Most people think live captioning is a solved problem. It's not. Otter.ai charges $16.99/month and sends your audio to the cloud. For a deaf employee in a corporate meeting, that's a privacy and compliance nightmare. For an event organizer, it's a monthly cost that never ends.
A Reddit founder proved the alternative works: local-first captioning using Whisper hit $11K MRR in 7 months. The key insight is that privacy isn't a feature — it's the entire product. Healthcare companies, government agencies, and schools need captioning that never leaves the device.
Accessibility requirements are tightening globally. The EU Accessibility Act kicks in 2025. The ADA is being enforced more aggressively. Every conference, every webinar, every classroom will need captions. The question isn't whether — it's who provides them.
💰 Revenue Blueprint
Three-tier value ladder to monetize from day one
30 minutes/day of live captioning. Local processing, nothing leaves your device. Works with any audio source.
Unlimited captioning, transcript export, 10 languages, custom vocabulary. Perfect for daily use.
API access, real-time streaming for events, team accounts, SRT/VTT export, priority processing.
Why Now?
EU Accessibility Act enforcement started 2025. ADA lawsuits over inaccessible content are surging. Remote work made captioning essential, not optional. Whisper and local AI models finally make privacy-first captioning viable without cloud costs. The regulatory + technical tailwinds are perfectly aligned.
📊 Market Evidence
The Market Gap
Otter.ai and Rev are cloud-based and expensive. Google Live Caption is free but limited (no export, no customization). Nobody offers a polished, privacy-first desktop app with competitive features at $9-29/month. The niche: users who need captioning AND can't send audio to the cloud.
Revenue Examples
r/microsaas - hit $11k MRR in 7 months
🏆 Competitor Landscape
How existing players stack up in this market
| Competitor | Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai | $16.99/mo | Market leader, cloud-based |
| Rev | Usage-based | Human + AI |
| Descript | $15/mo | Editor-focused |
Market leader, cloud-based
Human + AI
Editor-focused
Launch Strategy
Build a desktop app (Electron or Tauri) with local Whisper processing. Target deaf/HoH communities first — they're vocal advocates and will spread word-of-mouth. Then expand to event organizers via LinkedIn. Write content: 'HIPAA-compliant captioning', 'privacy-first meeting transcription'. Partner with accessibility consultants.
🛠️ Recommended Tech Stack
Suggested tools and technologies to build this idea
Why this stack: Privacy-first means local processing. Electron wraps the desktop app. whisper.cpp runs Whisper models locally without cloud dependency. Gumroad handles one-time license sales.
Strengths
- ✓$11k MRR proof from solo founder
- ✓Accessibility mandated in many contexts
- ✓Privacy-first is differentiator
Risks
- ⚠Whisper commoditizing
- ⚠Need unique angle
Score Breakdown
Good market signals with room for growth
Market (20%) + Revenue (20%) + Trend (15%) + Competition (15%) + Build (15%) + Pricing (15%)
Otter.ai, Rev, Descript all paid
Indie founder at $11k MRR (public Reddit proof)
Remote work, accessibility requirements growing
Otter dominant but pricey; privacy angle underserved
2 weeks with Whisper/local models
$15-49/mo typical; usage-based works
🚀 Start Building
Copy a prompt into your favorite AI coding tool and start building this idea right now.
Build a SaaS product called "Real-Time Captioning App". ## Product Overview Live captions for meetings, events, and video calls. Works locally, privacy-first. ## Problem People need live captions for meetings/events but Otter.ai is pricey and cloud-based ## Solution Local-first captioning using Whisper, privacy-focused ## Target Audience Deaf/HoH users, event organizers, remote workers, educators ## Tech Stack - Next.js 15 (App Router) with TypeScript - Tailwind CSS v4 for styling - Supabase for auth, database, and storage - Vercel for deployment - shadcn/ui for UI components - Framer Motion for animations ## MVP Features to Build 1. Landing page with clear value proposition 2. User authentication (sign up, sign in, forgot password) 3. Core product functionality based on the solution above 4. Dashboard for users to manage their data 5. Pricing page with at least 2 tiers (free + paid) 6. Basic settings/profile page ## Known Competitors Otter.ai, Rev, Descript ## Key Risks to Address Whisper commoditizing Need unique angle ## Deployment 1. Set up Supabase project and configure environment variables 2. Deploy to Vercel with `npx vercel --prod` 3. Set up custom domain 4. Configure Supabase RLS policies for security ## Instructions Start by creating the project structure, then build the landing page first. Use server components where possible. Make it mobile-responsive from the start. Focus on getting the core value loop working before adding polish.