Read.ai is a meeting intelligence platform built around post-call analysis. Sway is the AI that's already speaking up before the meeting is over.
Read.ai delivers insight after the conversation ends — sentiment analysis, engagement scores, speaker summaries. That data is useful, but it arrives too late to change the outcome of the call you just had. Sway operates in the moment: it listens live, surfaces relevant context while the conversation is still happening, and keeps audio on your device. If the problem is what to say right now, Read.ai cannot help you.
Feature comparison
How Sway and Read.ai stack up on the features that matter most.
| Feature | Sway | Read.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time AI suggestions during the call | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bot joins the meeting (visible to other participants) | No bot | Yes — visible |
| private, with no meeting bot (Zoom, Meet, Teams) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Audio stays on your device | ✓ | ✗ — cloud recording |
| Post-call transcription and summaries | Planned | ✓ |
| Meeting sentiment and engagement analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works during live sales calls | ✓ — private | ✗ — bot is visible |
| No recording consent required | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live coaching and talking points | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free tier available | ✓ — 7-day trial | Limited free plan |
| macOS native app | ✓ | Browser extension + web |
What each tool does
Understanding what Read.ai was built for — and where Sway goes instead.
Where Sway wins
Post-call analytics are useful. But they can't help you respond to the objection that just landed, or answer the question you weren't prepared for.
Sway surfaces relevant talking points, context, and responses while the conversation is live — not in the debrief email you read an hour later.
Read.ai records and stores your meeting audio in the cloud to generate its analytics. Sway processes audio locally. Only the text of a specific query is sent to an AI provider — never the full audio.
Sway's private mode hides its window from Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and screen recorders. There is no bot in the participant list. The people you are meeting with see only you.
If your team needs structured post-call documentation — engagement analytics, sentiment tracking, speaker summaries, CRM sync — Read.ai is purpose-built for that workflow and does it well. Sales managers reviewing rep performance, teams analyzing customer conversations at scale, or anyone who needs a searchable archive with meeting intelligence will find Read.ai's feature set compelling. Sway and Read.ai are not strictly competing — they serve different moments in the same conversation lifecycle.
When to use Sway
Sway is for the conversations where what you say right now matters.
Surface talking points, recall examples, and handle tough questions — in real time as they come up, with no meeting bot in the call.
Handle objections on the spot. Surface pricing, case studies, and competitive responses the moment a prospect pushes back.
Some clients will not consent to recording. Sway needs no consent — it never records anything. Use it where a bot would kill the trust.
Handle live Q&A with confidence. Let Sway surface the right answer as questions come in from the audience — privately.
Pricing
Sway starts with a 7-day free trial — no credit card required. Upgrade when you need unlimited sessions and full private mode.
7-day free trial. Full access to real-time suggestions. No credit card required to start.
Unlimited sessions, private mode (private, with no meeting bot), and priority AI response speed.
Frequently asked questions
Read.ai is a meeting intelligence platform — it joins calls as a bot, records audio and video, transcribes the session, and delivers summaries, engagement scores, and analytics after the meeting ends. Sway is a real-time AI assistant that runs privately on your Mac during the call, surfacing suggestions and context as the conversation happens. Read.ai analyzes what was said. Sway helps you say the right thing while it matters.
Yes. Read.ai joins your calls as a bot participant that is visible to other people on the call. Sway does not join the call at all — it runs as a native macOS app and is private to screen sharing. No participant entry, no notification, no recording consent required.
No. Sway processes audio locally in real time to generate suggestions. It does not record, store, or upload your meeting audio. Only the text of a specific prompt is sent to an AI provider to generate a response. Your conversations stay on your device.
No. Sway uses macOS private mode to render its window below the OS capture layer used by Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. It is completely private, with no meeting bot, screen recording, and proctoring software. The people on the call never see it.
Sway and Read.ai address different problems. If you need post-meeting analytics, engagement scores, and shareable summaries for your team, Read.ai is purpose-built for that. If you need real-time suggestions and AI coaching during a live sales call, discovery call, or client meeting, Sway is the right tool. Many people find they want both — Sway for the live moment, and analytics afterward.
Sway offers a 7-day free trial. Sway Plus is $30/month or $216/year. Read.ai has its own pricing tiers. Check each product's current pricing page for up-to-date rates.
Sway starts with a 7-day free trial. No credit card required. Download and run your first real-time AI session in under two minutes.