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Best Free AI Meeting Assistants and Notetakers in 2027
Which meeting assistants and notetakers have a free plan you can actually work on, what each one caps, and which ones are only a trial.
By Evin JohnPublished 6 min read
The most generous free meeting notetaker is Fathom: unlimited recordings, transcripts and summaries, with no monthly cap, as long as a bot in the call is acceptable. If it is not, Granola's free plan captures without a bot and states no meeting cap, but keeps only 30 days of history. Otter's free plan gives the most transcript time for in-person recording, and Natively is free for personal use if you are willing to bring your own AI key or run a model on your own computer.
"Free" covers very different deals in this market. Some products have a permanent free plan with limits, some only a trial, some come with a Zoom, Teams or Google plan you may already pay for, and some are free apps that send the AI bill to whichever provider you use. This guide keeps those apart and lists what each free option holds back. For paid tools judged on the notes alone, see the meeting notetakers guide; for help during the call, the meeting assistants guide.
The short answer
- Most generous free planFathom: unlimited recordings and summaries, with a bot
- Best free without a botGranola: no stated meeting cap, but 30 days of history
- Most free transcript timeOtter.ai: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes a conversation
- Free with ZoomZoom AI (formerly AI Companion): summaries for 3 meetings a month on Zoom's free plan
- Free and on your diskNatively: free for personal use with a local model, no API charges
What "free" means here
- Free plan, with limits. A permanent plan at no cost, capped by meetings, minutes, history or AI features. Most products in this guide.
- Free for personal use. The software costs nothing for personal use; a paid licence adds features. Natively is the one here.
- Free app, you pay the AI provider. With your own API key, the provider bills you for what you use. Usually cents a meeting, but not zero.
- Free, runs on your hardware. A local model has no API charges, but needs a computer with enough memory to run it.
- Included with a paid plan. Teams and Google Meet AI notes come with business plans, not with free accounts.
- Trial only. Free for a few days or a few meetings, then paid. Bluedot, Krisp, Avoma and Notion are trials, not free plans.
Every free option, with its limits
| Product | Free option | What free holds back | How it captures | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Free plan, with limitsUnlimited recordings, transcripts and call summaries; Ask Fathom and advanced summaries are limited. | Ask Fathom and advanced summaries limited; bot-free capture on Mac only | A bot by default; bot-free audio or transcript-only capture on Mac (macOS 14.2+), Windows bot-free in a Teams-only alpha | Premium $20 a month ($16 annually); Team $19 ($15); Business $34 ($25) |
| Granola | Free plan, with limitsBasic plan with no stated meeting cap, but only 30 days of meeting history. | History older than 30 days | Captures device audio on your computer or phone; no bot joins. You type rough notes and it fills them in from the transcript | Business $14 per user a month; Enterprise $35 |
| Otter.ai | Free plan, with limitsBasic: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, only the 25 most recent conversations kept, 20 AI chat questions a month, 3 imported files for the life of the account. | Conversations over 30 minutes; all but your 25 latest; file exports | A bot that joins from your calendar, or the desktop app recording without a bot; also records in person | Pro $16.99 a month ($8.33 billed annually; 20% off for students); Business $30 a month ($19.99 annually) |
| Fireflies.ai | Free plan, with limitsTranscription with 400 minutes of storage (then you delete files), 20 AI credits a month, limited summaries; downloads need a paid plan. | Downloads; storage past 400 minutes; most AI credits | A bot that joins Zoom, Meet and Teams, or the desktop app capturing system audio without a bot (desktop app on paid plans) | Pro $18 a month ($10 annually); Business $29 ($19 annually); Enterprise $39 annually |
| tl;dv | Free plan, with limitsFree plan for meetings, recordings and AI notes; its terms cap free use at 40 recordings a week, and its own pages disagree on the AI-notes limit. | Its own pages disagree on how many meetings get AI notes | A bot through the extension or web app; the desktop app can record audio without a bot | Pro $18 per seat a month billed annually ($29 monthly); Business $29 ($39 monthly); tl;dv adjusts prices by country |
