Best of · Updated October 2026
The best AI note taker for your meetings
The best AI note taker for most teams is Otter, Fireflies or Fathom if you want a cloud service with lots of integrations, and Granola if you want a bot-free notepad on Mac or Windows. If you want your recordings and transcripts to stay on your own computer, Hark does that for free, with AI notes as an optional subscription.
How we picked
Every AI notes taker does roughly the same job: record a call, transcribe it, label who spoke, and write a summary. The differences are in the details that matter day to day:
- Bot or no bot. Does a "notetaker" join your call, or does the app record from your computer?
- Where your audio goes. Most tools upload it for transcription. A few transcribe on your device.
- What's really free. Free plans range from "unlimited" to a handful of meetings a month.
- Platforms and languages. Mobile apps, Linux support, and non-English meetings vary a lot.
We checked each product's own website in October 2026. Prices change often, so confirm on their pricing page before you buy. Hark is our product; we've tried to be as fair to the others as we'd want them to be to us.
AI note takers compared
Prices per user per month, as of October 2026. "Yearly" means billed annually.
| Tool | Bot-free recording | Free plan | Paid from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hark | Always (no bot at all) | Unlimited recording + local transcription; AI notes in a 2-day preview | $12 | Privacy, Windows/Linux, no limits |
| Otter.ai | Desktop app | 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation | $16.99 ($8.33 yearly) | Live transcripts, mobile |
| Fireflies.ai | Desktop app, Chrome extension | Limited credits, 400 min storage | $18 ($10 yearly) | Many languages, integrations |
| Fathom | Beta, Mac only | Unlimited recordings and summaries | $16-$20 by billing | Best free cloud plan |
| Granola | Always | Notes, last 30 days of history | $14 (Business) | Notepad-style notes, Mac + Windows |
| tl;dv | Desktop app (audio only) | Unlimited recordings, AI notes for 10 meetings/month | €29 (€18 yearly) | Sales teams, CRM logging |
| Krisp | By default | No free plan (7-day trial) | $16 ($8 yearly) | Noise cancellation + notes |
| Read.ai | Desktop app | 5 meetings/month, up to 1 hour | $15-$19.75 by billing | Meeting coaching and metrics |
| Jamie | Always | 10 meetings/month, 30 min each | $29 | EU data residency, many languages |
The best AI note taking apps, one by one
1. Hark: best for privacy and a no-bot, no-limit free plan
Hark is a desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux that records your microphone and your computer's audio, so it works with Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex or anything else without joining the call. Transcription runs on your computer, and it learns voices: name someone once and Hark suggests them in every future meeting. Recording, transcription, speaker names, editing, import and export are free with no limits.
AI meeting notes written by Claude, automatic titles, live notes and encrypted sync come with the $12/month subscription; new accounts get a 2-day preview. When you use AI, the transcript text (not the audio) is sent to Claude.
Trade-offs: English only, no mobile app, and on a Mac it records the microphone only for now.
2. Otter.ai: best for live transcripts on every device
Otter is one of the best-known names. Its Notetaker bot joins Zoom, Meet and Teams, and its Mac and Windows desktop app can record without a bot. There are iPhone and Android apps and a Chrome extension, and it transcribes English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese.
The free Basic plan gives 300 minutes a month with a 30-minute cap per conversation and keeps your 25 most recent conversations. Pro is $16.99/month, or $8.33/month billed yearly (as of October 2026).
3. Fireflies.ai: best for languages and integrations
Fireflies supports more than 100 languages and connects to a long list of meeting and work tools. It joins meetings as a bot by default, and its desktop app and Chrome extension can record without one. The free plan includes summaries but limits storage to 400 minutes per seat, and downloading transcripts needs a paid plan. Pro is $18/month, or $10/month billed yearly (as of October 2026).
4. Fathom: best free cloud note taker
Fathom's free plan is unusually generous: unlimited recordings, transcription and storage with instant AI summaries. Some extras such as Ask Fathom are limited on the free plan. It works with Zoom, Meet and Teams on Mac and Windows and transcribes 38 languages. A bot-free mode is in beta on Mac. Premium is listed at $16 to $20/month depending on billing (as of October 2026).
5. Granola: best bot-free notepad
Granola feels like a notepad that fills itself in. You jot rough notes, and it combines them with the transcript into tidy notes afterwards. No bot joins; it captures your device's audio on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Audio is sent to the cloud for transcription and then deleted. The free plan keeps the last 30 days of notes unlocked; Business is $14 per user per month (as of October 2026).
