WaveKat Voice is a desktop business phone for Mac, Windows and Linux that can replace Linphone: it connects to your own number over SIP the same way, but it records and transcribes every call into one searchable history, answers the calls you cannot take with a greeting and voicemail, and can log each call in your HubSpot CRM. Linphone is a free, open-source, general-purpose SIP client that runs almost everywhere. If what you want is a business phone that works out of the box rather than a VoIP toolkit, here is how the two compare.
The Windows builds aren't code-signed yet, so Windows warns on first launch. How to get past it
The Windows builds aren't code-signed yet, so Windows warns on first launch. How to get past it
Linphone is a long-running, open-source SIP softphone from Belledonne Communications. It runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, and covers a lot of ground — voice and video calls, instant messaging, and end-to-end encryption — for free.
| WaveKat Voice | Linphone | |
|---|---|---|
| Records every call | Automatic — every call recorded and saved the moment you hang up. | Manual recording per call; not a saved, browsable history by default. |
| Written transcript | Live transcript alongside the call, kept with the recording. | No transcription. |
| Searchable call history | Every call lands in one history with its recording and transcript. | Call log only — no recordings or transcripts attached. |
| Answering calls & voicemail | A call flow answers for you — greeting, opening hours, phone menu, voicemail or transfer — and you can pick up mid-message. | No answering machine of its own; voicemail is your provider's mailbox, which Linphone can dial. |
| Logging calls in your CRM | Connect HubSpot once and every call files itself on the matching contact, with transcript and playable recording. Part of Pro, free during early access. | No CRM integration; calls stay in the app's own log. |
| Setting up your number | Pick your provider from a list (Twilio, Telnyx, 2talk and more) and the settings are filled in for you. | General-purpose SIP fields you configure yourself. |
| Where your data lives | On your computer by default; optional sign-in to sync to the web. | On your device — it is a client; nothing is hosted for you. |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows and Linux (the Windows build is newer and not code-signed yet). | Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android. |
| Video & chat | Focused on calls — no video or messaging. | Voice, video, and instant messaging. |
| Price | Free during the public beta; paid later. | Free and open source. |
Yes. Both are SIP softphones, so any provider that works with Linphone works with WaveKat Voice. The difference is setup: WaveKat Voice fills in the settings for common providers like Twilio, Telnyx, and 2talk, and lets you enter the details yourself for anything else.
Yes. WaveKat Voice supports Windows 10 and 11, with separate installers for Intel/AMD (x64) and ARM64, alongside the Mac and Linux builds. The Windows build is younger than the other two and is not code-signed yet, so Windows warns about an unknown publisher on first launch. Linphone also has a Windows version.
Linphone can record an individual call when you start it manually, but it does not transcribe calls or keep a browsable history of recordings and transcripts. WaveKat Voice records every call automatically, writes a live transcript alongside it, and saves both to your call history without any setup.
Yes — that is what a call flow does. Point a flow at one of your lines and WaveKat Voice answers with a greeting, your opening hours, a phone menu, voicemail or a transfer; messages are recorded and transcribed like any other call, and you can pick up while someone is still leaving one. The greeting, taking a message and ringing you are free, while phone menus, opening hours and transfers are part of Pro — free for a year during early access — and the flow runs on your own computer, so the app has to be running to answer. Linphone has no answering machine of its own; voicemail there is whatever your provider's mailbox offers.
Yes. Connect your HubSpot account once and every call you take or place files itself on the matching contact, with the time, direction, outcome, duration, transcript, and a recording you can play inside HubSpot. It is a Pro feature, free during early access, and webhooks cover any other CRM. Linphone has no CRM integration.
Yes. The app ships in nine languages — English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish, French and Italian — and you switch between them in Settings.
No — WaveKat Voice is a commercial product, free during the public beta. Several of the building blocks underneath it are open source on our GitHub, but the Voice app itself is not.
Questions, feedback, or a device you wish we supported? Email is the best way to reach us — we read every message and reply as soon as we can.
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