AI note takers listen to your meetings and hand you a summary, action items and a searchable transcript before you've closed the tab. The big split in 2026 isn't accuracy. It's how they listen. Most send a bot into the call as an extra participant. A growing few capture audio straight from your computer, so nobody sees a "Notetaker" tile join the meeting.
Our verdict: Granola is the best AI note taker for most people in 2026. It never joins your call as a bot, it works with any meeting app including in-person chats, and it turns your own rough notes into clean ones instead of burying you in a transcript. Fathom is the best free AI note taker, with unlimited recordings and transcripts at $0, and Fireflies is the pick for teams that want every integration on every plan.
The Short Version
Best overall: Granola. No bot, any meeting app, notes that read like you wrote them. Business is $14 a month per user.
Best free plan: Fathom. Unlimited recordings, transcripts and instant summaries for $0, with a bot-free option in beta.
Best for teams and integrations: Fireflies. Slack, Notion, Linear, HubSpot and Salesforce on every plan, Pro from $10 a month billed yearly.
Best for live transcripts: Otter, from $8.33 a month billed yearly. Already paying for Zoom, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365? Try the built-in notes first.
Prices at a glance
Prices checked October 15, 2026, on each company's own pricing page.
| App | Free plan | Paid from | How it listens | Integrations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granola | 30 days of meeting history | $14/user/mo (Business) | Device audio, never a bot | Slack free; HubSpot, Notion, Attio, Zapier on Business |
| Fathom | Unlimited recordings and transcripts | $16/mo billed yearly ($20 monthly) | Bot, or bot-free (beta) | Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Salesforce, Asana, Zapier |
| Fireflies | Unlimited transcription, 400 min storage, limited summaries | $10/seat/mo billed yearly ($18 monthly) | Bot, or Chrome extension without bot | All integrations on every plan, incl. Linear |
| Otter | 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation | $8.33/mo billed yearly ($16.99 monthly) | Bot joins Zoom, Teams, Meet | Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier from Pro |
Granola: the best AI note taker without a bot
Granola runs as an app on your Mac, Windows PC, iPhone or Android phone and listens to your device's audio. It never joins the meeting, so it works the same in Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack huddles, a phone call or a conversation across a table. You type quick notes as you go, and when the meeting ends Granola fills in the gaps from the transcript.
It doesn't keep audio. On Mac and Windows it transcribes in real time and stores only the transcript and your notes. On iPhone, audio is cached during the meeting and deleted once transcription is done.
The free Basic plan includes AI notes, custom templates, Slack and the mobile apps, but only 30 days of history. Business, at $14 a month per user, removes that limit and adds pre-meeting briefs, follow-up emails, an API, MCP and integrations with HubSpot, Notion, Attio, Affinity and Zapier. Linear works only through Zapier. Enterprise, at $35, adds SSO, SCIM, HIPAA workspaces and Salesforce.
The catch: no bot means nobody is told by default. Granola puts consent on you, and it offers an optional camera watermark and automatic chat message so everyone knows notes are being taken. Turn them on. There's also no video or audio to replay later.
Fathom: the best free AI note taker
Fathom's free plan is the most generous here. It includes unlimited recordings and transcripts, instant AI summaries, clips and search across your calls, free forever. It joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams, and it now offers a bot-free capture mode in beta, so you can pick bot or no bot.
Premium is $16 a month billed yearly or $20 monthly, and adds advanced summaries, AI action items and a custom bot. Team is $15 a seat billed yearly with a two-seat minimum. Business, at $25 a seat billed yearly or $34 monthly, adds CRM field sync, deal views and coaching scorecards. Fathom connects to Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Salesforce, Asana, Zapier and Make and has an API and MCP server.
The catch: the free plan limits AI action items and some automations, and syncing fields into your CRM needs Business. There's no native Linear integration.
Fireflies: the best for teams and integrations
Fireflies is built for teams that want meeting notes flowing into everything else. Every plan, including free, gets all integrations, and its directory lists Slack, Notion, Linear, HubSpot, Salesforce and Zapier. It joins Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other platforms, and its Chrome extension can record without the Fireflies bot.
