🎯 Quick Answer 💡

Fathom AIoffers truly unlimited minutes with no monthly cap or session limits.Otter.aiprovides 300 minutes/month (down from 600 in 2022) with 30-minute session limits.Firefliesoffers 800 minutes total storage (lifetime cap) with no monthly restrictions but limited AI credits.

Modern comparison chart showing various AI meeting tools with clock icons and minute allowances, professional business illustration

Visual comparison of free minute allowances across top AI meeting tools

📊 Complete Free Minute Allowances Table

Tool	Monthly Limit	Session Limit	Rollover Policy	Reset Date	Hidden Restrictions
🏆 Fathom AI UNLIMITED	✅ Unlimited	✅ Unlimited	N/A - No caps	N/A - No limits	AI summaries: 5/month
Otter.ai MOST RESTRICTIVE	❌ 300 min/month	❌ 30 min max	No rollover	Calendar monthly	Only 25 recent convos saved
Fireflies.ai STORAGE CAP	⚠️ No monthly limit	⚠️ No session limit	N/A - Total cap	Never resets	800 min lifetime storage cap
tl;dv	✅ Unlimited recording	✅ Unlimited	N/A - Unlimited	N/A	Only 10 AI summaries lifetime
Krisp	✅ Unlimited recording	✅ Unlimited	Daily reset	Daily (24h cycle)	60 min noise cancel/day, 7-day history
Supernormal	❌ 5 recordings/month	⚠️ Not specified	No rollover	1st of month	Very limited quota, premium templates locked
Grain	❌ 20 meetings total	⚠️ Not specified	Never resets	Lifetime cap	Fixed quota, no refresh ever

🧮 Free Minutes Usage Calculator

📅 How Long Will Your Free Minutes Last?

Otter.ai (300 min/month)

• 1 hour meetings daily:10 days
• 30-min meetings daily:20 days
• 3 hours per week:2.5 weeks
• 5 hours per week:1.5 weeks

Fireflies (800 min total)

• Heavy users (20h/month):1.3 months
• Moderate users (10h/month):2.6 months
• Light users (5h/month):5.3 months
• Occasional users (2h/month):13 months

💡 Optimization Strategies

⏰ For Limited Plans (Otter/Supernormal):

• Record only crucial meetings
• Use 30-min session limits strategically
• Download transcripts before deletion
• Track usage via dashboard
• Consider multiple free accounts (teams)

📊 For Storage-Capped Plans (Fireflies):

• Delete old recordings regularly
• Export important transcripts first
• Prioritize short, high-value meetings
• Use external storage for archives

🕵️ Hidden Restrictions & Gotchas Revealed

🚨 Major Gotchas You Need to Know

⏰ Time-Based Traps

📅
No Rollover (Otter):Unused minutes expire monthly, no banking allowed
⏱️
Session Cut-offs:Recording stops mid-meeting when hitting 30-min limit
🔄
Reset Timing:Monthly limits often reset on signup date, not calendar month

🗄️ Storage Limitations

🗑️
Auto-Deletion (Otter):Keeps only 25 most recent conversations
💾
Total Caps (Fireflies):800 minutes is lifetime limit, never increases
📱
Short History (Krisp):Only 7-day retention regardless of usage

⚡ AI Features Restrictions

Fireflies

20 AI credits/month

Credits consumed by: summaries (3-5), action items (2-3), sentiment analysis (1-2)

Fathom

5 AI summaries/month

Unlimited transcription but AI processing is capped

tl;dv

10 AI summaries lifetime

After that, only 10-minute AI notes per meeting

📊 Monthly vs Annual Minute Allocation Policies

📅 Monthly Reset Systems

Otter.ai - Strict Monthly

• 300 minutes reset on signup anniversary
• No rollover of unused minutes
• Usage tracking resets completely
• "Use it or lose it" policy

Krisp - Daily Reset

• 60 minutes noise cancellation per 24h
• 2 AI meeting notes per day
• Rolling 24-hour window
• More predictable for daily users

🔄 Lifetime/Fixed Quotas

Fireflies - Storage Cap

• 800 minutes total storage ever
• Must manually delete to free space
• No automatic archiving
• Effectively becomes paid after heavy use

Grain - Meeting Count

• 20 total meetings allowed ever
• No time limit per meeting
• Quota never refreshes
• Good for testing, poor for ongoing use

🚀 When Should You Upgrade from Free?

✅ Stick with Free If...

•Under 5 hours of meetings per month
•Only need basic transcription
•Individual/freelancer use
•Comfortable with manual note-taking
•Using Fathom's unlimited tier

⚠️ Consider Upgrading If...

•10-20 hours of meetings monthly
•Need AI summaries regularly
•Team collaboration required
•Hitting Otter's 300-min limit
•Need CRM/productivity integrations

🔴 Definitely Upgrade If...

•20+ hours of meetings monthly
•Business-critical meeting recording
•Sales/customer success team
•Need compliance/security features
•Time is worth more than $10-20/month

💰 Cost-Per-Minute Value Analysis

📊 Effective Cost When You Upgrade

Otter.ai Pro

$0.034

per minute

$17/month ÷ 500 minutes

Fathom Pro

$0.008

per minute

$19/month ÷ 2400 minutes

Fireflies Pro

$0.0056

per minute

$10/month ÷ 1800 minutes

tl;dv Pro

$0.01

per minute

$18/month ÷ 1800 minutes

💡 Value Insight

Fathom offers the best valueat $0.008/minute for paid plans, whileOtter.ai is most expensive at $0.034/minute. Free tier value varies dramatically based on actual usage patterns and feature requirements.