| Jamie | Free plan, with limits10 AI notes a month, meetings up to 30 minutes. | More than 10 notes a month or 30 minutes a meeting | Runs on your device and does not join calls; works with any meeting app and in person | Plus $24 a month billed annually ($29 monthly); Pro $46 ($55); Team $37 per seat ($45); also priced in euros |
| Circleback | Free plan, with limits30 days of meeting and recording history, limited automations. | History older than 30 days; most automations | A bot, or the bot-free desktop app | Pro $15, Business $25, Enterprise $35 per user a month |
| MeetGeek | Free plan, with limits3 hours of transcription a month, meetings up to 2 hours, transcripts kept 3 months. | More than 3 hours a month; transcripts older than 3 months | A bot for Zoom, Meet and Teams, or bot-free through the extension or desktop recorder | Pro $15.99 and Business $27 per user a month (lower when billed yearly) |
| Read AI | Free plan, with limits5 meeting transcripts a month, meetings up to 1 hour, no audio or video playback. | More than 5 meetings a month; meetings over an hour; playback | A bot that can join meetings even when you do not attend, or a desktop record button without a bot | Pro $19.75 a month ($15 annually); Enterprise $29.75 ($22.50); Enterprise+ $39.75 ($29.75) |
| Zoom AI (formerly AI Companion) | Free plan, with limitsOn free Zoom Basic: summaries and in-meeting questions for 3 hosted meetings a month, 20 AI queries a month, 40-minute meetings. | More than 3 meetings with AI a month; meetings over 40 minutes | Built into Zoom meetings; My Notes also captures in-person and other platforms | Included in Workplace Pro ($16.99 a month, $14.16 annually) and Business ($21.99); ZoomMate add-on $20 a month |
| Notta | Free plan, with limits120 minutes a month, but each conversation stops at 3 minutes; 10 AI summaries a month. | Anything past 3 minutes per recording | Cloud transcription of meetings, recordings and uploaded files | Pro $8.17 a month ($97.99 a year); Business $16.67 a month ($199.99 a year) |
| Natively | Free for personal useFree for personal use. Bring your own API key (your provider bills you for usage) or run a local model through Ollama (no API charges). A short trial of the hosted Natively API needs no card. | Pro features; the AI itself unless you run a local model | Desktop app that hears both sides of the call from your computer; no bot joins the meeting | Pro licence $39 a year or $79 once; hosted Natively API plans $8 to $35 a month |
| Bluedot | Trial only5 meetings in total, not per month. | Everything after 5 meetings | Bot-free recording through a Chrome extension or desktop app | Basic from $14, Pro from $20, Business from $32 per user a month |
| Krisp | Trial onlyNo permanent free plan; a 7-day trial with no card. | Everything after 7 days | Works at the audio level with any meeting app, so no bot by default; also noise cancellation | Core $16 a month ($8 annually); Advanced $30 ($15 annually) |
| Avoma | Trial onlyNo free plan; a 14-day trial, after which the account can only view. | Everything after 14 days, except viewing | Joins virtual meetings with a bot by default; desktop and mobile apps record in person | Startup $29 ($19 annually), Organization $39 per recorder seat a month; live answer assistant is a paid add-on |
| Notion AI | Trial onlyFree and Plus workspaces get a limited number of AI responses to try it (the number is not published); AI is part of Business and Enterprise. | Meeting notes after the trial, unless on Business | AI inside your Notion workspace; AI Meeting Notes records without a bot on Business and above | Business $20 per member a month (save up to 20% yearly); Enterprise on request |
| Microsoft Teams Copilot | Included with a paid planNot in free or standard Teams. Intelligent recap needs Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence on top of Microsoft 365. | Nothing extra, but needs Teams Premium or Copilot | Built into Teams: works from the meeting's transcript and recording, so no third-party bot | Teams Premium $10 per user a month, or Microsoft 365 Copilot $30 (Copilot Business $18), billed yearly, on top of Microsoft 365 |
| Gemini in Google Meet | Included with a paid planNeeds an eligible Google Workspace edition (Business Standard and above) or a Google AI plan for the organiser. | Nothing extra, but needs an eligible Workspace plan | Built into Meet: notes go to a Google Doc in the organiser's Drive; every participant sees a notice | Included from Workspace Business Standard: $14 per user a month on an annual plan, $16.80 on the flexible plan |
How we evaluated
We read each product's pricing page and help pages on 27 October 2026 and recorded the free limits exactly as the vendor states them. We did not run test meetings or measure accuracy. Where a vendor's pages disagree (Fireflies on whether free storage is per team or per seat, tl;dv on its free AI notes), we say so. Free plans change often, so check the plan in your own account before relying on a limit.
