Perfect Memory vs Screenpipe: an honest comparison
Screenpipe and Perfect Memory do the same basic job: they record your screen on your own computer, read the text on it there, and let you and your AI tools search it later. They are built for different people. Screenpipe is a platform for developers and teams to build on. Perfect Memory is an app you install and use. I build Perfect Memory, so read this with that in mind; I have tried to say where Screenpipe is the better fit.
Side by side
Screenpipe's column is from its pricing page, MCP documentation and licence as of September 2026.
| Perfect Memory | Screenpipe | |
|---|---|---|
| Computers | Mac (macOS 14+, Apple silicon) and Windows 10+ | macOS 13+, Windows 10+ and Linux |
| Screen history | A screenshot every 15 seconds and whenever you switch apps. The text is read on your computer | Continuous capture. The text is read on your computer |
| Audio | Meetings only: detects Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex, Slack and WhatsApp (plus FaceTime on Mac) and transcribes them with no bot joining the call | Records audio and meetings |
| Ask Claude or ChatGPT | A hosted connector: paste one URL into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor and sign in. It answers from every computer on your account, and the search runs on each of them | An MCP server that runs on your computer, for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and other desktop tools, plus a local API |
| Several computers | Included on every plan, through the connector | Cross-device sync is on the Business plan |
| Source code | Closed source | Source available under a commercial licence. Free for personal, non-commercial use |
| Price | Free: unlimited recording, search and meeting transcripts, 10 AI prompts and 30 meeting summaries a month. Pro: $15 a month billed yearly, or $19 monthly. Pro Offline: $79 once, with your own AI. Pricing | Free, with a limited history. Basic: $250 a year for the full history. Business: $500 per seat a year. No lifetime licence on the pricing page |
Where Screenpipe is the better fit
- You want to read or change the code. Screenpipe's source is on GitHub. Perfect Memory is closed source.
- You use Linux, an Intel Mac or macOS 13. Perfect Memory needs macOS 14 on Apple silicon, or Windows 10 or later.
- You want every sound recorded, not only meetings. Perfect Memory transcribes calls in meeting apps. It does not record the rest of your day's audio.
- You want to build on it. Screenpipe has a local API, installable workflows that run on a schedule, and a large developer community. Perfect Memory gives your assistant six read-only search tools and nothing to program.
- You are rolling it out to a team. Screenpipe sells team workspaces, SSO and device management. Perfect Memory is sold to individuals.
Where Perfect Memory is different
It is finished software, not a kit. Install it, allow screen recording, and search from the next morning. Press ⌥Space on a Mac and type something you remember reading.
It works in the assistants you already use, including on the web. Because the connector is hosted, it works in Claude and ChatGPT in the browser, not only in desktop tools. The request is relayed to the app on your computer, the search happens there, and only the answer travels back. You approve screen history and meetings separately when you connect. Here is how that works.
The free plan keeps everything. Recording, search and meeting transcripts are unlimited on Free, and so are connector calls from Claude or ChatGPT. You pay for AI prompts and meeting summaries, or pay $79 once and bring your own AI through Ollama, LM Studio or Jan.
It is cheaper. Pro is $15 a month billed yearly ($180 a year); Screenpipe Basic is $250 a year. Reaching several computers from one assistant needs no team plan.
Trying it
- Install Perfect Memory from the download page. On a Mac, grant the Screen Recording permission when macOS asks.
- Exclude what you never want recorded: password managers and banking apps first. Private browser windows are skipped already.
- Connect your assistant. Turn on “Enable MCP server” in the app (Mac: Settings → AI; Windows: Settings → Advanced Settings & Statistics), then add
https://proxy.perfectmemory.ai/api/mcpas a custom connector and sign in with your Perfect Memory account. Step-by-step setup.