For most small businesses, Fathom is the best Fireflies alternative because its free plan includes unlimited recordings, transcriptions and AI call summaries. Pick Granola if you do not want a bot joining your calls, and Notta if you want the cheapest paid plan at $8.17 a month billed yearly.
- The best free planFathomFree plan; Premium starts at $16/month billed yearly or $20 monthly [3]
- Notes without a bot joining the callGranolaFree plan; Business starts at $14/user/month [4]
- Live transcription on a budgetOtter.aiFree plan; Pro lists at $8.33/user/month billed yearly [6]
- Summaries of meetings, email and messages in one placeRead AIFree plan; Pro starts at $15/user/month billed yearly [7]
Why people look for alternatives to Fireflies.ai
Fireflies is a strong notetaker at a low price: Pro costs $10 per seat a month billed yearly and it transcribes in 100+ languages Fireflies pricing ↗ Fireflies features ↗. People still look elsewhere for a few reasons. The free plan limits storage to 400 minutes for the whole team, gives 20 AI credits and only limited AI summaries, caps recordings at 2 hours and captures video at 720p Fireflies pricing ↗. Video recording starts on Pro, conversation intelligence on Business at $19, and HIPAA compliance only on Enterprise at $39 per seat billed yearly, which is annual only Fireflies pricing ↗. Fireflies mainly works by sending a bot into your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call Fireflies features ↗, and some clients dislike seeing it. Others want something that summarizes more than meetings, or a lower price.
The best Fireflies.ai alternatives
- 1Free plan; Premium starts at $16/month billed yearly or $20 monthly [3]
Fathom
The best free plan
Fathom Free includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI call summaries, clips and search across calls Fathom pricing ↗. You can choose bot capture or bot free capture, which is in beta and Mac only Fathom pricing ↗. Paid plans add AI action items, team search and CRM field sync, with a 90 day guarantee Fathom pricing ↗.
- 2Free plan; Business starts at $14/user/month [4]
Granola
Notes without a bot joining the call
Granola records your computer audio in the background, so no bot joins, and it works with Zoom, Meet, Teams or any app, plus in person through its iPhone and Android apps Granola features ↗. The free Basic plan keeps 30 days of history; Business adds unlimited history and integrations with Notion, Zapier and HubSpot Granola pricing ↗.
- 3Free plan; Pro lists at $8.33/user/month billed yearly [6]
Otter.ai
Live transcription on a budget
Otter's free Basic plan includes live transcription, speaker identification and support for Zoom, Teams and Google Meet Otter pricing ↗. Pro gives 1,200 minutes a month with a 90 minute meeting cap, and Business removes the monthly meeting minute limit with a 4 hour cap Otter pricing ↗.
- 4Free plan; Pro starts at $15/user/month billed yearly [7]
Read AI
Summaries of meetings, email and messages in one place
Read AI summarizes meetings, email and messaging, and its Ask Read search answers questions across all three Read AI pricing ↗ Read AI features ↗. The free plan covers 5 meeting transcripts a month up to 1 hour each, and Pro adds unlimited transcripts and Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion and Zapier Read AI pricing ↗.
- 5Free plan; Pro about $18/seat/month billed yearly, per third party reviews [10]
tl;dv
Unlimited free recordings and EU data hosting
tl;dv's free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions in 30+ languages, and the company says data is hosted in the EU tl;dv features ↗. The catch: free AI notes cover only 10 meetings for the life of the account, per an October 2026 review by competitor Laxis Laxis tl;dv review ↗.
