The best AI note takers for meetings in 2026 are Fellow, Fathom, Fireflies, Granola, and Otter — but the right one depends on your team size, privacy requirements, and workflow. Fellow leads for teams that bot and bot-free options, granular controls and deep task integrations. Fathom is the best free option for individuals. Fireflies wins on multilingual support. Granola stands out for bot-free, distraction-free capture. Otter suits teams that want live collaborative notes.
We evaluated each tool against six criteria: transcription accuracy, output structure (action items, decisions, follow-ups), meeting platform support, integration depth, privacy and data handling, and pricing. Rankings reflect how tools perform across those criteria — not commercial relationships.
Quick Comparison
Fellow — Best for teams needing bot and bot-free recording options + control (pause/redact) + deep integrations · Zoom, Meet, Teams · From $7/user/mo · Bot-free option: Yes
Fathom — Best for individuals who need a generous free plan · Zoom, Meet, Teams · Free forever · Bot-free option: Yes (beta)
Fireflies — Best for multilingual teams + large archives · Zoom, Meet, Teams + 40 apps · From $10/user/mo · Bot-free option: Chrome extension only
Granola — Best for privacy-conscious solo users and execs · Any desktop audio · From $18/mo · Bot-free option: Yes
Otter — Best for live collaborative notes and sales teams · Zoom, Meet, Teams · From $16.99/user/mo · Bot-free option: Yes
tl;dv — Best for sales teams needing highlights and coaching · Zoom, Meet, Teams · Free (unlimited recordings) · Bot-free option: No
Jamie — Best for bot-free capture across any platform or in-person · Any desktop audio · Free (10 summaries/mo) · Bot-free option: Yes
Notta — Best for global and multilingual teams · Zoom, Meet, Teams + more · From $8.25/user/mo · Bot-free option: No
Avoma — Best for revenue and customer success teams · Zoom, Meet, Teams · From $19/user/mo · Bot-free option: No
Tactiq — Best for zero-setup Google Meet users · Zoom, Meet, Teams via Chrome · Free (limited) · Bot-free option: Yes
Full Reviews
1. Fellow — Best for people needing bot + bot-free options, recording controls (pause/redact), and deep integrations
Fellow is an AI meeting assistant built around the full meeting lifecycle — agenda before, transcription during, and structured notes and action items after. It's the only tool in this roundup that offers both bot and botless recording with full enterprise governance on both, and its Ask Fellow agent goes well beyond transcription to draft follow-ups, generate documents, and surface action items across your entire meeting history.
Platforms supported: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack Huddles, dialers, and in-person meetings (with botless)
Key features:
- Bot and botless recording, both fully enterprise-governed
- Ask Fellow AI agent: cross-meeting search, follow-up drafting, document generation, meeting prep, clip key moments
- Mid-meeting pause/resume and post-meeting transcript redaction
- CRM field suggestions in Salesforce and HubSpot based on meeting content
- 50+ integrations including Jira, Asana, Notion, Slack, and Zapier (8,000+ apps)
- SOC2 Type II, GDPR, and HIPAA compliance
- SSO, SCIM, admin roles, and domain restrictions
- 99+ language support
Pros:
- Only tool with enterprise-governed botless recording — unlike most botless tools, it's not personal capture software operating outside IT's visibility
- Ask Fellow works across your full meeting history and specific channels, not just a single transcript
- Deepest CRM and project management integration in this roundup
- Does not train AI models on your data
- The most comprehensive compliance stack for regulated industries
Cons:
- Free plan limited to 5 AI recordings
- Key integrations (CRM, Jira, Asana) require paid plans
- Botless recording is desktop only; mobile requires the bot
Pricing: Free plan (5 AI recordings). Team: $7/user/month (annual, min. 3 users). Business: $15/user/month with unlimited recordings and CRM integrations. Enterprise: $25/user/month.
Bottom line: Fellow is the best AI note taker for teams that need a meeting agent rather than just a recorder — it's alsovery safe for regulated industries where governance, compliance, and integration depth all matter.
2. Fathom — Best for individuals who need a genuinely free option
Fathom has the most generous free tier in this category: unlimited meeting recording and transcription with no monthly cap. It supports Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, and produces clean, fast summaries with action items extracted immediately after the call ends. A botless recording option has been added in recent updates. Fathom's pitch is simplicity — reliable capture without feature bloat.
