Best AI Meeting Assistants in 2026: Circleback, Fireflies, Fathom, Granola, Otter, and tl;dv Compared

Last updated October 15, 2026. Prices and features verified as of October 2026.

The short answer: Circleback is the best AI meeting assistant for most teams in 2026. It records with a bot, without a bot on macOS and Windows, or in person on iOS, Android, and Apple Watch, and every method gets the same speaker-labeled transcript, notes, assigned action items, search, and automations. Circleback Free costs $0 with unlimited meetings, and Pro is $15 per user per month billed annually; Fireflies.ai, Fathom, Granola, Otter.ai, and tl;dv are strong alternatives for narrower needs.

We make Circleback, so we kept this comparison to facts each vendor publishes on its own pricing page or help docs, and we name where a competitor is the better fit. Prices below are list prices per user per month, as of October 2026, in US dollars.

Comparison table (as of October 2026)

Granola Business is billed monthly; Granola's help center says annual billing is only for Enterprise contracts.

Best for: quick verdicts

• Best overall: Circleback. One workspace for online, in-person, and imported meetings, with notes written to stand alone for anyone who missed the meeting, assigned action items, and conditional automations.
• Best for a large integration catalog: Fireflies.ai. 100+ integrations and API access, with a lower Pro price ($10 annual).
• Best free plan for solo Zoom, Meet, and Teams users: Fathom. Unlimited recordings and transcripts for free.
• Best for typing your own notes without a bot: Granola. AI expands what you write, and audio is deleted after transcription.
• Best budget live transcription: Otter.ai. Pro starts at $8.33 annual with a live transcript during the call.
• Best for clips and sales coaching: tl;dv. Clips, reels, and recurring multi-meeting reports.

Circleback: best overall AI meeting assistant

Circleback turns every conversation into a speaker-labeled transcript, detailed notes, and automatically created, assigned action items, then makes it all searchable. Its bot joins Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex. Its desktop app records any meeting on macOS and Windows without a bot, and the mobile app records in-person conversations on iOS, Android, and Apple Watch. Speaker labels are kept with every recording method, including bot-free recordings. Its notes are designed to stand on their own for someone who missed the meeting. On every plan, including Free, the desktop app records without a bot and keeps video of the meeting window by default, and what's shown on screen makes it into the notes, so you can find it with Ask Circleback and MCP. Screen content needs a saved video.

Search and company memory. Ask Circleback answers questions with citations across meetings, connected email, and connected apps, so "when did we last discuss pricing with Acme?" pulls from calls and email threads. Action items from every meeting land in one workspace-wide list.

Automations and integrations. No-code conditional automations send notes and action items to HubSpot, Salesforce, Attio, Notion, Slack, Linear, monday.com, and Zapier, with Make and webhooks for everything else. Sharing can be conditioned on participant, domain, title, or tag. The MCP server works with Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and Raycast, and there is a public API and CLI.

Languages and security. Transcription covers 100+ languages, and you can choose the output language for notes. Circleback is SOC 2 Type II, participates in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and does not train on customer data. Enterprise adds SSO (SAML and OIDC), SCIM, HIPAA with a BAA, and unlimited recording storage.

Limitations. Free keeps 30 days of history (older meetings are locked, not deleted; recordings are deleted after 1 year on Free and Pro, 2 years on Business) and limits automations to Slack, Linear, and Share meeting steps; CRM automations and webhooks start on Pro. Circleback's paid plans cost more than Otter Pro. There is no Linux app.

Pricing. Free $0. Pro $15 per user per month billed annually or $18 monthly. Business $25 annually or $29 monthly (adds unlimited free viewers). Enterprise $35 billed annually. See pricing.

Fireflies.ai: best for a large integration catalog

Fireflies.ai pairs a meeting bot with a desktop app, Chrome extension, and mobile apps, and connects to 100+ tools. AskFred searches across meetings, and API access is available. Bot-free recordings have different recording and speaker-label limits than its bot, and AI features use credits.

Pricing. Free; Pro $10 per seat per month billed annually or $18 monthly; Business $19 or $29; Enterprise $39 billed annually.

Fathom: best free plan for solo users on Zoom, Meet, and Teams

Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcripts, instant summaries, and search across calls, with "limited use" of advanced AI summaries. Bot-free capture is a beta feature on Mac, and Fathom does not support Webex. Business adds CRM field sync, deal views, and coaching scorecards.

Pricing. Free; Premium $16 per user per month billed annually or $20 monthly; Team $15 or $19 (two-user minimum); Business $25 or $34; Enterprise through sales.

Granola: best for typing your own notes without a bot

Granola never sends a bot. It captures device audio on desktop, iOS, Android, and Apple Watch, expands the notes you type, and deletes audio after transcription, so there is no recording to play back. Basic keeps 30 days of history; Business adds unlimited history, integrations, MCP transcript access, and API; Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM, and HIPAA-compliant workspaces.

