Best Free AI Note Takers of 2026
What each free plan really allows in minutes, meetings, storage and AI, read from the pricing pages in October 2026.
By , research by the BestBots team ยท Updated Oct 18, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Fathom has the best free AI note taker plan in October 2026: unlimited recordings, transcription and storage with instant summaries, and no minute or meeting cap on its pricing page. tl;dv is the best free plan for video, and Granola is the best free plan if you do not want a bot in the call.
Our top picks
Free plan limits at a glance
"Free" means very different things across this category. Here is what each free plan allows, as listed on the vendor's pricing page or help center in October 2026.
| Tool | Minutes or meetings | Per call cap | Storage or history | AI limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Unlimited recordings and transcription | None listed | Unlimited | Instant summaries; action items paid |
| tl;dv | Unlimited recordings, 40 web recordings a week | 3 hours | Unlimited storage, data kept up to 3 months | AI notes on 10 meetings, 5 Ask AI queries |
| Granola | No daily transcription limit | None listed | Last 30 days visible | Chat on auto model |
| Fireflies | Unlimited with auto join, 3 with invite only | None listed | 400 minutes per team | Limited summaries, 20 AI credits |
| Otter | 300 minutes a month | 30 minutes | Last 25 conversations | Summaries included |
| Read AI | 5 meetings a month | None listed | Not stated | Summaries and coach included |
| Notta | 120 minutes a month | 3 minutes | Not stated | 10 AI summaries a month |
| Krisp | No free plan | 7 day trial | ||
| Avoma | No free recorder plan | 14 day trial |
The headline limit is rarely the one that bites. On Fireflies it is storage, on Granola it is history, on tl;dv it is AI notes, and on Otter it is the 30 minute cap per conversation.
What a normal week looks like
To see which free plan survives real use, take a typical week of eight meetings at 45 minutes each, or six hours.
- Fathom: all eight recorded, transcribed and summarized, every week, kept indefinitely.
- tl;dv: all eight recorded and transcribed. AI notes run out after 10 meetings in total, so by the second week you are reading raw transcripts.
- Granola: all eight captured and enhanced. In week five, the notes from week one disappear from view until you upgrade.
- Fireflies: all eight transcribed if auto join is on, but the 400 minute storage allowance fills in under two weeks.
- Otter: each meeting cuts off at 30 minutes, so you lose the last 15 minutes of every call. 300 minutes a month covers about ten 30 minute captures.
- Read AI: the first five meetings of the month only.
- Notta: not workable for live meetings at 3 minutes per session.
Our picks, in detail
- Free plan limit
- Unlimited recordings, transcripts and basic AI summaries
- Platforms
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams; bot free capture in beta on Mac
- Languages
- Not published
- Starting price
- $20 per user per month
Unlimited recordings, unlimited transcription, instant AI summaries and unlimited storage, with no minute or meeting cap listed. It is the only free plan here you can run a full work calendar on.
Pros
- Free plan records and transcribes every meeting with no monthly cap, per the pricing page
- 5.0 on G2 from 7,085 reviews, the largest review base in the category
- Team plan at $15 per user annual is cheaper than most rivals' team tiers
- SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA listed on the homepage
Cons
- Action items, advanced summaries and the full Ask Fathom assistant are paid features
- Automatic CRM field sync needs Business at $34 per user monthly ($25 annual)
- Bot free capture is a Mac beta; everyone else gets a bot in the call
- Supported languages are not listed on the pricing page
Skip it if you need AI action items or the chat assistant for free; those start on Premium at $16 a month annual.
- Free plan limit
- Unlimited recordings; AI notes on 10 meetings; data kept up to 3 months
- Platforms
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, iOS and Android apps
- Languages
- 30+ languages
- Starting price
- $29 per seat per month
Unlimited video recordings, unlimited transcription in 30+ languages and unlimited storage. The limits are on AI: notes for 10 meetings and 5 Ask AI queries.
Pros
- Free plan keeps unlimited video recordings with unlimited storage
- GDPR, SOC 2 and EU hosting listed on the pricing page
- Pro adds unlimited AI notes, API, webhooks and an MCP server
- Business adds sales coaching (playbooks, objection handling) without usage fees
Cons
- Free AI notes stop after 10 meetings and data retention is up to 3 months
- Monthly Pro at $29 per seat is above Fireflies ($18) and Otter ($16.99)
- Weekly web recording caps apply (40 on Free, 80 on Pro)
- Each recording is capped at 3 hours
Skip it if you need AI notes on every call or an archive older than 3 months.
