Alternatives

Cluely alternatives (2026)

Six interview copilots for people who want the window hidden on screen share without paying Cluely’s top tier every month, ranked by how well each one fixes that.

Updated October 28, 2026. Rival prices verified October 2026.

Cluely is a capable live AI assistant: a floating window that listens to your call, answers when you ask, and stays off a shared screen if you pay for that part. For interviews, that last part is the problem. The hidden window sits on Cluely’s most expensive plan, every paid plan is a recurring subscription, and there is no way to pay for a single interview.

The other reason is focus. Cluely sells itself as an AI for meetings: its homepage headline is about meetings, its pricing page mentions meetings, homework and sales calls but not interviews, and its own comparison pages set it against meeting notetakers like Otter and Granola. That suits a sales team. It is a lot of product, and a lot of monthly bill, for someone with four interviews in November.

So this shortlist is ranked by those complaints: what it costs to keep the window hidden for one interview month, whether you keep paying when you are not interviewing, and how closely the tool is built around interviews. Every rival price below is the vendor’s own published price, checked on October 28, 2026.

Full disclosure: PiriPiri AI is our product. It is ranked first and we make the case for it plainly, but every other tool’s price on this page is its own published price, linked to the page we read it from, so you can check each one yourself.

Tool	Cost for one interview	Pricing	No subscription	Free to try
PiriPiri AIYoumacOS & Windows	$2.50 (1 hr)	$2.50 / hour · one price per session	No subscription	3 sessions free · no card
Interview CoderCredit-based · 1,000 credits/mo	$299/mo (or $799 once)	$299/mo · $799 lifetime	Monthly or lifetime	Free download
Final Round AISubscription; usage-tiered	From $25/mo	From $25/mo · free plan	Monthly subscription	Free plan · live copilot needs Pro
LockedIn AIUnlimited plans, credits or lifetime	$119.99/mo (Pro)	$119.99/mo Pro · $79.99/mo quarterly	Monthly or lifetime	5-min sessions · 60 min/day
ParakeetAICredits, or weekly to yearly plans	$38 (1 credit) · $11.80 in bulk	$38 per 1-hr credit · $149.90/mo · $599.90/yr	No subscription	10 free sessions of 10 min
Ophy AIPasses, or credits shared across 7 products	$9.99 (1 pass, up to 2 hr)	$9.99 one-time pass · $29/mo Pro · $59/mo Premium	No subscription	First session free (15 min)

Prices change often, so confirm on each vendor’s site. See the full comparison of every interview AI copilot.

What Cluely costs once you need the hidden tier

Cluely’s pricing page has three plans. Starter is free with limited answers and notes. Pro is $19.99 a month for unlimited answers and notes. The top tier, $149.99 a month, adds the one line an interview candidate cares about: completely hidden from meeting screen sharing software.

So the real price of Cluely for interviews is $149.99 a month. If all four of your rounds land inside one billing month, that is the whole bill. If the search starts in late October and runs into December, you pay the first month and at least one renewal, $299.98, and the plan renews until you cancel it, offer or no offer. These are the monthly figures; the page also has an annual switch.

Cluely’s own help center adds fine print. The hiding is off until you switch it on. In Zoom it works only on an older Zoom version or with Zoom’s Advanced capture with window filtering setting on. Microsoft Teams can still show Cluely on an entire screen share (it names Windows 10 and Windows 11 Home), and Windows 10 and Macs from before 2022 cannot use the hiding at all. Paying for the top tier still leaves you checking your own setup.

The ranking

1. PiriPiri AI: hidden on every plan, paid per interview

Pricing: $2.50 / hour · one price per session
Free to try: 3 sessions free · no card
Hidden on screen share: Included on every plan
Runs on: Desktop app for macOS (Apple Silicon) and Windows 10 or 11

PiriPiri AI answers both of Cluely’s pricing problems head on. There is no hidden tier and no switch to remember: the operating system itself keeps the overlay window out of screen capture (on macOS its window sharing is set to none, on Windows it uses the display setting that excludes a window from capture), on every plan, the free trial included. There is also no subscription required. You buy one-time packs that never expire. One interview costs about $2.50 on the entry pack (a paid session runs 60 minutes), and about $1.45 per session on the largest. A month with no interviews costs nothing, and there is nothing to cancel when the offer comes.

It is built only for interviews. Before the call you pick the role you are interviewing for, from software engineering and product to finance, sales, healthcare or teaching, then upload your CV, paste the job description and choose an answer style, so answers draw on your own projects rather than generic examples. During the call you see a live transcript of both speakers, and a draft answer starts forming as the question lands, without a keypress. Answer now asks right away, Deep dive re-asks the same question for a longer answer, previous and next step back to an answer you scrolled past, and Analyze screen reads whatever is on your display, a coding problem or a case chart, and answers that.