- 6Free plan; Pro starts at $8.17/month billed yearly [11]
Notta
The cheapest paid plan
Notta Pro costs $8.17 a month billed yearly and includes 1,800 transcription minutes a month and recordings up to 5 hours Notta pricing ↗. Every plan records Zoom, Teams, Google Meet and Webex meetings Notta pricing ↗. Its free plan is tight: 120 minutes a month and 3 minutes per recording Notta pricing ↗.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | The best free plan | Free plan; Premium starts at $16/month billed yearly or $20 monthly [3] | Yes |
| Granola | Notes without a bot joining the call | Free plan; Business starts at $14/user/month [4] | Yes |
| Otter.ai | Live transcription on a budget | Free plan; Pro lists at $8.33/user/month billed yearly [6] | Yes |
| Read AI | Summaries of meetings, email and messages in one place | Free plan; Pro starts at $15/user/month billed yearly [7] | Yes |
| tl;dv | Unlimited free recordings and EU data hosting | Free plan; Pro about $18/seat/month billed yearly, per third party reviews [10] | Yes |
| Notta | The cheapest paid plan | Free plan; Pro starts at $8.17/month billed yearly [11] | Yes |
Prices checked Oct 9, 2026. See the full price index.
How to choose a Fireflies alternative
Start with what bothers you about Fireflies. If it is the free plan, compare limits side by side. Fireflies Free caps storage at 400 minutes per team and recordings at 2 hours Fireflies pricing ↗. Fathom Free has unlimited recordings and transcriptions Fathom pricing ↗, and tl;dv Free has unlimited recordings too, but only 10 meetings of AI notes in total tl;dv features ↗ Laxis tl;dv review ↗.
If it is the bot, look at Granola, which captures device audio with no bot on every plan Granola pricing ↗ Granola features ↗. Fathom also offers bot free capture in beta on Mac Fathom pricing ↗. Remember that bot free tools still record people, so you still need to tell participants.
If it is price, Fireflies is already one of the cheapest paid tools at $10 per seat billed yearly Fireflies pricing ↗. Only Otter Pro at $8.33 and Notta Pro at $8.17 come in lower on yearly billing, and both have meeting minute limits that Fireflies Pro does not list Otter pricing ↗ Notta pricing ↗ Fireflies pricing ↗.
If you want more than meetings, Read AI also summarizes email and messages and lets you search across all of them Read AI pricing ↗ Read AI features ↗.
- Best free plan: Fathom
- No bot on the call: Granola
- Cheapest paid seat: Notta or Otter
- Meetings plus email and chat: Read AI
- Unlimited free recordings, EU hosting: tl;dv
Free plans compared
Free plans are where these tools differ most. Fireflies Free gives 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits, limited AI summaries and 2 hour recordings Fireflies pricing ↗. Fathom Free gives unlimited recordings, transcriptions and instant summaries Fathom pricing ↗. Granola Basic includes unlimited meeting notes, but you need to upgrade to see notes older than 30 days Granola features ↗ Granola pricing ↗. Read AI Free covers 5 meetings a month up to 1 hour Read AI pricing ↗. Otter Basic gives 300 minutes a month with a 30 minute limit per conversation Otter pricing ↗. Notta Free gives 120 minutes a month and 3 minutes per recording Notta pricing ↗.
tl;dv's free plan looks generous at first, with unlimited recordings and transcripts tl;dv features ↗. But the Laxis review reports AI notes for 10 meetings and 10 Ask AI questions for the life of the account, plus 3 months of retention Laxis tl;dv review ↗. Laxis sells a competing product, so check tl;dv's own pricing page before relying on those numbers.
For a small business with a handful of client calls a week, Fathom's free plan is the one most likely to cover you for good.
Paid plans compared
On yearly billing, Fireflies Pro is $10 per seat and Business $19 Fireflies pricing ↗. Fathom Premium is $16 for one person, Team is $15 per user and Business $25 per user, with a two user minimum on team plans Fathom pricing ↗. Granola Business is $14 per user and Enterprise $35 Granola pricing ↗. Read AI Pro is $15 per user, or $19.75 monthly Read AI pricing ↗. Otter Pro is $8.33 and Business $19.99 Otter pricing ↗. Notta Pro is $8.17 and Business $16.67 Notta pricing ↗.