We ordered the free options by how much they leave you able to do without paying:
- Is it permanent? A free plan ranks above a trial, however generous the trial.
- How much meeting time it covers. Meetings a month, minutes, and length per meeting.
- How long it keeps the record. History limits and whether you can download it.
- How it captures. Whether the free plan works without a bot.
- Hidden costs. AI billed elsewhere, hardware, or a paid plan it depends on.
Natively publishes this guide. It sits after the permanent free plans because its free use either sends an AI bill to your provider or needs a capable computer for a local model.
Permanent free plans
Fathom: most generous free plan
- Platforms
- macOS app, Windows (bot mode), iOS, web
- Free option
- Free plan, with limitsUnlimited recordings, transcripts and call summaries; Ask Fathom and advanced summaries are limited.
- Paid plans
- Premium $20 a month ($16 annually); Team $19 ($15); Business $34 ($25)
- How it works
- A bot by default; bot-free audio or transcript-only capture on Mac (macOS 14.2+), Windows bot-free in a Teams-only alpha
Fathom's free plan is the only one here without a monthly meeting or minute cap. What it limits is the extra AI: asking questions across calls and the more detailed summaries. Paid plans start at $16 a month billed annually.
Strengths
- No cap on recordings, transcripts or summaries
- Clips, playlists and search on free
Drawbacks
- A bot joins by default; bot-free only on Mac
- Ask Fathom and advanced summaries are limited
Choose it if you want every call recorded and summarised for nothing and the bot is fine. Official site.
Granola: best free plan without a bot
- Platforms
- macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Apple Watch
- Free option
- Free plan, with limitsBasic plan with no stated meeting cap, but only 30 days of meeting history.
- Paid plans
- Business $14 per user a month; Enterprise $35
- How it works
- Captures device audio on your computer or phone; no bot joins. You type rough notes and it fills them in from the transcript
Granola's Basic plan keeps the full notepad, the transcript-enhanced notes and chat across your meetings, but only for the last 30 days. If you need an archive, copy notes out before they age past that, or pay for Business at $14 a user a month.
Strengths
- Captures device audio; nothing joins the call
- No stated meeting cap; templates and shared folders on free
Drawbacks
- Meetings older than 30 days drop out of reach
- Trains on anonymised data unless you opt out
Choose it if you want bot-free notes and only need the last month of meetings. Official site.
Otter.ai: most free transcript time
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, macOS and Windows desktop apps
- Free option
- Free plan, with limitsBasic: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, only the 25 most recent conversations kept, 20 AI chat questions a month, 3 imported files for the life of the account.
- Paid plans
- Pro $16.99 a month ($8.33 billed annually; 20% off for students); Business $30 a month ($19.99 annually)
- How it works
- A bot that joins from your calendar, or the desktop app recording without a bot; also records in person
Otter Basic is a real transcription tool for short conversations; the 30-minute cap per conversation is the limit most people hit first. Students get 20% off Pro.
