Updated November 2026. An AI note taker records your meetings, writes a transcript, and turns an hour of talk into a summary with decisions and action items. The good ones save you 20 to 30 minutes per meeting and mean nobody has to be the person typing notes. The hard part is choosing, because there are dozens and their free plans differ a lot.
We compared the most popular options on what matters day to day: accuracy, how notes are captured, free plan limits, integrations and price. Here is the short list.
Quick picks
- Best free option: Fathom
- Best without a meeting bot: Granola
- Best for teams and CRM workflows: Fireflies.ai
- Best for live transcription and students: Otter.ai
- Best for searching across many meetings: tl;dv
- Best for meeting agendas and follow-ups: Fellow
- Best if you already pay for Zoom, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: the built-in assistant
AI note takers compared
| Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Bot joins the call? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Unlimited recordings and transcripts; advanced AI summaries for 5 meetings a month | About $15/month (yearly) | Yes | Individuals who want a strong free plan |
| Granola | Yes, with limited note history | $14/month | No | People who take their own notes and want AI to fill the gaps |
| Fireflies.ai | Yes, with limited storage and AI credits | $10/user/month (yearly) | Yes by default; bot-free options available | Sales and customer teams |
| Otter.ai | 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation | $8.33/user/month (yearly) | Yes (OtterPilot) | Live transcripts, lectures and interviews |
| tl;dv | Unlimited transcription | $18/user/month (yearly) | Yes | Searching and reporting across meetings |
| Fellow | 5 AI recordings per user | $7/user/month (yearly) | Yes | Teams that run structured meetings |
| Krisp | Limited | $8/user/month (yearly) | No | Noise cancellation plus notes |
1. Fathom: best free AI note taker
Fathom’s free plan is the most generous of the big names: unlimited recordings, transcripts and storage for individuals. You get advanced AI summaries on five meetings a month, with simpler notes after that. It works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, highlights key moments, and lets you share short clips of a call. Paid plans start at about $15 a month billed yearly and add unlimited AI summaries, CRM sync and team features.
Watch out for: a “Fathom Notetaker” participant joins your calls, which some clients notice.
2. Granola: best note taker without a bot
Granola takes a different approach. It runs as an app on your computer and listens to your device’s audio, so no bot joins the meeting. You type rough notes during the call, and afterwards Granola fills them out using the transcript, keeping your structure and priorities. Templates help you format notes for interviews, one-to-ones or sales calls. It works with any video tool, including phone calls on your laptop.
Pricing: a free Basic plan with limited history, then Business at $14 per user per month.
Watch out for: because there is no visible bot, you must tell people you are recording. More on that below.
3. Fireflies.ai: best for teams and CRM workflows
Fireflies is built for teams that run many external calls. It transcribes, summarises and tracks topics, speakers and sentiment, and its assistant (AskFred) answers questions about past meetings. It connects with CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot, plus Slack and project tools, so notes land where your team already works.
Pricing: free plan with limited storage and AI credits. Pro is $10 per user per month yearly ($18 monthly), and Business is $19 yearly ($29 monthly).
4. Otter.ai: best for live transcription
Otter shows a live transcript while people talk, which is useful for lectures, interviews and anyone who wants to follow along in text. OtterPilot can join your calendar meetings automatically, and Otter’s AI chat answers questions across all your recordings. The free plan gives 300 minutes a month with a 30-minute limit per conversation.
Pricing: Pro from $8.33 per month billed yearly ($16.99 monthly). Business is $20 per user yearly.
5. tl;dv: best for searching across meetings
tl;dv records Zoom, Meet and Teams calls and makes them easy to search. You can ask its AI questions across many meetings (“what did customers say about pricing this month?”) and schedule recurring reports. The free plan includes unlimited transcription, which makes it a solid Fathom alternative.
Pricing: paid plans from $18 per user per month billed yearly.
6. Fellow: best for structured meetings
Fellow combines AI notes with meeting agendas, action items and follow-ups. It suits managers who run regular one-to-ones and team meetings and want everything in one place. Fellow also puts weight on security, with a managed compliance programme and more than 50 integrations.
Pricing: free for 5 AI recordings per user, then from $7 per user per month billed yearly.
7. Built-in assistants: Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams
If your company already pays for a video platform, check what it includes before buying another tool. Zoom AI Companion comes with paid Zoom plans. Google’s Gemini can take notes in Google Meet on eligible Workspace plans. Microsoft Teams offers AI recaps with Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot licences.
Built-in assistants are convenient and keep data inside a platform your IT team has already approved. Dedicated tools usually win on cross-platform support, search across meetings, and CRM integrations.
How to choose an AI note taker
- Bot or no bot? Bots are reliable and visible, which makes consent easier. Bot-free tools such as Granola feel less intrusive but put the duty to inform others on you.
- Where do your meetings happen? Make sure the tool supports every platform you use, including in-person meetings if you need them.
- Where should notes go? Sales teams should prioritise CRM sync. Others may care more about Slack, Notion or Google Docs.
- Free plan limits. Check minute caps, storage limits and how many AI summaries you get. Otter’s 30-minute cap per conversation catches many people out.
- Language support. If you hold meetings in more than one language, test transcription accuracy on a real call before committing.
- Data handling. Look for clear retention settings and confirm whether recordings are used to train AI models.
Recording consent: read this first
Recording laws differ by country and, in the US, by state. Some require everyone on the call to agree. In the UK and EU, data protection law (UK GDPR and GDPR) means you need a lawful reason to record and should tell participants. The simple, safe habit: announce that you are using an AI note taker at the start of every meeting and offer to turn it off. For client calls, check your contracts and company policy too. This is general information, not legal advice. See our guide to using AI safely for more on privacy.
Our recommendation
Start with Fathom if you want the best free plan, or Granola if you dislike meeting bots and like writing your own notes. Teams with lots of client calls will get more from Fireflies.ai. If your company already has Zoom, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 with AI features, try the built-in option first, because it costs nothing extra.
Looking for more ways to save time? Browse our list of the best AI productivity tools and AI workflows that save hours every week.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free AI note taker?
Fathom has the most generous free plan for individuals, with unlimited recordings and transcripts. tl;dv and Otter.ai are good alternatives.
Can I use an AI note taker without anyone knowing?
Bot-free tools do not show up as a participant, but you should still tell people you are recording. In many places it is a legal requirement, and it is good practice everywhere.
Do AI note takers work for in-person meetings?
Several do. Otter.ai, Granola and Fireflies have apps that can record a meeting in the room using your laptop or phone microphone.
Are AI meeting notes accurate?
Transcripts are usually accurate for clear audio in common languages, but names, jargon and crosstalk cause errors. Always check summaries and action items before you send them on.
Prices are in US dollars, billed per user where stated, and were taken from each vendor’s published plans in 2026. Note-taking apps change pricing often, so confirm before you buy.
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