Screenpipe vs Limitless (Rewind) — the open-source alternative
Local screen + mic on the hardware you own vs Pendant + cloud
The Verdict
Rewind AI pioneered personal memory as a local Mac app. That product was retired when the team pivoted to Limitless — the Pendant wearable plus a cloud-first service. The new shape is polished and well-funded, and the Pendant genuinely solves in-person audio capture that laptops struggle with. But it costs $99 for the device plus a subscription, transcription and summarisation run in Limitless's cloud, and there's no API. Screenpipe takes the original local-first thesis further: continuous screen + mic capture on the hardware you already own, stored on-device, with pipes and an API to build on top. Different trade-offs for different people. If you want an always-on Pendant and are comfortable with cloud, Limitless is a real product. If you want your screen + audio indexed locally and want to wire that memory into your own workflows, Screenpipe is the fit.
Your SSN, cards, and keys never leave your device.
Screenpipe trained its own PII removal that runs entirely on your machine. Social Security numbers, credit cards, passwords, and API keys are detected and scrubbed before anything is stored — and it catches more sensitive data than OpenAI's and Microsoft's privacy filters do.
Cloud-first tools upload your raw screen and audio to their servers first. Your most sensitive data lands on someone else's infrastructure before any filtering happens.
See the PII engine- Catches more than OpenAI's privacy filter
- Beats Microsoft's PII filter
- Runs locally — no per-call cost, nothing sent out
Why Screenpipe Wins
Cloud-dependent wearable vs local-first freedom
At a Glance
No Pendant needed
Limitless's Pendant is a clever answer to 'capture audio that isn't in front of a laptop'. It's also a $99 piece of hardware you have to remember to wear, charge, and keep near you. Screenpipe uses any microphone you already own — laptop mic, AirPods, USB mic — and captures the screen + audio of the computer you're already working on. No extra device.
Local by default
Limitless processes your audio in the cloud — that's how the Pendant works at all. Screenpipe records, transcribes, and indexes everything on-device using local models by default. Cloud AI is an explicit opt-in for heavier reasoning if you want it; nothing leaves unless you turn it on.
Open-source keeps you in control
Rewind's pivot to Limitless is a concrete reminder of what closed-source products can do: the original local Mac app was discontinued. Because Screenpipe is MIT-licensed on GitHub, even if our priorities change the project can keep going. You own the install, the data, and the code path.
Build on your own memory
Limitless is a finished product: what you see is what you get. Screenpipe has a REST API and an MCP server for agents — pipes run on events (meeting ended, PR merged, 6pm) and write to Linear, GitHub, HubSpot, Notion, wherever. If you want to automate from your own memory, that's a screenpipe-shaped job.
Limitless (Rewind): pros & cons
Where Limitless (Rewind) Is Strong
- Pendant captures in-person audio that laptops can't
- Polished, well-funded product with active development
- Good meeting transcription and calendar integration
- Mac, Windows, and iOS apps
Limitations
- Pendant is proprietary hardware ($99) — and you rely on it for the full experience
- Audio is processed in the cloud
- Closed-source
- No Linux support
- No API or plugin system for developers
- Subscription pricing on top of the hardware
Is Screenpipe a Good Limitless (Rewind) Alternative?
Yes. Screenpipe is a strong Limitless (Rewind) alternative and Limitless (Rewind) competitor for anyone who values privacy, transparency, and data ownership. Unlike Limitless (Rewind), Screenpipe is open-source, supports local-only capture and search, and works on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Screenpipe directly compares itself to Limitless (Rewind) on this page. The key difference: Screenpipe captures your screen and audio 24/7 while keeping core capture local-first. Optional sync, cloud AI, exports, connectors, and team workflows are scoped separately.
Ready for True Data Ownership?
Join thousands who chose open-source, local-first AI memory. Your data stays yours.