It hears the call on your own computer: your microphone, and the interviewer’s voice from your computer’s sound output. No bot joins the meeting, so it works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex or a call in your browser. On a Mac the interviewer’s audio comes through a Core Audio process tap rather than a screen recording session. The floating bar stays on top, can be dragged or snapped to a screen edge, and every action has a global hotkey, so you are not clicking around while someone watches you think.

Now the limits. Speech recognition is English only, so it is built for interviews held in English. It is a desktop app for Macs with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer; hearing the interviewer needs macOS 14.2 or later) and for Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with no browser or phone version. It is a newer company with a small team. And whatever any vendor says about screen sharing, us included, run a test share in your own meeting app before a real interview. The free trial, 3 free sessions of 10 minutes each with no card, is there for exactly that test. In India you pay in rupees, and UPI works.

Best for: Job seekers who interview in bursts and want the window hidden in every round without paying for the months in between.

Worth knowing: It is deliberately narrow: no mock interview platform, resume builder or job board, and no transcription in languages other than English.

2. Ophy AI: a one-time pass for a single interview

Pricing: $9.99 one-time pass · $29/mo Pro · $59/mo Premium (source)
Free to try: First session free (15 min)
Hidden on screen share: Desktop app hidden by the OS
Runs on: macOS and Windows desktop app, plus web and phone apps

Ophy AI lets you pay for one interview and nothing more. Its Interview Pass is a one-time purchase with no subscription: $9.99 covers one standard copilot session of up to two hours. Subscriptions run $29 a month for Pro and $59 for Premium, paid in credits. Your first copilot session is free for up to 15 minutes, with no card.

For the hidden window, use its desktop app for Mac or Windows. Ophy says macOS and Windows leave that answer window out of screen sharing and recording, so you can share your entire screen, and the app hears the interviewer through system audio, so Zoom, Meet, Teams and Webex need no setup. The browser version is different: there the answers sit in a picture-in-picture window, which Ophy itself says a full-screen share can pick up. Its FAQ is also plain that hiding a window from a share does not hide it from a camera or from someone in the room.

It is a job search suite more than a single copilot: interview practice, a resume builder, cover letters, job search and an application tracker share one account. Its Mac app runs on Intel as well as Apple Silicon (macOS 13 or later), and the copilot supports 35 languages.

Best for: People who want to pay per interview, need an Intel Mac or another language, and want job search tools in the same account.

Worth knowing: Passes cover the interview copilot only, not its separate Coding Interview product (a Premium feature), and they are non-refundable. Its desktop page says the pass applies where offered, so check it is sold in your country.

3. ParakeetAI: hourly credits that never expire

Pricing: $38 per 1-hr credit · $149.90/mo · $599.90/yr (source)
Free to try: 10 free sessions of 10 min
Hidden on screen share: Desktop app hidden by the OS
Runs on: macOS and Windows desktop app, plus a web app

ParakeetAI also lets you skip the subscription. It sells credits, and one credit is a one-hour call session (half a credit covers 30 minutes). A single credit is $38, and the largest pack brings an hour down to $11.80. Credits never expire, so leftovers wait for your next search. There are also weekly, monthly ($149.90) and yearly ($599.90) plans.

The hidden window comes from the desktop app, not from a premium tier: its private mode is on by default and switches itself back on for each session. ParakeetAI is candid about the limits. In Zoom it tells you to update to the latest version and turn on Advanced capture with window filtering, or it can show in what you share, and its web version is a browser tab that cannot hide itself. The free tier is 10 sessions of up to 10 minutes each.

It is broader than an interview tool, which matters if Cluely’s meeting focus was part of the problem. When you create a session you choose interview mode, which uses your uploaded CV, or a regular call mode for meetings. Besides the desktop app it runs in desktop Chrome and a phone browser, and it supports more than 50 languages.

Best for: People who want to drop the subscription and also want a browser option or an interview in a language other than English.

Worth knowing: One interview costs $38 unless you buy in bulk. Its site also says it honors employer blocklist requests, so a company can ask it to block its domain or hiring process.

4. Final Round AI: stealth on the entry paid plan

Pricing: From $25/mo · free plan (source)
Free to try: Free plan · live copilot needs Pro
Hidden on screen share: In the $25+/mo Pro plan
Runs on: macOS and Windows desktop app

Final Round AI fixes Cluely’s tier problem and keeps the subscription. Its site says Pro starts at $25 a month and includes the live copilot, Stealth Mode and every interview type in one plan, and that Stealth Mode is on by default in the desktop app. So there is no jump like Cluely’s, from $19.99 for answers to $149.99 for the hidden window.