- Free plan limit
- No daily transcription limit; only the last 30 days of notes are visible in the app
- Platforms
- Bot free on Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Slack huddles and in person; macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Apple Watch
- Languages
- 31 on desktop, 17 on mobile
- Starting price
- $14 per user per month
No daily transcription limit and no bot, on any meeting app or in person. Notes older than 30 days are hidden until you upgrade, not deleted.
Pros
- No bot joins the call; capture runs on your device audio
- No daily transcription limit on any plan, per the help center
- Works across any meeting app plus in person, with desktop and mobile apps
- 31 transcription languages on desktop
Cons
- Free plan hides notes older than 30 days until you upgrade
- No annual discount on Business; annual billing is Enterprise only
- Salesforce sync and HIPAA are Enterprise only, from $35 per user
- No video recording listed on any plan
Skip it if you need a long searchable archive for free or a recording of the call.
- Free plan limit
- Unlimited transcription with auto join, 400 minutes of storage per team, limited AI summaries
- Platforms
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, desktop app, mobile app, Chrome extension
- Languages
- 100+ languages
- Starting price
- $18 per seat per month
Unlimited transcription in 100+ languages when calendar auto join is on, plus AskFred, real time notes, file uploads and API access. Storage is 400 minutes for the whole team.
Pros
- Pro at $10 per seat on annual billing is one of the lowest paid tiers in the category
- Transcription in 100+ languages on every plan
- Video recording, downloads and unlimited integrations from Pro
- SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA listed; HIPAA is on Enterprise
Cons
- Free plan storage is 400 minutes for the whole team, so history fills fast
- AI features draw from a monthly AI credit balance (20 on Free and Pro)
- Unlimited free transcription only applies with calendar auto join on; invite only mode limits you to 3 transcriptions
- The bot joins the call by default
Skip it if you want to keep more than about seven hours of meetings for free.
- Free plan limit
- 300 minutes per month, 30 minutes per conversation, last 25 conversations
- Platforms
- Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet; bot free capture on Mac and Windows desktop
- Languages
- English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese
- Starting price
- $16.99 per user per month
300 transcription minutes a month with a live transcript on Zoom, Meet and Teams. Fine for quick check ins and stand ups.
Pros
- Pro at $8.33 per user on annual billing is the lowest annual paid tier among the big names
- Live transcript during the call plus bot free desktop capture
- Salesforce and HubSpot integrations start on Pro
- Business removes the minute cap for $19.99 per user annual
Cons
- Free plan caps each conversation at 30 minutes and keeps only the last 25
- Six transcription languages, far fewer than Fireflies or Notta
- Pro still caps you at 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per conversation
- Class action over recording without consent survived a motion to dismiss in August 2026
Skip it if for client meetings: each conversation stops at 30 minutes and only your last 25 are kept.
- Free plan limit
- 5 meeting transcripts per month
- Platforms
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome
- Languages
- 20+ languages
- Starting price
- $19.75 per user per month
5 meeting transcripts a month with summaries, a meeting coach, 20+ languages and desktop and mobile apps. Enough for someone with one or two important calls a week.
Pros
- Covers meetings plus email and messages in one assistant
- SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR and HIPAA listed
- Salesforce and HubSpot on the first paid tier
- Desktop, mobile and browser apps for in person capture
Cons
- Free plan is capped at 5 meeting transcripts a month and 1 hour per meeting
- Audio and video playback needs Enterprise at $29.75 monthly
- HIPAA needs Enterprise+ with a 5 license minimum
- No refunds, per its pricing FAQ; cancel before renewal
Skip it if you have more than 5 meetings a month to capture.
- Free plan limit
- 120 minutes per month, up to 3 minutes per conversation, 10 AI summaries
- Platforms
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex; web, mobile, Chrome extension
- Languages
- 58 languages
- Starting price
- $13.99 per seat per month
120 minutes a month, 50 file uploads and 10 AI summaries, across 58 languages. Useful for trying Notta's multilingual transcription before paying.
Pros
- 58 transcription languages, the widest named list among these picks after Fireflies' 100+
- Pro at $8.17 per month on annual billing
- Up to 5 hours per recording on paid plans
- SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA listed
Cons
- Free plan sessions are capped at 3 minutes, per the pricing page
- Pro still caps minutes (1,800) and AI summaries (100) per month
- CRM and video recording wait for Business
- No G2 rating could be verified this month
Skip it if for live meetings: free sessions are capped at 3 minutes each, per the pricing page.
Best free option by situation
Solo consultant with client calls. Fathom if a bot is acceptable, Granola if it is not. Both handle a full calendar for free; Granola's notes stay visible for 30 days.
