Wave vs Bluedot

Bluedot earned its following by recording meetings without sending a bot into the call. Instead of a visible participant, it captures the meeting from a Chrome extension or desktop app, then returns a transcript and AI notes. It has since added iPhone, Android, and Apple Watch apps for in-person interviews and meetings.

Wave agrees with the premise (recording shouldn’t require a bot announcing itself) and builds on it. Both are bot-free, and both reach your phone and wrist, so the real differences are phone calls, video, and price.

How they capture audio

Bluedot records Google Meet and other browser calls through a Chrome extension, and Zoom, Teams and Slack through Mac and Windows apps, with no bot in the call. Its mobile and Apple Watch apps record in person. Bluedot’s site lists phone calls among what it captures but does not describe a call-recording method, so we could not confirm one.

Wave is bot-free when you want it to be, and records across every surface where a conversation can happen:

• Video calls, no bot: the Wave desktop app captures mic and system audio on Mac and Windows so nothing joins the call. A calendar bot is there if you prefer one.
• Phone calls: on every plan, the Phone Bridge records incoming and outgoing calls on your real number, both sides transcribed (on Free, calls count toward the 30 minutes a month; Wave Pro is unlimited).
• In person, and on your wrist: iPhone, Android, and native Apple Watch and Wear OS apps; press record and capture the room without a laptop open.
• Files: audio and video imports run through the same transcribe-and-summarize pipeline.

After the recording

Both tools produce transcripts and AI notes. Wave’s layer on top: speaker-labeled transcripts feed AI summaries and action items automatically, every recording lands in one searchable archive across your devices, and a chat feature answers questions about any past conversation with answers drawn from the transcript. Wave keeps audio from the desktop and mobile apps and video (MP4) when its meeting bot joins a call; Bluedot can keep video without a bot.

Pricing

Bluedot’s free plan is 5 meetings for the lifetime of the account. Basic is $14 to $18 a user per month depending on billing (audio only, up to an hour per recording), and Pro is $20 to $25. Wave is free for 30 minutes every month; Pro is $80 a year on the web or $15 a month in the app stores, with unlimited recording.

Where each tool wins

Pick Bluedot if: your conversations are mostly video meetings and you want the video kept, with no bot, from a browser extension or desktop app.

Pick Wave if: your conversations also happen on the phone, or on a Wear OS watch, and you want one bot-free tool that captures all of it, then turns it into summaries, action items, and a searchable, askable archive. Start free, or browse the full list of Bluedot alternatives.