The free Cluely alternative.
Live AI answers during your calls, no bot, your own documents — and hidden from screen sharing for $0. Cluely charges $149.99/month for that.
Download free for MacStart free Pro trial
Free forever · no credit card · macOS 14.4+
Why look for a Cluely alternative?
Hiding costs $149.99 a month
Cluely’s best-known feature — staying invisible on screen share — isn’t in its $19.99 Pro plan. It’s a separate tier at $149.99/month ($44.99/month billed yearly).
The free plan is a trial
Cluely’s free Starter caps AI responses and meeting notes and allows 3 uploaded files. Fine for a test, not for daily calls.
Your calls live in someone’s cloud
Cluely is a cloud service, and a widely reported 2025 incident exposed data of 83,000+ users. Many teams would rather keep transcripts and files on their own computer.
Generic answers
A general assistant doesn’t know your price list, your candidates or your listings. Real calls need answers from your own documents and your own vocabulary.
Realtimer Free vs Cluely
The differences that matter when you’re looking for a free option.
| Realtimer | Cluely | |
|---|---|---|
| Price to stay hidden from screen sharing | $0 — included in Free | $149.99/month (Pro + Undetectability) |
| Free plan | Unlimited sessions with your own free API keys | Limited AI responses and meeting notes |
| Your files on the free plan | 1 knowledge base, unlimited files | 3 files |
| Bot joins the call | No | No |
| Where your data lives (free plan) | On your Mac — never through our servers | Cluely’s cloud |
| Custom vocabulary for names and jargon | ✓ 20 words free, 60 on Pro | — |
| Call briefs | Sales, Interview, Real estate + your own | System prompt (Customize) |
| Meeting notes | Basic notes free; templates and follow-up e-mail on Pro | AI meeting notes |
| Read your screen | Pro: up to 5 screenshots at once | ✓ |
| App | Native Mac app, 1.5 MB | Desktop app |
| Platforms | macOS 14.4+ (Apple Silicon and Intel) · Windows expected 1 November 2026 | macOS and Windows |
| Paid plan | Pro $29/month — hiding, AI and transcription included | Pro $19.99/month (no hiding) · $149.99/month with it |
Cluely prices and limits from public sources, checked October 2026 — see sources below.
What staying hidden on screen share costs
One person, 12 months, list prices as of October 2026.
| Plan | Per year | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Realtimer Free | $0 | Hidden from screen share, unlimited sessions with your own free keys |
| Realtimer Pro | $348 | $29/month — hiding, AI and transcription included (no keys), 5 screenshots |
| Cluely Pro | $239.88 | $19.99/month — not hidden from screen share |
| Cluely Pro + Undetectability | $539.88 – $1,799.88 | $44.99/month billed yearly, or $149.99/month |
What you get for $0
Live transcript of both sides of the call — or only the other side
AI answers from Gemini, OpenRouter, Groq, OpenAI or Claude — with your own keys
Up to 10 keys per service with instant switching when one hits its limit
A knowledge base with unlimited files: PDF, docs and images
Call briefs for sales, interviews and real estate, plus one of your own
Custom vocabulary (20 words) and “wrong → right” corrections
Basic meeting notes after every call — when you turn them on
Hidden from screen sharing, recordings and screenshots — and no bot
A 1.5 MB Mac app — not a 900 MB one
Many AI call assistants are built with Electron, so every app carries a full copy of the Chrome browser. Realtimer is written in Swift for macOS.
| Realtimer | Typical Electron-based assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| Download size | 1.5 MB | ~900 MB — each app ships its own copy of the Chrome browser |
| Built with | Swift and the Mac’s own frameworks | Electron: Chromium + Node.js inside the app |
| Mac permissions | Microphone and “System Audio Recording Only” | Often Screen Recording and Accessibility as well |
| Shows up as | “Realtimer” — your IT team can see and approve it | Some disguise themselves as system processes |
| Runs on | Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.4+ | Varies |
Light on your Mac during calls
Zoom, your browser and screen sharing already use a lot of memory and battery. A native app leaves them the room — no second browser running in the background.
Starts instantly
Nothing to unpack or warm up. Open the app, press Start, and the transcript is live.
Fewer permissions, less risk
Realtimer only needs your microphone and the Mac’s system audio. It never asks to record your screen, control your computer or use your camera.
Honest about what it is
No fake process names, no hiding from Activity Monitor. The window stays off screen shares — the app itself stays transparent to you and your IT team.
