WhichNoteTaker

Best AI note taker for your situation

How we make money: Grey 59 Inc., the company that runs WhichNoteTaker, earns a commission when someone pays for Bluedot after following a link marked "(paid link)" on this page. It costs you nothing extra. Bluedot has no say in what we write or where it ranks. No other company on this page pays us, including Otter, Fireflies, Granola, Fathom, tl;dv, Notta, Plaud, Pocket, Upheal, Mentalyc, Zoom, Google, Microsoft and Apple. More in our affiliate disclosure. We haven't tested these products hands-on. Prices and features come from each vendor's own pages, checked 2026-10-27 and linked in Sources.

Most "best AI note taker" lists rank 20 apps with star scores. We don't do that, because we haven't used them all side by side and we won't pretend we have. Instead, this page starts with one question: where do your conversations actually happen? That decides more than any feature list.

Quick answer

Comparison table (as of 2026-10-27)

ToolBest fitFree plan (per vendor)Paid from (per vendor)How it capturesHealth data option
FathomVideo calls, soloUnlimited recordings and transcription, instant summariesPremium $16/mo billed annually ($20 monthly)Meeting bot, or bot-free beta on MacPricing table lists a signed HIPAA BAA only on Enterprise; Fathom also posts a standard BAA tied to its terms. Ask Fathom in writing which plan you need
FirefliesVideo calls, teamsUnlimited transcription of meetings it auto-joins, 400 min storage in totalPro $10/seat/mo annual ($18 monthly)Meeting bot, or Chrome extension without the botBAA on Enterprise with Private Storage
OtterCalls plus live phone recording300 transcription min/mo, 3 lifetime file imports, 25 most recent conversations keptPro $16.99/mo monthly or $8.33/mo annualJoins Zoom, Teams, Meet; phone appHIPAA is an Enterprise add-on; Otter says a signed BAA is required first
GranolaPeople who type their own notes tooFree, 30 days of historyBusiness $14/user/mo, billed monthlyBot-free, records device audioHIPAA workspaces and BAA on Enterprise only (from $35/user/mo); Granola says its BAA covers desktop and laptop apps only
Bluedot (paid link)Bot-free on a budget5 meetings, lifetimeBasic $14/mo annual ($18 monthly), audio only, 1 hr capBot-freeNot listed on its security page
tl;dvVideo callsUnlimited recordings and transcripts; AI notes on first 10 meetings for lifePro $18/seat/mo annual ($29 monthly)Meeting bot, or desktop app without a bot (audio only, Mac and Windows)Not checked
Plaud NoteIn person and phone calls300 min/mo included with deviceDevice $159; Pro plan $99.99/yrCard on the back of your phonePlaud says it is HIPAA compliant; ask about a BAA
PocketIn person and phone callsUnlimited standard transcription, summaries kept 30 daysDevice $129 listed on Pocket's store (checked 2026-10-27); promos change often; Pro $19.99/mo billed yearlyMagnetic phone-back device with contact micHIPAA mode and BAA on Enterprise

Notes on the table: "per vendor" means we copied it from the vendor's own page on 2026-10-27. We did not measure accuracy, speed, or battery life ourselves.

Picks by who you are

The solo consultant on Zoom all day

Start with Fathom Free. Fathom describes its free plan as unlimited for recording, transcription and call storage, which makes it one of the least restrictive free plans we read on these pricing pages. If you need action items and follow-up emails, that's what Premium adds ($16/mo annual).

The small team that wants shared notes

Fireflies Pro is $10/seat/mo on annual billing (checked 2026-10-27). Otter Pro and Notta Pro list lower annual prices per user, so compare what each includes for a team (shared notes, admin controls, storage) before you pick. The free plan is fine to try, but 400 minutes of storage fills up in fewer than 7 one-hour meetings.

The person who doesn't want a bot in the room

Granola (free with 30 days of history, $14/mo for unlimited) or Bluedot (5 free meetings, then $14/mo). Both say they record without a bot. Bluedot's cheapest plan caps recordings at one hour.

The in-person worker (sales, real estate, field visits, lectures)

A meeting bot can't hear a coffee shop. Look at a device. Among the devices on this page, Pocket lists the biggest free allowance (unlimited standard-accuracy transcription, per Pocket). Plaud Note includes 300 minutes a month and sells bigger plans. Full math in Plaud alternatives.

The student

Some vendors offer student pricing or free student plans. Deals change often; check the vendor's site. Check your school's recording policy first. Granola says it isn't FERPA compliant. Fireflies lists a FERPA DSA on Enterprise (per their pages).

Recording laws: tell people first. Federal law and most states let you record a conversation you're part of. About 11 states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington, generally require everyone's consent, and a few states mix the rules. Oregon, for example, requires that everyone in an in-person conversation be told it's being recorded, while phone calls need one person's consent (RCFP guide, ORS 165.540). If people are in different states, the stricter law may apply. Rules outside the US differ too, and many employers, schools and clinics have their own policies. A meeting bot showing up in the participant list is a notice, not consent. The same goes for a "this call may be recorded" greeting: it may not tell people that an AI service is transcribing or summarizing the call, so name the AI note taker when you ask. This is general information, not legal advice. If you're unsure, ask a lawyer where you live.

What we did and didn't do

We read each vendor's pricing page and docs on 2026-10-27 and wrote down what they say. We did not buy, install, or test any of these tools. If a vendor changes a price, we'll update the table and the date.

Sources (checked 2026-10-27)

Changes