NERDY PICKS · TRANSCRIPTION & MEETING NOTES
Best Transcription & Meeting Notes tools
Record calls and get transcripts, summaries and action items automatically.
Prices checked Oct 26, 2026
Which transcription & meeting notes tool should I start with?
If you want free, start with Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Fathom. Record calls and get transcripts, summaries and action items automatically. Below you'll find 23 tools with what each one does, the free plan and the cheapest solo plan in US dollars, checked Oct 26, 2026.
| Tool | What it does | Free plan | Paid from | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai | Joins your calls to transcribe, summarize and pull out action items. | Yes | Pro: US$16.99/month, or US$8.33/month on a yearly plan | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Fireflies.ai | AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes meetings. | Yes | Pro: US$18/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Fathom | Free AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes video calls. | Yes | Premium: US$20/month, or US$16/month on a yearly plan (US$192/year) | Oct 28, 2026 |
| tl;dv | Records Zoom, Meet and Teams calls and writes AI notes and reports. | Yes | Pro: US$29/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Read AI | Summarizes meetings, email and chats and lets you search across them. | Yes | Pro: US$19.75/month, or US$15/month on a yearly plan (US$180/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Granola | Takes notes from your computer's audio during meetings, without a bot joining the call. | Yes | Business: US$14/month | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Notta | Records and transcribes meetings and audio in many languages, with AI summaries. | Yes | Pro: US$13.49/month, or US$8.17/month on a yearly plan (US$97.99/year) | Oct 29, 2026 |
| Rev | AI and human transcription with tools aimed at legal and investigation teams. | Yes | Essentials: US$29.99/month, or US$25.49/month on a yearly plan (US$305.90/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| TurboScribe | Transcribes audio and video files fast, with unlimited transcription on the paid plan. | Yes | Unlimited: US$20/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year) | Oct 25, 2026 |
| Krisp | Removes background noise from calls and writes meeting notes and transcripts. | No | Core: US$16/month, or US$8/month on a yearly plan (US$96/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Tactiq | Browser extension that transcribes Meet, Zoom and Teams calls live and summarizes them. | Yes | Pro: US$12/month, or US$8/month on a yearly plan (US$96/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| MeetGeek | Joins your meetings to record, transcribe and summarize them automatically. | Yes | Pro: US$15.99/month, or US$9.99/month on a yearly plan | Oct 28, 2026 |
| Sonix | Transcribes and translates audio and video in 54+ languages with an online editor. | No | Core: US$25/month, or US$22.92/month on a yearly plan (US$275/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Happy Scribe | Transcribes and subtitles audio and video, and records meetings. | Yes | Basic: US$17/month, or US$8.50/month on a yearly plan | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Supernormal | Takes meeting notes and action items automatically and shares them with your team. | Yes | Team: US$20/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Bluedot | Records meetings through a browser extension and writes AI notes and summaries. | Yes | Basic: US$18/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Avoma | AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes and summarizes calls and syncs notes to your CRM. | Yes | Startup: US$29/month, or US$19/month on a yearly plan (US$228/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Circleback | Takes meeting notes and action items for online and in-person meetings, with or without a bot. | Yes | Pro: US$18/month, or US$15/month on a yearly plan (US$180/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Sembly AI | Meeting notes, summaries and follow-up documents generated from your calls. | Yes | Basic: US$17/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Transkriptor | Turns audio and video files into text, with translation and summaries. | Yes | Lite: US$9.99/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Wispr Flow | Voice dictation that turns your speech into clean, formatted text in any app on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. | Yes | Pro: US$15/month, or US$12/month on a yearly plan (US$144/year) | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Descript | Edits video and audio by editing the transcript, like a document. | Yes | Hobbyist: US$24/month, or US$16/month on a yearly plan (US$192/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Tana | Notes and outliner that also records meetings and turns them into organized notes and tasks. | Yes | Pro: US$25/month (promo), or US$20/month on a yearly plan (US$240/year) (promo) | Nov 1, 2026 |
All 23 tools
Otter.ai
Joins your calls to transcribe, summarize and pull out action items.
Free plan: Yes: 300 transcription minutes/month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports.
