Free-plan comparison · From vendor websites
It depends on which limit you hit. Choose Fathom for unlimited live-meeting recordings and transcripts, Granola for bot-free notes if a short in-app history is enough, or Tactiq for browser transcripts you can export. MeetGeek is an option for longer meetings and uploaded recordings, but its monthly allowance is smaller than Otter's. Notta accepts more uploads, but its short conversation cap makes it a poor replacement for full meetings. Bluedot and Fellow have lifetime allowances, not a fresh quota each month. — as of October 2026
We have not run hands-on tests yet. We aim to review facts every 90 days, but vendor terms can change sooner.
Start with the limit you need to replace: monthly transcription, meeting length, or file imports. The table separates those allowances from storage and export access. Capture describes the vendor's recording options; device and plan restrictions can apply.
Scroll across on larger screens. On phones, each tool's facts appear together.
| Tool and plan | Free allowance | Meeting length and uploads | History kept | Export | Capture and languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.aiBasic · Baseline | 300 transcription minutes/monthas of | Meeting: 30 minutes Uploads: 3 files per user, lifetimeas of | 25 most recent conversations; time period not statedas of | Transcript TXT and audio MP3as of | Capture: both Languages: 6as of |
| FathomFree | Unlimited live recordings and transcripts; advanced summaries for the first 5 calls/month, then General/Enhanced only; new accounts get a 30-day Premium previewas of | Meeting: not stated Uploads: not offeredas of | Free recordings stored indefinitely unless manually deletedas of | Unlimited MP4 recording downloads and clips; transcript copy to clipboard, not direct file download; MP3 download is forthcomingas of | Capture: both Languages: 38as of |
| GranolaBasic | No daily transcription limit; monthly quota not statedas of | Meeting: Formal cap not stated; mobile help warns recordings roughly 10 hours or longer may fail Uploads: not offeredas of | 30 days visible in-app; older notes remain stored. No replayable audio archive: desktop transcription help says audio is never saved; mobile help and the security FAQ describe temporary caching until transcription completes, then deletion; FAQ has no platform qualifieras of | CSV of owned notes with summaries: title, summary, transcript and other details across full history, including notes older than 30 days; transcript copy to clipboard; enhanced notes and link (not transcript) can be copied as Markdownas of | Capture: bot-free Languages: Sources differ: language help says 31 desktop and 17 mobile; pricing tooltip says 32 desktop and 10 mobileas of |
| MeetGeekBasic | 3 transcription hours/monthas of | Meeting: 2 hours Uploads: Offered; count and reset period not statedas of | Transcripts: 3 months; audio: 1 monthas of | Not included; downloads and exports require Proas of | Capture: both Languages: 100+as of |
| Fireflies.aiFree | Unlimited eligible transcripts with Auto-join on; invite-only setting excluded. Auto-join off: 3 meeting transcriptions, renewal not stated. Guide applies to sign-ups from September 1, 2026; older unlimited accounts keep prior limits. Summary credits are separate; guides conflict on which credits apply. Advanced AI: 20/month in Free-plan help versus 20 one-time/team in AI-credits helpas of | Meeting: 2 hours Uploads: 1 transcription credit/file; initial credits: 3 website, 5 Chrome, 10 new mobile or 5 existing mobile; renewal not stated. Up to 150 minutes/file. Size conflicts: Free-plan help says 100 MB/file; upload guide says 100 MB video, 500 MB audioas of | Storage conflicts: 400 minutes/team on pricing; 400 minutes/seat in Free-plan help. Retention duration not stated. Desktop Take Notes keeps no separate audio/video fileas of | Transcript and recording downloads require Pro or higheras of | Capture: both Languages: 100+; pricing FAQ describes additional languages as betaas of |
| tl;dvFree | Unlimited recordings and transcripts; full AI notes for first 10 meetings, then first 10 minutes/meetingas of | Meeting: 3 hours Uploads: Vendor help conflicts: upload guide says 3 files; free-plan limits say 5 lifetime files. Confirm before switching; up to 3 hours/fileas of | 3 months; video archived after 3 days and must be restored to watchas of | Transcript readable in app; no structured transcript export stated for Free. Recording downloads only during final 4 weeks before deletionas of | Capture: both Languages: 30+as of |
| TactiqFree | 10 transcripts/month; 5 AI credits/monthas of | Meeting: not stated Uploads: Offered; count and reset period not statedas of | not statedas of | Transcript sharing and export included; formats not stated in plan comparisonas of | Capture: bot-free Languages: Sources differ: 60+ (homepage), 30+ (help; varies by meeting platform)as of |
