AI Meeting Notetakers: Fireflies vs Otter vs Fathom vs tl;dv (and Granola) — A Buyer's Guide

AI meeting notetakers promise the same thing: you stop typing during calls and get a transcript, a summary and a list of action items afterwards. The differences are in the details — how the tool captures audio, who has to consent, where the notes end up, and how much you pay once the free plan runs out.

This guide is for anyone deciding whether to adopt a notetaker for themselves or a team: founders, salespeople, consultants, managers and researchers. The main decision is less about “which AI is smartest” and more about three practical questions: are you comfortable with a bot joining your calls, where do the notes need to go (a CRM, a wiki, just your inbox), and is the AI summary already built into the video platform you pay for?

That last point matters. If your company already pays for Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Workspace, you may have AI meeting summaries available without buying anything else. We cover when a dedicated tool is worth it below.

What actually matters when choosing

• Bot vs bot-free capture. Most notetakers send a bot participant into your Zoom, Meet or Teams call. Others capture audio on your own device, so no extra participant appears. Bot-free feels less intrusive, but it does not remove your obligation to tell people they are being recorded.
• Consent and recording laws. Some jurisdictions require the consent of everyone on a call before recording (often called “all-party” or “two-party” consent). Workplace policies, client contracts and data-protection rules such as the GDPR can add more requirements. Check whether the tool can announce itself, send pre-meeting notices, or let hosts block it.
• Where the notes go. A summary sitting in yet another app is easy to forget. If you work in sales or customer success, CRM sync (for example to HubSpot or Salesforce) is often the deciding feature. For internal teams, links to Slack, Notion or a project tool matter more.
• Accuracy and languages. Transcription quality varies with audio quality, accents, crosstalk and language. If you run meetings in more than one language, check the supported language list before committing.
• Free plan limits. “Free” rarely means unlimited. Plans cap minutes, number of AI summaries, storage or features like search and downloads. Understand what happens after the cap.
• Security and admin controls. For teams, look at data retention settings, admin controls over who can record, and published security certifications.

The main options

Pricing below reflects published plans as of September 2026. Plans change often, so confirm current pricing on each vendor’s site before buying.

Fireflies.ai

Fireflies.ai joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls as a bot, then records, transcribes and summarizes them. Its main strength is the searchable archive: once many meetings are captured, you can search across them and ask questions about past conversations, which makes it useful as shared team memory.

Limitations: Fireflies is bot-based, so a participant labeled as the notetaker appears in calls — some external clients find this off-putting. Teams that record everything also need to think about how much meeting content they are storing and who can access it. Some of the more advanced features sit on higher tiers than the entry plan.

Pricing snapshot: Free plan; Pro $10/seat/month billed annually ($18 monthly).

Best for: Teams that want a central, searchable record of many meetings across platforms.

Otter.ai

Otter.ai is one of the longest-established names in AI transcription. Its notetaker (formerly called OtterPilot, now Otter Notetaker) can auto-join calendar meetings on Zoom, Google Meet and Teams. It is known for real-time transcription you can follow during the call, plus summaries and an AI chat for asking questions about meetings.

Limitations: Otter’s auto-join behavior is a common complaint when it is left on the default settings — the bot can join meetings people did not expect it in, so configure auto-join carefully (it can be set to manual). The free plan’s minute cap (300 minutes per month) is fine for occasional use but will run out quickly for heavy meeting schedules.

Pricing snapshot: Free Basic plan (300 min/month); Pro $8.33/user/month billed annually ($16.99 monthly).

Best for: Individuals and teams who want live transcripts during calls, and students or researchers transcribing lectures and interviews.

Fathom

Fathom is known for a generous free plan: unlimited recordings, transcripts and storage for Zoom, Meet and Teams. It produces summaries and action items shortly after the call and offers CRM sync on team-oriented plans.

Limitations: The free plan’s “unlimited” applies to recording and transcripts, not to every AI feature. Based on Fathom’s published plan details, the richer AI summaries are capped at a small number per month on the free plan, after which you get more basic summaries. CRM sync is not included at the entry level. Like most options here, it is bot-based by default.

