7 Fireflies.ai Alternatives That Actually Get an Unbiased Review
Our Picks (TL;DR)
| Need | Pick | Price (annual) | Bot-Free? | Free Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best free plan | Fathom | $0 | No | Unlimited recordings & transcriptions |
| Enterprise security | Fellow | $7-10/user/mo | No | Limited |
| Bot-free experience | Granola | $0-$14/user/mo | Yes | Yes |
| Noisy environments | Krisp | $8/user/mo | Yes | 7-day trial |
| Search & highlights | tl;dv | $18/user/mo | No | Yes (limited) |
| Live captions | Otter.ai | $16.99/user/mo | No | 300 min/mo |
Why People Leave Fireflies.ai
The bot problem. Fireflies joins calls as a participant named "Fred." On r/msp, IT admins describe meeting bots as tools that "spread like viruses" - one person accepts the bot, and suddenly it's joining every meeting on the calendar. For client-facing calls, that's a non-starter.
Enterprise security gaps. A sysadmin running a 500+ user security review flagged Fireflies for vague data handling documentation, limited admin controls, audit logs that weren't granular enough, and no data residency options. They failed the review.
Slow processing and credit friction. Transcripts can take 10-15 minutes to arrive after a meeting ends. And while Fireflies has a free plan with 800 minutes of storage per seat, much of the AI experience is governed by credits across plans, which makes feature access feel inconsistent as you scale.
Best Alternatives to Fireflies.ai in 2026
Tech managers spend 4+ hours per week summarizing calls. The right tool should cut that to near zero. Here are six that fit better than Fireflies for many teams.
Fathom - Best Free Plan
Reddit users call Fathom's free tier "shockingly good" - and they're right. Unlimited recordings and transcriptions at $0, plus instant AI summaries. Nothing else on this list matches that.
G2 names Fathom the best overall alternative to Fireflies. Zapier's hands-on testing found Fireflies missed more transcription details than Fathom, and an Index.dev benchmark puts Fathom's accuracy at roughly 92%. We've used it on internal calls and the summaries are genuinely useful out of the box - no tweaking required.
Pricing is straightforward:
- Premium (individual): $16/mo annual
- Team: $15/user/mo annual
- Business: $25/user/mo annual
The bot still announces when it joins and leaves, and admin controls aren't mature enough for enterprise deployments. But for a free meeting recorder, nothing else comes close.
Fellow - Best for Enterprise Security
That sysadmin who failed Fireflies on their security review? They standardized on Fellow. SOC 2 Type II, exportable audit logs, auto-deletion retention policies, granular admin controls, and configurable data residency by region.
Team pricing starts at $7/user/mo annual, Business runs around $10/user/mo, and enterprise tiers are custom. If your IT team runs security reviews and needs compliance documentation that doesn't require chasing down a vendor, Fellow is the only real answer here.
Skip it if you're a solo user or small team. You'd be paying for governance you don't need.
Granola - Best Bot-Free Experience
Here's the thing: if clients have told you meeting bots are awkward - or you've quietly thought it yourself - Granola is the fix. It captures device audio without joining as a visible participant. No bot, no recording announcement, no "Fred has joined the meeting." Jot rough notes during the call, and Granola's AI enhances them with transcript context afterward.
SOC 2 Type 2 completed in mid-2025. Audio is deleted immediately after transcription. Pricing runs Free ($0), Business ($14/user/mo), and Enterprise ($35/user/mo). The tradeoff is real, though: Granola is built around individual note enhancement, not a shared team library with searchable meeting recordings. For teams that need a central repository, look at tl;dv instead.
Krisp - Best for Noisy Environments
Krisp is the only tool on this list where audio quality improvement is a core feature, not an afterthought. Noise cancellation plus bot-free conversation intelligence in one package - built for airports, coworking spaces, and anywhere your mic picks up more than your voice.
Core: $8/user/mo annual ($16/mo monthly). Advanced: $15/user/mo annual, adding Salesforce integration and 30GB storage. Seven-day free trial, no credit card required. The Core plan caps storage at 5GB, so heavy users should budget for Advanced. Accent conversion is a nice bonus for global teams, though we haven't tested it extensively ourselves.
tl;dv - Best for Search & Highlights
Product researchers and customer interview teams will get the most out of tl;dv. Timestamping and highlight features let you tag moments live during meetings and build a searchable library afterward - genuinely useful for anyone who needs to revisit specific conversation segments weeks later.