Strengths
- 300 minutes a month with live, speaker-labelled transcripts
- Records in person on the phone app
Drawbacks
- 30 minutes per conversation, 25 latest conversations kept
- 20 AI chat questions a month
Choose it if you need transcripts of short meetings or lectures, and do not need an archive. Official site.
Fireflies.ai: free transcription for a small archive
- Platforms
- Web, macOS and Windows desktop, iOS, Android, Chrome extension
- Free option
- Free plan, with limitsTranscription with 400 minutes of storage (then you delete files), 20 AI credits a month, limited summaries; downloads need a paid plan.
- Paid plans
- Pro $18 a month ($10 annually); Business $29 ($19 annually); Enterprise $39 annually
- How it works
- A bot that joins Zoom, Meet and Teams, or the desktop app capturing system audio without a bot (desktop app on paid plans)
Fireflies' free plan transcribes but holds only 400 minutes of storage, which its pricing card applies per team and its help centre per seat. Downloading transcripts needs a paid plan, as does the bot-free desktop app.
Strengths
- Transcription on the free plan
- Says it never uses your data for AI training
Drawbacks
- No downloads on free
- 400 minutes of storage, then you delete files
Choose it if you want to try a team archive before paying for it. Official site.
tl;dv: free plan hosted in Europe
- Platforms
- Web, Chrome extension, desktop app; no mobile app
- Free option
- Free plan, with limitsFree plan for meetings, recordings and AI notes; its terms cap free use at 40 recordings a week, and its own pages disagree on the AI-notes limit.
- Paid plans
- Pro $18 per seat a month billed annually ($29 monthly); Business $29 ($39 monthly); tl;dv adjusts prices by country
- How it works
- A bot through the extension or web app; the desktop app can record audio without a bot
tl;dv's homepage calls its free plan unlimited; its terms cap free use at 40 recordings a week, and a blog post mentions 10 meetings a month with AI notes. Expect the AI notes to be the limit.
Strengths
- Recordings and notes stored in the EU
- States it will never train AI on your recordings
Drawbacks
- Free AI-notes limit unclear across its own pages
- No mobile app
Choose it if you want free recordings that stay in Europe. Official site.
Jamie: free bot-free notes, short meetings
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, iOS, web
- Free option
- Free plan, with limits10 AI notes a month, meetings up to 30 minutes.
- Paid plans
- Plus $24 a month billed annually ($29 monthly); Pro $46 ($55); Team $37 per seat ($45); also priced in euros
- How it works
- Runs on your device and does not join calls; works with any meeting app and in person
Jamie's free plan is small but complete: the same bot-free capture and European hosting as the paid plans, for ten meetings of up to half an hour.
Strengths
- No bot, and audio is never stored
- Notes to Google Docs, Notion or OneNote on free
Drawbacks
- 10 notes a month
- Meetings up to 30 minutes
Choose it if you have a handful of short, sensitive calls a month. Official site.
Circleback: free plan with an API
- Platforms
- macOS and Windows desktop, mobile, Apple Watch
- Free option
- Free plan, with limits30 days of meeting and recording history, limited automations.
- Paid plans
- Pro $15, Business $25, Enterprise $35 per user a month
- How it works
- A bot, or the bot-free desktop app
Circleback's free plan is unusual in giving developers its API, MCP server and CLI. The record itself only lasts 30 days.
Strengths
- API, MCP and command-line access on free
- Bot or bot-free desktop app
Drawbacks
- 30 days of history
- Limited automations
Choose it if you want to pipe meeting notes into your own tools without paying. Official site.
MeetGeek: free plan with the longest history
- Platforms
- Web, desktop, Chrome extension, iOS, Android
- Free option
- Free plan, with limits3 hours of transcription a month, meetings up to 2 hours, transcripts kept 3 months.
- Paid plans
- Pro $15.99 and Business $27 per user a month (lower when billed yearly)
- How it works
- A bot for Zoom, Meet and Teams, or bot-free through the extension or desktop recorder
MeetGeek records with a bot or bot-free through its extension and desktop recorder. Three hours a month covers two long meetings or a few short ones.
