Pricing
Pay once. Use forever.
No subscriptions, no seats-per-month, no AI metering. Bundled on-device AI works without any account, or bring your own OpenAI / Anthropic / Gemini key. Upgrade between tiers any time.
Free
Everyone
$0one-time
A better QuickTime for taking timestamped notes.
- Local video playback & YouTube embeds
- Timestamp-anchored notes
- Library with playlists (manual + bring-your-own-key YouTube import)
- Full-text note search
- Markdown export
Scholar
Students
$9.99one-time
Your lectures become searchable and studiable.
- Everything in Free
- On-device transcription (Whisper or Parakeet) — no cloud
- Frame & region capture with OCR
- Visual slide-timeline detection
- Formula → LaTeX recognition
- Anki export
Most popular
Researcher
Writers, analysts, podcasters, grad students
$39.99one-time
Your library becomes a cross-referenced knowledge graph.
- Everything in Scholar
- 4-layer AI Brief per video
- Chat with any video
- Entity extraction + knowledge graph
- Cross-video synthesis / tension maps
- On-device Local AI by default — no API key required, nothing leaves your Mac
- Optional cloud routing (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini) if you bring your own key
- Obsidian export with wikilinks
Pro
Tutors, coaches & live classes
$79.99one-time
Direct download only
Take notes on live classes and calls, not just recorded video.
- Everything in Researcher
- Session Mode: join Zoom, Teams or Meet by link or meeting ID + passcode
- Watch the meeting inside VidNotes while you take timestamped notes
- Record the call — audio only, or video + audio
- Screenshots of shared slides with readable OCR captions
- Packs that include the recording
- Free Pro updates: yt-dlp downloads and custom AI endpoints are next
Feature comparison
Everything, side by side.
The full feature breakdown across every tier.
| Feature | Free $0 | Scholar $9.99 | Researcher $39.99 | Pro $79.99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playback & Notes | ||||
| Local video playback (AVPlayer) | ||||
| YouTube video playback | ||||
| Timestamp-anchored notes | ||||
| Video library + playlists | ||||
| YouTube playlist import (with your own API key) | ||||
| Basic Markdown export | ||||
| Full-text search (notes) | ||||
| VidNotes Packs — share a video with its notes & captures | ||||
| Transcription & Capture | ||||
| On-device transcription — Whisper or Parakeet | ||||
| YouTube caption import (when public captions exist) | ||||
| Transcript search (FTS5) | ||||
| Frame capture from video | ||||
| Region capture (crop) | ||||
| OCR on captured frames | ||||
| Formula → LaTeX recognition | ||||
| Visual slide-timeline detection | ||||
| Transcript export (Markdown / text) | ||||
| Anki export (.apkg) | ||||
| AI Intelligence | ||||
| 4-layer AI Brief per video | ||||
| Chat with video (Q&A) | ||||
| Chat export | ||||
| Key claims extraction | ||||
| Notable quotes extraction | ||||
| Entity extraction | ||||
| Flashcard generation | ||||
| Draft research note | ||||
| Reading list extraction | ||||
| Cross-video synthesis / tension maps | ||||
| Compiled research documents | ||||
| Knowledge graph (entity network) | ||||
| Entity resolution across videos | ||||
| Multi-provider AI routing | ||||
| Provider fallback on rate limits | ||||
| Spotlight indexing | ||||
| Obsidian export (YAML + wikilinks) | ||||
| Live Sessions (Pro · direct download) | ||||
| Session Mode: join Zoom / Teams / Meet by link or meeting ID | ||||
| Watch the meeting window inside VidNotes | ||||
| Timestamped notes & screenshots during the call | ||||
| Record call audio + your mic, or video + audio | ||||
| Transcribe & brief the recording afterwards | ||||
| Packs that include the recording | ||||
Questions worth addressing up front
Why is Pro only on the direct download?
Recording a live call means capturing other apps' audio and windows, which the Mac App Store doesn't allow. Pro is the home for features like that: it ships in the direct download from vidnotes.org, unlocked with a license key. Upcoming Pro features (yt-dlp downloads, custom AI endpoints) are free updates for Pro owners.
Why not a subscription?
Because we have zero server costs. Transcription runs locally on-device (Whisper or Parakeet), AI briefs run on-device by default (Apple MLX), and cloud AI calls use your own API keys. There's nothing to fund with recurring revenue.
Do I need API keys?
No. VidNotes ships with bundled on-device AI (Apple MLX) that works without any key for briefs, synthesis, and chat. If you'd rather use a cloud provider, OpenAI / Anthropic / Gemini all work with your own key — Gemini's free tier is generous.
Can I upgrade later?
Yes. Pay the difference at any time and the app unlocks the higher tier — no reinstall, no data migration.
Is my data private?
Yes. Everything lives in a local SQLite database on your Mac. No telemetry, no cloud sync, no account required. AI calls (when you enable them) go directly from your Mac to the provider you chose.
What happens if I stop paying?
Nothing. You paid once. The app keeps working. Forever.