AI meeting note takers
Each app here records the call, transcribes it and hands you a summary with action items. The real differences are how it records, what's free and where the notes go next. Otter, Fireflies, Read AI and Fellow send a bot into Zoom, Meet or Teams. Granola and Krisp capture audio on your device, so nobody sees a bot join. Fathom and tl;dv do either. Fathom gives away unlimited recording; Fellow's free plan stops at 5 notes. Most now expose an API or an MCP server, so your notes can feed Claude, ChatGPT or your CRM. Recall.ai is the odd one out: it's the API you'd use to build your own note taker. 9 tools, in the order they appear in the directory. This is not a ranking.
Otter.ai
AI meeting notes: Otter joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet to transcribe live, identify speakers and write summaries with action items, plus AI Chat across your meetings and an Otter MCP server. Transcription in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Free for 300 minutes a month; Pro $8.33 a month billed annually for 1,200 minutes.
Fireflies.ai
AI meeting notes and transcription in 100+ languages: a bot records Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and more, or the Chrome extension captures without one. AskFred answers questions across calls; API access on every plan. Free with unlimited transcription, limited summaries and 400 minutes of storage; Pro $10 per seat a month billed annually.
Fathom
AI meeting notes with unlimited free recording and transcription: instant summaries, Ask Fathom across your calls, clips and CRM sync, captured by a bot or bot-free on Mac (beta). Public API and MCP, plus Claude and ChatGPT integrations. Premium $16 a month and Team $15 per user a month (2-user minimum), billed annually.
Granola
AI meeting notes with no bot: Granola transcribes your device audio while you jot notes, then writes them up from your template. Desktop, iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps, AI chat across meetings, and MCP for Claude and ChatGPT. Free with 30 days of history; Business $14 per user a month with unlimited history and API access.
tl;dv
AI meeting notes for Zoom, Google Meet and Teams: recording, transcripts and summaries in 30+ languages, multi-meeting reports, sales coaching and CRM updates. Hosted in the EU, and recording works without a bot. Free forever plan; Pro €18 per seat a month billed annually, €29 monthly.
Read AI
AI meeting notes and reports: Read Assistant joins Zoom, Teams and Meet for live notes, transcripts, summaries and a speaker coach, with search across meetings, email and messages. Ships as an MCP server, Claude connector and ChatGPT app. Free for 5 meeting transcripts a month; Pro $15 per user a month billed annually.
Fellow
AI meeting note taker plus agendas: records Google Meet, Zoom and Teams, transcribes in 100+ languages, writes summaries and action items, and runs pre-meeting reminders and recaps. API access from Team. Free for 5 AI notes per user; Team $7 per user a month billed annually for 10 AI notes a month, Business $15 for unlimited.
Krisp
AI meeting notes with bot-free transcription and noise cancellation in the same app: recording, AI notes and action items for online and in-person meetings, accent conversion, webhooks and MCP for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor. 7-day free trial; Core $8 per user a month billed annually, $16 monthly.
Recall.ai
API for building your own meeting note taker: a Meeting Bot API that records and transcribes Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex, GoTo Meeting and Slack Huddles, plus a Desktop Recording SDK with no bot and a free Calendar API. $0.50 per recording hour, prorated by the second, first 5 hours free; built-in transcription $0.15 an hour.
What it is, how it records, what's free, what it costs, how you get the data out.
Straight from each vendor's own pages. Plans move often, so the check date is below.