Strengths
- Transcripts kept for 3 months
- Meetings up to 2 hours
Drawbacks
- 3 hours of transcription a month
- Its pricing page does not say which prices are monthly
Choose it if you have a few long meetings a month and want them kept for a quarter. Official site.
Read AI: free meeting reports
- Platforms
- Windows and macOS, iPhone, Android, Chrome extension
- Free option
- Free plan, with limits5 meeting transcripts a month, meetings up to 1 hour, no audio or video playback.
- Paid plans
- Pro $19.75 a month ($15 annually); Enterprise $29.75 ($22.50); Enterprise+ $39.75 ($29.75)
- How it works
- A bot that can join meetings even when you do not attend, or a desktop record button without a bot
Read AI's free plan is a sample: five meetings a month. Check your organisation's policy first; Chapman University prohibited Read AI over its bot joining meetings without the user present.
Strengths
- Reports with speaker metrics
- Desktop recording without a bot
Drawbacks
- 5 meetings a month, up to an hour, no playback
- Its bot can join meetings you are not in
Choose it if you want to try meeting analytics on a few calls. Official site.
Zoom AI (formerly AI Companion): free inside Zoom
- Platforms
- Inside Zoom Workplace (desktop, web, mobile)
- Free option
- Free plan, with limitsOn free Zoom Basic: summaries and in-meeting questions for 3 hosted meetings a month, 20 AI queries a month, 40-minute meetings.
- Paid plans
- Included in Workplace Pro ($16.99 a month, $14.16 annually) and Business ($21.99); ZoomMate add-on $20 a month
- How it works
- Built into Zoom meetings; My Notes also captures in-person and other platforms
On a free Zoom Basic account, Zoom AI summarises three hosted meetings a month. A paid Workplace plan makes it unlimited for Zoom meetings.
Strengths
- Nothing to install; built into Zoom
- Summaries and in-meeting questions on free Zoom
Drawbacks
- 3 meetings a month and 20 AI queries
- Zoom's free meetings stop at 40 minutes
Choose it if your meetings are on Zoom and you only need a few summaries. Official site.
Notta: free for very short recordings
- Platforms
- Web and apps (the pricing page does not list platforms)
- Free option
- Free plan, with limits120 minutes a month, but each conversation stops at 3 minutes; 10 AI summaries a month.
- Paid plans
- Pro $8.17 a month ($97.99 a year); Business $16.67 a month ($199.99 a year)
- How it works
- Cloud transcription of meetings, recordings and uploaded files
Notta's free plan looks like 120 minutes, but the three-minute cap per recording means it cannot hold a meeting. Treat it as a trial of the paid plans.
Strengths
- 120 minutes a month
- Uploads and 10 AI summaries a month
Drawbacks
- Each recording stops at 3 minutes
- No training statement found on its pricing page
Choose it if you only need to test it; the 3-minute cap rules out real meetings. Official site.
Free for personal use: Natively
Natively: free and kept on your computer
- Platforms
- macOS and Windows desktop app
- Free option
- Free for personal useFree for personal use. Bring your own API key (your provider bills you for usage) or run a local model through Ollama (no API charges). A short trial of the hosted Natively API needs no card.
- Paid plans
- Pro licence $39 a year or $79 once; hosted Natively API plans $8 to $35 a month
- How it works
- Desktop app that hears both sides of the call from your computer; no bot joins the meeting
Natively is the product we make. The app is free for personal use, with no cap on meetings, and it hears both sides of the call on macOS or Windows without a bot. The AI is where the cost sits. With your own API key, the provider bills you for usage; with a local model through Ollama there are no API charges, but the model runs on your hardware, so a slower computer gives slower notes. It is not "completely free" in either case, and we do not describe it that way. The Pro licence ($39 a year or $79 once) adds Pro features; a hosted Natively API plan ($8 to $35 a month) removes the need for a key. See pricing.
