Best AI Note Takers in 2026: Free Plans, Prices and Privacy Compared

Short answer: If your company already pays for Microsoft Teams or Google Workspace, start with the AI notes built into your meeting app; you may already have them. If you want a free, separate tool, Fathom and Fireflies have the most generous free plans. If you don't want a bot joining your calls, pick Granola, which records from your own device. Otter is a solid all-rounder with a free plan for light use.

All facts below were checked on each company's own pricing and help pages in October 2026. Prices are US dollars unless noted, and plans change often, so check before you pay.

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Quick Comparison

Tool	Free plan	Cheapest paid plan	Joins as a bot?	Works with
Otter	300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per meeting	Pro: $8.33/mo billed yearly ($16.99 monthly)	Yes, or records on your computer	Zoom, Teams, Meet, desktop, phone
Fireflies	Transcription with limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team	Pro: $10/seat/mo billed yearly ($18 monthly)	Yes, or a Chrome extension without a bot	Zoom, Meet, Teams and more
Fathom	Unlimited recordings and transcripts, with AI call summaries	Premium: $16/mo billed yearly ($20 monthly)	Yes, bot-free mode in beta	Zoom, Meet, Teams
Granola	Basic plan with 30 days of meeting history	Business: $14/user/mo	Never	Desktop and phone apps
tl;dv	Unlimited recordings and transcripts, with AI summaries	Pro: €18/mo billed yearly (€29 monthly)	Yes	Zoom, Meet, Teams
Zoom (built in)	Basic plan: summaries for 3 meetings a month	Included in paid Zoom plans	Built in	Zoom
Teams intelligent recap	No	Needs a Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot license	Built in	Teams
Google Meet "Take notes for me"	No	Workspace Business Standard or higher, or Google AI Pro ($19.99/mo)	Built in	Meet, and in-person meetings
Notion AI Meeting Notes	Limited trial	Notion Business plan (from $20/member/mo)	No bot	Zoom, Meet, Teams, in person
ChatGPT record mode	No	ChatGPT Plus or higher	No bot	Mac desktop app only

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The Separate Tools

Otter: the dependable all-rounder

Otter records, transcribes and summarizes meetings on Zoom, Teams and Meet, and also records on your computer or phone without sending a bot. The free plan gives you 300 minutes a month, up to 30 minutes per meeting. Pro costs $8.33 a month billed yearly and raises that to 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes per meeting. It works in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese.

Privacy: Otter says it trains its models on de-identified user data, and that you must always ask people for consent before recording.

Best for: students and solo professionals who want one tool for online and in-person conversations.

Fireflies: generous free transcription

Fireflies joins your calls, or works through a Chrome extension without a bot. The free plan includes transcription with limited AI summaries and 400 minutes of storage per team (lower than many older reviews say). Pro is $10 per seat a month billed yearly and adds unlimited AI summaries and much more storage.

Privacy: Fireflies says it doesn't train on your meeting data by default.

Best for: teams that want searchable transcripts across many meetings.

Fathom: the best free plan for summaries

Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcripts plus instant AI call summaries, which makes it the easiest free choice for most people. Premium ($16 a month billed yearly) adds advanced summaries and action items. It works with Zoom, Meet and Teams, with a bot-free mode in beta.

Best for: anyone who wants good summaries without paying.

Granola: no bot in your meeting

Granola doesn't join your calls at all. It captures audio from your own device, and you add your own quick notes that it turns into a full summary. That makes it a good choice when a visible bot would feel awkward, for example with clients. The free Basic plan keeps 30 days of meeting history. Business is $14 per user a month. Granola says you can opt out of model training at any time.

Best for: people who take client calls and don't want a bot in the room.

tl;dv: for multilingual teams

tl;dv's free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcripts in more than 30 languages, plus AI meeting summaries. Its pricing page shows euros: Pro is €18 a month billed yearly. tl;dv says it will never use your recordings to train AI.

Best for: teams that meet in several languages.

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The AI Notes You May Already Have

Before you sign up for anything, check your meeting app. Many companies already pay for AI notes.

Zoom

Zoom's built-in AI features (it no longer uses the "AI Companion" name) include meeting summaries on paid Zoom plans at no extra cost. Even the free Basic plan gets summaries for 3 meetings a month. Zoom also sells a paid add-on called ZoomMate for heavier use.

Microsoft Teams intelligent recap

Teams can create AI notes, suggested tasks and chapter markers after a meeting. You need a Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot license on top of Teams, and transcription must be turned on. Ask your IT team whether your company already has one.

Google Meet "Take notes for me"

Gemini in Meet writes notes into a Google Doc in your Drive. It's included in Google Workspace Business Standard and higher, and with Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) on personal accounts. Everyone in the meeting sees a notice that notes are being taken. Since August 2026 it also works for in-person meetings. It supports 8 languages, one per meeting.

Notion AI Meeting Notes

If your team uses Notion, its AI Meeting Notes record without a bot through the desktop app and save notes straight into your workspace. Full use needs the Business plan; the Free and Plus plans get a limited trial. Notion asks you to get consent from everyone, and gives you built-in ways to do it.

ChatGPT record mode

On the Mac desktop app, ChatGPT Plus and higher can record a meeting and save a summary to your chat history. No bot joins. OpenAI deletes the audio after transcription and says you should get consent before recording others.

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How to Choose

1. Check what you already pay for. Teams, Google Workspace, Zoom and Notion may already include AI notes.
2. Decide if a bot is OK. If a bot joining calls would bother your clients, choose Granola, Notion or ChatGPT record mode, or Otter's desktop recording.
3. Start free. Fathom, Fireflies and Otter all have free plans. Try one for two weeks on real meetings.
4. Check privacy for work data. Read whether the tool trains on your data, and ask your company before recording work meetings.
5. Pay only when you hit a limit that matters to you, such as meeting length or storage.

Whatever you choose, always tell people you're recording. In many places it's the law, and it's always good practice.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free AI note taker?

Fathom has one of the most generous free plans, with unlimited recordings and transcripts plus AI summaries. Fireflies and Otter also have free plans: Otter's gives 300 minutes a month, and Fireflies includes 400 minutes of storage per team.

Is there an AI note taker that doesn't join the call?

Yes. Granola captures audio from your own device and never joins as a bot. Notion AI Meeting Notes and ChatGPT record mode on Mac also work without a bot, and Otter can record from your computer.

Do Teams and Google Meet have AI note taking?

Yes. Teams has intelligent recap with a Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Google Meet has "Take notes for me" in Workspace Business Standard and higher, or with Google AI Pro.

Is it legal to record meetings with an AI note taker?

The rules depend on where you and the other people are. Many places require everyone's consent. The safe habit is to always tell people you're recording and let them say no.

Do AI note takers use my meetings to train AI?

It depends on the tool. Fireflies says it doesn't train on your data by default, and tl;dv says it never does. Otter trains on de-identified data. Granola lets you opt out. Check each tool's privacy page before recording work meetings.

Can AI note takers work for in-person meetings?

Yes. Otter, Granola and Notion work from your phone or computer in the room, and Google Meet's "Take notes for me" added in-person meetings in August 2026.

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Learn to Get More from Your Meeting Notes

• AI Meeting Notes: turn transcripts into clear summaries and action items with the right prompts
• AI Voice & Audio: transcription, voice tools and more

Both courses are free, with a certificate when you finish.

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Facts checked on each company's own pricing and help pages in October 2026. Prices shown are what those pages listed; plans and limits change often.