7 Best Free AI Note Takers for Meetings (2026)

An AI note taker listens to your Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams call, writes the transcript and hands you a summary with action items when the meeting ends. You don’t have to pay for one: the seven tools below all have a free plan, and we checked each plan’s limits on the official pricing pages in October 2026, so you can pick the one whose catch you can live with.

Quick answer: The best free AI note taker for most people is Fathom, because its free plan offers unlimited recordings and transcriptions with instant AI summaries for Zoom, Google Meet and Teams. Pick Granola or Jamie if you don’t want a bot joining your calls, Otter.ai if you also want phone apps for in-person meetings, and Tactiq if you just need a few transcripts a month from a Chrome extension.

Best free AI note takers compared

Free limits change often, so check the pricing page linked in each section before you rely on a number.

How an AI note taker works

There are two kinds. Bot note takers (Fathom, Otter, Fireflies, Read AI) join your call as an extra participant that everyone can see, record the meeting, and email or show you the notes afterwards. Bot-free note takers (Granola, Jamie, Tactiq) run on your own computer or in your browser and capture the audio there, so nobody sees an extra name in the meeting. Bot-free tools feel less awkward with clients, but you still need to tell people you are taking AI notes (see the privacy section below).

1. Fathom: best free AI note taker overall

Fathom records, transcribes and summarizes Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls. Its free plan is the most generous on this list: “unlimited recordings + transcriptions” with instant AI call summaries, plus clips, playlists and search across your calls.

• Who it’s for: anyone with several video calls a week who wants every meeting recorded without counting minutes.
• Free vs paid catch: advanced and custom summaries and AI action items are on the paid plans. Premium for individuals is listed at $20 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly (October 2026).
• Bot or not: a recording bot by default; a bot-free mode is in beta for Mac.
• Privacy note: Fathom lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and HIPAA compliance on its site.

See the current limits on the Fathom pricing page.

2. Otter.ai: best for meetings and in-person notes

Otter.ai can send its AI meeting agent to your Zoom, Teams and Google Meet calls automatically from your calendar, or record from its desktop app without a bot joining. It also has iOS and Android apps, which makes it handy for lectures and face-to-face meetings.

• Who it’s for: people who need notes both on calls and in the room, and students who record lectures on their phone.
• Free vs paid catch: the free Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes a month, but each conversation is capped at 30 minutes, you get only 3 file imports in total (not per month), and only your 25 most recent conversations are kept. Pro is listed at $16.99 a month.
• Bot or not: both options.

Limits: Otter.ai pricing.

3. Fireflies.ai: best for long meetings

Fireflies.ai works through its note taker bot, Fred: invite fred@fireflies.ai to a meeting or let it join your calendar meetings automatically to record, transcribe and summarize. It connects to Google Meet (including a Chrome extension), Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex and other meeting apps.

• Who it’s for: people whose meetings run over an hour, since the free plan allows recordings of up to 2 hours.
• Free vs paid catch: transcription is unlimited, but storage is only 400 minutes per team and AI summaries are “limited”, with 20 AI credits. Pro is listed at $10 per seat a month billed yearly.
• Privacy note: Fireflies says “your data is never used for AI training” and lists SOC 2 Type II certification.

Limits: Fireflies pricing.

4. Granola: best bot-free AI note taker

Granola doesn’t join your meeting at all. It uses your computer’s audio and transcribes in the background while you jot your own rough notes, then turns both into clean meeting notes. It works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Slack huddles and any other meeting app, and runs on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android (the phone apps cover in-person meetings).

• Who it’s for: consultants, founders and anyone who finds a recording bot awkward in client calls.
• Free vs paid catch: the free Basic plan keeps only 30 days of meeting history. Business is listed at $14 per user a month.
• Privacy note: the plan page says you can opt out of model training any time.

Limits: Granola pricing.

5. Read AI: best for a few meetings a month

Read AI gives you meeting reports with summaries, transcripts and search for Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, with apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.