Platforms supported: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams
Key features:
- Unlimited free recording and transcription (no minute caps)
- AI summaries generated within 30 seconds of meeting end
- Action item extraction and assignment to team members
- Perfect Recall: natural language search across all past meetings
- CRM sync on paid plans (HubSpot, Salesforce)
- 28 languages supported
- Botless recording option (beta)
Pros:
- Best free plan in the category — genuinely unlimited, no credit card required
- Fast summary generation with concise, decision-focused output
- Clean, low-friction interface with minimal setup
- SOC2 and GDPR compliant
Cons:
- Fewer integrations than Fireflies or Fellow on the free tier
- Limited language support (28) compared to Fireflies (100+) or Fellow (99+)
- CRM sync and team dashboards require the paid plan ($19/user/month)
- Occasionally struggles with strong accents or fast multi-speaker conversations
Pricing: Free forever (unlimited recordings). Teams plan: $19/user/month.
Bottom line: Fathom is the best free AI note taker available in 2026 — ideal for individuals and small teams who want reliable transcription and summaries without paying anything.
3. Fireflies — Best for multilingual teams
Fireflies is one of the most established tools in the category, with support for over 100 languages, a large integration ecosystem, and a strong conversation intelligence layer. Its AskFred assistant lets users query transcripts across their entire meeting history. Fireflies is particularly strong for teams that run a high volume of meetings and need to search across a large archive.
Platforms supported: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, plus 40+ other platforms
Key features:
- 100+ language transcription with high accuracy
- AskFred: natural language search and Q&A across meeting history
- Keyword-based Topic Trackers for monitoring recurring themes
- Conversation intelligence: talk-time ratios, sentiment trends
- CRM integration (Salesforce, HubSpot) on paid plans
- Chrome extension option for bot-free capture
- Broad app ecosystem: Slack, Notion, Zapier, Asana, and more
Pros:
- Widest language support in the category (100+) — strong choice for international teams
- Robust meeting archive with smart search makes it easy to retrieve information from months of past calls
- Strong free tier with unlimited storage
- Extensive integration library
Cons:
- Bot-based by default — participants see "Fred from Fireflies" join every call, which can be awkward in client-facing contexts
- Full AI summaries require a paid subscription
- Data stored on third-party servers, which may concern organisations with strict data residency requirements
- Speaker misattribution reported when multiple people speak from the same device
Pricing: Free plan (limited AI summaries). Pro: $10/user/month. Business: $19/user/month. Enterprise: $39/user/month with private storage.
Bottom line: Fireflies is the best AI note taker for global teams that need multilingual transcription and the ability to search across a large archive of past meetings.
4. Granola — Best for professionals who want zero bots
Granola captures audio directly from your device — no bot joins your call, and no recording announcements are made. It runs a hybrid model: you jot rough notes during the meeting, and Granola's AI enhances them into structured summaries after the call. The result is notes that blend your own context with AI-generated structure. Granola has built a loyal following among VCs, consultants, and founders who prize discretion.
Platforms supported: Any desktop meeting application (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex, etc.)
Key features:
- Bot-free recording via device audio capture
- Hybrid human-AI workflow: your rough notes + AI enhancement
- Post-meeting chat with transcript via Ask Granola
- Clean, fast summaries with action items and decisions
- Integrations with Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Attio (Business plan)
- Works with any desktop application that outputs audio
Pros:
- No bot joins calls — zero social friction, no recording announcements
- Hybrid note-taking model produces unusually natural, context-rich summaries
- Fast and lightweight with minimal setup
- Strong user satisfaction and enthusiastic word-of-mouth
Cons:
- Free plan limited to 25 lifetime meetings — more of a trial than an ongoing free tier
- No audio/video playback — you can't replay the meeting to verify context
- Speaker attribution inconsistent in fast-paced group calls
- Only 10 languages supported; limited for international teams
- Deeper integrations paywalled to Business plan
Pricing: 25 free lifetime meetings. Individual: $18/month. Business: $14/user/month. Enterprise: $35/user/month.
Bottom line: Granola is the best AI note taker for privacy-conscious professionals who need bot-free capture and are willing to trade some team features for a more discreet, lightweight experience.
