Guides / Productivity, meetings & personal agents / Meeting notes and summaries
📅 Best for the job · 5 tools

Best AI meeting notetakers

Record, transcribe and summarize calls so you can pay attention instead of typing. Some join as a bot; Granola captures audio on your device instead.

Ranked by score on our 100-point rubric (how we score). Scores are initial editorial estimates from public information, not hands-on tests. Pricing is labeled verified (checked on the vendor's official pricing page, with date) or unverified.

Quick picks

#ToolTierScoreFree tierPricing
1 Granola
AI notepad for meetings
A 80 Yes verified
2 Notion AI
AI inside your Notion workspace
A 73 Yes verified
3 Fathom
Free AI meeting recorder
B 69 Yes verified
4 Fireflies.ai
AI meeting notetaker
B 68 Yes verified
5 Otter.ai
Meeting transcription and assistant
B 67 Yes verified

The ranking

  1. 1
    Granola
    AI notepad for meetings
    A80/100

    Captures meeting audio on your device and enhances your notes without a bot joining the call.

    Best for
    You want great meeting notes without a bot in the call.
    Skip it if
    You need recordings and video playback.
    Pricing
    Basic $0; Business $14/user/mo; Enterprise $35/user/mo
    ✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026
    Platforms
    Mac · Win · iOS
  2. 2
    Notion AI
    AI inside your Notion workspace
    A73/100

    AI for writing, search across connected apps, meeting notes and agents inside Notion.

    Best for
    Your team's knowledge lives in Notion.
    Skip it if
    You don't use Notion.
    Pricing
    Free plan; Plus $10/member/mo; Business (with Notion AI) $20/member/mo
    ✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026
    Platforms
    web · Mac · Win · iOS · Android · MCP
  3. 3
    Fathom
    Free AI meeting recorder
    B69/100

    Records and summarizes Zoom, Meet and Teams calls with a generous free plan.

    Best for
    You want a free meeting recorder that just works.
    Skip it if
    You need on-prem storage.
    Pricing
    Free forever plan; Team $19/user/mo ($15 annually, 2-user min); Business $34
    ✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026
    Platforms
    web · Mac · Win
  4. 4
    Fireflies.ai
    AI meeting notetaker
    B68/100

    Records, transcribes and summarizes meetings with CRM integrations.

    Best for
    You want meeting notes synced to your CRM.
    Skip it if
    You want on-device capture.
    Pricing
    Free forever plan; Pro $18/seat/mo or $10 annually; Business $29 or $19 annually
    ✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026
    Platforms
    web · iOS · Android · API
  5. 5
    Otter.ai
    Meeting transcription and assistant
    B67/100

    Live transcription, summaries and an AI meeting agent for Zoom, Meet and Teams.

    Best for
    You need searchable transcripts of meetings.
    Skip it if
    You dislike bots joining calls.
    Pricing
    Basic free; Pro $16.99/user/mo monthly (lower annually); Business $30/user/mo
    ✓ verified on the official pricing page, Oct 18, 2026
    Platforms
    web · iOS · Android

Head-to-head comparisons

FAQ

What is the best AI tool for meeting notes and summaries?

Granola ranks first with 80/100 (A-tier). AI notepad for meetings. Use it when you want great meeting notes without a bot in the call. Next in our ranking: Notion AI (73/100, A-tier) and Fathom (69/100, B-tier).

Which AI tools for meeting notes and summaries have a free tier?

In our pricing data, Granola (verified), Notion AI (verified), Fathom (verified), Fireflies.ai (verified) and Otter.ai (verified) list a free tier. "Unverified" means it is an editorial summary we have not yet confirmed on the vendor's official pricing page, so check the vendor before relying on it.

How are these tools ranked?

Each tool is scored out of 100 on our public rubric: job fit (30), ease (15), value (15), momentum (15), openness and portability (10), trust and maturity (10) and a builder/gamer bonus (5). S-tier is 85+, A-tier 70–84, B-tier 55–69 and C-tier below 55. Current scores are initial editorial estimates from public information, not hands-on tests, and sponsors can't buy points.

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