Although Recall.ai and the Nylas Notetaker API may appear similar on the surface, a closer look makes it clear that Recall.ai delivers significantly more configurability and support for both enterprises and startups.

The first major difference is platform coverage. Nylas Notetaker supports Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom. Recall.ai’s Meeting Bot API supports Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, Webex, Slack Huddles, GoTo Meeting, and more.

Meeting  capabilities also differ.

Nylas provides a meeting bot API, while Recall.ai provides a Meeting Bot API, a Desktop Recording SDK, and a forthcoming Mobile Recording SDK. This enables developers to embed recording functionality directly into desktop applications, expanding recording options beyond virtual meetings into hybrid and in person scenarios.

Focusing specifically on meeting bots where Recall.ai and Nylas overlap, Recall.ai provides real time data. Nylas Notetaker API provides data only after the call. Recall.ai allows you to transcribe with any model you prefer and also offers a built in option, Recall.ai Transcription. Recall.ai supports custom dictionaries that inform your chosen model of specific spellings, company terminology, and industry vocabulary in order to improve accuracy. Nylas offers a single fixed transcription option that does not support dictionaries.

Recall. ai provides perfect diarization. 



This means that even when participants talk over one another, speaker attribution remains accurate. Nylas cannot match this because it only provides mixed audio, while Recall.ai can provide mixed audio or separate streams per speaker. Additionally, Nylas only provides speaker names for Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, while Recall.ai provides speaker names for all of the supported platforms.

If you want an out-of-the-box summary or a list of action items, Nylas offers these features using an unspecified and non-configurable model with the option to pass a text prompt. Recall.ai gives you all raw data required to pass to any model you choose so that you can generate summaries, action items, speaker talk time reports, and more. Recall.ai also supports fully interactive agents.

Nylas Notetaker API does not allow meeting bots to output anything back into the live meeting, aside from a preset consent message that appears two to three minutes into the call. It also does not allow changing the visual representation of the notetaker. Recall.ai bots can output to the meeting and collect significantly more data, including transcripts, recordings, call metadata, participant events, chat, and breakout room information. Nylas provides transcripts, mixed audio and video, and limited metadata without chat, participant events, or breakout room support.

Because Nylas video is generated via tab capture, pop ups and the full meeting platform interface appear in the final recording. Recall.ai’s video recording output is clean and does not include the meeting platform interface or tab popups, and you can choose between speaker view and gallery view video recordings.

Data retention and security also differ. Recall.ai offers configurable data retention options ranging from zero to infinite and is HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR and CCPA compliant. Nylas Notetaker stores data for fourteen days with no configurability.

Calendar integrations, but with important differences.

Both platforms offer calendar integrations, but with important differences. Recall.ai’s Calendar Integration API is free and read only. Nylas offers a paid calendar integration with read and write capabilities. Recall.ai has a 99.9% SLA and Recall.ai’s meeting recording APIs are used by thousands of startups and enterprises, including Hubspot, Monday.com, Instacart, Clickup, Rippling, and more.

There are many additional differences related to stability, configurability, edge case handling, and join time behavior where Recall.ai is the clear leader.

If you want a Meeting Bot API or Desktop Recording SDK that reliably records and transcribes meetings, supports custom media input, provides real time data for building AI agents, includes detailed logging, and offers fast and effective support, Recall.ai is the clear choice.