5. Otter — Best for live note-taking during meetings
Otter.ai is one of the most recognised names in the category, known for its OtterPilot feature that auto-joins scheduled meetings and generates live, collaborative notes. Multiple participants can view and annotate the transcript in real time. Otter has expanded into sales workflows with CRM integration, automated follow-up emails, and custom meeting templates on higher plans.
Platforms supported: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams
Key features:
- OtterPilot: automatic join and live transcription
- Real-time collaborative notes — multiple users can edit simultaneously
- Otter Chat: query transcripts and analyse trends across meetings
- Custom vocabulary for domain-specific terminology
- CRM sync and automated follow-up summaries on paid plans
- Filler word removal and clean transcript formatting
Pros:
- Best live collaborative experience — participants can view and annotate notes during the call
- Reliable transcription accuracy in clean audio conditions
- Strong sales features on Business plan
- Long-standing platform with extensive documentation and a large user base
Cons:
- Bot-only — no botless recording option
- Primarily English; limited multilingual support compared to Fireflies or Notta
- Free plan reduced to 300 minutes/month and 3 imports — insufficient for regular use
- Notes siloed within Otter's environment; limited export flexibility on lower plans
Pricing: Free plan (300 min/month, 3 imports). Pro: $16.99/user/month. Business: $30/user/month.
Bottom line: Otter is the best choice for teams that want live, collaborative note-taking during meetings — particularly useful when multiple participants need to see and annotate notes in real time.
6. tl;dv — Best for sales and research teams who need highlight reels
tl;dv (too long; didn't view) focuses on timestamped moments and highlight sharing. Users can clip specific parts of a meeting, create highlight reels, and share them with stakeholders who didn't attend. It also includes a coaching dashboard and speaker analytics for sales teams. The free plan is notably generous, with unlimited recordings and transcripts.
Platforms supported: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams
Key features:
- Timestamped highlight clipping and reel creation
- Unlimited free recordings and AI moment summaries
- Sales coaching dashboard with speaker analytics
- Cross-meeting AI search and trend tracking
- CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot) on paid plans
- 30+ languages supported
Pros:
- Strong free plan with unlimited recordings and transcripts
- Highlight clipping is genuinely differentiated — ideal for sharing key moments with stakeholders
- Good coaching and analytics features at a competitive price
- Accurate transcription even in fast speech and poor audio conditions
Cons:
- Bot-only — no botless option
- 3-hour recording limit per meeting
- AI credit system limits summary generation on the free plan
- Mobile experience less polished than desktop
Pricing: Free plan (unlimited recordings, limited AI credits). Pro: $25/user/month.
Bottom line: tl;dv is the best AI note taker for sales and customer research teams that need to clip and share specific meeting moments — and it offers one of the most generous free tiers for unlimited recording.
7. Jamie — Best for European data hosting
Jamie is a privacy-first AI note taker that records directly from your device with no bot joining your call. It works across any platform — including in-person meetings — and supports 70+ languages with offline transcription. Available for Mac and Windows, it's a strong option for individuals and small teams who want clean summaries without cloud storage of audio or video.
Platforms supported: Any platform, including offline and in-person meetings
Key features:
- Bot-free recording via device audio
- Works offline and for in-person meetings
- 70+ language support
- No audio/video stored in the cloud
- AI summaries with action items and key decisions
- GDPR-compliant with European data hosting
Pros:
- Best option for in-person meetings — no other mainstream tool covers this as cleanly
- Strong privacy stance: no audio/video stored, European data hosting
- Works across any platform without setup or bot invitations
- Generous free plan (10 AI summaries/month)
Cons:
- Post-meeting only — no real-time transcription during the call
- No video playback
- No sales coaching or conversation intelligence features
- More limited integrations than Fireflies or Fellow
Pricing: Free plan (10 AI summaries/month). Paid plans from ~$24/month.
Bottom line: Jamie is the best AI note taker for professionals who frequently attend in-person meetings or need a bot-free option that works across any platform without storing audio in the cloud.
8. Notta — Best for multilingual transcription
Notta positions itself as a transcription-first platform with claimed accuracy of up to 98.86% and support for 58 languages. It handles both live meeting transcription and file uploads, and includes a screen recorder, AI summariser, and meeting scheduler. Notta is a strong choice for organisations operating across multiple languages that need reliable, exportable transcripts.