6. tl;dv: best for sales teams
tl;dv records video with a bot or audio only without one, and it shines at turning calls into CRM updates, follow-up emails and reports across many meetings. Its free plan includes unlimited recordings with AI notes for 10 meetings a month. Pro is €29/month, or €18/month billed yearly (as of October 2026).
7. Krisp: best if you also want noise cancellation
Krisp started as a noise-cancelling app and now writes meeting notes too, without a bot by default. It runs on Windows, Mac and mobile. There's no ongoing free plan, just a 7-day trial. Core is $16/month, or $8/month billed yearly (as of October 2026).
8. Read.ai: best for meeting analytics
Read.ai adds coaching and engagement metrics on top of notes and can summarize email and messages too. Its bot joins Zoom, Teams and Meet, and its desktop app records audio without a bot. The free plan covers 5 meetings a month of up to an hour each.
9. Jamie: best for European privacy requirements
Jamie records from your device without a bot, handles meetings that mix languages, and processes audio on servers in Germany before deleting it. The free plan covers 10 meetings a month of up to 30 minutes each.
Want an AI note taker that never uploads your audio?
Hark records and transcribes on your computer, with no bot and no minute limits. Try AI meeting notes free for 2 days.
Before you choose: try the free tools you already have
You may not need a separate AI note taker at all. Zoom's AI Companion is included with eligible paid Zoom plans. Google Meet's "Take notes for me" is part of several Google Workspace plans. In Microsoft Teams, transcription is available in most work and school plans, and Copilot or Teams Premium adds an AI recap. Our guides explain how to transcribe a Zoom meeting and pick an AI note taker for Microsoft Teams.
The catch is that these only work inside their own platform, and only when the meeting host has them turned on. A desktop recorder works the same way whichever app the other person picked.
Which AI note taker should you pick?
- You want the biggest free cloud plan: Fathom.
- You need many languages: Fireflies or Jamie.
- You want notes on your phone too: Otter, Fireflies or Granola.
- You run sales calls and live in a CRM: tl;dv.
- You don't want a bot, and you want audio to stay on your computer: Hark.
- You use Linux: Hark is one of the few options.
Whatever you pick, recording laws vary by place and some require everyone's consent. A bot-free recorder is invisible to other people, so tell them you're recording. For more on how bot-free tools work, see our guide to AI note takers without a bot, or compare the best free AI note takers.
Related
- Best free AI note takers What the free plans of popular AI note takers really include.
- Best AI meeting assistants Meeting assistants compared: notes, summaries, privacy and price.
- Best AI note takers for Microsoft Teams Options for Teams meetings, from Copilot to desktop recorders.
- Best meeting notes apps Apps for taking, organizing and sharing meeting notes.
- Otter.ai alternatives Why people switch from Otter and what to use instead.
- Granola alternatives Bot-free note takers like Granola, on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI note taker? +
It depends on what you value most. Otter and Fireflies are strong all-rounders with mobile apps and many integrations, Fathom has a very generous free plan, Granola is a polished bot-free notepad, and Hark keeps recording and transcription on your own computer for free. Pick based on privacy, platform, language and budget rather than one feature list.
Which AI note taker does not join the meeting? +
Several tools can record without a bot: Hark, Granola, Krisp and Jamie work that way by default, and Otter, Fireflies, Read.ai and tl;dv offer bot-free recording through their desktop apps. Fathom has a bot-free option in beta on Mac. Each one still records, so tell people you are recording.
Is there a completely free AI note taker? +
Fathom advertises a free-forever plan with unlimited recordings and AI summaries. Otter, Fireflies, tl;dv, Read.ai and Jamie have free plans with limits on minutes, meetings or AI features. Hark is free for unlimited recording, local transcription and speaker recognition, but its AI meeting notes need the $12/month subscription after a 2-day preview.
Are AI note takers safe for confidential meetings? +
Most AI note takers upload your audio to their servers to transcribe it, so read each privacy policy and check where data is stored. If audio must not leave your computer, choose a tool that transcribes locally, such as Hark or MacWhisper. Also follow your company's rules and get consent from everyone on the call.
What is the difference between an AI note taker and a transcription app? +
A transcription app turns speech into text. An AI note taker goes further: it records the meeting, labels speakers, and uses a language model to write a summary, decisions and action items. Many note takers also let you ask questions about the meeting afterwards.
Record, transcribe and remember every meeting
Hark records your calls on your own computer, transcribes them privately, and learns who is speaking. Free forever, with a 2-day preview of AI meeting notes.