Paid from: Pro: US$16.99/month, or US$8.33/month on a yearly plan
Discounts: Save 51% with annual billing on Pro; Business monthly promo 20% off for 3+ months (US$24 instead of US$30).
Cheaper or similar: Fireflies.ai, Read AI
Checked Oct 30, 2026
Fireflies.ai
AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes meetings.
Free plan: Yes: Limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits.
Paid from: Pro: US$18/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year)
Discounts: Save up to 44% with annual billing; volume discounts mentioned in FAQ.
Cheaper or similar: Otter.ai, Fathom
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Fathom
Free AI notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes video calls.
Free plan: Yes: Unlimited recordings and transcription with instant summaries.
Paid from: Premium: US$20/month, or US$16/month on a yearly plan (US$192/year)
Discounts: Save 25%+ annually; 90-day guarantee; 10 free seats for nonprofits; up to 2 years free Team for eligible startups.
Cheaper or similar: Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai
Checked Oct 28, 2026
tl;dv
Records Zoom, Meet and Teams calls and writes AI notes and reports.
Free plan: Yes: Unlimited recordings and transcription; AI notes for 10 meetings; 3-month data retention.
Paid from: Pro: US$29/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year)
Discounts: Up to 40% off with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Fireflies.ai, Otter.ai, Read AI · cheaper tl;dv alternatives
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Read AI
Summarizes meetings, email and chats and lets you search across them.
Free plan: Yes: 5 meeting transcripts per month.
Paid from: Pro: US$19.75/month, or US$15/month on a yearly plan (US$180/year)
Discounts: 25% off with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Granola
Takes notes from your computer's audio during meetings, without a bot joining the call.
Free plan: Yes: Basic plan at $0 per user per month with limited meeting history; voice typing (dictation into any app) included.
Paid from: Business: US$14/month
Cheaper or similar: Tactiq, Bluedot
Checked Oct 30, 2026
Notta
Records and transcribes meetings and audio in many languages, with AI summaries.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan, no credit card: 120 transcription minutes/month, up to 3 minutes per conversation, 50 file uploads/month, 10 AI summaries/month.
Paid from: Pro: US$13.49/month, or US$8.17/month on a yearly plan (US$97.99/year)
Discounts: Education discount offered.
Cheaper or similar: TurboScribe, Tactiq
Checked Oct 29, 2026
Rev
AI and human transcription with tools aimed at legal and investigation teams.
Free plan: Yes: 45 AI transcription minutes/month for 1 user.
Paid from: Essentials: US$29.99/month, or US$25.49/month on a yearly plan (US$305.90/year)
Discounts: Annual billing gives 2 months free; 10% off human-verified transcription on Essentials.
Cheaper or similar: TurboScribe, Otter.ai
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
TurboScribe
Transcribes audio and video files fast, with unlimited transcription on the paid plan.
Free plan: Yes: 3 transcripts per day, files up to 30 minutes.
Paid from: Unlimited: US$20/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year)
Discounts: Save 50% with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: Notta, Happy Scribe
Checked Oct 25, 2026
Krisp
Removes background noise from calls and writes meeting notes and transcripts.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Core: US$16/month, or US$8/month on a yearly plan (US$96/year)
Discounts: Save 50% with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Tactiq, Bluedot
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Tactiq
Browser extension that transcribes Meet, Zoom and Teams calls live and summarizes them.
Free plan: Yes: 10 transcripts/month and 5 AI credits.
Paid from: Pro: US$12/month, or US$8/month on a yearly plan (US$96/year)
Discounts: Save up to 33% with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Bluedot, Fathom
Checked Oct 26, 2026
MeetGeek
Joins your meetings to record, transcribe and summarize them automatically.
Free plan: Yes: 3 hours of transcription per month.
Paid from: Pro: US$15.99/month, or US$9.99/month on a yearly plan
Discounts: Save up to 40% yearly; 30% off for startups, nonprofits and education.
Cheaper or similar: Tactiq, Bluedot
Checked Oct 28, 2026
Sonix
Transcribes and translates audio and video in 54+ languages with an online editor.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Core: US$25/month, or US$22.92/month on a yearly plan (US$275/year)
Discounts: Annual Core $275/year (saves $25).
Cheaper or similar: TurboScribe, Happy Scribe
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Happy Scribe
Transcribes and subtitles audio and video, and records meetings.
