Best AI meeting note takers in 2026: Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai compared
Two of the most widely used AI notetakers, judged on free-tier limits, capture method, pricing, and integrations — with a specific pick for each type of user.
Contents
OverviewThe short listThe picks comparedHow the picks comparePricing at a glanceHow we pickedOtter.ai — best when you want bot-free recording and the lowest annual per-seat priceFireflies.ai — best free tier and conversation intelligenceFree plans comparedWhich one should you choose?Strengths & trade-offsOur pickFAQSourcesAn AI meeting note taker joins or records your calls, transcribes what was said, identifies speakers, and turns the conversation into a summary with action items you can search later. The category is crowded, so this guide focuses on two of the most established options — Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai — and ranks them against clear criteria rather than declaring one objectively best for everyone.
Both offer a free plan, live transcription, speaker recognition, an AI assistant you can query across meetings, and an MCP server for connecting the transcripts to AI tools. Where they diverge is in how they capture meetings, how generous the free tier is, and how their paid plans are priced. All prices, plan names, and limits below were observed on the vendors' own pricing pages on 2026-07-27; confirm current figures on each vendor's site before buying.
The short list
Best free plan: Fireflies.ai — unlimited transcription and summaries on its $0 tier (2026-07-27). Best for bot-free recording and lowest annual per-seat price: Otter.ai — its desktop app records without a bot joining, and Otter Pro starts from $8.33/user/month billed annually (2026-07-27). Best for conversation intelligence: Fireflies.ai, with talk-time, sentiment, and topic tracking. Both have capable free tiers, so trying each on a real week of meetings is the fastest way to decide.
The picks compared
Key differences side by side; the stronger option is tinted green.
| Feature | Otter.ai | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Free-plan transcription | 300 monthly transcription minutes | Unlimited transcription (400 min storage/team) |
| Free-plan file imports | 3 lifetime audio/video imports | Audio/video file upload included on free |
| Meeting capture | Joins Zoom/Teams/Meet; desktop app records without a bot | Notetaker bot joins calls; also Chrome/desktop/mobile apps |
| Languages | Multi-language support (no count listed) | 100+ languages with auto-detection |
| AI assistant | AI Chat within and across meetings | AskFred plus Live Assist real-time coaching |
| Conversation intelligence | Live sales coaching tips | Talk-time, sentiment analysis, topic trackers |
| Pro price (annual) | From $8.33/user/month | $10/seat/month |
| MCP server | Otter MCP server | Fireflies MCP server (Claude, Devin, ChatGPT) |
How the picks compare
| Feature | Otter.ai | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unlimited transcription on free planOtter's free plan caps at 300 monthly transcription minutes as of 2026-07-27; Fireflies free lists unlimited transcription bounded by 400 min storage/team. | ✗ | ✓ |
| Records without a bot joiningOtter markets bot-free desktop recording; Fireflies has a desktop app but defaults to a notetaker bot that joins calls. | ✓ | △ |
| 100+ languages statedOtter lists multi-language support without a count on the pages checked (2026-07-27); Fireflies states 100+ languages. | △ | ✓ |
| AI assistant across meetingsOtter AI Chat; Fireflies AskFred and Live Assist. | ✓ | ✓ |
| MCP server | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conversation intelligence (sentiment/topics)Otter lists live sales coaching tips; Fireflies lists talk-time, sentiment analysis, and topic trackers (2026-07-27). | △ | ✓ |
| API accessOtter lists its API on the Enterprise tier; Fireflies lists API access on its free plan (2026-07-27). | △ | ✓ |
✓ full · △ partial/paid · ✗ not supported
Pricing at a glance
Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
- 300 monthly transcription minutes
- 3 lifetime audio/video file imports
- Live transcription + speaker identification
- AI Chat within and across meetings
- Otter MCP server
- iOS and Android apps
- 1200 in-app recording minutes
- Up to 90 mins/meeting
- 10 monthly audio/video file imports
- Advanced AI workflows + meeting templates
- Unlimited storage
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier integrations
- Unlimited meetings + in-app recordings
- Up to 4 hours/meeting
- Custom AI workflows
- Admin activity logs + usage analytics
- Join 3 concurrent meetings
- Prioritized support
- SSO, SCIM, Domain Capture
- HIPAA compliance (add-on)
- Otter API & Webhooks
- Otter Sales Notetaker
- Custom CRM/dialer integrations
- Unlimited transcription
- Unlimited AI summaries
- 400 mins storage/team + 20 AI credits
- Meeting search + AskFred assistant
- 100+ languages
- Desktop, mobile, Chrome extension + API access
- Everything in Free
- 8,000 mins storage/seat
- Video recording + downloads
- AI Skills + Voice Agents
- Action items & task manager
- Unlimited integrations
- For fast-growing businesses and large teams
- Higher limits above Pro
- GDPR, SOC2 compliance listed
- Conversation intelligence analytics
How we picked
These are the criteria this site weighed, and why they matter more than a raw feature count:
- Free-tier ceiling. Most people try a notetaker before paying. The transcription and storage a free plan allows decides whether it is usable long-term or just a trial.