Ready for sales, interviews and real estate
Pick a call brief, add your documents — answers sound like you, not like a chatbot.
Sales calls
Sales call brief
Add your price list, battlecards and case studies. When a prospect raises an objection or asks about pricing, press KB and get an answer from your own material — with the source file.
Interviews (for interviewers)
Interview brief
Add the job description and your hiring criteria. Get sharp follow-up questions, check answers against the role and answer the candidate’s questions about the company.
Real estate calls
Real estate call brief
Add listings, price sheets and building details. Answer questions about any property on the spot and move the call toward a viewing.
From sign-up to your first call
1. Sign up free
Create your free account — no credit card. The download and setup guide are inside.
2. Install the Mac app
Allow the microphone and “System Audio Recording Only” — no screen-recording permission needed.
3. Add two free keys
One for live transcription, one for AI answers. The step-by-step guide is in your account.
4. Pick a brief, add your files
Choose Sales, Interview or Real estate (or write your own) and drop in your documents.
5. Start your call
Press Start. Press Fast (⌃⌘↵) for an instant answer, AI (⌥⌘↵) for a smarter one or KB (⌘⇧↵) for one from your files. Press ⌃⌘C to put the window under your camera.
you’re on a Mac and want a free assistant that stays off your screen shares, keeps your data on your computer and answers from your own documents.
you need Windows today, or want the assistant to read your screen on a low-cost plan and don’t need to hide it from screen shares.
More detail: Realtimer vs Cluely · Cluely vs Gong · Pricing
Questions
Why look for a Cluely alternative?
The most common reasons: hiding from screen sharing costs $149.99/month on Cluely, the free plan is limited to a few responses and 3 files, and data is stored in Cluely’s cloud. Realtimer Free includes hiding, unlimited sessions and keeps your data on your Mac.
Is there a free alternative to Cluely?
Yes. Realtimer Free is a Mac app that gives live AI answers during calls with no bot joining, unlimited sessions with your own free API keys, a knowledge base with unlimited files — and it stays hidden from screen sharing. It’s free forever; Pro adds more features for $29/month.
Is Realtimer hidden from screen sharing like Cluely?
Yes — on every plan, including Free. The Realtimer window is excluded from screen sharing, recordings and screenshots. Cluely includes this only in its Pro + Undetectability tier ($149.99/month as of October 2026). Use it responsibly: where the law requires it, let participants know that AI assists you.
What’s the catch with the free plan?
You use your own free API keys for transcription and AI (we show you how to get them in a few minutes), and some features are Pro: reading your screen, AI included without keys, unlimited knowledge bases, advanced notes and follow-up e-mails. You can try Pro free for 1 hour.
Does it work with Zoom, Google Meet and Teams?
Yes — and with any other call app on your Mac, including WhatsApp and Telegram, because Realtimer listens to your Mac’s audio instead of joining the meeting.
Why does the app size matter?
Realtimer is a 1.5 MB native Mac app. Many AI assistants are Electron apps of around 900 MB that run a full browser in the background — during a call, next to Zoom and your own browser, that means more memory, more battery and more fan noise. Native also means fewer permissions: Realtimer needs only your microphone and system audio.
Does Realtimer store my calls?
By default, nothing is saved — not on our servers and not on your Mac. If you want, turn on “Save transcripts” and “Write notes after Stop” in Settings: they’re saved as plain files in Documents/Realtimer on your Mac. Audio goes straight from your Mac to the transcription service you choose.
What happens if a free key runs out mid-call?
Add up to 10 keys per service. When one hits its limit, Realtimer instantly switches to the next — no pause. You can also add a second AI service as a fallback.
Which languages does it understand?
English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian, plus a multilingual mode for calls that switch languages.
Can I bring my files over from Cluely?
Yes. Export or download the documents you uploaded to Cluely and add them to your Realtimer knowledge base — PDF, Word, text and images are supported, with no file limit on Free.
Is it legal to use an AI assistant on calls?
Rules differ by country and state — some require everyone on the call to agree to recording or transcription. Realtimer doesn’t record the meeting or join it, but you’re responsible for following your local rules; when in doubt, tell participants you use an AI assistant.
Is there a Windows version?
The Windows version is expected on 1 November 2026. Today Realtimer runs on macOS 14.4 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. If you need Windows right now, Cluely supports it.
Sources: Cluely pricing · Cluely docs · Cluely pricing snapshot (Sep 2026) · Report on the 2025 Cluely data incident
Try it on your next call.
Free forever. Pro features free for 1 hour.