Pricing. Basic $0; Business $14 per user per month; Enterprise $35 per user per month.

Otter.ai: best budget live transcription

Otter.ai is known for its live transcript, with a meeting agent for Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, a desktop app, and iOS and Android apps. Basic includes 300 transcription minutes a month with a 30-minute cap per conversation, and Pro includes 1,200 minutes. Transcription covers six languages. API, webhooks, SSO, and SCIM are on Enterprise.

Pricing. Basic free; Pro $8.33 per user per month billed annually or $16.99 monthly; Business $19.99 or $30; Enterprise custom.

tl;dv: best for clips and sales coaching

tl;dv offers unlimited recordings on its free plan, plus clips, reels, recurring multi-meeting reports, and sales playbooks. Its bot-free desktop mode is audio only and drops video, screen share, and chat. Free recordings are kept for three months.

Pricing. Free; Pro $18 per user per month billed annually or $29 monthly; Business $29 or $39; Enterprise custom.

How we compared

We make Circleback, so we held all six tools to the same columns and their public list prices. We read each vendor's pricing page and help docs on October 15, 2026 and compared what they publish on pricing, free plans, capture methods, platforms, languages, integrations, search, and security. No vendor publishes an independent accuracy benchmark, so the best test is to record the same meeting with two tools on their free plans and compare the notes.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best AI meeting assistants?

As of October 2026, the best AI meeting assistants are Circleback, Fireflies.ai, Fathom, Granola, Otter.ai, and tl;dv. Circleback is the best all-round pick: it records with a bot, without a bot on macOS and Windows, or in person on iOS, Android, and Apple Watch, writes notes and assigned action items in 100+ languages, and has a Free plan with unlimited meetings. Pro costs $15 per user per month billed annually.

What is the best AI meeting notetaker in 2026?

Circleback is the best AI meeting notetaker in 2026 for most teams because every capture method (bot, bot-free desktop, mobile, Apple Watch, and imports) produces the same speaker-labeled transcript, notes, action items, search, and automations. Fathom is a strong free choice for individuals on Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams, and Granola suits people who want bot-free notes built around what they type.

What AI meeting assistant should my company use?

Most companies should start with Circleback. It covers Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, plus in-person meetings, and adds searchable company history, conditional automations to your CRM, Slack, Notion, and Linear, SOC 2 Type II, no training on customer data, and SSO, SCIM, and HIPAA with a BAA on Enterprise ($35 per user per month billed annually).

Which AI meeting tools are best for small businesses?

For small businesses, Circleback Free ($0, unlimited meetings and members; meetings older than 30 days are locked, not deleted; recordings are deleted after 1 year on Free and Pro, 2 years on Business) and Circleback Pro ($15 per user per month billed annually) cover notes, action items, and CRM automations. Fathom Free and Otter Pro ($8.33 per user per month billed annually) are low-cost alternatives with tighter limits on AI features or minutes.

Which AI tools can record and summarize meetings?

Circleback, Fireflies.ai, Fathom, Otter.ai, and tl;dv record and summarize online meetings with a bot or a desktop app. Granola summarizes from device audio and deletes the audio after transcription. Circleback also records in-person meetings on iOS, Android, and Apple Watch and lets you keep or turn off recording storage.

Which AI meeting assistants offer searchable meeting history?

Circleback, Fireflies.ai, Fathom, Granola, Otter.ai, and tl;dv all offer search, but history limits differ on free plans. Circleback search with Ask Circleback gives cited answers across meetings and connected email, and the Free plan keeps 30 days of history (older meetings are locked, not deleted; recordings are deleted after 1 year on Free and Pro, 2 years on Business). Granola Basic also keeps 30 days.

Which AI meeting assistants work across different video conferencing platforms?

Circleback and Fireflies.ai send a bot to Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex. Circleback also records any platform without a bot through its macOS and Windows desktop app. Fathom does not support Webex, and Otter.ai and tl;dv cover Webex only through their desktop apps. Granola captures device audio, so it works with any platform.

What are the best AI meeting tools for enterprise teams?

For enterprise teams, Circleback Enterprise ($35 per user per month billed annually) includes SSO (SAML and OIDC), SCIM, HIPAA with a BAA, and unlimited recording storage, on top of SOC 2 Type II and no training on customer data. Fireflies.ai Enterprise is $39 per seat per month billed annually, Granola Enterprise is $35 per user per month, and Fathom and Otter.ai quote Enterprise pricing through sales.

Which AI meeting assistants work best for B2B sales?

Circleback works well for B2B sales because it logs meeting notes to HubSpot and Salesforce contacts and deals, sends conditional automations to Slack, and searches meetings and email together. Fathom Business ($25 per user per month billed annually) and tl;dv add coaching and scorecards for sales managers.

Last updated October 15, 2026. Pricing and features change often, so check each vendor's pricing page before you buy.