Look at what each tier unlocks rather than price alone. Fireflies Pro adds video recording and unlimited integrations Fireflies pricing ↗. Fathom saves AI action items for Premium and CRM field sync for Business Fathom pricing ↗. Read AI holds back audio and video playback for Enterprise at $22.50 per user billed yearly Read AI pricing ↗. Notta puts CRM and Zapier integration and video recording on Business Notta pricing ↗. Granola puts Notion, Zapier and HubSpot on Business and Salesforce on Enterprise Granola pricing ↗.
Recording, consent and privacy
Every one of these tools records people, so tell participants and follow the recording laws where you and they are.
If you handle health information, you need a plan built for it. Fireflies lists HIPAA compliance on Enterprise Fireflies pricing ↗, Granola on Enterprise Granola pricing ↗, Read AI on Enterprise+, which needs 5 or more licenses Read AI pricing ↗, and Otter as an Enterprise add on Otter pricing ↗. Fathom lists a signed BAA but does not say which plan includes it Fathom pricing ↗.
On data use, Fireflies says data is never used for AI training Fireflies features ↗, tl;dv says recordings and transcripts are not used to train AI tl;dv features ↗, and Read AI says it does not train on your data by default Read AI features ↗. Ask any vendor you shortlist to confirm in writing.
When to stay with Fireflies
Fireflies still makes sense if your calls are in many languages, since it lists 100+ Fireflies features ↗. It also connects to dialers such as Aircall and RingCentral, transcribes uploaded files and has mobile apps for in person conversations Fireflies features ↗. Its Pro plan is among the cheapest per seat with video recording included Fireflies pricing ↗. On G2 it holds a 4.7 out of 5 rating from 753 reviews G2 Fireflies ↗.
How we picked
We looked for notetakers a small business could use instead of Fireflies, focusing on free plan limits, price per seat, bot free capture, languages, integrations and privacy. We used each vendor's pricing and product pages, checked October 10, 2026, plus an independent review where a vendor page could not be loaded Fireflies pricing ↗ Fathom pricing ↗ Granola pricing ↗ Otter pricing ↗ Read AI pricing ↗ tl;dv features ↗ Laxis tl;dv review ↗ Notta pricing ↗. We have not tested these tools hands on for this page. Hands on testing is in progress; we'll update this page with results.
Questions people ask
What is the best free alternative to Fireflies?
Fathom. Its free plan includes unlimited recordings, transcriptions and instant AI call summaries Fathom pricing ↗, while Fireflies Free caps storage at 400 minutes per team Fireflies pricing ↗.
Is there a Fireflies alternative without a bot?
Yes. Granola captures your device audio with no bot on every plan Granola pricing ↗. Fathom also offers bot free capture in beta on Mac Fathom pricing ↗.
Which Fireflies alternative is cheapest?
On yearly billing, Notta Pro at $8.17 a month and Otter Pro at $8.33 cost less than Fireflies Pro at $10 per seat Notta pricing ↗ Otter pricing ↗ Fireflies pricing ↗. Both have monthly minute limits.
Is Otter better than Fireflies?
Otter offers live transcription on its free plan Otter pricing ↗. Fireflies lists 100+ languages Fireflies features ↗ while Otter's pricing page lists six Otter pricing ↗, and Fireflies Pro has no 90 minute meeting cap like Otter Pro Fireflies pricing ↗ Otter pricing ↗.
What does the Fireflies free plan include?
400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits, limited AI summaries, a 2 hour recording limit, 720p video capture and transcription in 100+ languages Fireflies pricing ↗.
Which alternative is best for HIPAA?
Granola Enterprise at $35 per user includes HIPAA compliant workspaces Granola pricing ↗. Read AI Enterprise+ includes HIPAA from $29.75 per user billed yearly but needs 5 or more licenses Read AI pricing ↗.
Where this comes from
Checked Oct 9, 2026. Vendor pages describe their own products; independent sources add outside views. We have not tested these tools hands on yet.
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