The End of Manual Meeting Notes
AI meeting assistants have matured from novelty to necessity. If you're still manually taking notes in meetings, you're wasting time that could be spent participating.
Top Picks at a Glance
Fireflies.ai — Best Overall
Automatic transcription for Zoom, Teams, Meet, and more. AI-generated summaries, action items, and searchable meeting archive. - Free tier: 800 min storage, limited AI summaries - Pro: $10/mo — unlimited transcription, AI search - Best for: Teams that want a searchable meeting archivetl;dv — Best Free Option
Surprisingly generous free tier with unlimited recordings. AI highlights and clips make it easy to share key moments. - Free tier: Unlimited recordings, AI notes - Pro: $20/mo — CRM integration, advanced AI - Best for: Sales teams, anyone who shares meeting clipsGranola — Most Elegant
Takes a unique approach: enhances YOUR notes with AI rather than replacing them. Beautiful minimal interface. Works without recording (uses audio locally). - Pricing: Free beta, ~$8/mo expected - Best for: People who like taking notes but want AI enhancement - Limitation: macOS onlyOtter.ai — Most Established
The original AI transcription tool. Real-time transcription, OtterPilot for auto-joining meetings, and team collaboration features. - Free tier: 300 min/mo - Pro: $10/mo - Best for: Individual professionals, studentsKrisp — Best for Audio Quality
Not just transcription — Krisp's noise cancellation is best-in-class. Meeting notes are a bonus feature on top of crystal-clear audio. - Free tier: 60 min/day noise cancellation - Pro: $8/mo - Best for: People in noisy environmentsComparison Table
| Feature | Fireflies | tl;dv | Granola | Otter | Krisp | |---------|-----------|-------|---------|-------|-------| | Free tier | ✅ | ✅ (best) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Auto-join meetings | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | | CRM integration | Pro | Pro | ❌ | Pro | ❌ | | Noise cancellation | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | Action items | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Recording-free | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
Privacy Considerations
All cloud-based meeting assistants process your audio on external servers. If privacy is a concern: - Granola processes audio locally and only sends your text notes for AI enhancement - Krisp does noise cancellation locally - For maximum privacy, use a local whisper model for transcription (free, no data leaves your machine)
Our Recommendation
Start with tl;dv (free, generous) to see if AI meeting notes improve your workflow. If you need team features and CRM integration, upgrade to Fireflies Pro. If you're on a Mac and prefer elegance, try Granola.