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Productivity · head to head

Circleback vs Raycast

Circleback logo

Circleback

Productivity

AI meeting notes that join calls from your calendar and push action items into other tools

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit CirclebackFull review
Raycast logo

Raycast

Productivity

Blazingly fast, totally extendable launcher

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit RaycastFull review

The short version

  • Raycast is a blazingly fast, totally extendable launcher for macOS.
  • Free plans on both; paid from $20.83/mo and $10/mo.
  • Only Circleback lists calendar-driven recording; only Raycast lists application launcher.
  • Where Raycast falls short: the free plan includes 50 Raycast AI messages, 5 notes and 3 months of clipboard history.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Circleback and Raycast actually diverge.

Attributes where Circleback and Raycast differ
AttributeCirclebackRaycast
PlatformsWebmacOS

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Freemium), free tier (Yes), category (Productivity).

Not yet recorded: founded for Circleback.

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Circleback

  • Calendar-driven recording
  • Speaker-labelled transcripts
  • Action item extraction
  • Search across meetings
  • In-person meetings
  • Integrations
  • Programmatic access
  • Unlimited meetings on free

Only in Raycast

  • Application launcher
  • File search
  • Clipboard history
  • Snippets
  • Window management
  • Calculator
  • System commands
  • Extension ecosystem

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Circleback

  • Sales or recruiting calls where the follow-up has to land in the CRM or applicant system without anybody retyping it.not Raycast
  • Consultancies that need an accurate record of what a client asked for and when they asked for it.not Raycast
  • Distributed teams where people who missed a call need the substance rather than an hour of recording to sit through.not Raycast
  • Managers and founders running many short calls where the action items are the only output that matters.not Raycast

Raycast

  • App launchingnot Circleback
  • Quick calculationsnot Circleback
  • File navigationnot Circleback
  • Snippet expansionnot Circleback
  • Workflow automationnot Circleback

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Circleback

  • The free plan keeps 30 days of history, so it serves immediate follow-up and fails as a record, and the tier that made it look free has to be paid for the first time anyone needs a conversation from last quarter
  • Custom retention and admin roles are on the Business tier and single sign-on and HIPAA on Enterprise, which is the familiar pattern of an organisation discovering the real price only after individuals have adopted the tool and filled it with client conversations
  • Pricing is per user and a note taker spreads to everyone who attends meetings rather than staying with one team, so the seat count tracks headcount, and free viewer accounts only arrive at the Business tier
  • Transcription errors persist on accents, crosstalk and domain jargon, and because the output becomes the official record people stop checking it against what was actually said, so a mistranscribed commitment can outlive everyone's memory of the meeting
  • Recording consent rules differ by jurisdiction and some require every participant's agreement, and the obligation rests with you rather than the vendor, so a bot joining calls automatically from a calendar can create a compliance problem nobody consciously chose

Raycast

  • The free plan includes 50 Raycast AI messages, 5 notes and 3 months of clipboard history
  • Advanced AI models are sold only as an add-on to the paid Pro plan at a further $8 per month on top of the $10 subscription
  • Free team workspaces cap sharing at 30 snippets, 30 quicklinks and 5 commands across all extensions
  • Teams Pro is $15 per user per month, billed per seat rather than per workspace

Pricing, plan by plan

Circleback

Free
  • Individual$20.83/mo
    • AI notes
    • Auto-assigned action items
    • Transcription
  • Team$25/mo
    • All Individual features
    • Shared meetings
    • Free viewer seats
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • All Team features
    • Invoice/PO billing
    • Priority support

Raycast

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Core features: Clipboard History, Quicklinks, Calculator, Snippets, Window Management
    • Thousands of community extensions
    • 3-month clipboard history
  • Pro$10/mo
    • Raycast AI with advanced models
    • Unlimited clipboard history
    • Unlimited notes
  • Pro Annual$8/mo
    • Same as Pro plan
    • Annual billing saves 20% compared to monthly
  • Teams FreeFree
    • No cost per user
    • Shared extensions, snippets, and quicklinks

Which should you pick?

Choose Circleback if

  • You need calendar-driven recording.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want speaker-labelled transcripts.
Circleback review

Choose Raycast if

  • You need application launcher.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS.
  • You also want file search.
Raycast review

Questions people ask

Is Circleback or Raycast better?
Neither clearly leads. Circleback starts at Free and Raycast at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Circleback or Raycast?
Circleback starts at Free and Raycast at Free.
Does Circleback or Raycast run on more platforms?
Circleback runs on Web. Raycast runs on macOS.
Can I use Circleback for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Circleback best used for?
Circleback is most often used for sales or recruiting calls where the follow-up has to land in the crm or applicant system without anybody retyping it., consultancies that need an accurate record of what a client asked for and when they asked for it., distributed teams where people who missed a call need the substance rather than an hour of recording to sit through., managers and founders running many short calls where the action items are the only output that matters.. Of those, sales or recruiting calls where the follow-up has to land in the crm or applicant system without anybody retyping it. and consultancies that need an accurate record of what a client asked for and when they asked for it. are not what Raycast is typically brought in for.
What can Circleback do that Raycast cannot?
Circleback covers Calendar-driven recording, Speaker-labelled transcripts, Action item extraction, Search across meetings. Raycast covers Application launcher, File search, Clipboard history, Snippets.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Circleback: What does the free plan include?

Unlimited meetings, notes and action items, speaker-labelled transcripts, in-person recording, and Slack and Linear integrations, with history limited to 30 days. Longer history and the wider integrations are the paid line.

Raycast: Does Raycast offer a free plan?

Yes. Raycast has a free plan with core features including clipboard history, quicklinks, calculator, snippets, window management, and access to thousands of community extensions.

Source
Circleback: How accurate are the notes?

Good on clear audio and worse with heavy accents, crosstalk and specialist jargon. Because the notes become the record, spot-check anything consequential rather than assuming somebody else will.

Raycast: How much does Raycast Pro cost?

Raycast Pro costs $10 per month or $8 per month when billed annually, saving 20% with yearly subscription.

Source
Circleback: Do we need everyone's consent to record?

It depends on jurisdiction, and some require all-party consent. The obligation sits with the meeting organiser, not with the vendor, so set a policy before enabling automatic joining.

Raycast: Does Raycast offer team plans?

Yes. Teams Free tier is available at no cost per user with shared extensions and snippets. Teams Pro costs $15 per user per month with unlimited team members.

Source
Circleback: Can we control how long recordings are kept?

Custom retention is a Business-tier feature. On the lower tiers you accept the defaults, which is worth knowing before client conversations start accumulating.

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