CLOUD VS ON-PREMISE
Where are your conversations stored?
LastPass, Okta, Dropbox, Microsoft — all hacked. Cloud solutions store your data on third-party servers. Objective comparison of alternatives.
They also thought they were safe
These companies stored sensitive data in the cloud. All were hacked.
2022
LastPass
25M users exposed
Password vaults stolen
2023
Okta
Enterprise clients compromised
Authentication tokens stolen
2023
Microsoft
Government emails read
Azure signing key stolen
2024
Dropbox Sign
Customer data exposed
Unauthorized system access
Your conversations on the dark web:
Every audio, every transcript, every summary — accessible to anyone.
Each company above had security teams, certifications, audits. It wasn’t enough. Where is YOUR data today?
AI Transcription Comparison Table
Data security, hosting and pricing of leading AI meeting notes solutions.
Recapro.ai
Your confidential conversations stay private and are never used to improve the vendor’s AI models.
Physical server installed in your premises, disconnected from internet. Full control over your data.
Data stored on French servers, outside US Cloud Act jurisdiction.
GDPR compliance and protection against transfers outside EU.
Record your meetings without connection. Automatic sync to server for transcription when back online.
Compliance with General Data Protection Regulation: consent, data subject rights, DPO.
Native iOS and Android apps to record your in-person meetings.
Monthly pricing for deployment on your own servers.
Otter.ai
Your confidential conversations stay private and are never used to improve the vendor’s AI models.
Physical server installed in your premises, disconnected from internet. Full control over your data.
Data stored on French servers, outside US Cloud Act jurisdiction.
GDPR compliance and protection against transfers outside EU.
Record your meetings without connection. Automatic sync to server for transcription when back online.
Compliance with General Data Protection Regulation: consent, data subject rights, DPO.
Native iOS and Android apps to record your in-person meetings.
Monthly pricing for deployment on your own servers.
Fireflies.ai
Your confidential conversations stay private and are never used to improve the vendor’s AI models.
Physical server installed in your premises, disconnected from internet. Full control over your data.
Data stored on French servers, outside US Cloud Act jurisdiction.
GDPR compliance and protection against transfers outside EU.
Record your meetings without connection. Automatic sync to server for transcription when back online.
Compliance with General Data Protection Regulation: consent, data subject rights, DPO.
Native iOS and Android apps to record your in-person meetings.
Monthly pricing for deployment on your own servers.
Tactiq
Your confidential conversations stay private and are never used to improve the vendor’s AI models.
Physical server installed in your premises, disconnected from internet. Full control over your data.
Data stored on French servers, outside US Cloud Act jurisdiction.
GDPR compliance and protection against transfers outside EU.
Record your meetings without connection. Automatic sync to server for transcription when back online.
Compliance with General Data Protection Regulation: consent, data subject rights, DPO.
Native iOS and Android apps to record your in-person meetings.
Monthly pricing for deployment on your own servers.
Dicte.ai
Your confidential conversations stay private and are never used to improve the vendor’s AI models.
Physical server installed in your premises, disconnected from internet. Full control over your data.
Data stored on French servers, outside US Cloud Act jurisdiction.
GDPR compliance and protection against transfers outside EU.
Record your meetings without connection. Automatic sync to server for transcription when back online.
Compliance with General Data Protection Regulation: consent, data subject rights, DPO.
Native iOS and Android apps to record your in-person meetings.
Monthly pricing for deployment on your own servers.
Plaud
Your confidential conversations stay private and are never used to improve the vendor’s AI models.
Physical server installed in your premises, disconnected from internet. Full control over your data.
Data stored on French servers, outside US Cloud Act jurisdiction.
GDPR compliance and protection against transfers outside EU.
Record your meetings without connection. Automatic sync to server for transcription when back online.
Compliance with General Data Protection Regulation: consent, data subject rights, DPO.
Native iOS and Android apps to record your in-person meetings.
Monthly pricing for deployment on your own servers.
Your confidential conversations stay private and are never used to improve the vendor’s AI models.
Physical server installed in your premises, disconnected from internet. Full control over your data.
Data stored on French servers, outside US Cloud Act jurisdiction.
GDPR compliance and protection against transfers outside EU.
Record your meetings without connection. Automatic sync to server for transcription when back online.
Compliance with General Data Protection Regulation: consent, data subject rights, DPO.
Native iOS and Android apps to record your in-person meetings.
Monthly pricing for deployment on your own servers.
Leexi.ai
Your confidential conversations stay private and are never used to improve the vendor’s AI models.
Physical server installed in your premises, disconnected from internet. Full control over your data.
Data stored on French servers, outside US Cloud Act jurisdiction.
