How to record a Zoom, Teams or Google Meet call on a Mac
If you host the call and your plan allows it, the call app has its own record button, with its own limits. If you are a guest, on a free plan, or you only need what was said, the built-in options run out fast. Here is what each app allows, what macOS does on its own, and how to record both sides on your Mac.
Minutes needs macOS 26 on a Mac with Apple silicon. 7-day trial, no card.
Last updated: September 2026
Full disclosure: this page is published by the makers of Minutes. What Zoom, Google and Microsoft allow was read off their own help pages on 14 September 2026. Plans and admin settings change, so check yours.
First, tell people
Recording a conversation has rules, and they differ by country and state. In some places everyone on the call has to agree. The call apps' own recorders tell people; Teams, for one, notifies everyone when a recording starts. A recording made on your own Mac does not announce itself, so saying it out loud is on you. It is the decent thing to do anyway.
Zoom
Zoom's local recording saves the meeting on your computer. Its help page says it works on free and paid plans, from the desktop app on Mac, Windows or Linux. The host can record, and participants can ask the host for permission to record.
Google Meet
Meet records only on some Google Workspace editions, such as Business Standard and Business Plus, and for Google One subscribers with 2 TB or more. A participant can record only if the host has permission to record. The video goes to the meeting organizer's Google Drive, not to your Mac.
Microsoft Teams
In Teams, the person who starts the recording needs a work or school Microsoft 365 licence, and IT has to have recording turned on. Guests and people from another organization cannot start one. Everyone in the meeting is notified, the recording is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, and there is an audio-only option.
What macOS does on its own
Shift-Command-5 opens the built-in screen recorder. Its options let you pick a microphone, and Apple's guide lists no setting for the sound your Mac plays. So on headphones the recording has your voice and not theirs. Through the speakers, their voice only reaches the file as room sound picked up by your microphone.
Recording both sides on your own Mac
An app on your Mac can record the call without joining it: your microphone for your side, and the Mac's own audio for theirs. It works the same in Zoom, Teams, Meet in a browser or FaceTime, as host or guest, on a free plan or a paid one, because it never asks the call app for anything.
That is what Minutes does. It records the two sides as separate channels, then writes the transcript, the summary and the action items on your Mac with Apple's built-in models. Nothing is uploaded, no bot shows up in the participant list, and each meeting ends up as a Markdown file with the audio beside it.
Two things to know. It records sound, not video: for the picture, record the screen with Take, our screen recorder. And it records everything your Mac plays, so pause the music before the call. Minutes needs macOS 26 or later on Apple Silicon.
| You need | As a guest | Both sides | Saved to | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes | $9.99 once, macOS 26 or later | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | Your Mac |
| Zoom's recorder | Zoom app, free or paid | With the host's permission | ✓Yes | Your computer |
| Google Meet's recorder | Some Workspace plans | If the host can record | ✓Yes | Organizer's Drive |
| Teams' recorder | A Microsoft 365 work licence | ✗No | ✓Yes | OneDrive or SharePoint |
| Shift-Command-5 | Nothing, built in | ✓Yes | Your mic only | Your Mac |
or buy Minutes, $9.99 once · Minutes needs macOS 26 on a Mac with Apple silicon
FAQ
How do I record a Zoom meeting on a Mac as a participant?
Zoom's local recording works for a participant the host allows to record. Without that, an app on your Mac can record your microphone and the Mac's own audio, which is what Minutes does. Tell people you are recording either way.
Why does my Mac screen recording have no sound from the call?
The built-in recorder, Shift-Command-5, lets you choose a microphone and has no setting for the sound your Mac plays. On headphones the other side never reaches the microphone.
Can I record a Google Meet call on a free account?
Not with Meet's own recorder. It needs one of the Google Workspace editions on Google's list, or Google One with 2 TB or more. An app on your Mac can still record the audio.
Can a guest record a Teams meeting?
Not with Teams' own recorder: guests and people from another organization cannot start a recording. Recording the audio on your own Mac still works, and you should still tell people.
Does Minutes record video?
No. Minutes records sound, both sides of the call, and writes the notes. For video, record the screen with Take, our screen recorder, which comes in the same purchase as Minutes.
Keep the meeting on your Mac
Most meeting notetakers either send a bot into your call or send your audio to a server. Minutes does neither: it transcribes both sides of the call on your Mac, writes the summary on device, and pulls out the promises people made with an Add button beside each one, all in plain Markdown in a folder you own. It is $9.99 once.
Buy Minutes, $9.99 Try free for 7 daysMinutes needs macOS 26 on a Mac with Apple silicon. Nothing is uploaded, ever, and the 7-day trial needs no card up front.
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