The free plan is intentionally limited: recordings are deleted after 3 months, and you're capped at 10 lifetime AI notes. Pro runs $18/user/mo annual, Business $59/user/mo annual. G2 reviewers say tl;dv is better at support than Fireflies but more expensive. That tracks with what we've seen - the product is polished, but the pricing adds up fast for larger teams.
Otter.ai - Best for Live Captions
Otter hits roughly 95% transcription accuracy in Index.dev's benchmark - the highest in that test. If real-time captions and transcript accuracy are your top priorities, Otter wins on the numbers. Free plan gives you 300 min/mo. Pro: $16.99/user/mo. Business: $30/user/mo.
Otter's admin controls and data residency options are less mature than Fellow's - the same sysadmin who standardized on Fellow called Otter a "close second" that lost on governance. For teams without strict compliance requirements, that won't matter much.
These tools record your meetings. Prospeo turns those conversations into pipeline. Find verified emails for every contact discussed on a call - 98% accuracy, $0.01 per email, no contracts.
Stop letting action items die after the meeting ends.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Tool | Best For | Annual Price | Bot-Free? | Free Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fireflies.ai | Integration breadth | $10/seat/mo | No | 800 min storage/seat + limited AI credits |
| Fathom | Free plan | $0 / $15-25/user/mo | No | Unlimited recordings & transcriptions |
| Fellow | Enterprise security | $7-10/user/mo | No | Limited |
| Granola | Bot-free notes | $0-$35/user/mo | Yes | Yes |
| Krisp | Noisy environments | $8-$15/user/mo | Yes | 7-day trial |
| tl;dv | Search & highlights | $18-$59/user/mo | No | Limited (3-mo delete) |
| Otter.ai | Live captions | $16.99-$30/user/mo | No | 300 min/mo |
What Happens After the Meeting
Every tool above solves the same problem: capturing what was said. None of them solve what happens next - actually reaching the people you discussed.
You leave a call with names, titles, action items, maybe a referral someone mentioned offhand. But you don't have verified contact data for any of them. That last-minute attendee who joined from the client's side? The VP your champion said you should "definitely talk to"? Your meeting tool captured the conversation. It didn't capture a way to follow up.
Prospeo's Email Finder pulls verified emails with 98% accuracy from 300M+ professional profiles. Paste a name and company, get a verified contact in seconds. The free tier gives you 75 emails and 100 Chrome extension credits per month - no contracts, no sales calls required.
If you need to enrich leads at scale, compare data enrichment services before you commit.
You just left a call with 5 names and zero contact info. Prospeo's 300M+ profile database and Chrome extension give you verified emails and direct dials in seconds - so follow-ups happen the same day, not next week.
Every meeting generates leads. Start actually reaching them.
How to Choose
Let's be honest: most teams overthink this decision. If you're running deals under $10k and you're not in a regulated industry, Fathom's free plan is probably all you need. Save the budget for tools that directly drive revenue - especially your sales process optimization.
For everyone else:
- IT team requires SOC 2 + data residency? Fellow.
- Budget is literally $0? Fathom.
- Clients hate bots? Granola or Krisp.
- Need a searchable meeting library? tl;dv.
- Need the highest transcription accuracy? Otter.ai.
Trial your top pick for a week. You don't need six options - you need one that fits your workflow and doesn't embarrass you on client calls.
Fireflies.ai Alternatives FAQ
What's the best free alternative to Fireflies?
Fathom offers unlimited recordings and transcriptions at $0 - Fireflies' free plan caps storage at 800 minutes per seat with limited AI credits. G2 names Fathom the top overall alternative. Paid team plans start at $15/user/mo annually.
Are there bot-free meeting note tools?
Yes. Granola captures device audio without joining as a visible participant - no bot, no recording announcement. Krisp also works bot-free with built-in noise cancellation. Both avoid the "meeting bot virus" problem where bots spread across calendars via auto-join.
How do I follow up with contacts after a meeting?
Meeting tools capture names and action items, not verified contact data. Prospeo finds verified emails from 300M+ profiles with 98% accuracy - paste a name and company, get a contact in seconds. The free tier includes 75 emails per month, no contracts required.