GDPR compliance and protection against transfers outside EU.
Record your meetings without connection. Automatic sync to server for transcription when back online.
Compliance with General Data Protection Regulation: consent, data subject rights, DPO.
Native iOS and Android apps to record your in-person meetings.
Monthly pricing for deployment on your own servers.
* Fireflies: Private Cloud only, no true On-Premise. Your data stays on AWS.
** Dicte.ai DicteBOX: minimum 10 users, quote required.
*** Plaud: Devices €149-189 (Note, Note Pro, NotePin). Pro $99/yr or Unlimited $240/yr. Data in USA (AWS Oregon). No On-Premise.
**** Pocket: Physical mic ~$200 + Pro subscription $19.99/mo. Data in USA.
Why On-Premise is the only guarantee
Private Cloud ≠ On-Premise. With Private Cloud, your data remains on the vendor’s servers (AWS, Azure...). If their infrastructure gets hacked, your conversations can leak. It’s a structural risk, not a bug. Only On-Premise — physical server in your premises, disconnected from the internet — guarantees your data never leaves your perimeter.
GREEN IT
Sovereignty AND lean operation: the angle nobody else shows you
The cloud is invisible, so is its consumption. With a Recapro Fortress, your electricity use becomes measurable, attributable, and auditable.
Public cloud
(US SaaS)
- • Massively pooled datacenters
- • Per-user consumption hard to attribute
- • No per-meeting consumption breakdown
- • Data exposed to the CLOUD Act
Sovereign cloud
(SaaS hosted in France)
- • French datacenters, pooled across customers
- • Footprint shared between the provider’s clients
- • Electricity cost not breakable down per customer
- • Data outside the CLOUD Act
Recapro Fortress
(On-Premise on your site)
- • ~130 W max, ~3 kWh/day, ≈ €0.58/day in electricity
- • Consumption physically attributable to your organization
- • Electricity consumption verifiable with a wattmeter, on site
- • Data 100% within your perimeter
Key takeaway: Physically measuring the electricity used by the infrastructure that processes your meetings is something only an On-Premise solution offers. Cloud providers, sovereign or not, surface aggregated estimates at the account level at best, never per meeting.
French regulated EDF base rate (6 kVA) in effect May 2026 (€0.194/kWh incl. tax). Typical consumption in operating mode, varies with the volume of meetings processed.
The 12 detailed head-to-head comparisons cover Otter, Fireflies, Modjo, Noota, Gilbert, tl;dv, Leexi and 5 more, one competitor at a time.
Otter.ai vs Fireflies vs Pocket vs Leexi vs Recapro: pros and cons
Detailed review of each automatic transcription and AI meeting notes software.
Otter.ai
US leader in automatic AI transcription. High-performance voice recognition in English, automatic summaries and speaker detection. Data hosted in USA (Cloud Act applies). Uses transcripts to improve its language models.
Strengths
- • Intuitive interface with real-time note-taking
- • Excellent speech-to-text quality in English
- • Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams integrations
Limitations
- • Data subject to Cloud Act (USA)
- • No offline mode or On-Premise
- • Average French transcription quality
Fireflies.ai
US solution with automated meeting bot. Multilingual transcription (100+ languages), semantic search in transcripts, action item extraction. Claims not to use data for AI training. Private Cloud available in Enterprise (hosted on AWS).
Strengths
- • Bot that automatically joins your video calls
- • Keyword search in history
- • Enterprise Private Cloud on AWS
Limitations
- • US storage by default (Cloud Act)
- • No true air-gapped On-Premise
- • Bot dependency (no manual mode)
Tactiq
Lightweight Chrome extension for live video conference transcription. Automatic note-taking and basic summaries. Simple but limited solution: no mobile app, no API, no long-term storage.
Strengths
- • Generous free version
- • Simple installation (Chrome extension)
- • Real-time transcription without bot
Limitations
- • Chrome/browser only
- • No iOS/Android mobile app
- • Limited AI features vs competitors
Dicte.ai
French AI transcription and meeting notes solution. Hosted in France (certified datacenters), native GDPR compliance. On-Premise option via DicteBOX — physical box for local deployment — reserved for Enterprise offers (10+ users, quote required).
Strengths
- • 100% France hosting
- • Native GDPR compliance
- • On-Premise possible (DicteBOX Enterprise)
Limitations
- • On-Premise reserved for large companies
- • On-Premise price not public (quote required)
Plaud
AI dictaphones (Note, Note Pro, NotePin) sold from €149 to €189, plus a monthly subscription. Transcription runs on OpenAI Whisper v3 (112 languages), summaries on GPT-5.2, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Gemini 3 Pro (user picks). Since CES 2026, a Desktop app records Zoom/Teams/Meet calls without a visible bot. No On-Premise option. Data stored in the USA (AWS Oregon).