The free plan offers unlimited transcription but only limited AI summaries and 400 minutes of storage per team, which fills up fast. Pro is $10 a seat billed yearly or $18 monthly, with unlimited summaries and 8,000 minutes of storage per seat. Business, at $19 billed yearly or $29 monthly, adds unlimited storage, conversation intelligence and team analytics. Enterprise is $39 a seat, annual only, for SSO, HIPAA and custom retention.
The catch: recordings top out at two hours on Free and Pro, and the bot is the default way it captures calls.
Otter: the best for live transcripts
Otter's strength is the live transcript: speaker names, real-time captions and a searchable record you can share. Its bot joins Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, and it has apps for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome and the web, plus an MCP server on every plan.
The free plan gives 300 minutes a month, but each conversation caps at 30 minutes, and only your 25 most recent conversations stay in history. Pro lists at $8.33 a month billed yearly or $16.99 monthly, and Otter was running a half-off promotion when we checked. Pro raises the limits to 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes per conversation and adds Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier. Business is $19.99 a seat billed yearly and removes the meeting cap.
The catch: the 30-minute free cap cuts off most real meetings, and there's no bot-free mode for calls.
What about the notes built into Zoom, Meet and Teams?
If your company already pays for a meeting platform, check its built-in AI first. Zoom's AI assistant, now branded ZoomMate on Zoom's site, gives free Basic users meeting summaries for three hosted meetings a month, with unlimited AI notes on paid ZoomMate plans. Gemini in Google Meet has "Take notes for me," which saves a notes doc to the organizer's Google Drive and attaches it to the calendar event, on eligible Workspace editions. Microsoft Teams offers intelligent recap with Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, and its Facilitator live notes need Copilot.
The built-ins keep data with a vendor you already use, but they only work inside their own app. If you meet across Zoom, Meet and Teams, or in person, a standalone note taker covers all of it.
How to choose
- Guests or clients dislike bots: Granola, or Fathom's bot-free beta.
- You want to pay nothing: Fathom.
- Notes must land in Linear, Notion or your CRM: Fireflies.
- You need a full live transcript: Otter.
- You record without a visible bot: tell people anyway. Recording consent laws vary by state and country.
The verdict
Granola is the best AI note taker for most people in 2026. It works in every meeting app and in person, never puts a bot in the room, doesn't keep your audio, and gives you notes shaped around what you thought mattered.
Choose Fathom if you want the best free plan, and Fireflies if your team lives in Slack, Notion and Linear and wants those links on every seat. If you're also sorting out where those notes end up, our Notion vs Obsidian vs Apple Notes verdict covers the next step.
FAQ
What is the best AI note taker in 2026?
Granola is the best AI note taker for most people in 2026. It captures your device's audio without a bot, works in Zoom, Meet, Teams and in person, and turns your rough notes into complete ones. It has a free plan with 30 days of history, and Business costs $14 a month per user.
Is there an AI note taker without a bot?
Yes. Granola never joins your meeting and records your computer or phone audio instead. Fathom offers a bot-free mode in beta, and Fireflies' Chrome extension can record without its bot.
Granola vs Fathom: which is better?
Granola is better if you want no bot, any meeting app and notes built around your own. Fathom is better if you want a free plan, since it includes unlimited recordings, transcripts and summaries at $0, while Granola's free plan keeps only 30 days of history.
Fireflies vs Otter: which should I use?
Fireflies is better for teams because every plan includes all its integrations, including Slack, Notion, Linear and HubSpot, and Pro is $10 a seat billed yearly. Otter is cheaper at $8.33 a month billed yearly for Pro, but its free plan caps conversations at 30 minutes.
Is it legal to use an AI note taker without telling people?
Recording consent laws vary by state and country, and some require everyone's consent. Granola and other vendors put that responsibility on you, so tell participants whenever an AI note taker is running.