Platforms supported: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, plus file uploads
Key features:
- 58 languages with up to 98.86% claimed accuracy
- Real-time transcription with speaker identification
- Structured AI summaries: decisions, action items, customer insights
- Screen recording built in
- Export to TXT, Word, PDF, and SRT formats
- File upload transcription for audio/video from any source
Pros:
- Strong multilingual accuracy, particularly for non-English content
- Flexible export options for downstream use in documents or captions
- Affordable paid plan at $8.25/month — one of the cheapest in this roundup
- Handles diverse accents well
Cons:
- Bot-based for live meetings
- Some users report missing sentences and speaker misattribution in group calls
- Free plan capped at 120 minutes/month
- Weaker on team collaboration and workflow integrations
Pricing: Free plan (120 min/month). Pro: $8.25/user/month (billed annually).
Bottom line: Notta is the best AI note taker for international teams that prioritise multilingual transcription accuracy and need affordable, exportable notes across many languages.
9. Avoma — Best for revenue and customer success teams needing conversation intelligence
Avoma goes beyond note-taking: it's a meeting intelligence platform with scheduling, recording, transcription, structured notes, CRM sync, and a deals management dashboard. It's oriented toward sales and customer success teams that want to combine meeting capture with pipeline visibility and coaching insights. That breadth comes at a higher price point than most tools here.
Platforms supported: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and more
Key features:
- AI notes with customisable smart templates (Sales, CS, Recruiting)
- Two-way CRM sync (Salesforce, HubSpot)
- Conversation intelligence: sentiment, scorecards, coaching insights
- Revenue intelligence: pipeline health and deal insights
- Built-in meeting scheduling and lead routing
- Deals management dashboard
Pros:
- Most sophisticated conversation and revenue intelligence in this roundup outside of Gong
- Two-way CRM sync keeps deal records up to date automatically
- Role-specific note templates tailored to sales, CS, or recruiting workflows
- Unlimited free viewer seats for stakeholders
Cons:
- No free plan — starter pricing begins at $19/user/month
- Transcript accuracy can be inconsistent; often needs review before sharing
- AI summaries sometimes misinterpret context and miss key points
- Bot join delays and occasional speaker misattribution noted in reviews
Pricing: No free plan. Starter: $19/user/month. Growth: $49/user/month. Enterprise: from $129/user/month.
Bottom line: Avoma is the best AI note taker for revenue and customer success teams that need structured outputs tied to CRM workflows and are willing to pay for conversation intelligence features.
10. Tactiq — Best for Google Meet users who want zero-setup transcription
Tactiq is a lightweight Chrome extension that delivers live transcription directly within Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. There's no separate platform to adopt, no bot to invite, and no additional login. For teams working primarily in Google Meet who want a no-friction note-taking layer, Tactiq has the simplest setup of any tool reviewed here.
Platforms supported: Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams (via Chrome browser only)
Key features:
- Chrome extension — no separate platform or bot
- Real-time transcription within the meeting interface
- One-click AI summaries and action item extraction
- Custom AI prompts for role-specific outputs
- Integrations with Slack, Notion, Linear, HubSpot
Pros:
- Fastest setup of any tool in this roundup — active in seconds
- Bot-free by design — nothing visible joins the call
- Custom prompts allow teams to tailor output to specific needs
- Reasonable free tier for occasional users
Cons:
- Chrome-only — does not work outside a browser or on native desktop apps
- No video recording or playback
- Transcription accuracy criticised for fast speech and multi-speaker scenarios
- Language detection is not automatic — must be set manually
- AI credit system restricts output generation on lower-tier plans
Pricing: Free plan (10 meetings/month, 5 AI credits). Starter: $12/month. Professional: $20/month.
Bottom line: Tactiq is the best AI note taker for Google Meet users who want zero-setup, bot-free live transcription — though teams with accuracy requirements or multi-platform needs should look at other options.
Platform-Specific Recommendations
Best AI Note Taker for Zoom
Fellow and Fathom are the strongest options for Zoom. Fellow integrates natively with Zoom, supports both bot and botless recording, and pushes structured action items to task management tools after the call. Fathom is the better choice if cost is the primary constraint — its free tier covers unlimited Zoom recordings with no cap. For teams that also need multilingual support, Fireflies covers 100+ languages on Zoom.