| Tool | What it is | How it records | Free to start | Paid from | API and MCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai | Live transcripts, speaker IDs, summaries and AI Chat across meetings. | Joins Zoom, Teams and Meet. Web, desktop and mobile apps record too. | 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per meeting. | Pro $8.33/mo billed annually ($16.99 monthly), 1,200 minutes. Business $19.99/mo billed annually. | Otter MCP server on every plan. API and webhooks on Enterprise. |
| Fireflies.ai | Transcripts in 100+ languages, summaries, AskFred across calls, conversation intelligence. | Bot for Zoom, Meet, Teams and 10+ more, or the Chrome extension with no bot. | Unlimited transcription, limited summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team. | Pro $10/seat/mo billed annually ($18 monthly). Business $19 ($29 monthly). | API on every plan, with rate limits by plan. |
| Fathom | Summaries, action items, Ask Fathom across calls, clips and CRM sync. | Bot, or bot-free capture on Mac (beta). | Unlimited recordings and transcription, with limited advanced summaries. | Premium $16/mo, Team $15/user/mo (2-user minimum), Business $25, billed annually. | Public API and MCP. Claude and ChatGPT integrations. |
| Granola | Notes written from the transcript and whatever you jot down, in your own templates. | No bot. Device audio on desktop, iOS, Android and Apple Watch. | Basic: 30 days of meeting history. | Business $14/user/mo. Enterprise $35. | MCP on every plan (last 30 days on Basic). API from Business. |
| tl;dv | Recordings, transcripts and summaries in 30+ languages, multi-meeting reports, sales coaching. | Zoom, Meet and Teams, with or without a bot. Hosted in the EU. | Free forever plan. | Pro €18/seat/mo billed annually (€29 monthly). Business €29 (€39 monthly). | CRM, ticketing and 5,000+ app integrations. |
| Read AI | Meeting reports with summaries, topics, action items and a speaker coach, plus search over email and chat. | Read Assistant joins Zoom, Teams and Meet. Apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. | 5 meeting transcripts a month, 1 hour per meeting. | Pro $15/user/mo billed annually ($19.75 monthly). Enterprise $22.50 ($29.75). | MCP server, Claude connector, ChatGPT app and an API. |
| Fellow | Meeting notes plus agendas, action items, reminders and recaps. | Records Google Meet, Zoom and Teams. | 5 AI notes per user, lifetime. | Team $7/user/mo billed annually ($11 monthly), 10 notes a month. Business $15 ($23 monthly), unlimited. | API from Team. |
| Krisp | AI notes and action items with noise cancellation and accent conversion. | No bot. Records on your device, online and in person. | 7-day free trial, no card. | Core $8/user/mo billed annually ($16 monthly). Advanced $15 ($30 monthly). | Webhooks and MCP for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor on Core. |
| Recall.ai | An API for building your own note taker or meeting agent. | Meeting Bot API for Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex, GoTo and Slack Huddles, or a Desktop Recording SDK with no bot. | First 5 recording hours. | $0.50 per recording hour, prorated by the second. Built-in transcription $0.15/hour. | It is the API. Calendar API free. |
Checked 2026-11-03. Sources: Otter pricing, Fireflies pricing, Fathom pricing, Granola pricing, tl;dv pricing, tl;dv, Read AI pricing, Fellow pricing, Krisp pricing, Recall.ai pricing.
Pick it if.
- Otter.aiYou want live transcripts during the call and 300 free minutes a month.
- Fireflies.aiYou need 100+ languages and API access from the free plan up.
- FathomYou want unlimited recording for free and pay only when the team needs shared features.
- GranolaYou don't want a bot in the room and you like writing your own notes as you go.
- tl;dvYour data has to stay in the EU and you sell over Zoom, Meet or Teams.
- Read AIYou want meeting notes searchable next to your email and chat, inside Claude or ChatGPT.
- FellowYour meetings need agendas and follow-through, not just a transcript.
- KrispYou also want noise cancellation, and in-person meetings matter as much as calls.
- Recall.aiYou're building meeting notes into your own product and need the recording layer.
Each listing.
The directory page, alternatives in the same category, and a head-to-head where we have one.
- Otter.aiAlternatives
- Fireflies.aiAlternatives
- FathomAlternatives
- GranolaAlternatives
- tl;dvAlternatives
- Read AIAlternatives
- FellowAlternatives
- KrispAlternatives
- Recall.aiAlternatives
Category pages list every tool in that category, including ones left off this page. Built one of these? Get it featured in its category.
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