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The best AI tools for transcribing meetings in 2026

A meeting notetaker records the call, writes the transcript and turns it into a summary with action items. They differ most on whether a bot joins the call, what the free plan covers and whether your recordings train the vendor's models.

By Andrew Miller · Updated Oct 26, 2026 · How we review

How we chose: each pick is a product, model or project we have reviewed that does this job according to our review of it, ranked by our rating out of 5. We take no affiliate commission.

Also ranked: the best AI productivity tools

  1. 1

    AI Tools: Productivity

    Granola

    Granola makes bot-free meeting notes feel normal, but its free tier is a 30-day sample and anyone below Enterprise should switch off model training on day one.

    Best for: Founders, investors and knowledge workers who take notes in many meetings and dislike bots.

    Price: Basic free (30 days of history); Business $14/user/month; Enterprise $35/user/month.

    Read our Granola review
    4.6/5
  2. 2

    AI Tools: Productivity

    Notion AI

    Worth the Business plan for teams whose knowledge already lives in Notion, though the new per-seat credit allowances turn a flat price into something closer to a meter.

    Best for: Teams that already keep their docs, wikis and projects in Notion.

    Price: AI trial on Free and Plus ($10/member/month yearly, $12 monthly); full AI on Business $20/member/month yearly ($24 monthly) and Enterprise (custom), each seat with 1,500 Standard and 500 Select credits a month; extra Notion credits $10 per 1,000 monthly or $13 per 1,000 annually.

    Read our Notion AI review
    4.4/5
  3. 3

    AI Tools: Productivity

    Fathom

    Fathom gives away what rivals charge for, unlimited recording and summaries, and its $25 Business seat covers most of what a small sales team would otherwise buy Gong for.

    Best for: Individuals who want free meeting notes and sales or customer teams that want affordable call recording.

    Price: Free (unlimited recordings and summaries); Premium $16/month yearly ($20 monthly); Team $15/user yearly ($19 monthly); Business $25/user yearly ($34 monthly); Enterprise custom.

    Read our Fathom review
    4.3/5
  4. 4

    AI Tools: Productivity

    Gemini in Google Workspace

    For a company already on Gmail, Gemini is the cheapest serious AI rollout available, provided it budgets for Business Standard and keeps confidential files out of Gemini Notebook.

    Best for: Small and mid-size companies that run on Gmail and Google Docs.

    Price: Included in Workspace plans: Business Starter $7, Standard $14, Plus $22 per user/month (US, annual commitment; flexible billing $8.40, $16.80 and $26.40); Enterprise custom; 300-user cap on Business plans. Prices from Google's Business editions help page.

    Read our Gemini in Google Workspace review
    4.3/5
  5. 5

    AI Tools: Productivity

    Fireflies.ai

    Fireflies is cheap per seat and strong at searching old calls, but its bot records everyone in the meeting, and that consent problem grows with every call it joins.

    Best for: Sales, customer success and recruiting teams that want searchable call history and analytics.

    Price: Free (400 min storage/team); Pro $10/seat/month yearly ($18 monthly); Business $19/seat/month yearly ($29 monthly); Enterprise $39/seat/month, yearly only.

    Read our Fireflies.ai review
    4.2/5
  6. 6

    AI Tools: Productivity

    Microsoft 365 Copilot

    For a company whose email, files and meetings already sit in Microsoft 365, Copilot is the AI that can actually see the work, but the $30 seat is only the start of the bill.

    Best for: Organizations that already run on Microsoft 365 and need AI with enterprise data controls.

    Price: Copilot Chat included with eligible Microsoft 365 plans. Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on $30/user/month (annual). Copilot Business add-on $21/user/month annual ($18 promo to 31 Dec 2026, first year) or $25.20 monthly, up to 300 users. Microsoft 365 E7 bundle $99/user/month. Cowork, Code and Work IQ API billed in Copilot Credits.

    Read our Microsoft 365 Copilot review
    4.2/5
  7. 7

    AI Tools: Agents & automation

    Lindy

    Lindy is a capable assistant for inbox and meeting admin, but its seat rules mean a single @mention in Slack can put a colleague on the bill.

    Best for: Founders and small teams in Slack and Google Workspace who want shared help with email, scheduling and meeting follow-ups.

    Price: Free trial: $50 in credits for 7 days. Team from $29.99 per active user/month for 3,000 pooled credits, with larger credit tiers; top-ups $10 per 1,000 credits. Enterprise custom (HIPAA BAA, SSO, SCIM, audit logs).

    Read our Lindy review
    4.0/5
  8. 8

    AI Tools: Productivity

    Otter.ai

    Cheap, capable transcription with a data policy every meeting guest should know about: Otter trains on transcripts and offers no switch to stop it.

    Best for: Students and small teams who want cheap, reliable transcripts and are comfortable with Otter's training terms.

    Price: Basic free (300 min/month, 30 min per conversation); Pro $8.33/user/month yearly or $16.99 monthly; Business $19.99/user/month yearly or $30 monthly; Enterprise by demo (SSO and SCIM need 100 users).

    Read our Otter.ai review
    3.9/5

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