It is built around interviews. You set up a goal for each job with your resume, materials and the round you are preparing for, and the app detects behavioral, coding, system design, case and domain questions without you switching modes. It reads problems off your screen, writes a debrief after each session, and runs practice interviews in eight scenarios, salary negotiation and recruiter screens among them. It runs on macOS 14.4 or later and on Windows.

The catch is on the free side. There is a free plan, but the vendor’s own site says plainly that there is no free trial of the live copilot. The free plan covers prep such as goals and job description parsing; live sessions need an active Pro subscription. So you cannot try live answers, or the Stealth Mode that comes with Pro, before you pay, and you pay by the month, not by the interview.

Best for: People who want the window hidden at a low monthly price, expect to interview for a few months, and will use the practice and debrief tools.

Worth knowing: You pay before you can test the live copilot, and $25 is a starting price, so check which plan you actually land on.

5. Interview Coder: pay once with the lifetime plan

Pricing: $299/mo · $799 lifetime (source)
Free to try: Free download
Hidden on screen share: Core feature
Runs on: macOS and Windows desktop app

Interview Coder treats staying hidden on screen share as the core of the product rather than an upgrade, and its pricing lists the same stealth features on both paid plans. Its answer to the subscription problem is unusual: next to Monthly Pro at $299 a month, with 1,000 usage credits a month, there is Lifetime Pro at $799, paid once, with unlimited lifetime access.

Set next to Cluely, $799 is a little over 5 months of the $149.99 tier. If you change jobs every year or two, paying once and never thinking about renewals again has real appeal. If you have one search with a handful of interviews, it is a lot of money up front, and the monthly plan is the highest monthly price of the tools here.

Its site calls it an AI interview assistant for technical interviews, though its plans promise support for all kinds of interviews, naming leetcode and system design, and list audio support, so it hears the interviewer’s questions as well as reading the screen. The free download lets you install and explore the app, but the pricing says AI features need a subscription, so the free tier will not show you a live answer in a test call.

Best for: Frequent interviewers, especially for technical roles, who prefer one payment to a monthly bill.

Worth knowing: The free download gives no AI answers, and the lifetime price makes sense only if you expect to use it across several job searches.

6. LockedIn AI: a full interview suite, with its own tier split

Pricing: $119.99/mo Pro · $79.99/mo quarterly (source)
Free to try: 5-min sessions · 60 min/day
Hidden on screen share: Stealth Mode, not on the General plan
Runs on: macOS and Windows desktop app, plus a web app

LockedIn AI is built for interviews in the broad sense: live interviews, coding rounds, online assessments, phone interviews and mock interviews, with resume, cover letter and salary tools around them. Its desktop app runs on Windows and macOS and is described as private when you share your screen, and there is a phone app on iOS and Android for mock rounds and live help beside a call.

Watch the plan names, because LockedIn has a split much like Cluely’s. Stealth Mode comes with the Pro plan, listed at $119.99 a month or $79.99 a month billed every three months, and not with the cheaper General plan. If a tier split is why you are leaving Cluely, that repeat is why it sits last here.

There are ways around a plain monthly bill. Besides the Unlimited plans, which cover up to two hours per interview, it sells a Credits plan pitched as paying for the time you use, with 400 minutes of live interview help each month and credits that never expire, plus a lifetime option; those prices are not in our table, so check them on LockedIn’s site. The free tier is short sessions (5-min sessions · 60 min/day), enough to check your setup but not to sit a full round.

Best for: People who want one interview suite with practice tools and a phone app, and who will buy the plan that includes Stealth Mode.

Worth knowing: Only Pro includes Stealth Mode, at $119.99 a month, so price the Credits plan per interview before you commit.

One interview month, priced tool by tool

Take a common search: four one-hour rounds over three weeks (a recruiter screen, a technical round and two onsites), all with the window hidden.

Cluely costs $149.99, because only the top tier hides the window, or $299.98 if the rounds straddle a renewal date. PiriPiri AI costs four sessions at about $2.50 each on the entry pack, or about $1.45 each on the largest, and anything left over stays in your account. Ophy AI is four passes at up to $9.99 each, less when bought as a bundle. ParakeetAI is four credits: $152 bought one at a time, less in a pack.

Final Round AI is from $25 for the month. Interview Coder is $299 for the month, or $799 once. LockedIn AI’s Pro plan, the one with Stealth Mode, is $119.99 for the month.

Two things stand out. Within their usage limits, subscription prices barely move whether you take one interview or ten, so they look best when you interview a lot and worst when you interview a little. And once a search crosses a renewal date, a second month adds a second fee, while PiriPiri AI packs and ParakeetAI credits do not expire.

