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Raven vs Circleback
A free, open-source Circleback alternative with live in-call help and local storage - no paywall from day one, no per-seat cloud subscription.
Circleback is a polished, automation-heavy notetaker - it turns meetings into CRM updates, tasks, and Slack posts automatically. The catch is there’s no free tier at all (a 7-day trial, then you pay from day one), it’s per-seat cloud, and it’s after-the-call. Raven is free and open source, keeps meetings local, and helps you live during the call.
| Raven | Circleback | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes - full app | No - 7-day trial, then paid |
| Live in-call assist | Yes | No - after the call |
| Where your meetings live | Local SQLite | Circleback's cloud |
| Price | Free, open source (your own keys) | Individual $20.83/user/mo (annual), $25 monthly; Team $25/user/mo (annual) |
| Capture | Local, bot-free (Mac + Windows) | Visible bot (plus botless mode) |
| Open source | Yes | No |
Circleback has no permanent free plan - after a 7-day trial you’re a paid seat: Individual $20.83/user/mo (annual; $25 monthly), Team $25/user/mo (annual; $30 monthly). So every active user costs from the first week.
Raven is free and open source; you pay your own AI/transcription usage (a few dollars a month for typical use), with no trial clock and no seat fee.
Circleback runs in its cloud (and joins calls with a visible bot by default) to power its automations. Raven keeps transcripts and notes in a local SQLite database on your machine, with no bot in the meeting; audio only goes to the providers you chose with your own keys. Open source makes the data path auditable.
What Circleback does better (honestly)
Post-call automations - auto-update CRM, create tasks, post to Slack; plus email context and MCP.
Very accurate transcription with speaker names, and a clean product.
If your job is “meetings should automatically update my other tools,” Circleback’s automation engine is genuinely good - that’s what you’re paying for.
You don’t want to pay from day one with no free tier.
You want meetings local and no bot in the call.
You want live help during the call, not just automations after.
You want a free, open-source, auditable tool with no per-seat fee.
Export anything you want to keep from Circleback.
Download Raven, add your keys, enable meeting auto-start.
Run Raven through your trial window; keep Raven instead of converting to a paid seat. (CRM push is on Raven’s roadmap; today, copy the follow-up email/action items out.)