Best AI Meeting Notes Tools 2026: Otter vs Granola vs Fireflies vs Fathom

Otter.ai, Granola, Fireflies.ai and Fathom compared on features and current pricing — with honest notes on where each disappoints.

AI meeting-notes tools have split into two camps: bot-based assistants that join your call, and quieter apps that listen from your own device. We compared four leaders on features, current pricing and their weaknesses. This is a research-based assessment using official pricing pages and documentation rather than a hands-on trial, so treat the scores as reasoned judgement.

Granola

Granola is the standout for note quality. It captures audio locally — no awkward bot appearing in the participant list — and turns your own shorthand into clean, structured summaries, which changes the etiquette of note-taking. In its 2026 restructure it dropped the old individual tiers: Basic is free (with a limited note history, so older notes eventually become inaccessible), Business is $14/user/month and Enterprise is $35/user/month. The limits are platform and history: it is desktop-first with a narrower footprint than the bot tools, and the free plan’s history cap pushes serious users to pay. Score: 8.4/10.

Fathom

Fathom has the most generous free plan in this group: unlimited recordings and transcriptions, plus instant AI summaries, at no cost. Paid tiers unlock the good stuff — Premium is $20/month ($16 annually) for advanced templates and unlimited AI action items, Team is $19/user/month and Business $34/user/month, with heavy CRM and coaching features aimed at sales. The catch is that the AI assistant and advanced summaries are deliberately limited on the free tier, and the product increasingly leans towards revenue teams rather than general note-takers. Score: 8.0/10.

Fireflies.ai

Fireflies is the team and integrations workhorse. It joins calls as a bot, transcribes in over 100 languages, and pipes notes into CRMs and collaboration tools, with conversation analytics on top. Free gives 400 minutes of storage per team; Pro is $10/seat/month billed annually ($18 monthly), Business $19/seat ($29 monthly) and Enterprise $39/seat. The weaknesses: it relies on a visible bot, and its AI features are metered by credits, so the “unlimited” headline has strings attached. Score: 7.8/10.

Otter.ai

Otter is the veteran, and its live transcription and real-time captions are still among the best for accessibility and following along mid-meeting. Basic is free but capped at 300 minutes per month; Pro is $16.99/month (1,200 minutes) and Business is $30/month for higher, effectively unlimited use. The problem is that Otter’s AI summaries now feel a step behind newer rivals, the free allowance is tight, and transcription accuracy can wobble on crosstalk and accents. Dependable, but no longer the obvious leader. Score: 7.3/10.

Verdict

For the best notes with the least friction, Granola wins — provided you are desktop-based. Fathom is the pick if budget matters, thanks to genuinely unlimited free recording. Choose Fireflies.ai if you need team analytics and deep CRM integration. Otter.ai still earns its place where live, readable transcription during the meeting matters most.