Strengths
- No bot, no meeting cap, transcripts saved on your disk
- Live answers during the call as well as notes after it
Drawbacks
- Your AI provider bills you unless you run a local model
- A local model needs a capable computer; no team sharing
Choose it if you want unlimited meetings for personal use and can bring a key or run a model. See Natively's plans.
Trials, not free plans
These four are often listed as free. Each is a trial: useful for deciding, not for keeping.
Bluedot: a five-meeting trial
- Platforms
- Chrome extension, macOS and Windows apps, iOS, Android
- Free option
- Trial only5 meetings in total, not per month.
- Paid plans
- Basic from $14, Pro from $20, Business from $32 per user a month
- How it works
- Bot-free recording through a Chrome extension or desktop app
Bluedot's free allowance is five meetings for the life of the account.
Strengths
- Bot-free through the extension or desktop app
- Mac, Windows and phones
Drawbacks
- 5 meetings in total, not per month
- Paid from $14 a user a month
Choose it if you want to try bot-free recording on a few real meetings. Official site.
Krisp: a seven-day trial
- Platforms
- macOS and Windows desktop, iOS, Android, browser extension
- Free option
- Trial onlyNo permanent free plan; a 7-day trial with no card.
- Paid plans
- Core $16 a month ($8 annually); Advanced $30 ($15 annually)
- How it works
- Works at the audio level with any meeting app, so no bot by default; also noise cancellation
Krisp offers seven days without a card, then Core at $8 a month billed annually.
Strengths
- Works with any meeting app, no bot by default
- Noise cancellation as well as notes
Drawbacks
- No permanent free plan
- Its page gives three different language counts
Choose it if you also want noise cancellation and will pay after a week. Official site.
Avoma: a fourteen-day trial
- Platforms
- Web, macOS and Windows desktop, iPhone, Android, Chrome extension
- Free option
- Trial onlyNo free plan; a 14-day trial, after which the account can only view.
- Paid plans
- Startup $29 ($19 annually), Organization $39 per recorder seat a month; live answer assistant is a paid add-on
- How it works
- Joins virtual meetings with a bot by default; desktop and mobile apps record in person
After the trial, an Avoma account can view past meetings but not record new ones.
Strengths
- Desktop and mobile apps for in-person meetings
- Web, Mac, Windows, phones and Chrome
Drawbacks
- Read-only after 14 days
- Joins virtual meetings with a bot by default
Choose it if a sales team is evaluating a paid tool. Official site.
Notion AI: a limited trial inside Notion
- Platforms
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- Free option
- Trial onlyFree and Plus workspaces get a limited number of AI responses to try it (the number is not published); AI is part of Business and Enterprise.
- Paid plans
- Business $20 per member a month (save up to 20% yearly); Enterprise on request
- How it works
- AI inside your Notion workspace; AI Meeting Notes records without a bot on Business and above
Notion does not publish how much AI a Free or Plus workspace can use before it stops.
Strengths
- Notes land in your Notion pages
- No bot on the desktop app
Drawbacks
- Free and Plus get an unstated number of AI responses
- Meeting notes are part of Business ($20 a member a month)
Choose it if your team already uses Notion and is weighing Business. Official site.
Already paid for: Teams and Google Meet
If your company pays for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, you may already have AI meeting notes, at no extra cost to you, for meetings on that platform only.
Microsoft Teams Copilot: included with Teams Premium or Copilot
- Platforms
- Inside Microsoft Teams (desktop, web, mobile); Teams meetings only
- Free option
- Included with a paid planNot in free or standard Teams. Intelligent recap needs Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence on top of Microsoft 365.
- Paid plans
- Teams Premium $10 per user a month, or Microsoft 365 Copilot $30 (Copilot Business $18), billed yearly, on top of Microsoft 365
- How it works
- Built into Teams: works from the meeting's transcript and recording, so no third-party bot
Intelligent recap needs Teams Premium ($10 a user a month) or a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence ($30), both billed yearly on top of Microsoft 365, so it is not free. More in AI assistants for Teams meetings.