Pricing snapshot: Free plan (unlimited recordings); Premium $16/month billed annually ($20 monthly); Team $15/user/month billed annually.

Best for: Individuals who want to try an AI notetaker at no cost, and small teams that meet mainly on Zoom, Meet or Teams.

tl;dv

tl;dv records and transcribes Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls, with a strong focus on CRM integrations and turning calls into structured notes. It is popular with sales and customer-facing teams who want call notes to land in their CRM rather than in a separate app.

Limitations: Its pricing is in euros and the paid plan sits at the higher end of this group, so it is harder to justify for someone who just wants personal notes. The best features are aimed at go-to-market teams; if you mostly have internal meetings, a cheaper tool may cover you.

Pricing snapshot: Free plan; Pro €18/seat/month billed annually (€29 monthly).

Best for: Sales, customer success and recruiting teams that live in a CRM.

Granola

Granola takes a different approach. It is a desktop notepad (Mac and Windows) that captures your device’s audio directly, so no bot joins the call. You type your own rough notes during the meeting and Granola uses the transcript to fill them out afterwards. Because it captures system audio, it works with almost any calling app, including ones the bot-based tools don’t support, and even in-person conversations.

Limitations: Bot-free does not mean consent-free: other participants may not know they are being transcribed unless you tell them, so you still need to follow recording laws and your company’s policies. Granola is centered on the individual’s notes rather than on a shared recording library; if you want video playback or clips to share with colleagues, a recorder-style tool fits better. The free plan is limited.

Pricing snapshot: Limited free plan; paid from about $14/user/month (Business).

Best for: People who dislike meeting bots, take their own notes anyway, or use a mix of calling apps.

Read.ai

Read.ai offers meeting summaries and transcripts, plus search across meetings, email and chat. That broader scope appeals to people who want one place to find what was discussed, wherever it happened.

Limitations: Connecting email and chat as well as meetings raises the stakes on privacy and admin review; some organizations will be cautious about granting that access. If you only need meeting notes, the extra scope may be more than you need.

Pricing snapshot: Free plan; paid from about $15/seat/month billed annually (Pro).

Best for: Knowledge workers who want search across meetings and messages, not just calls.

Tactiq

Tactiq is a Chrome extension that produces live transcripts and AI summaries in Google Meet, Zoom and Teams when they run in the browser. It is a lighter-weight option than a full recording platform.

Limitations: It depends on the browser, so it suits people who join calls from Chrome rather than desktop apps. It focuses on transcripts and summaries rather than video recording, and the free plan is capped at a small number of transcripts per month.

Pricing snapshot: Free plan (10 transcripts/month); Pro $8/user/month billed annually.

Best for: Browser-based Google Meet users who want simple transcripts without a heavy setup.

What about the built-in AI in Zoom, Teams and Meet?

Before buying anything, check what your video platform already includes. Zoom’s AI meeting summaries are included on most paid Zoom Workplace plans (not on free accounts). Microsoft Teams and Google Meet offer AI recaps and note-taking through Microsoft 365 Copilot and Google’s Gemini features, depending on your plan and admin settings.

Built-in tools have real advantages: no extra vendor to approve, no bot, and data stays in a system your IT team already manages. Their main drawback is that they only work inside that one platform. If you meet on Zoom with clients and Teams internally, or need CRM sync, a dedicated notetaker is more flexible.

Side-by-side

Tool	Best for	Free plan	Starting price	Main trade-off
Fireflies.ai	Searchable team meeting archive	Yes	From $10/seat/mo	Bot in every call; advanced features on higher tiers
Otter.ai	Live transcription during calls	Yes (300 min/mo)	From $8.33/user/mo	Auto-join needs careful setup
Fathom	Free unlimited recording for individuals	Yes	From $16/mo	Richer AI summaries capped on free plan
tl;dv	Sales teams syncing to a CRM	Yes	From €18/seat/mo	Pricier; built for go-to-market teams
Granola	Bot-free notes on any app	Yes (limited)	From $14/user/mo	Personal notes, not a shared recording library
Read.ai	Search across meetings, email and chat	Yes	From $15/seat/mo	Broad data access needs admin approval
Tactiq	Simple transcripts in the browser	Yes (10/mo)	From $8/user/mo	Browser-only; no video recording

How to decide

You’re on a paid Zoom, Teams or Google Workspace plan and mostly have internal meetings. Start with the built-in AI summaries. They may be all you need. Only add a dedicated tool if you hit a clear gap, such as cross-platform meetings or CRM sync.

