Best AI Note Takers (2026): 10 Meeting Tools Compared

You can't listen well and write well at the same time. One of them always loses, and it's usually the listening.

These ten tools take the writing off your hands. They're listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and every description comes from the vendor's own website, read this week. If you want to start without spending anything, my guide on where to get an AI note taker free lists the free routes.

AI note takers side by side

I checked the free plan column on each tool's own website, as of Nov 2026. Yes means the site names a free plan, a free version, a free account, a free edition or an open source release. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the pages I read named neither, even where there's a button inviting you to try it, so check the vendor's page before you sign up.

Tool	Type	Good for	Free plan
Bluedot	Bot-free AI note taker	Recording without a bot joining the call	Yes
Fireflies.ai	Meeting assistant and transcription	Searching and analysing every team call	Yes
Granola	AI notepad for meetings	People in back-to-back meetings	Yes
Jamie	Bot-free meeting intelligence app	European teams that want data kept in the EU	Yes
MeetGeek	AI meeting notetaker and automation	In-person meetings as well as video calls	Yes
Notta	AI note taker and transcription app	Bilingual meetings and uploaded recordings	Yes
Otter.ai	Meeting agent and transcription	Sales follow-ups and lecture or interview notes	Yes
Sembly	AI meeting agent for service firms	Consultancies, agencies and freelancers	Yes
Shadow	Mac meeting assistant	Mac users who keep notes in Markdown	Yes
Supernormal	Meeting notes and agents for agencies	Turning client calls into finished work	Yes

Ten AI note takers to look at

Bluedot

Best for: People who'd rather a note taker didn't join the call as a visible bot, and want notes pushed into their CRM or Notion afterwards.

Fireflies.ai

Best for: Teams that want every call transcribed, summarised and searchable in one place, with the notes feeding email, chat and the CRM.

Granola

Best for: Busy people who type their own rough notes in meetings and want AI to fill in the rest from the computer audio, with no meeting bot.

Jamie

Best for: Teams that care where their meeting data lives, with notes processed in the EU and no bot joining the call.

MeetGeek

Best for: Agencies, consultants and startups who want online and in-person meetings recorded, summarised and pushed into their other tools automatically.

Notta

Best for: Anyone who switches between two languages in meetings or needs old audio and video files transcribed as well as live calls.

Otter.ai

Best for: Sales teams, students and journalists who want automatic transcripts, summaries and follow-ups synced to the CRM after each conversation.

Sembly

Best for: Consultancies, agencies and freelancers who want meeting notes turned into client-ready artefacts and tasks, with a free trial to start.

Shadow

Best for: Mac users who want every call saved locally as Markdown files they own, ready for Obsidian and their own AI tools.

Supernormal

Best for: Agencies that want meeting notes without bots and AI agents that turn client calls into finished work.

Matching a note taker to how you meet

• No bot joining the call: Bluedot or Granola.
• Meeting data kept in the EU: Jamie.
• Notes saved on your Mac as Markdown: Shadow.
• Two languages in the same meeting: Notta.
• Whole-team call search and CRM sync: Fireflies.ai or Otter.ai.
• Consultancies and agencies: Sembly or Supernormal.
• In-person meetings as well as video calls: MeetGeek.

Why consent matters before you record a call

California Penal Code section 632, published by California Legislative Information, makes it an offence to record a confidential communication, including a phone call, intentionally and without the consent of all parties.

Not everywhere follows the all-party rule, but your clients may be somewhere that does. The safe habit is simple: tell everyone at the start that the call is being recorded and transcribed, and stop if anyone objects.

Meeting bot or bot-free note taker?

A meeting bot joins the call as a named participant. Everyone can see it, which helps with consent, though some clients find it off-putting.

A bot-free note taker listens through your own computer or phone. It's quieter, but the duty to tell people you're recording sits squarely with you.

Some tools offer both, so you can choose per meeting.

Meeting tools are just the start, so browse every AI for small business list for the rest.

Questions to ask before a note taker joins your meetings

1. Where is the audio stored, and for how long?
2. Is your meeting data used to train AI models?
3. Can it tell speakers apart accurately?
4. Does it work with Zoom, Google Meet and Teams?
5. Can you edit the summary before it's shared?
6. Does it push notes into your CRM or project tool?

If your recordings need captions in other languages, our guide to subtitle translators rates tools.

Signs you need an AI note taker

• You miss things while typing. Let software take notes.
• Nobody remembers who agreed what. Get owners in writing.
• Follow-ups take an hour. Start from the summary.
• Old decisions get relitigated. Search past meetings.

Do you make AI note takers? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.

Three more note takers with free plans (updated 6 November 2026)

If cost is the first filter, these three are worth a look alongside the ten above. All three had a free plan on their own sites as of Nov 2026.

• Circleback: AI meeting notes and action items, with a bot or a bot-free desktop app, and in-person recording. As of Nov 2026, its homepage says 'Unlimited meetings on the free plan', and its pricing page lists Free at $0 per user/month. Pick it if you want the option of bot-free notes and a free plan to start on.
• Fathom: a meeting recorder that writes summaries and action items. As of Nov 2026, its pricing page title reads 'Free Plan or Plans from $15/mo'. Pick it if summaries and action items are all you need.
• tl;dv: a meeting recorder with AI notes and multi-meeting summaries. As of Nov 2026, its homepage describes a free plan with unlimited recordings and transcriptions in 30+ languages. Pick it if your calls run in more than one language.

Google Meet's recording help page says participants get a notification when a recording starts or stops. That notice covers Meet's own recording, so if you add a separate note taker, the heads-up from the consent section above still applies.

My verdict: start with Circleback if a bot in the call bothers your clients; otherwise any of the three is a fair place to start for free.

Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.

My plain advice on picking a note taker

Run two tools side by side on the same three meetings, then compare the summaries with what you remember. The right one gets the decisions and owners right, not just the words. A beautiful summary that misses who agreed to do what is worse than none.

Before you use one on client calls, read my piece on the legal risk of an AI notetaker on sales calls.

I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.

Related: ai consultant saas startups without data team.

Frequently asked questions

What does an AI note taker do?

It records or listens to a meeting, writes a transcript, and produces a summary with decisions and action points that you can search and share.

Is there a free AI note taker?

Several tools offer a free plan or free download, with limits on minutes or features. Check the free plan column above and confirm on each vendor's site.

Must I tell people I'm using a note taker?

You should, and in some places the law requires everyone's consent before a call is recorded. Say so at the start of every meeting.

What is a bot-free note taker?

It's a note taker that listens through your own device instead of joining the call as a visible participant.

Can AI note takers handle more than one language?

Some can, including transcribing two languages in the same meeting. Test with your own calls, because accuracy varies.

Will an AI note taker work for in-person meetings?

Several apps record in-person meetings on a phone or laptop, so the notes don't depend on a video call.