Fellow vs Shmeetings
Comparing a privacy-first offline meeting assistant with a team meeting management platform
What is Fellow?
Fellow is a collaborative meeting management platform for Teams. It is primarily focused on preparing for meetings by creating collaborative agendas, taking meeting notes, and tracking action items. Managers utilize Fellow for one-on-one meetings, Team Stand-Up Meetings and Performance Reviews. In addition, Fellow allows users to integrate calendar systems as well as task management systems to provide a seamless flow throughout the meeting process.
Although Fellow has recently integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) features to include Automatic Transcription and Summaries; the primary advantage of Fellow remains its meeting structure. Users create an agenda prior to calls, assign action items during the call, and track follow-up on those action items after the call. Fellow is designed specifically for Teams looking for a way to organize their meetings better.
To utilize Fellow, each participant will be required to have a cloud-based account and will be charged on a per-user basis. All meeting content, including notes and agendas, are stored on Fellow's cloud servers, which allows for collaborative features.
The Core Difference
Fellow and Shmeetings address different problems.
Fellow addresses meeting management issues. It provides Teams with the tools to create agendas, take meeting notes, and track action items. Additionally, the AI transcription feature included in Fellow is a feature within the larger meeting management system. Each participant must have a cloud-based account, and the value of utilizing Fellow is dependent upon the level of Team adoption.
Shmeetings addresses automatic meeting capture issues. It utilizes AI to automatically capture meetings and generate a summary or transcript. Unlike Fellow, there is no requirement for the creation of an agenda, no requirement to assign action items, and no requirement to onboard a Team. Users simply leave Shmeetings on in the background, where it transcribes the meeting and creates a summary of the meeting conversation.
If a Team requires structure and accountability surrounding meetings, Fellow would likely make sense. If a user simply wants to automatically capture what was said in a meeting and does not want to add additional process, Shmeetings could meet the requirements. A second consideration is the privacy aspect: Fellow stores all meeting content in the cloud whereas Shmeetings stores meeting recordings on a user's Mac.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Shmeetings | Fellow |
|---|---|---|
| Data Privacy | 100% Local Processing Never leaves your computer | Cloud-based Data stored on Fellow servers |
| Account Required | No Just install and use | Yes All participants need accounts |
| Primary Focus | Automatic Transcription Set it and forget it | Meeting Management Agendas, notes, follow-ups |
| Team Collaboration | Individual Use Export notes to share | Full Collaboration Shared agendas & action items |
| Custom Prompts | Unlimited Any prompt, any format | Templates Only Pre-defined formats |
| Works Offline | Yes No internet needed | No Requires internet |
| Pricing | $39 once Lifetime license | $7-$12/user/month Per-seat subscription |
Privacy and Your Meeting Data
All meeting content created through Fellow is stored on cloud servers. Agendas, notes, transcripts, and action items are all located on Fellow's infrastructure. While this enables collaboration, it also means that a Team's meeting data exists outside of the Team's control.
For most project-based Team meetings, storing meeting content in the cloud is not typically a problem. However, certain types of conversations—personnel discussions, strategic planning meetings, and sensitive conversations with clients—may benefit from being kept local.
Shmeetings processes all meeting recordings on a user's Mac. The AI models are processed locally, and the recording of the meeting stays on the user's hard drive. There is no server to breach, no data retention policies to worry about, and no third-party entity has access to the user's conversations.
Who Should Use Each Tool
Choose Shmeetings If You:
- Want automatic transcription without team adoption
- Need privacy for sensitive conversations
- Don't want to manage agendas and action items
- Want custom prompts for your specific needs
- Prefer one-time purchase over per-user fees
- Need to capture in-person meetings
Choose Fellow If You:
- Need collaborative meeting management for teams
- Want shared agendas before meetings
- Run regular 1-on-1s and need tracking
- Need action item tracking and assignments
- Want calendar and task tool integrations
- Can get your team to adopt a new tool
Pricing: One-Time vs Subscription
Fellow operates on a per-seat pricing model. The Pro plan is priced at $7/user/month and the Business plan is priced at $12/user/month. For a Team of 5, this equates to a monthly cost of either $35/month (Pro) or $60/month (Business). Additional costs associated with AI features will increase the overall price.
Shmeetings is priced at $39 for a single license purchase. There are no monthly fees, no user fees, and no usage limits. For individuals or organizations that do not require Team collaboration, the decision to choose Shmeetings over Fellow becomes much easier based solely on price.
| Plan | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shmeetings | $39 | $39 | $39 |
| Fellow Pro | $84 | $252 | $420 |
| Fellow Business | $144 | $432 | $720 |
* Fellow pricing is per user per month. Shmeetings is a one-time purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Shmeetings Replace Fellow for My Team?
No. They are used to solve different problems. Shmeetings captures and summarizes meetings automatically. Fellow provides collaborative tools to create agendas, notes and action items for Team meetings. If the primary need is for transcription services, Shmeetings is a simpler solution. If the need is for Team meeting workflows, Fellow provides more structure.
Does Fellow Store My Meeting Recordings?
Yes. Fellow's AI features require the uploaded audio to be processed in their cloud servers. In addition to meeting content, agendas, notes and transcripts are all stored on their infrastructure. Shmeetings processes meeting recordings on a user's Mac.
Can I Use Both Fellow and Shmeetings?
Yes. Teams can currently utilize both Fellow for collaborative Team meetings that require shared notes and action items, and Shmeetings for private meetings where users desire transcription services but wish to avoid storing meeting content in the cloud.
Does Shmeetings Have Action Item Tracking Features?
Yes. Shmeetings uses AI to extract action items from transcripts. However, unlike Fellow, Shmeetings does not allow for the assignment or tracking of action items. Users can customize the prompts to pull out action items in any format desired, and subsequently track action items in their preferred tool.
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