Team that records demos or trainings. tl;dv. Unlimited free video and storage, with data hosted in the EU and GDPR and SOC 2 listed on its pricing page. Each recording is capped at 3 hours, which covers almost any session. Plan to pay for AI notes once the 10 meeting allowance is gone.
Meetings in several languages. Fireflies on the free plan transcribes 100+ languages, and Granola covers 31 on desktop. Otter's free plan covers six.
In person meetings. Granola's free phone apps capture in person and walking meetings with no bot. tl;dv, Read AI and Fireflies also have mobile apps on their free plans.
Students and short lectures. Otter's live transcript is the draw, but the 30 minute cap per conversation cuts off a standard lecture. Fathom only works on supported meeting platforms, so for a lecture hall Granola's mobile app is the better free choice.
Occasional important calls. Read AI's 5 meetings a month is enough if you only record a board call, a weekly one to one and a couple of client calls.
Free vs paid: when to upgrade
The cheapest upgrades in the category, per seat per month on annual billing, are Krisp Core at $8, Notta Pro at $8.17, Otter Pro at $8.33 and Fireflies Pro at $10. On monthly billing, Notta Pro at $13.99 and Granola Business at $14 are the lowest.
Upgrade when one of these is true:
- You need the archive. If you search old meetings, Granola's 30 day window, Otter's 25 conversation limit and Fireflies' 400 minutes will push you to pay. Fathom's free archive has no listed cap.
- You need action items. Fathom keeps AI action items for Premium ($16 annual). tl;dv's free AI notes stop after 10 meetings.
- You need CRM sync. No free plan here syncs to Salesforce. Otter Pro, Fireflies Pro and Read AI Pro add it on their first paid tier.
- You need compliance. HIPAA is a paid Enterprise feature at every vendor here that lists it.
For a full comparison of paid plans, see the best AI note takers ranking or the Price Index.
Free plan red flags
- Auto join as the price of the free plan. Fireflies grants unlimited free transcription only when it auto joins your calendar meetings. That can put a bot in external calls you did not mean to record.
- Silent cut offs. Otter stops at 30 minutes per conversation and Notta at 3 minutes. Check before an important call.
- Hidden history. Granola hides notes after 30 days. Export before you need them.
- Data training. Check whether the free plan uses your meetings to train models. Granola lists an opt out on its free plan.
- Consent. Free tools carry the same recording law duties as paid ones. Tell participants they are being recorded.
How we picked
We read the free plan terms on each vendor's pricing page and help center in October 2026 and ranked the seven tools that offer a free plan by how much real meeting work the free plan supports: minutes or meetings, per call caps, storage and history, and AI limits. Krisp and Avoma are listed in the table for completeness but not ranked, since they offer trials rather than free plans. We compared published terms only and did not run our own trials. See how we score and our disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free AI note taker?
Fathom. Its free plan lists unlimited recordings, transcription and storage plus instant AI summaries, with no meeting or minute cap. tl;dv is second for free video recordings, and Granola is the best free option if you do not want a bot in the call.
Is there a completely free AI note taker with no limits?
Fathom is the closest. Its pricing page lists no cap on recordings, transcription or storage on the free plan; the limits are on features, since action items, advanced summaries and the chat assistant are paid. Every other free plan limits minutes, meetings, history or AI usage.
Which free AI note taker doesn't join the meeting?
Granola. Its free plan captures device audio with no bot and no daily transcription limit, on any meeting app and in person. Fathom's free plan also offers bot free capture as a Mac beta. Krisp is bot free but has no free plan, only a 7 day trial.
Is Otter free?
Otter has a free Basic plan with 300 transcription minutes a month, a 30 minute cap per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports and your 25 most recent conversations. It works on Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, with one meeting at a time.
Is Fireflies free?
Yes, with conditions. Fireflies Free transcribes without a cap if you turn on calendar auto join and signed up on or after September 1, 2026, but it stores only 400 minutes per team, limits AI summaries and includes 20 AI credits. With invite only joining you get 3 transcriptions.
What is the best free AI note taker for Zoom?
Fathom, which records and summarizes unlimited Zoom calls for free. tl;dv is a close second if you want the video archive, with AI notes on 10 meetings. Granola works on Zoom without a bot.
What is the best free AI note taker for Microsoft Teams?
Fathom and tl;dv both support Teams with unlimited free recordings. Granola works on Teams without a bot. Otter's free plan supports Teams but cuts each conversation at 30 minutes.
Do free AI note takers use my data for training?
Policies differ, and it is worth checking before you connect a calendar. Granola lists a model training opt out on its free plan. A class action against Otter, which a federal court allowed to proceed in August 2026, alleges meeting data was used to train AI models without consent from non subscribers.