Best AI Meeting Assistants in 2027: Compared by Price, Privacy and Fit
AI meeting assistants record or capture a call, transcribe it and write a summary with action items. They differ in three ways that matter: whether a bot joins your call, what the free plan really allows, and what a team pays per user. This guide compares four tools whose pricing pages we read directly, and flags two more we could not price. Here is what to know about best AI meeting assistants before you decide.
Disclosure: PreferWise has an affiliate relationship with Krisp and may earn a commission through links marked as sponsored. Tools below are in alphabetical order, not ranked, and the affiliate link does not change what we write about any of them. See our affiliate disclosure.
Best AI meeting assistants: short answer
Want a free plan and a meeting bot: start with Otter or Fireflies.
Want notes without a bot joining the call: look at Granola or Krisp.
Also fight background noise or accents on calls: Krisp bundles noise cancellation with note taking, but it has no free forever plan.
Price comparison table
US dollars per user per month, as shown on each vendor’s pricing page on 6 November 2026. Vendors run promotions, so the price you see at checkout may differ.
| Tool | Free option | Entry paid (monthly / annual) | Team tier (monthly / annual) | Bot-free capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fireflies | Free, limited AI summaries | Pro $18 / $10 | Business $29 / $19 | Not the default |
| Granola | Basic, 30 days of history | Business $14 (monthly) | Enterprise $35 | Yes |
| Krisp | 7-day trial, no free plan | Core $16 / $8 | Advanced $30 / $15 | Yes |
| Otter | Basic, 300 minutes a month | Pro $16.99 / $8.33 | Business $30 / $19.99 | Not the default |
Granola’s figures come from its own pricing article and list no separate annual price. Fireflies Enterprise is $39 on annual billing only.
How to choose
- Count your meetings. Free plans cap minutes, storage or history. Heavy callers outgrow them within weeks.
- Decide on a bot. A visible bot is clear to everyone but some clients dislike it. Bot-free tools capture your device audio, so remember to tell people you are recording.
- Price the whole team. A $10 seat is $1,200 a year for ten people on annual billing, so compare annual totals, not headline monthly prices.
- Check integrations. Granola gates Notion, HubSpot and Zapier behind paid plans, for example.
- Check limits that bite. Otter Pro caps meetings at 90 minutes; Business allows 4 hours.
The tools in detail
Fireflies.ai
Fireflies has a free plan with unlimited transcription but limited AI summaries and 20 AI credits. Pro adds 8,000 minutes of storage per seat and video recording; Business adds unlimited storage, conversation intelligence and team analytics. It works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and others.
Good for
Teams that want searchable call history and analytics at a modest annual price.
Watch out
The free tier limits AI summaries, and the best-value prices need annual billing.
Granola
Granola is built around personal notes you type during a call, which it then enhances with the transcript. Basic is free with unlimited meetings but only 30 days of history. Business at $14 per user a month adds unlimited history, advanced models, API access and integrations with Notion, HubSpot and Zapier. Enterprise adds SSO for 50+ users and an organisation-wide AI training opt-out.
Good for
Individuals and small teams who want bot-free notes.
Watch out
Free history is short, so older notes disappear from the app until you upgrade.
Krisp
Krisp started as noise cancellation and now includes an AI note taker that does not need a bot, transcription and optional accent conversion. Core is $16 monthly or $8 a month billed annually, and Advanced is $30 or $15. There is a 7-day free trial with no credit card, but no free forever plan. Read our full Krisp review, the Krisp pricing breakdown or the Krisp directory listing.
Good for
People on noisy or accent-heavy calls who want everything in one app.
Watch out
No free forever plan, and annual billing is where the price drops.
Otter.ai
Otter Basic is free with 300 monthly transcription minutes and 3 lifetime file imports. Pro lists at $16.99 monthly or $8.33 a month annually with 1,200 minutes and a 90-minute meeting cap. Business is $30 monthly or $19.99 annually with unlimited meetings, 4-hour meetings and 3 concurrent meetings. Enterprise is custom, with SSO and a HIPAA add-on.
Good for
Students and individuals who want a free tier and a familiar interface.
Watch out
The 90-minute cap on Pro and the 300-minute free allowance fill up quickly.
Consent and privacy
Recording rules differ by country and, in the US, by state; some places need every participant to agree. Tell people you are recording, whichever tool you use. Before you buy, read how each vendor handles training on your data: Granola lists an AI training opt-out (per user on Basic and Business, organisation-wide on Enterprise), and you should look for the equivalent in each other vendor’s terms. This is general information, not legal advice.
Also worth checking
We could not verify current US-dollar prices for these, so we do not quote any. tl;dv advertises a free plan and paid Pro and Business tiers; its pricing page displayed local currency when we visited. Fathom is another popular notetaker; its pricing page was not readable by our tools. Check both on the vendor sites before deciding.
Best AI meeting assistants FAQ
What is the best AI meeting assistant?
There is no single best tool. Otter and Fireflies suit people who want a free plan and a meeting bot, Granola suits people who want notes without a bot joining the call, and Krisp suits people who also want noise cancellation and a bot-free note taker. Match the tool to how you take calls, then compare price per user.
Is there a free AI meeting assistant?
Yes. On the pages we read on 6 November 2026, Otter Basic, Fireflies Free and Granola Basic are free with limits, and tl;dv advertises a free plan. Krisp offers a 7-day free trial rather than a free forever plan. Free plans cap minutes, history or AI features, so check the limits first.
Do AI meeting assistants join the call as a bot?
Many do. Otter and Fireflies typically join as a participant. Granola and Krisp can capture audio from your device without a visible bot, which some people prefer, though you should still tell participants you are recording.
Is it legal to record meetings with an AI note taker?
Consent rules vary by country and US state, and some require every participant to agree. Tell people before you record, follow your company policy, and ask a lawyer if you are unsure. This guide is not legal advice.
Still comparing options?
Use the PreferWise comparison tool to put tools side by side, or ask for a free shortlist. Listings are alphabetical, with no paid placement affecting the order.
How this guide was made: PreferWise compares public product pages and pricing pages. We did not lab-test transcript accuracy, and plans change often, so confirm current pricing on the vendor site before buying. PreferWise may earn a commission if you sign up through some links on this page; that never changes how tools are ordered or described. See our affiliate disclosure.