Strengths
- No third-party bot; works from Teams' own transcript
- Live questions with a Copilot licence
Drawbacks
- Not in free or standard Teams
- Teams meetings only
Choose it if your company already licenses Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot. Official site.
Gemini in Google Meet: included with Google Workspace
- Platforms
- Inside Google Meet; Google Meet meetings only
- Free option
- Included with a paid planNeeds an eligible Google Workspace edition (Business Standard and above) or a Google AI plan for the organiser.
- Paid plans
- Included from Workspace Business Standard: $14 per user a month on an annual plan, $16.80 on the flexible plan
- How it works
- Built into Meet: notes go to a Google Doc in the organiser's Drive; every participant sees a notice
Gemini's "Take notes for me" works only for the organiser's eligible plan, and only in Meet. The cheapest Workspace edition that includes it, Business Standard, is $14 a user a month on an annual plan. See AI assistants for Google Meet.
Strengths
- Notes saved to a Google Doc in the organiser's Drive
- Every participant sees a notice
Drawbacks
- Needs Business Standard or above, or a Google AI plan
- Google Meet meetings only
Choose it if your meetings are on Google Meet and your Workspace edition includes it. Official site.
Which free option for which situation
| Situation | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Many meetings, no budget | Fathom | No cap on recordings or summaries |
| Nobody should see a bot | Granola | Bot-free, no stated meeting cap |
| Lectures and short interviews | Otter.ai | 300 transcript minutes a month |
| A few sensitive calls a month | Jamie | No bot, audio never stored |
| Records must stay on your computer | Natively | Free for personal use; local model, no API charges |
| All meetings on Zoom | Zoom AI (formerly AI Companion) | Already in Zoom; 3 meetings a month free |
| Company pays for Microsoft 365 or Workspace | Microsoft Teams Copilot | Check whether your licence includes it, or Gemini in Meet |
Free still needs consent
A free notetaker records the same conversation a paid one does. Recording laws differ by country and, in the US, by state, and some require every participant's consent. Tools without a bot do not announce themselves, so tell people. Our AI note-taker privacy guide covers what to check, and Google's Meet notes are an example of a tool that tells every participant automatically.
Notetaker or assistant?
Most free plans here are notetakers: they give you a record after the call. A meeting assistant also helps during it, answering a question or suggesting what to say. Free help during the call is rarer: Zoom AI allows in-meeting questions on its free plan, and Natively answers live on your own key or local model.
Questions people ask
What is the best free AI meeting assistant in 2027?
Fathom has the most generous free plan: unlimited recordings, transcripts and summaries, with a bot in the call. Granola's free plan works without a bot and states no meeting cap but keeps 30 days of history. Otter gives 300 transcript minutes a month. Natively is free for personal use with your own API key or a local model. Checked on vendor pages on 27 October 2026.
Is there a completely free AI notetaker with no limits?
Not among the hosted products we checked. Every permanent free plan limits something: meetings, minutes, history, downloads or AI features. Fathom comes closest, with no cap on recordings or summaries. Natively has no meeting cap for personal use, but the AI is billed by your provider unless you run a local model on your own computer.
Which free AI notetakers work without a bot?
Granola and Jamie capture without a bot on their free plans, and Natively does for personal use. Fathom records bot-free on Mac. Bluedot and Krisp are bot-free but are trials, not free plans. Fireflies' bot-free desktop app needs a paid plan.
Are Krisp, Bluedot, Avoma and Notion free?
No. They offer trials, not permanent free plans: Krisp gives 7 days, Bluedot 5 meetings in total, and Avoma 14 days before the account becomes view-only. Notion gives Free and Plus workspaces a limited number of AI responses; AI Meeting Notes is part of Business and above.
Are Microsoft Teams Copilot and Gemini in Google Meet free?
