Omi
The open-source AI pendant — MIT-licensed from firmware to backend
Overview
Omi is an open-source wearable AI device from Based Hardware. An $89 pendant records conversations and feeds a companion app that transcribes, summarises and stores searchable memories. Firmware, backend and app are published under the MIT licence, and the app carries a marketplace of community-built integrations.
Pricing
Pricing shown for reference only. These figures reflect RECATOOLS research as of 4 Sep 2026 and may be out of date or incomplete. This is not financial or purchasing advice — always confirm the current price on the provider’s official website before making any decision.
Use cases
What you can produce with Omi
- Capture and transcribe conversations from a pendant that costs well under a hundred dollars
- Read and modify the firmware, backend and app, all published under the MIT licence
- Install community-built integrations from the app marketplace, or publish your own
- Search your own captured memories rather than re-listening to recordings
- Build a custom wearable AI product on the developer kit instead of starting from bare hardware
- Self-host the backend if you would rather not send captured audio to a vendor at all
Omi wins on the two things its competitors cannot match: $89 and MIT. Every other AI pendant asks you to wear a microphone whose backend you cannot inspect; this one publishes firmware, backend and app, and lets you self-host. If that objection is what has stopped you buying one, it is answered here.
Expect developer-grade polish. Transcription is good rather than leading, the hardware feels its price, and the documentation assumes you can read code. The stated SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance is worth verifying yourself if it matters. Best pick for builders and privacy-first buyers; pay more elsewhere if you want it to just work.
What people say
Omi is the AI pendant for people who want to read the source. Based Hardware ships an $89 device that records conversations into a companion app for transcription, summaries and searchable memory, and publishes the whole stack — firmware, backend, app — under the MIT licence. In a category where the central objection is that you are wearing a microphone owned by somebody else, being able to inspect and self-host the thing that receives the audio is not a niche preference. It is the answer to the objection.
The price is doing real work too. At $89 against $159 and up for the established hardware brands, Omi turns an always-on recorder from a considered purchase into an experiment. The developer kit and the marketplace of community integrations point the same way: this is as much a platform for building wearable AI as a finished consumer product, and the roughly 250 community integrations suggest people are actually using it that way.
The trade is polish. Transcription and summarisation are good rather than best-in-class, the hardware feels its price, and the modular mounting — pendant, or taped to the forehead in the developer configuration — tells you where the design attention went. Documentation is developer-shaped. Someone who wants a device that simply works out of the box will be happier paying more elsewhere.
The company states SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance with AES-256 encryption at rest, which is more than most hardware at this price claims. Verify it against your own requirements rather than the marketing page if it is load-bearing for you.
For developers, privacy-conscious buyers and anyone who wants to modify rather than accept a wearable AI, Omi is the obvious starting point. For everyone else it is the cheap way to find out whether you want one at all.
Summary of public user & expert reviews, compiled by RECATOOLS.
About this listing
This entry was compiled from publicly available data including Omi's official website, press releases, documentation, and reputable third-party publications. RECATOOLS is not affiliated with Omi unless explicitly stated.
Third-party AI tools update their pricing, features, availability, and policies frequently. Information here may be outdated by the time you read this — we make reasonable efforts to keep listings current, but cannot guarantee absolute accuracy.
For the latest details, please refer to Omi directly →
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