Ever been in a meeting where one person just keeps talking? Or where certain team members barely get a word in? Equal Time is an AI meeting assistant that precisely measures who gets how much speaking time. The goal: fairer and more productive meetings where everyone is heard.
Who’s behind Equal Time?
Equal Time was founded in 2021 by Rachel Dowling and Kim LaRocca through their company Equalicert Inc., based in Dover, United States. The idea emerged when Rachel noticed that talented women on her teams were systematically struggling to be heard during meetings. Instead of ignoring the problem, she decided to build a concrete solution for it.
The team wanted to make meetings fairer and more inclusive by making speaking time visible. No more vague feeling of “that person always dominates the conversation,” but hard data. They specifically focused on gender equity in meetings and even built features to detect mansplaining and interruptions.
To date, the company has raised $1,000 through investors including Lair East Labs, Sunstone Management, and Founder Institute. It remains an independent company without acquisitions, with a clear mission: better conversations through awareness of speaking time.
Who is Equal Time for?
Equal Time is especially useful for managers who want to improve their team meetings. HR teams and DEI officers (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) find concrete tools there to measure and improve inclusivity. Remote teams that mainly meet online can also use it to check whether everyone gets sufficient opportunity to speak.
The tool is not useful for solo freelancers who rarely have meetings. If you mainly work alone or only have 1-on-1 conversations, you won’t get much value from it. Its strength lies in team analytics and group dynamics.
What can Equal Time do?
Equal Time offers a 7-day trial, after which you need a paid plan for all features. Here’s what you get:
- Real-time speaking time tracking: During your meeting, you see live who’s talking how much. Useful for course-correcting in the moment if one person becomes too dominant.
- Gender balance analysis: The tool analyzes whether there are differences in speaking time between men and women on your team. This provides insight into potential imbalance.
- AI transcription and summaries: Your meetings are automatically transcribed. The AI also creates a summary, so you don’t have to listen back to everything.
- Action item extraction: The tool automatically pulls to-dos and decisions from your meeting. Saves manual note-taking.
- Mansplaining detection: A notable feature that analyzes when someone interrupts others or falls into long monologues. It provides insight into dominant speakers.
- Sentiment analysis: The AI attempts to determine the tone and atmosphere of the meeting. Useful for seeing if certain topics cause tension.
- Rounds and timer functions: You can set up structured rounds where everyone gets a turn to speak, with timers to distribute speaking time fairly.
The tool works with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. You install it on Windows or Mac, and a web version is also available.
What does Equal Time cost?
Equal Time doesn’t have a free plan, only a 7-day trial to test the tool. After that, you pay for the Premium plan.
The monthly price is $1 per user. If you pay annually, that drops to $1 per month (so $1 per year). That saves you $1 per year per person.
For a team of five people, you’re quickly looking at $1 per month with monthly billing, or $1 per year with annual billing. That’s on the pricey side compared to some competitors that do have a free version.
What should you watch out for?
The lack of a free version is a barrier for many people. You only get a one-week trial, then you have to pay. Other tools like Otter.ai and Fathom do have free options.
There’s no mobile app available. You’re limited to the desktop version or web version. If you’re often on the go or join meetings from your phone, that’s a problem.
According to users, the interface looks somewhat outdated. Not necessarily a dealbreaker, but it feels less modern than some competitors.
Agenda creation is missing. You can analyze meetings, but you can’t create agendas beforehand within the tool. You’ll need to do that elsewhere.
You have limited control over sharing summaries. Some users want more options to determine who sees what from the analysis.
Equal Time alternatives
There are several alternatives that offer similar features, but with different emphases:
- Otter.ai: Choose this if you primarily need simple transcriptions and notes. Otter focuses more on pure transcription and less on inclusivity and speaking time analysis.
- Fireflies.ai: Go with this if you’re looking for advanced CRM integrations. Fireflies is more broadly applicable for sales and customer conversations, but has fewer DEI features.
- Fathom: Choose this if you’re looking for a free personal tool. Fathom is free for individual users, but offers fewer team analytics and inclusivity features.
Frequently asked questions
Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about Equal Time:
Does Equal Time work with Zoom and Teams?
Yes, Equal Time integrates seamlessly with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. You can use the tool with all three platforms without additional configuration.
Is my data safe?
Yes, Equal Time is GDPR, SOC Type 2, and HIPAA compliant. All data is stored encrypted. Note: the servers are located in the United States.
What does the ‘mansplaining’ detection do?
The tool analyzes interruptions and monologues to provide insight into dominant speakers and imbalance in conversations. It’s not a perfect system, but it does provide concrete data on who frequently interrupts others or speaks for extended periods.
Conclusion
Equal Time is a specific tool with a clear mission: making meetings more equitable by making speaking time visible. The focus on inclusivity and gender balance makes it unique. The transcription accuracy is good and the interface is simple.
The lack of a free version and the relatively high price are barriers though. For teams that want to seriously work on more inclusive meetings, it’s a useful investment. For individual users or teams primarily looking for basic transcription, there are cheaper alternatives.
Choose Equal Time if DEI is a priority in your organization and you’re willing to pay for specific inclusivity analytics. Choose an alternative if you’re mainly looking for free transcription or mobile apps are important.
