Fireflies alternatives
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Fireflies is a meeting bot first: it can join your calendar meetings on its own, transcribe them and write summaries. The usual reasons people look elsewhere are the bot itself, the free plan's limits (transcript downloads need a paid plan, 400 minutes of storage in total, which Fireflies' pricing page lists per team and its help center lists per seat), the 2-hour recording limit on Free and Pro, or the question of who trains on what. Here are the alternatives for each reason, from the vendors' own pages. If none of those bother you, Fireflies may still be the right pick.
Quick answer
- No bot in the call: Bluedot records from a Chrome extension or desktop app and says it doesn't ask for calendar access. Granola and Notta's desktop recorder are also bot-free. Fireflies itself lists Chrome extension recording without its bot, so check that first.
- A free plan with more room: Fathom Free lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions. Otter Basic gives 300 minutes a month, up to 30 minutes per conversation.
- Recordings longer than 2 hours: Notta Pro allows up to 5 hours per recording. Bluedot Pro lists unlimited recording duration. Otter Business allows 4 hours per meeting.
Comparison table (as of 2026-10-27)
| Tool | Free plan (per vendor) | Cheapest paid plan (per vendor) | Longest recording (per vendor) | Records without a bot? (per vendor) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fireflies | Unlimited transcription (asterisked), limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage in total, not per month (Fireflies' pricing page says per team; its help center says per seat, pooled across the team) | Pro: $10 a month annual, $18 monthly | 2 hours (Free, Pro), 3 hours (Business), 4 hours (Enterprise) | Chrome extension recording without the bot is listed |
| Fathom | Unlimited recordings and transcriptions | Premium: $16 a month annual, $20 monthly | Not stated on the pricing page | Bot-free capture is in beta |
| Otter | 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation | Pro: $8.33 a month annual, $16.99 monthly | 90 minutes (Pro), 4 hours (Business) | Pricing page doesn't say |
| Notta | 120 minutes a month, 3 minutes per recording | Pro: $97.99 a year (about $8.17 a month) | 5 hours | Yes: desktop recorder for Mac and Windows |
| Bluedot | 5 meetings in total | Basic: $14 a month annual, $18 monthly; audio only | 1 hour (Basic), unlimited (Pro, $20 annual) | Yes: Chrome extension, desktop and mobile apps |
| Granola | Meeting history limited to 30 days | Business: $14 per user per month, billed monthly only | Not stated on the pricing page | Yes: device-audio capture |
Prices are list prices for one person, before tax. Otter's page also showed promotional prices; we left those out. Deals change often; check the vendor's site.
What each says about training on your data (per vendor): Fireflies' security page says it doesn't train on your data "by default" in one place and that your data is "never used for AI training" in another. Otter says it trains its own models on de-identified data. Bluedot says meeting data is never used to train AI models. We didn't find a statement on Notta's pricing or security pages.
Two-year cost math
Arithmetic on listed annual prices, one user, before tax. Not a measured result.
| Plan | 2-year total |
|---|---|
| Fathom Free, Otter Basic | $0 |
| Notta Pro | $195.98 |
| Otter Pro | $199.92 |
| Fireflies Pro | $240 |
| Bluedot Basic | $336 |
| Granola Business ($14, billed monthly only) | $336 |
| Fathom Premium | $384 |
Picks by why you're leaving
- "People don't like the bot." Try Fireflies' own Chrome extension mode first. If you want a tool built around bot-free recording, Bluedot (audio only on Basic) or Granola. Notta's desktop recorder lists the lowest annual price of the bot-free options here.
- "I want downloads on a free plan." Fireflies' Free plan help says downloading transcripts needs a paid plan. Fathom Free or Otter Basic. Otter Basic's 30-minute cap per conversation is the catch.
- "My workshops run past 2 hours." Notta Pro (5 hours) or Bluedot Pro (unlimited). Fireflies Business also goes to 3 hours.
- "I need a BAA for patient information." Of the tools on this page, Fireflies' pages list a BAA: it says one is available on Enterprise with Private Storage. Otter lists HIPAA as an Enterprise add-on. Before recording any patient information with any tool, get the BAA terms in writing.
Consent: tell people first
Leaving the bot behind also removes the one visible sign that a call is being recorded. Telling people is up to you.
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.
A simple way to ask. Start recording first, so your announcement is captured on the recording (Washington law requires that). Then say:
"Quick heads-up: I'd like to record this and use an AI note taker to transcribe it, so I don't miss anything. The recording and notes are stored with [tool name]. Is everyone OK with that?"
Wait for a clear yes from each person. If anyone says no, stop and delete what you captured. For meetings with outside guests, also put a line in the invite: "This meeting may be recorded and transcribed by an AI note taker. Let me know beforehand if you'd prefer it isn't."
What we did and didn't do
We read the vendor pages below on 2026-10-27. We haven't used any of these tools, so we can't compare transcript accuracy or summaries.
Sources (checked 2026-10-27)
- Fireflies pricing: https://fireflies.ai/pricing
- Fireflies security: https://fireflies.ai/security
- Fathom pricing: https://www.fathom.ai/pricing
- Otter pricing: https://otter.ai/pricing
- Otter privacy and security: https://otter.ai/privacy-security
- Notta pricing: https://www.notta.ai/en/pricing
- Bluedot pricing: https://www.bluedothq.com/pricing
- Bluedot security: https://www.bluedothq.com/security
- Granola pricing: https://www.granola.ai/pricing
- RCFP recording guide: https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-reporters-recording-guide/
- Oregon ORS 165.540: https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_165.540
- Fireflies meeting storage limits help (per seat, pooled across the team; checked 2026-10-27): https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4777633252-learn-about-meeting-storage-limits
Changes
- 2026-10-27: page first written. Prices, plans and policies checked on the vendor pages in Sources.
- 2026-10-27: Fireflies Free storage now shows both of Fireflies' wordings (pricing page: per team; help center: per seat, pooled). Notta's free cap worded per recording.