TaskRank / Guides
Ranking guideBest free AI note taker
All four AI note takers we rank have a free plan, but the free plans are limited in different ways: one caps minutes, one caps storage, one caps how much history you can see, and one gives you unlimited recordings. Which limit you can live with decides the best free option for you more than the overall rating does.
The free-plan details below were read from each tool's official pricing page on 2026-10-15. Free plans change often, so check the vendor's page before you rely on a limit.
Initial editorial ratings, testing in progress. These are initial editorial ratings, not benchmark results. Hands-on testing is in progress, and scores will be replaced by test results as each category is tested. Sponsors never affect scores. Features and pricing change often, so check each vendor's site before you buy.
Best AI for AI note takers: the ranking
| # | Tool | Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Otter.ai | 8.5/10 | Mature transcription, live notes |
| 2 | Fathom | 8.5/10 | Generous free tier, fast summaries |
| 3 | Fireflies.ai | 8.0/10 | Strong integrations & search |
| 4 | Granola | 8.0/10 | Notes without a bot joining |
What each free plan includes
Fathom has the most open free plan of the four. Its pricing page describes it as free forever, with unlimited recordings, instant call summaries and integrations with LLMs. Its paid plans are team plans with a two-user minimum, so for one person the free plan is often the end point.
Otter.ai's free Basic plan is built around minutes: 300 transcription minutes a month, with live transcription, speaker identification, three lifetime file imports, and Zoom, Teams and Google Meet support. It's the one to pick if you want to follow a live transcript during the call.
Fireflies.ai's free plan lists unlimited transcription (with a footnote on the pricing page worth reading), limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team and 20 AI credits. It also includes meeting search, the AskFred assistant and API access, which is unusual for a free tier.
Granola's free Basic plan gives AI meeting notes with limited meeting history, AI chat across meetings, shared folders and templates. It's the only one of the four that takes notes without a bot joining the call.
How to choose a free note taker
If you record a lot of meetings and want them all kept, start with Fathom. If you mostly want a live transcript for a few calls a week, Otter.ai's 300 minutes may be enough. If your notes need to feed other tools or a searchable archive, Fireflies.ai gives you search and API access for free, but watch the 400-minute storage cap. If a recording bot in the call would bother your clients, Granola is the free option without one, as long as limited history is fine.
For the head-to-heads, see Otter.ai vs Fathom, Fathom vs Granola and Fathom vs Fireflies. The full paid ranking is on best AI note taker.
When free stops being enough
You usually outgrow a free plan for one of three reasons: you hit the limit (Otter's minutes, Fireflies' storage, Granola's history), you need CRM or task-tool integrations, or the whole team needs shared notes. At that point compare the paid plans on each vendor's own page. Fireflies Pro and Otter Pro can be bought for one person; Fathom's Team and Business plans have a two-user minimum.
Before you record anyone
Free or paid, tell people when a meeting is being recorded or transcribed and follow your local consent rules. Check how long the tool keeps recordings and whether you can opt out of your data being used for training; Granola's pricing page says you can opt out on every plan.
Run your own two-tool trial
A ranking narrows the field; a short trial decides it. Pick the top two tools that fit your answers above. Choose three real tasks from your own work, not demo prompts, and run each task in both tools on the same day. Note how long it took to get a usable result, how much you had to fix, and whether anything about the setup, permissions or data settings bothered you. Most tools here have a free tier or trial that's enough for this.
Score each result on a simple 1 to 5 scale and write one sentence on why. After three tasks, the better fit is usually obvious. If it isn't, pick the cheaper one or the one that fits the tools you already use; the gap is small enough not to matter.
Free tiers, privacy and lock-in
Before you commit, check three things on the vendor's own site. First, what the free plan actually includes and what triggers an upgrade. Second, the data settings: how long your content is kept and whether you can opt out of it being used for training. Third, how easy it is to export your work if you switch later. These change more often than features do, which is why we re-check them when we re-score.
How we score
When we test, every tool gets the same task set per category: output quality (40%, blind-rated on 10 standardized real-world tasks), speed and reliability (20%), ease of use (15%), value (15%) and privacy and trust (10%). Ratings are re-tested quarterly. Sponsors never affect scores; sponsored placements are labeled. See the full methodology.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best free AI note taker?
- For unlimited recordings, Fathom: its free plan lists unlimited recordings and instant summaries. For a live transcript, Otter.ai's 300 free minutes a month. For no bot in the call, Granola. In our initial editorial ratings Fathom and Otter.ai score 8.5/10, Fireflies.ai and Granola 8.0.
- Is Otter.ai free?
- Yes. Otter's Basic plan is free with 300 monthly transcription minutes, live transcription and speaker identification, per its pricing page on 2026-10-15.
- Which free AI note taker doesn't join the meeting?
- Granola, which takes notes without a bot joining the call.
- Are these ratings from tests?
- Not yet. They are initial editorial ratings; hands-on testing is in progress.