Real-time AI meeting transcription, summaries and AI chat for meetings.
Fireflies.ai vs Read.ai
Features, pricing, strengths and trade-offs — and which one fits your situation.
The verdict
Summary
Fireflies.ai is best for teams that want a meeting bot with broad integrations, CRM sync and cross-meeting AI search, while Read.ai is best for teams that want meeting notes plus search across meetings, email and messages. Fireflies.ai has a medium learning curve, compared with low for Read.ai. Both Fireflies.ai and Read.ai offer a free plan, so you can try each before paying.
Which should you choose?
Choose Fireflies.ai if…
- You need teams that want a meeting bot with broad integrations, CRM sync and cross-meeting AI search
- You're one of: sales and customer success teams, recruiters, remote teams with many recurring meetings
- Wide platform coverage including dialers and file uploads
Choose Read.ai if…
- You need teams that want meeting notes plus search across meetings, email and messages
- You're one of: managers and team leads, sales teams, knowledge workers juggling email and meetings
- You want something quicker to learn
- Search spans meetings, email and messaging, not just calls
At a glance
| Fireflies.ai | Read.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Teams that want a meeting bot with broad integrations, CRM sync and cross-meeting AI search | Teams that want meeting notes plus search across meetings, email and messages |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Starting price | From $10/seat/mo | From $15/seat/mo |
| Learning curve | Medium | Low |
| Platforms | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, API | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome extension |
| Ideal for | Sales and customer success teams, Recruiters, Remote teams with many recurring meetings, Operations teams building workflow automations | Managers and team leads, Sales teams, Knowledge workers juggling email and meetings, Coaches tracking meeting effectiveness |
Feature comparison
| Fireflies.ai | Read.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Records without a bot joining | Yes | Yes |
| Meeting platforms | Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex, 10+ more | Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex |
| Transcription languages | 100+ (many in beta) | 16+ languages |
| CRM sync | Paid plans only | Paid plans only |
| Ask AI across meetings | Yes | Yes |
| Speaker identification | Yes | Yes |
| In-person / mobile recording | Yes | Yes |
| Transcribe uploaded files | Yes | Paid plans only |
| Translation | Limited | Limited |
IncludedLimited / higher plansNot available— Not confirmed
Security & enterprise
| Fireflies.ai | Read.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Business / enterprise plan | Yes | Yes |
| SSO (SAML / OIDC) | Enterprise plan | Enterprise+ plan |
| SCIM user provisioning | Enterprise plan | Enterprise+ plan |
| SOC 2 | Type II | Type II |
| ISO 27001 | — | — |
| HIPAA (BAA available) | Enterprise plan | Enterprise+ plan (BAA) |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Data residency options | — | — |
| No training on your data | Yes | — |
| Audit logs | — | — |
| Admin controls | Yes | Enterprise+ plan |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
From each vendor's security documentation. "—" = not confirmed. What to ask vendors · Compare all tools
What each tool does
Fireflies.ai
Fireflies.ai records, transcribes and summarizes meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and other platforms, either via its notetaker bot or bot-free through its desktop app and Chrome extension. Its AskFred assistant answers questions across your meeting library, and higher tiers add conversation intelligence, CRM sync and API access.
Key features- Notetaker bot for Zoom, Meet, Teams and 10+ other platforms
- Bot-free recording via Mac/Windows desktop app or Chrome extension
- AskFred AI chat across all meetings
- Transcription in 100+ languages with multi-language detection
- Upload and transcribe audio and video files
- Mobile apps for in-person recording
Read.ai
Read.ai records and summarizes meetings on Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, with bot-based or bot-free capture on desktop and mobile. Beyond meetings, its Ask Read search connects meetings, email and chat to answer questions, and it adds engagement and sentiment metrics plus a meeting coach.
Key features- Meeting reports with summaries, action items and topics
- Bot or bot-free capture across web, desktop and mobile
- Ask Read search across meetings, email and messages
- Speaker-separated transcripts with sentiment and engagement scores
- Salesforce and HubSpot integration
- Upload audio and video to generate reports
Pricing
Fireflies.ai
Free plan; Pro $10/seat/mo annual ($18 monthly)
Read.ai
Free plan: yes. Paid from ~$15/seat/mo billed annually (Pro)
Prices last checked September 2026. Plans change often — confirm on each vendor's site.
Pros and cons
Fireflies.ai
Strengths- Wide platform coverage including dialers and file uploads
- Large integration library including CRMs, Slack and project tools
- Both bot and bot-free capture options
- Speaker talk-time and conversation analytics
- Many languages beyond the main few are marked beta
- CRM integrations and conversation intelligence require higher tiers
- Free plan has limited storage and AI credits
- Bot joining calls can be off-putting to external guests
Not ideal for: People who only want lightweight personal notes without a meeting bot or a large feature set may find a simpler notepad-style tool easier.
Read.ai
Strengths- Search spans meetings, email and messaging, not just calls
- Engagement and talk-time metrics for self-coaching
- Apps on every major platform including in-person capture
- Reports available in 16+ languages
- Free plan limited to a few meeting transcripts per month
- Upload minutes are capped on paid plans
- CRM integrations require premium tiers
- Engagement scoring can feel intrusive to some participants
Not ideal for: People who only want plain transcripts without analytics or connected inboxes may find the scope broader than necessary.
Integrations
Fireflies.ai
Read.ai
FAQ
What is the main difference between Fireflies.ai and Read.ai?
Fireflies.ai is built for teams that want a meeting bot with broad integrations, CRM sync and cross-meeting AI search; Read.ai is built for teams that want meeting notes plus search across meetings, email and messages.
Is Fireflies.ai or Read.ai cheaper?
Fireflies.ai starts from $10/seat/mo and Read.ai starts from $15/seat/mo (as of September 2026). On entry price, Fireflies.ai is cheaper — but compare what each plan includes, since limits differ. Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Do Fireflies.ai and Read.ai have free plans?
Both Fireflies.ai and Read.ai offer a free plan, so you can try each before paying.
Which is easier to use, Fireflies.ai or Read.ai?
Read.ai is generally quicker to learn (Fireflies.ai: medium, Read.ai: low learning curve).
What are good alternatives to Fireflies.ai and Read.ai?
Other meetings tools worth comparing include Otter.ai, Fathom and tl;dv.
