless you use the cloud tier | Optional, for cloud features |
Where anarlog fits
Mac users running Ollama who like tinkering are well served, and MIT means fork rights if the project drifts. Windows, Linux & dictation aren't there yet.
Try embral
Choose "More info", then "Run anyway" on the SmartScreen warning
Free, no account required.
Sources
anarlog details last checked 2026-08-02. Out of date? Write to [email protected].