Free AI meeting tools sound too good to be true - and often they are. Here are the honest answers to the most common pricing questions about AI notetakers and meeting assistants.
Quick Pricing Reality Check
Most AI meeting tools offer limited free plans with significant restrictions. The real value comes from paid plans, but understanding what you get for free helps you make informed decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions About AI Tool Pricing
Is Otter.ai free?
Yes, Otter.ai has a free plan with 600 minutes per month and 30 minutes per conversation. However, you are limited to 3 transcripts per month and cannot export full transcripts. The free plan lacks speaker identification, custom vocabulary, and advanced search features.
- Free: 600 minutes monthly, basic transcription only
- Pro: $10/month for unlimited transcription and exports
- Business: $20/month with team features and integrations
Is Fireflies.ai free?
Fireflies.ai offers a free plan with 800 minutes of transcription per seat monthly. You get basic meeting notes, search functionality, and limited CRM integrations. Premium features like conversation analytics, custom topics, and unlimited storage require paid plans.
- Free: 800 minutes per month, basic transcription
- Pro: $10/month for unlimited transcription
- Business: $19/month with advanced analytics
Is Read.ai free?
Read.ai has a free plan limited to 1 hour of meeting analysis per month. The free version includes basic meeting summaries and highlights but lacks advanced features like sentiment analysis, talk time tracking, and detailed engagement metrics.
- Free: 1 hour monthly, basic summaries only
- Pro: $15/month for unlimited meetings
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for advanced features
Is Fathom free?
Yes, Fathom offers a completely free plan for unlimited meeting recording and transcription. This makes it one of the most generous free offerings in the market. However, advanced features like custom templates and team sharing require paid plans.
- Free: Unlimited recording and transcription
- Pro: $32/month for team features and custom templates
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for advanced integrations
Is tl;dv free?
tl;dv provides a free plan with up to 20 recordings per month and basic transcription. You can create meeting highlights and share clips, but advanced features like speaker insights and CRM integrations are limited to paid plans.
- Free: 20 recordings monthly, basic features
- Pro: $25/month for unlimited recordings
- Business: $40/month with team collaboration
Is Grain free?
Grain offers a 14-day free trial but no permanent free plan. After the trial, you need a paid subscription starting at $19/month. The trial includes full access to all features including video snippets and team collaboration tools.
- Trial: 14 days with full feature access
- Starter: $19/month for basic features
- Growth: $39/month with advanced analytics
Is Sembly.ai free?
Sembly.ai has a free plan limited to 40 meeting hours per month. Free users get basic transcription and summaries but miss out on advanced features like task extraction, meeting insights, and team collaboration tools.
- Free: 40 hours monthly, basic transcription
- Personal: $10/month for unlimited meetings
- Team: $20/month with collaboration features
Is Gong free?
No, Gong does not offer a free plan. It is an enterprise-focused revenue intelligence platform with pricing starting around $12,000 annually per user. Gong targets large sales teams and requires significant investment for implementation.
- No free plan available
- Enterprise pricing starts at $12,000+ annually
- Requires minimum user commitments
Is Chorus.ai free?
Chorus.ai (now part of ZoomInfo) does not offer a free plan. Like Gong, it focuses on enterprise sales teams with custom pricing that typically runs thousands of dollars per user annually. Free trials may be available upon request.
- No free plan, enterprise-only pricing
- Custom quotes required
- Minimum user requirements apply
Is Clari Copilot free?
Clari Copilot does not have a free plan. It is positioned as an enterprise conversation intelligence platform with pricing that requires custom quotes. Expect significant annual commitments similar to other enterprise sales tools.
- No free tier available
- Enterprise custom pricing model
- Annual contracts typically required
Free vs Paid: What You Actually Get
Understanding the limitations of free plans helps set realistic expectations and determine when upgrading makes sense for your needs.
Common Free Plan Limitations
Most free AI meeting tools share similar restrictions that encourage upgrades to paid plans:
- Monthly minute limits (typically 600-800 minutes)
- Limited export options or formats
- Basic transcription without speaker identification
- No advanced analytics or insights
- Limited integrations with other tools
- Reduced search and organization features
- No custom vocabulary or industry-specific terms
- Basic support options only
When Free Plans Work Well
Free plans can be sufficient for specific use cases and user types:
- Individual users with occasional meetings
- Students or academic researchers
- Testing tools before team implementation
- Small businesses with limited meeting volume
- Personal productivity and note-taking
When You Need Paid Plans
Certain scenarios require paid features for effective use:
- Daily meetings exceeding free minute limits
- Need for accurate speaker identification
- Team collaboration and sharing requirements
- Integration with CRM or project management tools
- Custom vocabulary for technical or industry terms
- Advanced analytics and meeting insights
- Export capabilities for compliance or records
Hidden Costs and Considerations
Free plans often come with hidden limitations that impact real-world usage:
Data Storage Limits
Many free plans only store transcripts for 30-90 days, requiring regular exports or losing historical data. Paid plans typically offer unlimited storage or much longer retention periods.
Integration Restrictions
Free plans usually limit integrations with popular business tools like Slack, Salesforce, or HubSpot. These integrations are often essential for team workflows.
Support Quality Differences
Free users typically receive community support only, while paid users get priority customer service, dedicated support channels, and faster response times.
Best Free AI Meeting Tools in 2025
Based on free plan generosity and feature quality, here are the top free options:
Most Generous: Fathom
Offers unlimited recording and transcription for free, making it the best value for heavy users who do not need advanced analytics.
Best for Teams: Fireflies.ai
800 minutes per month with basic team features makes it suitable for small teams with moderate meeting volume.
Most Features: Otter.ai
Despite limitations, offers the most polished free experience with good transcription quality and basic collaboration features.