- Capture method. Some tools send a bot into the call; some record from your desktop without a bot joining. That choice affects meeting etiquette and how in-person conversations are handled.
- Summaries and action items. The point of the category is not the transcript but the structured output: decisions, next steps, and searchable notes.
- Search and AI assistant. Being able to ask questions across past meetings is what separates a notetaker from a recorder.
- Integrations. CRM sync, task tools, and MCP connections determine how much manual copying you avoid.
- Per-seat pricing. For individuals and small teams, the annual price per user is the number that actually lands on the invoice.
We did not weigh raw transcription-accuracy claims heavily, because vendors measure accuracy differently and the figures are hard to verify independently. Treat any single accuracy percentage as a vendor claim, not a measured fact.
Otter.ai — best when you want bot-free recording and the lowest annual per-seat price
Otter.ai positions itself as an AI notetaker that also works as a searchable knowledge engine across your meetings. It connects to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, provides live transcription with speaker identification, and produces summaries with decisions and action items. Its AI Chat can search within and across meetings to answer questions and draft follow-ups (otter.ai, 2026-07-27).
A distinguishing feature is its desktop app for Mac and Windows, which records conversations directly from your device without a bot joining the call (otter.ai, 2026-07-27). That suits people who would rather not have a visible notetaker appear in the participant list. On the paid side, Otter's Pro plan lists direct integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier, and the Enterprise tier adds SSO, SCIM, an API and webhooks, and HIPAA compliance as an add-on (otter.ai/pricing, 2026-07-27).
Otter's free Basic plan includes 300 monthly transcription minutes and 3 lifetime audio/video file imports as of 2026-07-27, so it caps how much you can transcribe each month. If your annual budget per seat is the deciding factor, Otter Pro is the cheaper of the two paid entry tiers here.
Fireflies.ai — best free tier and conversation intelligence
Fireflies.ai captures meetings with an AI notetaker bot you invite to a call or let auto-join from your calendar, and it also offers a Chrome extension, mobile app, and desktop app for recording and transcription. It transcribes in 100+ languages with speaker recognition and auto-language detection, and generates summaries with bullet points, action items, and custom notes (fireflies.ai, 2026-07-27).
Its standout is the free plan. As of 2026-07-27, Fireflies Free ($0) lists unlimited transcription, unlimited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits, meeting search, the AskFred AI assistant, file upload, and API access (fireflies.ai/pricing, 2026-07-27). For someone who wants to transcribe a lot without paying, that ceiling is higher than a fixed monthly-minute cap.
Fireflies also leans into conversation intelligence: speaker talk-time, sentiment analysis, and topic trackers, plus a library described as 200+ AI Skills for extracting details and drafting follow-ups. A Fireflies MCP Server brings meeting insights into AI tools such as Claude, Devin, and ChatGPT, and the company lists GDPR and SOC2 compliance (fireflies.ai, 2026-07-27).
Free plans compared
This is where the two differ most as of 2026-07-27. Fireflies Free advertises unlimited transcription and unlimited AI summaries, bounded by 400 minutes of storage per team and 20 AI credits (fireflies.ai/pricing, 2026-07-27). Otter's free Basic plan sets a 300-monthly-transcription-minute limit and 3 lifetime file imports, but includes live transcription, speaker identification, AI Chat across meetings, and the Otter MCP server (otter.ai/pricing, 2026-07-27).
