Best AI note takers (2026): how each one records your meeting
Last updated
The best AI note taker for you comes down to two questions most lists skip: does a bot join the call, and where is your meeting processed? After that it’s price and the free plan’s limits. Below are the well-known note takers side by side on those points, with every price taken from the vendor’s own pricing page.
We make QuietNote, one of the tools on this page, so we don’t rank them. Each one is described the same way, and the sources are at the end.
AI note takers compared
| How it records | Free plan | Cheapest paid plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter | A bot joins the call | 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation | $8.33 per user / month billed yearly ($16.99 monthly) |
| Fireflies | A bot, or from your device | 400 minutes of stored meetings per team, limited summaries | $10 per seat / month billed yearly ($18 monthly) |
| Fathom | A bot, or from your device | Unlimited recordings and transcriptions | $16 per user / month billed yearly ($20 monthly) |
| Read AI | A bot joins the call | 5 meetings a month, up to 1 hour each | $15 per user / month billed yearly ($19.75 monthly) |
| Granola | From your device, no bot | Basic plan, notes from the last 30 days | $14 per user / month |
| QuietNote | From your device, no bot | No free plan | €8 / month or €79 / year (half price for waitlist members) |
Prices are per user, in the vendor’s own currency, as listed on each pricing page. Follow the links for the full plan list.
Bot or no bot
Most AI note takers work by sending a notetaker bot into the meeting. It joins Zoom, Google Meet or Teams as a participant, so everyone sees it, the host may have to admit it, and it can join from someone’s calendar without them thinking about it. Our guide to removing meeting bots shows how people get rid of them.
The alternative is capturing the audio from your own device: an app on your computer records your microphone and the call’s sound, and nothing joins the meeting. Granola and QuietNote work this way, Fathom offers it in beta on Mac, and Fireflies’ Chrome extension does it for Google Meet. With either approach you still need to tell people you’re taking notes; see is it legal to record a meeting.
Where your meeting is processed
Bot-free doesn’t mean local. Granola captures from your device but transcribes and writes notes with cloud providers, and Fireflies’ extension still stores the meeting in Fireflies’ cloud. Each alternatives guide has a section on how that vendor handles your data: storage, training and deletion.
QuietNote transcribes on your computer, with a Whisper model that ships with the app, and writes the summary with a local model through Ollama unless you choose a cloud model with your own key. There is no account and no QuietNote server.
The note takers, one by one
The same four facts for each tool, from its own pricing and help pages.
Otter
- How it records: A notetaker joins your calls.
- Where it runs: Web app, iOS and Android apps; the notetaker joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.
- Free plan: 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation.
- Cheapest paid plan: $8.33 per user / month billed yearly ($16.99 monthly).
More: Otter AI pricing and Otter AI alternatives.
Fireflies
- How it records: A notetaker (Fred) joins your calls; the Chrome extension records without it.
- Where it runs: Web dashboard, Chrome extension, desktop app, iOS and Android apps; the notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and other platforms.
- Free plan: 400 minutes of stored meetings per team, limited summaries.
- Cheapest paid plan: $10 per seat / month billed yearly ($18 monthly).
More: Fireflies pricing and Fireflies alternatives.
Fathom
- How it records: Joins as a bot, or bot-free capture (in beta, Mac).
- Where it runs: Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams through the notetaker; bot-free capture on Mac (Windows listed as next); Slack Huddles bot-free; an iOS app for in-person conversations.
- Free plan: Unlimited recordings and transcriptions.
- Cheapest paid plan: $16 per user / month billed yearly ($20 monthly).
More: Fathom AI pricing and Fathom AI alternatives.
Read AI
- How it records: A notetaker joins your calls, often from another invitee’s calendar.
- Where it runs: Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet through the notetaker; apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iPhone; a Chrome extension for Gmail and Google Calendar.
- Free plan: 5 meetings a month, up to 1 hour each.
- Cheapest paid plan: $15 per user / month billed yearly ($19.75 monthly).
More: Read AI pricing and Read AI alternatives.
Granola
- How it records: Bot-free; captures audio from your device.
- Where it runs: Mac (macOS 13 or later) and Windows (10 or later) desktop apps; iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps.
- Free plan: Basic plan, notes from the last 30 days.
- Cheapest paid plan: $14 per user / month.
More: Granola AI pricing and Granola AI alternatives.
QuietNote
- How it records: from your own computer, microphone and system audio; no bot joins the call.
- Where it runs: Mac (macOS 14.2 or later), coming soon; Windows and Linux are planned.
- Free plan: none.
- Price: €8 a month or €79 a year, with 50% off for life for people who join the waitlist before launch.
More: how QuietNote works and QuietNote for Zoom or Google Meet.
How to choose
- You want a generous free plan: compare the free-plan column above. Fathom’s free plan has unlimited recordings and transcriptions; Otter’s stops at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes a conversation.
- You don’t want a bot in the call: look at the tools that capture from your device, and check whether they still upload the meeting.
- Your meetings must stay on your computer: you need local transcription and a local model for summaries, which rules out the cloud services.
- Your team lives in a CRM or a shared workspace: the cloud tools integrate with them; a local tool gives you files instead.
Related guides
- Otter AI alternativesWhy people look for an alternative to Otter, what it costs, and bot-free options with their prices.
- Granola AI alternativesWhy people look for an alternative to Granola, what it costs, and bot-free options with their prices.
- Fathom AI alternativesWhy people look for an alternative to Fathom, what it costs, and bot-free options with their prices.
- Remove meeting botsStop Read AI, Otter and Fireflies from joining Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, and block bots when you host.
- AI note taker for ZoomAn AI note taker for Zoom that records from your Mac instead of joining the call. Works as host or participant on any Zoom plan, and transcribes offline.
Questions
What is the best free AI note taker?
It depends on the limit you hit first. Fathom’s free plan has unlimited recordings and transcriptions. Otter’s Basic plan has 300 minutes a month at up to 30 minutes per conversation. Fireflies’ free plan stores 400 minutes per team, Read AI’s covers 5 meetings a month, and Granola’s Basic plan shows notes from the last 30 days. QuietNote has no free plan.
Which AI note takers don’t join the meeting?
Granola and QuietNote capture audio from your own device instead of sending a bot. Fathom offers bot-free capture in beta on Mac, and Fireflies’ Chrome extension records Google Meet without its notetaker. Otter and Read AI join as a notetaker.
Is there an AI note taker that works offline?
QuietNote transcribes on your computer and can summarise with a local model, so it works without a connection. Granola needs one, because its transcription and notes run on cloud providers, and the bot-based tools transcribe in their own cloud.
What is the best AI note taker for Mac?
Granola has a Mac app, Fathom’s bot-free capture runs from its Mac desktop app, and QuietNote is a Mac app that needs macOS 14.2 or later. The web-based tools work on a Mac too, through their notetaker bot.
Why doesn’t this page rank the tools?
Because we make QuietNote, one of the tools on it. A ranking from us wouldn’t be neutral, so the page describes each tool the same way and links the vendors’ own pages.
Sources
Checked on the “Last updated” date above. Vendors change their settings and prices often; follow the links for the current version.