DEV Community

Cover image for Meetily: The Open-Source, Self-Hosted Alternative to Fireflies.ai
Sujith S
Sujith S

Posted on

Meetily: The Open-Source, Self-Hosted Alternative to Fireflies.ai

Introduction

AI-powered meeting assistants have transformed how teams transcribe, summarize, and organize meeting notes. While solutions like Fireflies.ai offer cloud-based services, some teams prefer self-hosted alternatives for greater control, data privacy, and flexibility.

Meetily is an open-source, privacy-first, and self-hosted alternative that allows users to transcribe and summarize meetings locally, ensuring full data ownership. Developed by Zackriya Solutions, Meetily is currently in pre-release and evolving based on community feedback and user needs.

  • 1.1K GitHub Stars
  • 360+ Downloads
  • Growing Open-Source Community

🔗 GitHub: Meetily AI Meeting Assistant

🌐 Website: Meetily Official Site

📌 Latest Release: Check Here

🔗 Discord: Join Our Channel


Why Consider a Self-Hosted Alternative to Fireflies.ai?

Fireflies.ai is a widely used AI meeting assistant for transcribing and summarizing meetings, integrating with platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. However, some users seek alternatives due to:

  • Data Privacy & Compliance – Cloud-based storage may not be ideal for sensitive data.
  • Subscription-Based Pricing – Paid plans start at $10 per seat/month, scaling up to $39 per seat/month for enterprise features.
  • No Self-Hosting Option – Some teams prefer on-premise solutions for better control and customization.
  • Limited AI Model Customization – Fireflies.ai provides built-in AI summarization, but does not allow users to choose their own Large Language Models (LLMs).

Meetily addresses these concerns by providing a free, open-source, and self-hosted solution that runs locally on your hardware.


Meetily vs. Fireflies.ai: A Quick Comparison

Feature Meetily (Self-Hosted & Open-Source) Fireflies.ai (Cloud-Based SaaS)
Data Privacy 100% Local & Open-Source Cloud-Based (Third-Party Storage)
Cost Free (Self-Hosted) / Paid (Hosted Option) Starts at $10/month per user
Customization Fully Customizable AI Models Limited Customization
LLM Summarization Local LLMs (Ollama, Llama 70B) or API Support Fireflies AI Summaries
Platform Support Windows, Mac OS Cloud-Based, No Local Execution
Best For Self-hosting, privacy-conscious users Teams that don’t require full data control

Both Fireflies.ai and Meetily offer great transcription and summarization features, but Meetily is an excellent choice for teams looking for a self-hosted and privacy-focused AI meeting assistant.


Meetily's Key Features

1. Privacy-First & Self-Hosted

Unlike Fireflies.ai, Meetily runs locally on your system, keeping meeting data private.

2. Free & Open-Source

Licensed under MIT, Meetily is completely free for self-hosted users, with no subscription fees.

3. Real-Time Transcription

Uses Whisper.cpp, one of the most advanced speech-to-text AI models, for high-accuracy transcriptions.

4. AI-Powered Meeting Summaries

Supports both:

  • Local LLMs (Ollama, Whisper.cpp)
  • External AI APIs (Claude, Groq, Llama 70B)

5. Works on Windows & Mac OS

Meetily runs locally on desktops without requiring an internet connection.

6. No Auto-Join Meeting Bots

Unlike Fireflies.ai, Meetily does not require bots to join meetings, making it more privacy-friendly.


Pre-Release 0.0.3: Added Windows Support

A new release is available!

What's New?

  • Windows Support: Fixed audio capture issues on Windows
  • Improved Error Handling: Better error handling and logging for audio devices
  • Enhanced Device Detection: More robust audio device detection across platforms
  • Windows Installers: Added both .exe and .msi installers
  • Transcription quality improved
  • Bug fixes and UI improvements

About Zackriya Solutions

Meetily is developed by Zackriya Solutions, a technology company specializing in AI-powered solutions, open-source development, and privacy-first applications.

The company focuses on building AI-driven productivity tools, automation solutions, and MVP development services for startups and enterprises.

Learn more at Zackriya Solutions.


How to Install Meetily (Pre-Release Guide)

Frontend Installation

Windows Installation

  1. Download the latest version from GitHub Releases.
  2. Windows may warn about running an untrusted app. Click More info → Run anyway.
  3. To bypass this warning:
    • Right-click on the installer (.exe)
    • Select Properties
    • Check Unblock at the bottom of Properties

Option 1: Using the Setup Executable (.exe) (Recommended)

  • Download meeting-minutes-frontend_0.1.0_x64-setup.exe and install.

Option 2: Using the MSI Installer (.msi)

  • Download meeting-minutes-frontend_0.1.0_x64_en-US.msi and install.

macOS Installation

  • Download dmg_darwin_arch64.zip, extract it, and open meeting-minutes-frontend_0.1.0_aarch64.dmg.
  • Drag meeting-minutes-frontend.app to Applications.
  • Run in Terminal:
xattr -c /Applications/meeting-minutes-frontend.app
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

How to Contribute to Meetily

  1. Fork the Repository
  2. Create a New Branch (git checkout -b feature-name)
  3. Make Your Changes
  4. Commit & Push Your Changes
  5. Create a Pull Request to the devcontest branch

Introducing Subscription – Hosted Backend Option

For those who don’t want to self-host, Meetily will offer a hosted backend option to allow users to run the service 24/7 without managing infrastructure.

Why Subscribe?

  • No need for self-hosting – We handle everything for you.
  • Scalability – Run the service continuously without infrastructure management.

Sign up for the subscription waitlist


Conclusion: Meetily is a Great Self-Hosted Alternative to Fireflies.ai

Why switch to Meetily?

  • 100% Open-Source & Free – No SaaS lock-in.
  • Self-Hosted or Hosted Option – Choose how you want to run it.
  • AI-Powered Transcription & Summaries – High-accuracy meeting notes.
  • Privacy-First & Local Execution – Full control over your data.

Visit Meetily's Website | Try Meetily on GitHub

Top comments (0)