Bot or no bot is the first decision
Some notetakers join your call as a visible participant, which is simple but not always welcome. Others capture your device's audio with no bot, which feels more discreet. Whichever you choose, tell participants and follow the recording laws where you and they are located.
Granola
Clean, bot-free notes that feel like your own.
Granola captures your system audio without joining the call, then combines the transcript with your rough notes into a clean summary. You can also chat across your meeting history to find what was decided.
Because there is no separate recording, there is less to fall back on if your machine glitches. Free history also fills up quickly.
- No bot on the call
- Excellent summaries
- Works for in-person meetings
- No separate recording
- Free history fills fast
Fathom
The most generous free plan for recording calls.
Fathom records and summarizes with unlimited free recording, and summaries arrive around 30 seconds after the call. For many individuals, the free plan is all they will ever need.
Free summary formats are thin, and the interface leans toward sales teams, so others may find some of it surplus.
- Unlimited free recording
- Very fast summaries
- Thin free summary formats
- Sales-leaning interface
Fireflies
Search and automation across every meeting and tool.
Fireflies connects to tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack and Notion and offers full-word search across all of your meetings, making it useful as a team's searchable memory.
The free storage cap fills quickly, and per-seat costs add up for large teams.
- Broad integrations
- Search across all meetings
- Low entry price
- Free storage fills quickly
- Costs rise with seats
Otter
Live transcription with speaker labels.
Otter's strength is its real-time transcript with speaker labels, which is great for interviews and lectures where you want to read along. It also has the lowest paid entry price on this list.
Summaries can be generic, the free cap is tight, and some people find its add-ons and outreach pushy.
- Strong live transcription
- Lowest paid price here
- Generic summaries
- Pushy add-ons
tl;dv
Clips and highlight reels for distributed teams.
tl;dv makes it easy to share a key moment rather than a whole recording. It offers free unlimited meetings and transcription in more than 30 languages.
The price jumps sharply at the Business tier, listed at $59 per user a month, so check which features you really need.
- Great clips and highlights
- 30+ languages
- Big price jump to Business
- Stores more video data
Avoma
Revenue intelligence for sales and success teams.
Avoma goes further than notes, with call scoring, coaching and scorecards for revenue teams. It suits managers who want to improve how a team sells.
It has a learning curve, add-ons raise the price, and it is more than an individual needs.
- Coaching and scorecards
- Built for revenue teams
- Add-ons raise costs
- Overkill for individuals
Jamie
Bot-free notes with a focus on privacy and EU hosting.
Jamie captures local system audio with no bot and emphasizes GDPR compliance and EU hosting, making it a good fit for regulated industries and European teams.
The free cap is short, pricing is in euros, and integrations are thinner on the lower tiers.
- No bot
- EU hosting
- Short free cap
- Thinner integrations on lower tiers
How to choose
Choose Granola for discreet personal notes and Fathom if you want the most for free. Teams should compare Fireflies for integrations.
Before rolling one out, check your legal and security requirements. Consent rules for recording vary by location.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI meeting summary tool?
Granola is our top pick for most individuals. Fathom is the best free option, and Fireflies suits teams that rely on integrations.
Which AI notetakers work without a bot?
Granola and Jamie both capture audio from your device rather than joining as a participant.
Is it legal to record meetings with AI?
It depends on where participants are located, as some places require everyone's consent. Always inform participants, and get legal advice if you are unsure.