Not on free accounts. Teams intelligent recap needs Teams Premium or a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, and Gemini's Take notes for me needs an eligible Google Workspace edition or a Google AI plan. If your company already pays for one of those, the notes cost you nothing extra, but only for meetings on that platform.
Does Zoom have a free AI meeting assistant?
Yes, with limits. On a free Zoom Basic account, Zoom AI gives summaries and in-meeting questions for 3 hosted meetings a month and 20 AI queries a month, and free Zoom meetings stop at 40 minutes. Paid Workplace plans include it without those limits for Zoom meetings.
Sources
Pages read on 27 October 2026 unless a line says otherwise:
- Fathom: plans and prices
- Fathom: bot-free recording, OS support, consent
- Granola: plans, free limits, bot-free capture, training opt-out
- Granola: storage, audio deletion and AI subprocessors
- Granola: sharing and export
- Granola: asking Granola questions during a meeting
- Otter.ai: plans, limits, export formats and the education discount
- Otter.ai: botless desktop app
- Otter.ai: storage, de-identified training, compliance
- Otter.ai: UC Today, August 2026, on the privacy class action
- Fireflies.ai: plans, prices, no-training statement
- Fireflies.ai: free plan details
- Fireflies.ai: Live Assist and the desktop app
- tl;dv: prices (shown in your local currency)
- tl;dv: US prices, in tl;dv's comparison with Otter (October 2026)
- tl;dv: features, EU hosting, no-training statement
- tl;dv: fair-use caps on the free plan
- Jamie: plans, limits, privacy
- Jamie: bot-free capture and platforms
- Circleback: plans and features
- MeetGeek: plans, limits, storage
- Read AI: plans and limits
- Read AI: features and security claims
- Read AI: bot-free desktop recording, Windows 10+ and macOS 14+
- Read AI: Chapman University notice prohibiting Read AI
- Zoom AI (formerly AI Companion): Workplace plans and AI by plan
- Zoom AI (formerly AI Companion): ZoomMate price and free-plan AI limits
- Zoom AI (formerly AI Companion): ZoomMate and My Notes
- Notta: plans and limits
- Natively: pricing and licences
- Natively: what the app does
- Natively: supported meeting apps
- Natively: answer latency benchmark
- Bluedot: plans and free allowance
- Krisp: plans, prices, security statements
- Krisp: bot-free notetaker and platforms
- Avoma: plans, add-ons, trial
- Notion AI: plans and AI trial labels
- Notion AI: which plans include Notion AI
- Notion AI: no training on customer data by default
- Microsoft Teams Copilot: intelligent recap: licences, features, requirements
- Microsoft Teams Copilot: Copilot in Teams meetings, live questions
- Microsoft Teams Copilot: Teams Premium price
- Microsoft Teams Copilot: Microsoft 365 Copilot price
- Microsoft Teams Copilot: Copilot Business price
- Gemini in Google Meet: Take notes for me: plans, consent notice, languages, limits
- Gemini in Google Meet: Workspace editions and US prices
More 2027 guides
- Best AI Interview Assistants in 2027Which AI tools help you prepare for an interview and get through it?
- Best AI Interview Copilots in 2027Which tools give real-time help during a live interview, and when is that allowed?
- Best AI Meeting Notetakers in 2027Which tool gives you the best record of a meeting, with or without a bot?
- Best AI Notetakers in 2027Which AI notetaker fits lectures, voice memos and your own notes?
- Best AI Meeting Assistants in 2027Which assistant helps during the meeting, not only after it?
- Best Free AI Interview Assistants and Copilots in 2027What interview help can you get for free, and where does free end?
- Best Free AI Notetakers in 2027Which notetakers cost nothing, on your phone, your laptop or in class?
- Best Free AI Assistants in 2027Which general AI assistant gives you the most for free?
To try the free personal-use option, download Natively for macOS or Windows, read how to take private notes without a bot, or compare plans.
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