• Who it’s for: people with only a handful of important meetings each month.
• Free vs paid catch: the free plan covers 5 meetings a month, each up to 1 hour, and doesn’t include audio or video playback. More meetings need the Pro plan.

Limits: Read AI pricing.

6. Jamie: best for privacy

Jamie runs on your device and doesn’t need a meeting bot. It works across Zoom, Teams, Google Meet or any other online platform, and can also capture in-person meetings from your laptop or phone. Apps are available for Mac, Windows and iPhone.

• Who it’s for: privacy-conscious users and teams who want their data kept in Europe.
• Free vs paid catch: the free plan gives 10 AI notes a month with a 30-minute limit per meeting, so it suits short calls. Paid plans raise both limits.
• Privacy note: Jamie says storage and processing stay within the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, audio is streamed and never stored, and customer data is never used to train models.

Limits: Jamie pricing.

7. Tactiq: best free Chrome extension

Tactiq is a bot-free Chrome extension that transcribes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls in your browser, then adds AI-generated insights you can share or export.

• Who it’s for: Chrome users who want a live transcript without installing a desktop app or inviting a bot.
• Free vs paid catch: 10 transcripts and 5 AI credits a month. Pro is listed at $8 a month billed yearly.

Limits: Tactiq pricing.

Which free AI note taker should you choose?

• Lots of video calls: Fathom, for unlimited free recordings.
• No bot in the meeting: Granola for everyday calls, Jamie if data location matters, Tactiq if you live in Chrome.
• Lectures and in-person meetings: Otter.ai or Granola on your phone.
• Meetings longer than an hour: Fireflies.ai (up to 2 hours per recording on the free plan).
• Just a few meetings a month: Read AI.

If you’d rather work with notes and documents you already have, Google’s free research notebook is a good companion; see our guide on how to use NotebookLM. And before a call, run a quick mic test: an AI note taker can only transcribe what your microphone picks up clearly.

Privacy and consent: read this before you record

• Tell people. Recording laws differ by country and by US state, and some require everyone on the call to agree. Saying “I’m using an AI note taker, is that OK?” at the start covers you and is simple good manners.
• Check where the data goes. Each tool stores your recordings or transcripts on its own servers. Read its privacy page, and look for a statement on whether your meetings are used to train AI (Fireflies, Granola and Jamie state their position on their sites).
• Keep sensitive calls out. Medical, legal and HR conversations may need a paid business plan with the right agreements, or no recording at all.
• Review the summary. AI summaries can mishear names, numbers and decisions. Read them before you send them to anyone.
• Clean up. Delete recordings you no longer need, and turn off auto-join for calendar events you don’t want recorded.

Prefer to type your own notes by voice instead? Our guide to dictation software covers free speech-to-text tools.

FAQ

Is there a completely free AI note taker?

Yes. Fathom’s free plan offers unlimited recordings and transcriptions with AI summaries, and Fireflies.ai offers unlimited transcription (with limited storage and AI summaries). Others, such as Otter.ai, Read AI, Jamie and Tactiq, are free within monthly limits.

Which AI note taker doesn’t join the meeting as a bot?

Granola, Jamie and Tactiq capture audio on your own device or in your browser, so no bot appears in the call. Otter.ai’s desktop app and Fathom’s Mac beta can also record without a bot.

Can I use an AI note taker for in-person meetings?

Yes. Otter.ai and Granola have iPhone and Android apps, and Jamie can record in-person meetings from your laptop or iPhone.

Is an AI note taker safe to use?

The tools above publish security and privacy details, and some say they never train AI on your data. Still, your meeting is stored on a company’s servers, so tell participants you are recording and avoid using free plans for confidential conversations.

Which AI note taker works with Google Meet for free?

Fathom, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Read AI and Tactiq all work with Google Meet on their free plans, and the bot-free tools Granola and Jamie work with any meeting app, Google Meet included.