Best AI memory apps for Mac in 2026: what each one remembers

“AI memory” covers two different products. One watches your work and keeps it. The other waits for you to put something in. Which one you want decides the rest, so this list is grouped that way.

Quick comparison

Capture it for me

Everpaper

Everpaper is our product. It keeps a searchable record of your workdays and meetings on your Mac. Screen history takes a screenshot of each display every 2 minutes by default and reads it on the device. Meetings are recorded and transcribed on the Mac with speaker labels and no bot. Memory, also called Second Brain, links the people, files, sites and topics it sees to the moment each came from, and Ask answers with the source.

Limits: macOS 15 or later on Apple silicon only, private beta, no public price. AI features need a provider you set up. Cloud providers stay off until you turn on a separate switch.

Screenpipe

Screenpipe records screen, audio and meetings and works on macOS (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows 10 and 11, and Linux. Its README says capture history stays on your device by default, with cloud AI, sync and integrations on separate paths. Free covers one device. Basic is $21 a month or $250 a year and adds searchable history across apps, meetings and audio plus context for AI tools over MCP. Business is $42 per seat a month. The repository names the Screenpipe Commercial License and describes it as source-available.

It suits developers and anyone on Windows or Linux.

Meetings only

Granola

Granola is a meeting notepad with no bot: it captures device audio, and all plans list audio deleted after transcription. Its security page names transcription providers such as Deepgram and AI providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic, and says that on non-Enterprise plans it trains on anonymized data unless you opt out in Settings. Basic is free with 30 days of history, Business is $14 per user a month and Enterprise is $35. It has desktop, iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps.

Remember what I write

Mem

Mem keeps notes in the cloud and lets you chat with them. The Free plan has 25 messages and 25 new notes a month. Plus is $9 a month, Pro is $29, and larger tiers run up to $199. Mem says data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with TLS, and that it is not end-to-end encrypted.

Capacities

Capacities stores typed objects with a daily note. Basic is free, Pro is $11.99 a month or $119.88 a year. It runs on web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android with offline use on every plan.

Notion

Notion is a cloud workspace with a free plan and offline mode on every plan. The Business plan includes Notion Agent and AI Meeting Notes, and Free and Plus get a limited trial of Notion AI.

Obsidian

Obsidian is free without limits, keeps notes as local files, and charges $4 a month for Sync billed annually. It has no capture of its own. More in Obsidian alternatives.

What no longer works

Rewind and Limitless stopped capturing in the Mac app on 19 December 2025 after Meta acquired the company. The full story and the replacements are in Limitless and Rewind alternatives.

Microsoft Recall is the same idea for Windows 11. Microsoft’s documentation says it needs a Copilot+ PC, is off by default, and stores snapshots encrypted on the local drive. It does not run on a Mac. See Microsoft Recall for Mac.

How to choose

1. You never write things down: Everpaper on an Apple silicon Mac, or Screenpipe on any platform.
2. Meetings are the whole problem: Granola, or Everpaper if audio must stay on the Mac.
3. You want an AI that chats with notes you wrote: Mem, Capacities or Notion.
4. You want plain files: Obsidian.
5. Data location decides it: see what leaves your Mac.

Apply for the Everpaper private beta.

Frequently asked questions

What is an AI memory app?

An app that keeps a record of your work and lets you ask questions about it later. Some capture automatically from your screen and meetings, others only remember what you write or save into them.

What is the best AI memory app for Mac?

For automatic capture on an Apple silicon Mac, Everpaper (private beta) or Screenpipe. For meetings only, Granola. For notes you write yourself, Capacities, Notion, Mem or Obsidian, depending on whether you want local files or a cloud workspace.

Which AI memory apps work offline and keep data local?

Everpaper keeps capture, transcription and search on the Mac. Screenpipe says capture history stays on your device by default. Obsidian keeps notes as local files and Capacities and Notion support offline use. Mem is cloud-based and says it is not end-to-end encrypted.

Is there a memory app that works like Rewind?

Everpaper and Screenpipe record your screen the way Rewind did. Rewind's Mac app stopped capturing on 19 December 2025 after Meta acquired Limitless.

What is Microsoft Recall and does it work on Mac?

Recall is a Windows 11 feature for Copilot+ PCs that saves snapshots of your screen locally when you turn it on. It does not run on a Mac.

Sources

1. Limitless FAQ and shutdown notice
2. Screenpipe pricing
3. Screenpipe on GitHub
4. Granola pricing
5. Mem pricing
6. Capacities pricing
7. Notion pricing
8. Obsidian pricing
9. Microsoft Learn: Recall
10. Microsoft Support: Recall