Source article visual extracted for this comparison update.
Quick takeaways
Highest free usage headroom
tl;dv and Fathom provide the least restrictive free usage for recurring weekly meetings.
Most common free-tier bottleneck
Minute caps, AI credit caps, or storage ceilings are the usual limits that push upgrades.
Best bot-free choice
Krisp is the strongest bot-free option when privacy and audio quality are key requirements.
Detailed free-tier comparison table
| Tool | Free tier headline | Hard limit to watch | Supported platforms | Bot model | Best-fit user |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom AI | Unlimited recordings, transcription, and storage | Advanced AI summaries and action items are limited to 5 meetings per month | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams | Bot joins meetings | Independent consultants and light-to-medium weekly meeting volume |
| Otter.ai | Real-time transcription, AI chat, and team collaboration | 300 minutes per month, 30-minute cap per conversation, 3 lifetime imports | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams | Bot joins meetings | Students and occasional short meetings |
| Fireflies.ai | Unlimited transcription with broad conferencing coverage | 800 minutes storage per seat and 20 AI credits per month | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, RingCentral, and more | Bot joins meetings | Teams using multiple conferencing platforms |
| tl;dv | Free-forever unlimited recording and transcription | Advanced multi-meeting intelligence and sales analytics are paid | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams | Bot joins meetings | Remote teams needing high-volume free usage |
| Grain | AI notes, speaker labels, and strong clip sharing workflows | Up to 20 recorded meetings per month on free plan | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams | Bot joins meetings | Customer-facing teams sharing call highlights |
| Krisp | Bot-free recording plus noise cancellation and unlimited transcription | 60 minutes/day noise cancellation, 2 AI summaries/day, 7-day history, English-only transcripts | Any app using device audio, including Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack, and calls | Bot-free local audio processing | Privacy-focused users in noisy environments |
| Supernormal | Polished AI notes with automatic sharing and 60+ languages | Up to 20 meetings per month and 1,000 minutes storage per member | Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams | Hybrid: bot-free Chrome extension on Meet, bot on Zoom/Teams | Small teams wanting highly formatted meeting outputs |
Feature matrix: limits and capabilities
| Capability | Fathom | Otter | Fireflies | tl;dv | Grain | Krisp | Supernormal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited transcription on free plan | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Hard monthly meeting or minute cap | No | Yes | Storage cap | No | Yes | Daily limits | Yes |
| AI summaries included on free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bot-free option available | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Partial |
| Strong clip and highlight workflow | Basic | Limited | Basic | Yes | Yes | No | Basic |
Which tool is best for your use case?
Use case
Best overall free tier for most users
tl;dv and Fathom AI
Both avoid harsh monthly meeting caps and are practical for regular weekly usage without immediate upgrades.
Use case
Best for short occasional meetings
Otter.ai
Otter works well if meetings are infrequent and typically under 30 minutes.
Use case
Best for mixed conferencing environments
Fireflies.ai
Fireflies supports the broadest set of meeting platforms and 100+ languages.
Use case
Best for customer calls and shareable moments
Grain
Grain is optimized for turning transcripts into clips and customer-facing highlight reels.
Use case
Best for privacy and audio quality
Krisp
Krisp is bot-free and processes audio locally, while improving voice quality for noisy setups.
Use case
Best for polished notes in small teams
Supernormal
Supernormal is strong when teams prioritize clean formatting and auto-sharing into docs and chat tools.
Still deciding between free plans?
Get a recommendation tailored to your meeting frequency, note quality needs, privacy requirements, and collaboration workflow.
Start the Quiz