Strengths
- • Red Dot, CES and iF Design Award winner
- • 30-50h battery life and VCS sensor that records both sides of a phone call
- • Desktop app captures video calls without a visible bot
- • 3,000+ meeting notes templates
Limitations
- • Device purchase (€149-189) required on top of subscription ($99-240/yr)
- • Data in the USA, subject to Cloud Act
- • No On-Premise, no France hosting
Physical mic (3 microphones, USB-C) that clips onto the back of a smartphone. Founded 2024, YC W26. Press a button, it records, then the app transcribes in 120+ languages and generates summaries and mind maps. No video call bot, no CRM integration. Data goes to the USA. Expect ~$200 for the device and $19.99/mo for Pro.
Strengths
- • One physical button, nothing else to set up
- • Transcription in 120+ languages
- • Automatic mind maps, which few competitors offer
Limitations
- • Data in the USA (Cloud Act)
- • Zero CRM, Slack or calendar integration
- • Cannot capture Zoom/Teams calls
Leexi.ai
Belgian AI transcription and sales coaching solution. Hosted in France (AWS), ISO 27001 certified, GDPR and EU AI Act compliant. Strong CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Sellsy) and VoIP (Aircall, Ringover). Mobile app with offline recording limited to 4 hours. No On-Premise option — cloud only.
Strengths
- • France hosting (AWS) + ISO 27001
- • Extensive CRM and VoIP integrations
- • iOS/Android mobile app with offline mode
Limitations
- • No On-Premise option (cloud only)
- • Offline mode limited to 4 hours
- • Opaque Enterprise pricing (quote required)
AI Transcription Glossary: definitions
On-Premise, Private Cloud, GDPR, offline mode... Understanding the technical terms.
Automatic Transcription
Converting speech to text using voice recognition (speech-to-text). Modern solutions use neural networks for 95% to 99% accuracy depending on language.
AI Meeting Notes
Structured summary automatically generated from transcription: key points, decisions made, assigned tasks, next steps. Uses LLMs (Large Language Models).
On-Premise
Physical server installed in your premises, disconnected from the internet (air-gapped). Your data never leaves your perimeter. Ideal for classified data or professional secrecy.
Private Cloud
Dedicated cloud instance but hosted by a third party (AWS, Azure, GCP). Your data remains on the vendor’s infrastructure — risk in case of breach.
Offline Mode
Record your meetings without internet connection. Audio is automatically synced to the server for transcription when you reconnect.
GDPR / RGPD
European data protection regulation. Imposes strict obligations on transfers outside EU, consent, and data subject rights.
Why choose Recapro?
The only AI transcription and meeting notes solution combining total sovereignty, transparent pricing and professional features.
100% French Hosting
ISO 27001 certified datacenters in Vendee and Paris. No data leaves French territory. No US subcontractor.
On-Premise at fixed price
Physical server in your premises, air-gapped (disconnected from internet). Public pricing: Cloud Team from €19.90/user/month (€14.90 annual) or Fortress from €89/month (5-user tier). 48h deployment. No quote, no surprise.
Offline recording
Record your meetings without internet connection. Automatic sync to server for transcription when you reconnect.
CRM/ERP Integrations
Documented REST API. Salesforce, HubSpot, SAP, Google Drive, SharePoint connectors. Webhooks for your business workflows.
Optimized French transcription
Voice recognition model trained on French and regional accents. 97%+ accuracy on professional conversations.
France-based tech support
Team based in France. Email, phone and video support. Guaranteed SLA for Pro and Enterprise plans.
Recommended Industries
Recapro is particularly suited for regulated sectors with confidentiality requirements: professional secrecy, health data, financial information, sensitive personal data.
Frequently asked questions
01
What is the best French alternative to Otter.ai?
02
Is Otter.ai GDPR compliant?
03
What is the difference between Private Cloud and On-Premise?
04
Do AI transcription solutions use my data to train their models?
05
Which transcription software for lawyers and professional secrecy?
06
How much does an On-Premise AI transcription solution cost?
07
Which transcription solution for Zoom, Teams and Google Meet?
08
Does Leexi.ai offer On-Premise hosting?
09
What is the difference between Leexi.ai and Recapro.ai?
10
Is Pocket (heypocket.com) an alternative to Recapro?
11
What is the difference between Pocket and Plaud?
12
Is Plaud GDPR compliant?
Take back control of your conversations
As long as your data is on third-party servers, you depend on their security. With On-Premise, YOU decide.
Or compare solutions above
Over 150 companies have already chosen the sovereign approach.