Best for startups

Free AI Note Takers for Meetings

Which AI note takers a founder can use for free today, how many meetings or minutes the free plan covers, whether it joins the call as a bot, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each product's own page.

13AI note takers with a free allowance
9meeting bots
4apps without a bot
2startup programs for more

Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Note takers change their free plans and caps often: confirm the terms on the product's page before you rely on it for a meeting that matters.

AI note takers you can use for free today include Fathom (Free forever, unlimited recordings), Granola (AI meeting notes, limited history), Fireflies (Unlimited transcription, 20 AI credits), Jamie (10 AI notes a month), and tl;dv (Unlimited recordings and transcripts). Each of the 13 free plans below links to the note taker's page that states it, with its main limit, where it works and what the first paid plan costs.

An AI note taker records a meeting, writes the transcript and sends a summary with the decisions and next steps, so nobody on a small team has to take notes. Most of them have a free plan, and the difference is in how far it goes.

The headline rarely tells you. A free plan can stop after a set number of meetings or minutes, keep only recent notes, or hold back the summaries for paid plans, and some join the call as a visible bot while others record on your own device. Each note taker below shows what is free, its main limit, where it works, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the product's own page with the date we read it.

Which note takers we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the products'. Some of these products pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which products are listed or where.

In the call

AI note takers that join your meetings

Note takers that join Zoom, Google Meet or Teams calls as a bot or an integration and send notes and a transcript after.

  1. 1

    Fathom

    Unlimited recordings and transcripts for individuals

    Fathom's Free plan has unlimited recordings and transcripts and is free forever. Advanced call summaries are on the Premium plan, which is $16 a user a month.

  2. 2

    Fireflies

    Free transcripts of every call, limited summaries

    Fireflies' free plan has unlimited transcription, limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team and 20 AI credits. The first paid plan, Pro, is $10 a seat a month billed annually.

  3. 3

    tl;dv

    AI notes on 10 meetings, unlimited recordings

    tl;dv's Free plan has unlimited video recordings and transcripts, with AI meeting notes on up to 10 meetings, and needs no card. Pro is $18 a seat a month, billed annually.

  4. 4

    Otter.ai

    300 transcription minutes a month for one person

    Otter's Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes a month for Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet, with each conversation capped at 30 minutes. The Pro plan is $8.33 a user a month.

  5. 5

    Notta

    120 transcription minutes a month, short calls

    Notta's Free plan has 120 transcription minutes a month, up to 3 minutes per conversation, and needs no credit card. Pro is $8.17 a month, billed annually.

  6. 6

    MeetGeek

    Light use: 3 hours of transcription a month

    MeetGeek's Basic plan is free forever with 3 hours of transcription a month, and keeps transcripts for 3 months. It records Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and more. Pro is $9.99 a user a month.

  7. 7

    Read AI

    Five meetings a month, with summaries

    Read AI's Free plan covers 5 meetings a month with summaries and transcription, up to 1 hour each, and needs no credit card. Pro is $15 a user a month, billed annually.

  8. 8

    Sembly

    One meeting hour a month, to try the notes

    Sembly's Free Trial plan includes 1 meeting hour per user each month and keeps meeting history for 2 months. Basic is $10 a month, billed annually, and captures Google Meet, Teams, Zoom and Webex.

  9. 9

    Avoma

    A 14-day test of the full Organization plan

    Avoma offers an unrestricted 14-day free trial of the Organization plan with all add-ons, and no credit card is required. Afterwards Startup is $19 a recorder seat a month, billed annually.

On your device

AI note takers that record on your device, without a bot

Apps that capture the meeting's audio on your own computer or phone, so nobody sees a bot join the call.

  1. 1

    Granola

    Bot-free notes on your own device

    Granola's Basic plan is free, with AI meeting notes and 30 days of meeting history, captured from device audio with no bot. Business is $14 per user per month.

  2. 2

    Jamie

    Notes on your device, online and in person

    Jamie's Free plan gives 10 AI notes a month with meetings capped at 30 minutes, and runs on your device without a bot joining. The first paid plan, Plus, is listed at $24.

    Start free at JamieTerms read on meetjamie.ai on Jamie: the free allowance and how to start
  3. 3

    Bluedot

    Five free meetings to test a bot-free recorder

    Bluedot's Free plan is free forever with 5 meetings in total, recorded through a Chrome extension or the Mac and Windows apps. Basic is $14 a user a month for audio only.

    Start free at BluedotReferral linkTerms read on bluedothq.com on Bluedot: the free allowance and how to start
  4. 4

    Krisp

    Seven days to try notes and noise cancellation

    Krisp's free trial lasts 7 days, with unlimited transcription, AI notes and noise cancellation, and no credit card is required. Core is $8 a user a month.

When the free plan runs out

Note taker startup programs

Programs from AI note takers that give startups a discount or free time on paid plans. Most ask for an application.

Referral offers

Also useful for meetings and notes

Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.

Head to head

Compare the top options

Methodology

How this comparison is built

The list covers AI meeting note takers a founder can use for free today without applying to a program, grouped into those that join the call as a bot or integration and those that record on your own device. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each product's terms. Every term comes from the product's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on meetings or minutes, a short history or summaries kept for paid plans can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the product states them. Some of these products pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a product appears, and no product pays for a placement on this page.

Read the full methodology
Questions

Common questions

What is the best free AI note taker?

It depends on how many meetings you take. By the terms each product states, Fathom's free plan is free forever with unlimited recordings on Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams (advanced summaries need Premium), tl;dv's gives unlimited recordings and transcripts with AI notes on up to 10 meetings, and Fireflies' gives unlimited transcription with 20 AI credits and 400 minutes of storage.

Is Fireflies free?

Yes, with limits. Fireflies' free plan includes unlimited transcription and 20 AI credits, with limited AI summaries and 400 minutes of storage. Pro costs $10 a seat a month, billed annually.

Is Granola free?

Granola has a free plan for AI meeting notes with 30 days of meeting history. It records your device's audio, so no bot joins the call. Business costs $14 a user a month.

Which AI note takers work without a bot joining the call?

Granola, Jamie, Bluedot and Krisp record the meeting on your own device, so nobody sees a bot join. Jamie's free plan gives 10 AI notes a month for meetings up to 30 minutes, and Bluedot's 5 meetings in total.

Is Otter.ai free?

Yes. Otter's free plan gives 300 transcription minutes a month, with each conversation capped at 30 minutes. Pro costs $8.33 a user a month.

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StartupPerks is a comparison tool and is not endorsed by the programs it lists. It is a referral partner of some providers, and those links are labeled where they appear. AITraining.jobs and Founden are run by the same company as StartupPerks: their listings are free, ranked by the same rules as every other program, and labeled "Same owner as StartupPerks" wherever they appear. Values and eligibility are aggregated from each provider's public pages and can change or be incomplete. Always confirm the current terms and your eligibility on the provider's own page before applying.