Best AI Note Taker for Google Meet
Fellow and Tactiq lead for Google Meet. Fellow's full-lifecycle workflow — agenda, recording, and structured notes — integrates cleanly with Google Calendar. Tactiq is the fastest setup option for Meet users who want a lightweight, bot-free layer without leaving the browser. The choice comes down to whether you need a full AI meeting agent (Fellow) or just transcription (Tactiq).
Best AI Note Taker for Microsoft Teams
Fellow and Fireflies are the two strongest choices for Teams. Fellow supports native Teams integration across all paid plans and is the only tool in this roundup combining Teams recording with HIPAA compliance — making it viable for healthcare and financial services. Fireflies offers broader language support and a deeper integration ecosystem, making it a solid option for larger enterprise deployments.
Best AI Note Taker for In-Person Meetings
Jamie records from device audio with no network dependency, works offline, and supports 70+ languages. Fellow and Granola also capture in-person conversations via device audio, though it requires an internet connection for AI processing. Both take a privacy-first approach and do not store raw audio in the cloud.
What to Look For in an AI Note Taker
Transcription accuracy should be the baseline. Most tools claim 90–95% accuracy under good audio conditions, but performance degrades with overlapping speakers, background noise, and non-English content. If your meetings are multilingual, prioritise tools with verified accuracy across your target languages — Fellow, Fireflies and Notta are generally stronger here than Otter or Fathom.
Output structure matters as much as accuracy. A wall of transcript text is less useful than a summary that clearly separates action items, decisions, follow-ups, and highlights. Fellow, Avoma, and tl;dv produce notably structured outputs.
Integration depth determines how useful the tool actually is in practice. Notes that live inside a standalone app create another silo. Tools that push action items to Asana, Jira, Linear, or CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot close the loop between discussion and execution. Fellow and Fireflies have the deepest integration ecosystems in this roundup.
Privacy and data handling deserve scrutiny. Check whether the tool trains AI models on your meeting data, where recordings are stored, and whether your compliance requirements (SOC2, HIPAA, GDPR) are met. Fellow is the only mainstream tool here offering HIPAA compliance at a team-accessible price point.
Finally, consider the bot question. Bot-based tools are feature-rich but announce themselves to participants. In client-facing or sensitive conversations, a bot-free option — Granola, Jamie, Fellow's botless mode, or Tactiq — may be more appropriate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best AI note taker for Zoom?
Fellow and Fathom are the strongest options for Zoom. Fellow offers the deepest integration with task management tools and the strongest privacy controls. Fathom is the best choice if you need a genuinely free option with unlimited recordings.
Can AI take notes without a bot joining the meeting?
Yes. Several tools in this roundup work without a visible bot: Fellow offers a bot-free recording mode. Granola and Jamie can also capture audio directly from your device; Tactiq operates as a Chrome extension. Bot-free tools are generally preferred for client-facing or sensitive conversations.
What AI note taker works with Microsoft Teams?
Fellow and Fireflies both offer strong Microsoft Teams support. Fellow is the better option for organisations with strict compliance requirements (SOC2, HIPAA, GDPR). Fireflies is the stronger choice for multilingual Teams deployments, with 100+ language support.
How accurate are AI meeting note takers?
Most tools achieve 85–95% accuracy under good audio conditions — clear audio, English, limited crosstalk. Accuracy drops with background noise, fast speech, non-English content, and overlapping speakers. We recommend testing any tool with your actual meeting conditions before committing to a plan.
Is there an AI that automatically takes notes on all my meetings?
Yes. Fellow, Fireflies, Otter, and Fathom can all be configured to auto-join any meeting that appears on your calendar. Fellow also supports auto-record policies at the workspace level, allowing organisations to set rules about which meetings are automatically captured.
Can an AI note taker write my follow-up emails for me?
Yes — a small number of tools are moving beyond transcription into agentic territory, where the AI handles post-meeting work on your behalf. Fellow's Ask Fellow agent is the most capable example in this roundup: it drafts follow-up emails directly in Gmail based on what was actually discussed in the meeting, generates documents like memos and status reports from meeting content, surfaces open action items across all your past meetings, and can even prep your agenda before you walk in. Most AI note takers stop at the transcript. Fellow is built to handle what comes after it.
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