You’re an individual who wants to try this at no cost. Fathom is a common starting point because recording and transcripts are unlimited on the free plan. If you mainly use Google Meet in Chrome, Tactiq’s free plan is another low-commitment option. See Fathom vs Fireflies.ai if you’re weighing a free-first tool against a team archive.

You run sales or customer calls and live in a CRM. Look at tl;dv, Fathom’s team plans and Fireflies.ai, and check that each supports your specific CRM and the fields you care about. Compare Fathom vs tl;dv for this use case.

Your clients or colleagues dislike meeting bots. Granola avoids the bot entirely. You still need to tell people you are transcribing. The Granola vs Otter.ai comparison shows how the bot-free approach trades off against recorder-style tools.

You want a searchable history of everything your team discusses. Fireflies.ai or Otter.ai suit this, as does Read.ai if you also want email and chat in scope. See Fireflies.ai vs Otter.ai. Agree on retention and access rules before rolling out.

You transcribe interviews, lectures or recordings rather than live calls. A meeting bot is the wrong shape for this. Otter.ai handles uploads and live transcription; for file-based work, browse the wider meeting assistants and transcription category for transcription-focused tools.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming bot-free means you don’t need consent. Recording and transcription laws apply however the audio is captured. Tell participants, and follow the strictest rule that applies to anyone on the call.
• Leaving auto-join on by default. Bots that join every calendar event can end up in sensitive meetings like HR, legal or board discussions. Set auto-join rules deliberately.
• Paying for a notetaker you already have. Check your Zoom, Teams or Google Workspace plan first.
• Judging on the free plan alone. Caps on minutes, summaries or storage can change the picture after the first busy week. Read what the free plan actually limits.
• Rolling out to a team without a retention policy. Decide how long recordings are kept and who can see them before everyone starts recording.

FAQ

Is it legal to use an AI notetaker in meetings?

Generally yes, provided you follow the recording laws that apply to the participants and your organization’s policies. Some places require every participant’s consent. The safest habit is to announce the notetaker at the start of every call and let people opt out.

Do bot-free notetakers work in every meeting app?

Tools that capture your device’s audio, like Granola, typically work with any app that plays audio on your computer, including in-person meetings picked up by your microphone. Bot-based tools only work on the platforms they integrate with, usually Zoom, Google Meet and Teams.

Are Zoom’s or Teams’ built-in summaries good enough?

For many internal meetings, yes. They are convenient and already approved by IT. Dedicated tools earn their place when you need cross-platform coverage, CRM sync, a shared searchable archive, or more control over summary formats.

Which notetaker has the best free plan?

It depends on what you need. Fathom offers unlimited recording and transcripts with limits on richer AI summaries; Otter.ai’s free plan caps minutes; Tactiq caps the number of transcripts. Match the limit to how you actually meet.

How accurate are AI meeting transcripts?

Accuracy is usually good with clear audio and one speaker at a time, and drops with crosstalk, poor microphones, heavy accents or mixed languages. Treat summaries as a draft and check anything important, such as numbers, commitments and names.

The bottom line

For many people the right first step is to use the AI summaries already included in their video platform, then add a dedicated notetaker only if a specific gap appears. When you do need one, the choice usually comes down to capture style and destination: Fathom for a generous free start, Fireflies.ai or Otter.ai for a searchable archive and live transcripts, tl;dv for CRM-heavy sales work, and Granola if you want no bot at all.

Whatever you choose, treat consent as part of the setup rather than an afterthought. Announce the notetaker, configure auto-join carefully, and agree on retention rules before recording becomes routine.