| Read AIFree | 5 meetings/monthas of | Meeting: 1 hour Uploads: Not included on Freeas of | not statedas of | not statedas of | Capture: both Languages: Sources differ: 20+ (pricing headline), 16+ (pricing comparison)as of |
| JamieFree | 10 AI notes/monthas of | Meeting: 30 minutes Uploads: not statedas of | Unlimited note storage in pricing comparison; homepage says audio is streamed and never storedas of | Sources differ: pricing comparison marks Google Docs, Notion and OneNote included on Free; Plus card lists them under Everything in Free, plus. File export formats not statedas of | Capture: bot-free Languages: 99+as of |
| NottaFree | 120 transcription minutes/month; 10 AI summaries/monthas of | Meeting: 3 minutes per conversation Uploads: 50 files/monthas of | not statedas of | Transcript export requires Proas of | Capture: both Languages: 58as of |
| BluedotFree | 5 meetings per account, lifetime; no monthly resetas of | Meeting: not stated Uploads: not statedas of | not statedas of | not statedas of | Capture: both Languages: 100+as of |
| FellowFree | 5 AI notes and 5 AI recordings per user, lifetimeas of | Meeting: not stated Uploads: 5 files per user, lifetime; up to 100 MB/fileas of | Recording viewing: past 14 days; video converts to audio after 3 months; note history duration not statedas of | not statedas of | Capture: both Languages: Sources differ: 100+ (pricing), 93 (help), 99 (transcription feature page)as of |
Published
Updated
Best for: Live meetings when monthly minutes are the problem
Free includes unlimited recordings and transcripts, stored indefinitely unless deleted. Advanced summaries cover the first 5 calls/month after a 30-day Premium preview, then General/Enhanced only. No recording uploads. Bot-free desktop capture is a Mac beta. — as of October 2026
Visit Fathom's websiteBest for: Bot-free notes when you do not need an audio archive
It captures device audio without a bot and has no replayable audio archive. Desktop help says audio is never saved; mobile help and the security FAQ describe temporary caching then deletion. Basic limits in-app history, but CSV covers full history of owned notes with summaries. — as of October 2026
Visit Granola's websiteBest for: Browser transcripts you need to export
Free includes transcript sharing and export, with a monthly transcript allowance rather than a published minute quota. AI credits have a separate cap. Check language availability for your meeting platform. — as of October 2026
Visit Tactiq's websiteBest for: Longer meetings or occasional uploaded recordings
Basic accepts audio and video uploads and allows longer meetings than Otter Basic. Its monthly transcription allowance is smaller, and downloads and exports require a paid plan. — as of October 2026
Visit MeetGeek's websiteKeep Otter Basic if your meetings fit its monthly and per-conversation limits and you still have file imports left. It includes TXT transcript and MP3 audio export. Fathom's unlimited downloads are MP4 recordings and clips: transcripts copy to clipboard, not direct file download, and MP3 download is forthcoming. Fathom Free advanced summaries cover the first 5 calls/month after a 30-day Premium preview, then General/Enhanced only. Moving to a lifetime allowance is not a lasting fix for a monthly quota problem. — as of October 2026
The rows describe ongoing free plans, not temporary paid features. Fathom starts with a 30-day Premium preview; afterward Free advanced summaries cover the first 5 calls/month, then General/Enhanced only. Bluedot and Fellow have lifetime recording allowances. Notta's ongoing Free plan is separate from its paid-plan trials. — as of October 2026
Otter, MeetGeek, Fireflies, tl;dv, Tactiq, Notta and Fellow state that free accounts can upload recordings, with the restrictions shown in the table. Fathom and Granola do not support recording uploads; Read AI excludes them on Free. Uploaded files remain subject to the transcription and conversation-length caps. — as of October 2026
MeetGeek, Fireflies and Read AI publish longer free meeting limits than Otter Basic. tl;dv also states a longer recording cap, but limits free retention. Fathom offers unlimited recordings and transcripts; the pages checked do not state a per-meeting limit. Notta's short free conversation cap is a poor fit for full meetings. — as of October 2026
Check the history column before switching. Fathom Free recordings are stored indefinitely unless manually deleted. Granola limits in-app history without deleting older notes, while MeetGeek has separate transcript and audio storage periods. Fellow restricts free recording viewing to recent recordings. Where retention is not stated, ask the vendor before relying on it as an archive. — as of October 2026
We checked vendor pricing and help pages, without signing up or testing these products. Free-plan terms can change. The linked tool pages keep their own separate check dates.
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Checked on · as of October 2026