How to compare cost per interview

Divide what you would actually pay by the number of interviews you expect, not the number you hope for. Most searches have fewer real rounds than people plan, and a $149.99 month with two interviews in it is about $75 an interview.

Next, check that the price you are dividing includes the hidden window. On Cluely that means the top tier, and on Final Round AI and LockedIn AI it means Pro. PiriPiri AI and Interview Coder include it on every paid plan, while Ophy AI and ParakeetAI tie it to their desktop apps rather than to a plan. Then check what one unit buys: a PiriPiri AI session covers 60 minutes, an Ophy pass up to two hours, a ParakeetAI credit one hour. Price your longest round, not your shortest.

What to test in a free trial before a real interview

Use the free tier as a dress rehearsal, not a tour. Ask a friend to call you on the exact app the interview will use and share your entire screen, not one window. Have them take a screenshot of what they see. If the assistant’s window shows up, you want to learn that now.

If the interview is on Zoom, check one setting first: Cluely, ParakeetAI and Interview Coder all tell Zoom users to turn on Advanced capture with window filtering so their window stays off the share. Then run the screenshot test in the same app and share mode you will use on the day.

During that call, check that both voices are transcribed. On a Mac, PiriPiri AI needs macOS 14.2 or later to hear the other side, and macOS asks you to allow it the first time. Ask a real question from your field and time the first useful line. Practise the hotkeys until you can use them without looking down, and wear the earphones you will use on the day, because a Bluetooth headset routes audio differently from the laptop’s own speakers and microphone.

With PiriPiri AI, the free trial (3 free sessions of 10 minutes each, no card) covers a rehearsal like this, hidden window included.

When Cluely is still the right choice

If you want one assistant for every call, all year, Cluely is a strong pick: shareable meeting notes, questions about past meetings, more than 12 languages, Mac and Windows apps and a mobile app. If you never need the window hidden on a shared screen, $19.99 for Pro is fair value for that daily use.

Common questions

What is the best Cluely alternative?

For job interviews, PiriPiri AI, which is our product. It keeps its overlay hidden on screen share on every plan, free trial included, where Cluely hides its window only on the $149.99 a month tier, and it charges about $2.50 per interview in one-time packs that never expire instead of a subscription. It is built for interviews held in English. If you need other languages or an Intel Mac, Ophy AI sells a one-time $9.99 pass for a single interview; if you prefer a low monthly subscription with stealth and practice tools, Final Round AI starts at $25 a month.

Which Cluely plan hides it on screen share?

Only the top one. Cluely’s pricing page lists a free Starter plan, Pro at $19.99 a month, and a $149.99 a month tier that adds being completely hidden from meeting screen sharing software. Its help center also says the hiding is off by default, needs an older Zoom or a Zoom capture setting, and can still show on a Microsoft Teams entire screen share. PiriPiri AI excludes its window from screen capture on every plan, free trial included.

Is there a Cluely alternative without a subscription?

Yes, several. PiriPiri AI sells one-time packs that never expire, about $2.50 per interview. Ophy AI sells a one-time $9.99 pass for one session of up to two hours. ParakeetAI sells hourly credits from $38 that never expire. Interview Coder has a $799 lifetime plan, and LockedIn AI has a lifetime plan (its credit plans renew like a subscription). Cluely’s paid plans are all recurring, and Final Round AI’s live copilot needs a Pro subscription.

Is there a free Cluely alternative?

Several have free tiers you can test with. PiriPiri AI gives 3 free sessions of 10 minutes each with no card, hidden window included. Ophy AI’s first copilot session is free for up to 15 minutes, ParakeetAI gives 10 free sessions of up to 10 minutes, and LockedIn AI offers short free sessions. Final Round AI’s free plan has no live sessions, and Cluely’s free Starter plan does not include the screen share hiding.

Is there a Cluely alternative for Windows?

Yes. PiriPiri AI runs on Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) and on Apple Silicon Macs, and Ophy AI, ParakeetAI, Final Round AI, Interview Coder and LockedIn AI all list Windows desktop apps on their own sites. Cluely runs on Windows 11 too, though its help center says Windows 10 cannot use its hiding.

Does PiriPiri AI work for interviews in other languages?

No. PiriPiri AI’s speech recognition is English only, so it is built for interviews held in English. If your interview is in another language, look at ParakeetAI (more than 50 languages), Ophy AI (35) or Final Round AI, which advertises 143 languages and accents. Cluely lists more than 12.

Is it allowed to use an AI assistant in a job interview?

That depends on the employer or school, so follow their rules, and your local laws on recording and consent, before any tool listens to a call. PiriPiri AI hears only the audio on your own computer and never joins the meeting as a bot.

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