If your priority is transcribing as many meetings as possible without upgrading, Fireflies' free plan is the more generous starting point on volume. If you want the AI chat-across-meetings experience and don't need heavy monthly volume, Otter's free tier covers the basics.
Which one should you choose?
For the most generous free plan: Fireflies, thanks to unlimited transcription and summaries on its $0 tier (fireflies.ai/pricing, 2026-07-27).
For bot-free recording: Otter, whose desktop app records without a bot joining the call (otter.ai, 2026-07-27). Fireflies also has a desktop app, but its default meeting-capture model uses a notetaker bot.
For the lowest annual per-seat price: Otter Pro, listed from $8.33/user/month billed annually versus Fireflies Pro at $10/seat/month billed annually (both observed 2026-07-27).
For conversation intelligence and sales analytics: Fireflies, which lists speaker talk-time, sentiment analysis, and topic trackers, plus CRM autofill for sales teams (fireflies.ai, 2026-07-27). Otter also targets sales with live coaching tips and CRM sync, so evaluate both against your CRM.
For regulated workflows needing HIPAA: Otter lists HIPAA compliance as an Enterprise add-on (otter.ai/pricing, 2026-07-27). Confirm the current compliance scope with each vendor for your specific requirements, since the pages checked here are partial.
Strengths & trade-offs
- Desktop app records without a bot joining the call (otter.ai, 2026-07-27)
- Lowest annual per-seat Pro price of the two (from $8.33/user/mo, 2026-07-27)
- AI Chat searches within and across meetings
- HIPAA compliance available as an Enterprise add-on
- Free plan caps transcription at 300 monthly minutes (2026-07-27)
- Free plan limits file imports to 3 lifetime uploads (2026-07-27)
- Language support listed without a specific count on the pages checked
- Unlimited transcription and AI summaries on the free plan (2026-07-27)
- 100+ languages with auto-language detection
- Conversation intelligence: talk-time, sentiment, topic trackers
- MCP server connects meetings to Claude, Devin, and ChatGPT
- Free plan storage is capped at 400 minutes per team (2026-07-27)
- Default capture uses a notetaker bot that joins the call
- Business-tier pricing was not shown on the page checked (2026-07-27)
There is no single best AI meeting note taker for every user, but against the criteria above the choice is clear per situation. If you want to transcribe heavily without paying, Fireflies.ai wins on its free plan's unlimited transcription and summaries (2026-07-27), and it adds conversation intelligence that sales and research teams will use. If you would rather not have a bot appear in your calls, or you want the lowest annual per-seat price, Otter.ai is the pick — its desktop app records bot-free, and Otter Pro starts from $8.33/user/month billed annually (2026-07-27).
For a small team standardizing on one tool, map your must-haves first: language coverage and analytics point toward Fireflies; bot-free capture, HIPAA-as-an-add-on, and the cheaper annual seat point toward Otter. Both free tiers are strong enough to test properly, so run each through a week of your actual meetings and let the summaries decide. Verify current pricing and compliance details on each vendor's site before you commit, since plans in this category change often.
FAQ
Is there a genuinely free AI meeting note taker?
Yes. Both tools reviewed here offer a free plan as of 2026-07-27. Fireflies Free ($0) lists unlimited transcription and AI summaries bounded by 400 minutes of storage per team, while Otter's free Basic plan includes 300 monthly transcription minutes plus live transcription and AI Chat. Confirm current limits on each vendor's pricing page.
Which has the more generous free plan, Otter or Fireflies?
On transcription volume, Fireflies. As of 2026-07-27 its free plan advertises unlimited transcription and unlimited AI summaries, whereas Otter's free plan caps transcription at 300 monthly minutes. Fireflies' free plan is bounded instead by 400 minutes of storage per team and 20 AI credits.
Can I record a meeting without a bot joining the call?
Otter offers a desktop app for Mac and Windows that records directly from your device without a bot joining, according to otter.ai (2026-07-27). Fireflies also has a desktop app for recording, but its default meeting-capture method invites a notetaker bot to the call.
How much do the paid plans cost?
As of 2026-07-27, Otter Pro is listed from $8.33/user/month billed annually (or $16.99 monthly) and Otter Business from $19.99/user/month annually. Fireflies Pro is $10/seat/month billed annually (or $18 monthly). Business and Enterprise tiers on both are custom or higher; check the vendors' pricing pages for current figures.