Free plan: Yes: Unlimited meeting recordings up to 45 minutes; 10-minute AI transcription trial.
Paid from: Basic: US$17/month, or US$8.50/month on a yearly plan
Discounts: Cheaper with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: TurboScribe, Sonix
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Supernormal
Takes meeting notes and action items automatically and shares them with your team.
Free plan: Yes: Free forever plan; no credit card required.
Paid from: Team: US$20/month, or US$18/month on a yearly plan (US$216/year)
Discounts: Save $24 a year with annual billing on Team.
Cheaper or similar: Tactiq, Bluedot
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Bluedot
Records meetings through a browser extension and writes AI notes and summaries.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan available.
Paid from: Basic: US$18/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year)
Discounts: Cheaper with annual billing; only users who record are charged.
Cheaper or similar: Tactiq, Fathom
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Avoma
AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes and summarizes calls and syncs notes to your CRM.
Free plan: Yes: Viewers and collaborators are free; free trial of paid plans.
Paid from: Startup: US$29/month, or US$19/month on a yearly plan (US$228/year)
Discounts: Annual saves up to 33%.
Cheaper or similar: Fathom, Fireflies.ai
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Circleback
Takes meeting notes and action items for online and in-person meetings, with or without a bot.
Free plan: Yes: Free ($0/user/month): notes, action items, 30-day history.
Paid from: Pro: US$18/month, or US$15/month on a yearly plan (US$180/year)
Discounts: Lower per-user price with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: Granola, Fathom
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Sembly AI
Meeting notes, summaries and follow-up documents generated from your calls.
Free plan: Yes: 'Start free'.
Paid from: Basic: US$17/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year)
Discounts: Annual is the lower price.
Cheaper or similar: Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Transkriptor
Turns audio and video files into text, with translation and summaries.
Free plan: Yes: 'Try it Free'.
Paid from: Lite: US$9.99/month
Discounts: Annual saves up to 60% (Pro: $8.33/month, $99.99 billed annually).
Cheaper or similar: TurboScribe, Notta
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Wispr Flow
Voice dictation that turns your speech into clean, formatted text in any app on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan: dictation in any app, 100+ languages; 2,000 words a week on desktop and limited weekly use on mobile; limited Notetaker access.
Paid from: Pro: US$15/month, or US$12/month on a yearly plan (US$144/year)
Discounts: 20% off with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Otter.ai, Tactiq
Checked Oct 30, 2026
Descript
Edits video and audio by editing the transcript, like a document.
Free plan: Yes: 60 media minutes/month, 720p export, 5 GB storage.
Paid from: Hobbyist: US$24/month, or US$16/month on a yearly plan (US$192/year)
Discounts: Save up to 35% with annual billing; education and nonprofit pricing by application form.
Cheaper or similar: CapCut, VEED, OpusClip · cheaper Descript alternatives
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Tana
Notes and outliner that also records meetings and turns them into organized notes and tasks.
Free plan: Yes: Free plan: 5 meetings a month with AI transcripts, 50 AI queries.
Paid from: Pro: US$25/month (promo), or US$20/month on a yearly plan (US$240/year) (promo)
Discounts: Early-bird pricing on Pro (regular $30 yearly / $35 monthly).
Cheaper or similar: Notion, Mem
Checked Nov 1, 2026
Other jobs
FAQ
What's the best free transcription & meeting notes tool?
21 of the 23 transcription & meeting notes tools here have a free plan, including Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Fathom, tl;dv. Start with the one whose job description matches yours, and check the free-plan limits in each card before you commit.
What's the cheapest paid transcription & meeting notes tool?
Of the prices we could confirm, Krisp is cheapest: its Core plan is US$16/month, or US$8/month on a yearly plan (US$96/year). Next is Tactiq: its Pro plan is US$12/month, or US$8/month on a yearly plan (US$96/year). Prices are in US dollars before tax, checked Oct 26, 2026.
How do you check these prices?
We read each tool's official pricing page (or the maker's own help pages) in US dollars before tax, and note the date. If a price isn't shown clearly, we leave it blank rather than guess.
Want to spend less? Tick the tools you pay for in the Nerdy Savings calculator.