Otter caps your minutes. Fathom wants two seats. Here’s what your team actually pays.
Twelve AI note-takers, each capped differently — minutes, meeting counts, meeting length, seat minimums, history. Enter your team and meeting load; we test every published plan from the official pricing pages and keep the cheapest one that really covers you. Unknowns stay Not listed.
All AI note-taker comparisons Best AI note-takers by use case Otter, Fireflies & Fathom alternatives
5 people · 10 meetings/week × 30 min (≈1,300 min per person/month) · full history · billed annually — monthly-equivalent bill, cheapest qualifying plan per tool. Grey = not computable from published prices.
Sortable comparison
Cheapest paid sticker per user, plus what three common team shapes really pay. Click a header to sort.
| Tool | From (annual) | Pricing unit | Solo /mo | Small team /mo | Sales team /mo | Free? | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $7/user | Per user | $15 | $75 | $180 | Yes | Visit | |
| $8/user | Per user | $8 | $40 | $96 | No | Visit | |
| $8.17/user | Per seat | $8 | $83 | $200 | Yes | Visit | |
| $8.33/user | Per user | $20 | $100 | $240 | Yes | Visit | |
| $9.99/user | Per user | $13 | $55 | $204 | Yes | Visit | |
| $10/user | Per seat | $10 | $50 | $120 | Yes | Visit | |
| $10 | Per user (Basic is 1 user) | $10 | $100 | $240 | No | Visit | |
| $14/user | Per user | $14 | $70 | $168 | Yes | Visit | |
| $15/user | Per user | $0 | $75 | $180 | Yes | Visit | |
| $15/user | Per user | $15 | $75 | $180 | Yes | Visit | |
| $15/user | Per user | $15 | $75 | $180 | Yes | Visit | |
| $18/user | Per seat | $18 | $90 | $216 | Yes | Visit |
Alternatives & compares
Switching desks and head-to-heads, costed with the same engine.
Otter alternatives
The best-known AI transcriber, with minute caps on Basic and Pro and seat caps on every self-serve plan
Fireflies alternatives
Per-seat notetaker with a free tier limited by team storage, and the cheapest annual Pro among the big names
Fathom alternatives
Free-forever recorder for individuals; team plans start at two seats
Granola alternatives
Bot-free AI notepad with one published per-user price and a 30-day history limit on Basic
Read AI alternatives
Meeting reports plus email and chat search; free for 5 meetings a month
Otter vs Fireflies
From $8.33/user vs $10/user on annual billing.
Fathom vs Otter
From $15/user vs $8.33/user on annual billing.
Fathom vs Fireflies
From $15/user vs $10/user on annual billing.
Fathom vs Granola
From $15/user vs $14/user on annual billing.
Granola vs Otter
From $14/user vs $8.33/user on annual billing.
tl;dv vs Fathom
From $18/user vs $15/user on annual billing.
Read AI vs Otter
From $15/user vs $8.33/user on annual billing.
Fireflies vs tl;dv
From $10/user vs $18/user on annual billing.
Notta vs Otter
From $8.17/user vs $8.33/user on annual billing.
MeetGeek vs Fireflies
From $9.99/user vs $10/user on annual billing.
Krisp vs Otter
From $8/user vs $8.33/user on annual billing.
Circleback vs Granola
From $15/user vs $14/user on annual billing.
Best-of shortlists
Each list is ranked for a stated team shape — not “best for everyone.”
Cheapest AI meeting note-takers
Lowest verified bill for a 5-person team with 10 half-hour meetings a week each, billed annually.
Best free AI note-takers
Forever-free plans with their real ceilings: minutes, meeting counts, meeting length and history.
Best AI note-takers for small teams
Shared workspaces for a 5-person team, costed with unlimited history.
Best AI note-takers for sales teams
CRM sync and call coaching for 12 reps doing 15 calls a week.
Best AI note-takers for individuals
One person, 8 meetings a week at 45 minutes, monthly billing so you can cancel any time.
Best AI note-takers without a meeting bot
Record from your own device instead of sending a bot into the call.
FAQ
How much does an AI meeting note-taker cost in 2026?
Verified on official pricing pages (2026-10-30), per user per month on annual billing: Krisp Core $8, Notta Pro $8.17 (1 seat), Otter Pro $8.33, MeetGeek Pro $9.99, Fireflies Pro $10, Granola Business $14 (single published price), Fathom Team $15, Read AI Pro $15 and tl;dv Pro $18. Monthly billing costs roughly 20–100% more. Your real bill depends on people × meetings × meeting length — use the calculator.
Why does the calculator rank tools differently from their sticker price?
Plans are capped in different ways: Otter Pro at 1,200 minutes per user and 90 minutes per meeting, MeetGeek Pro at 20 hours (then $0.50/hour), Fellow Team at 10 AI notes per user, Read AI Free at 5 meetings, Notta Pro and Fathom Premium at one user, and Fathom Team at a 2-user minimum. We test your team against every published limit and keep the cheapest plan that actually covers it.
Which AI note-takers are free?
Fathom (individuals: unlimited recordings and AI summaries), Granola Basic (30-day history), Circleback Free (30-day history), tl;dv Free (10 AI-noted meetings), Read AI Free (5 meetings a month), MeetGeek Basic (3 hours a month), Otter Basic (300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per meeting), Fireflies Free (400 minutes of team storage), Notta Free (3 minutes per conversation) and Fellow Free (5 AI notes lifetime). Untick “full history” in the calculator to include the 30-day-history plans.
What is the cheapest note-taker for a sales team?
For 12 reps doing 15 calls a week at 45 minutes, billed annually: Krisp $96/mo (Core), Fireflies $120/mo (Pro), Granola $168/mo (Business), Fathom $180/mo (Team). Check CRM sync on each tool page — it often needs the Business tier.
What does “Not listed” mean?
The official pricing page does not publish that number (for example Otter, Krisp or tl;dv Enterprise, or Fireflies Enterprise on monthly billing). We never estimate it — the calculator shows the tool as not computable and says why.
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Visit buttons route through /go/ links marked nofollow sponsored. Rankings come from the cost engine and published limits only; commissions never change a price cell.