It’s been a year since my last AI Notetaker assessment so we’re back with another trek through the landscape of AI meeting assistants. It’s getting crowded out there, with many meeting assistants focusing on specific industries in an attempt to carve out a niche. With that in mind, we’re going to shift this assessment a bit to try to identify the right note-taking tool for your needs and preferences.
The Built-Ins
I do want to start with a class of AI assistants that are distinct from the subscription-based models we’ll come to in a moment. All the major players in video & audio conferencing – Microsoft, Google, and Zoom – also offer some form of chat assistant and transcript tool. That said, the experience, cost, and output varies quote a bit across the tools.
Let’s start with the similarities. If you’re considering these for your personal or organizational meetings, know that all three include the ability for prompting in-meeting chats (recap the meeting, ask questions from earlier parts of the call, your milage may vary), to-do items after the meeting, and a promise not to train on your data.
The big differences are in cost. If you’re a Zoom user, AI Companion has probably already annoyed you, whereas for Google and Microsoft, these tools are only available on higher tiers of their Business platforms, of by paying for them as an “add-on.” Google is an extra $20/month and Microsoft a whopping $30/month for AI note-taking.
You should also remember that these solutions are native to the platform, meaning if you’re leaning on Zoom for your transcripts, you won’t get one from a Google Meet call.
The Subscriptions
These are separate tools, distinct from your video conferencing service. All the ones we’re comparing have a free version available, except for Avoma, which requires a paid version after a 14-day free trial.
The table below compares all platforms starting with their base model price, since serious use of these tools will probably require a subscription. Subscriptions will also offer a better experience, with specific note-taking features that you’ll find yourself leaning on. Let’s start with a basic price and time breakdown.
| Tool | Base Paid Tier | Monthly Price | Annual Price (Monthly Equivalent) | Monthly Transcription Minutes |
| Otter.ai | Pro | $16.99 | $8.33 | 1,200 Minutes |
| Fathom | Premium | $19.00 | $15.00 | Unlimited |
| Fireflies.ai | Pro | $18.00 | $10.00 | Unlimited (8,000 min storage) |
| Sembly | Professional | $15.00 | $10.00 | Unlimited (900 min uploads) |
| Granola | Individual | $18.00 | $18.00* | Unlimited |
| Avoma | Startup | $29.00 | $19.00 | Unlimited |
Things to highlight in this comparison…
- Otter is the only service that has a cap on the amount of transcription time/month. This can be a constraint and may mean that you should uninvite the Meeting Assistant from some of your meetings. But that’s something you should be considering anyway.
- Fireflies also has a limit, this on the total number of minutes in storage. This can be more challenging to deal with than the monthly limit since it means regularly going back and reviewing old meetings and making hard choices about which transcripts you might need.
- The annual subscription for Fireflies is a massive $8 less per month. That’s an annual savings approaching $100, a big chunk, especially for small businesses and non-profits on a budget.
- There’s no discount for an annual subscription from Granola, but they do contribute 1.5% of your subscription to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere through Stripe Climate. (Marit Digital does this as well. We should probably mention this somewhere on our website.)
- Avoma is top-tier solution, with extra services not available in any other options. You can tell by looking at the price, especially at the month-to-month price. There is a 14-day free trial.
While the price point is important, the key to picking the tool that works for you is finding the right combination of features and price.
To that end, for this iteration of note-taking comparisons I’ve done a flow chart to help with selection among the six options listed above. There’s a lot here, so I recommend clicking to view the full size version. I appreciate any feedback!
The Endorsement
Despite the heading, I am not making any specific endorsement. I have now used and paid for 4 out of 6 of these tools, as well as Zoom and Google, and in full transparency I am currently paying for Otter.ai. That said, I need the functionality of a full transcript for some meetings, and the ability to upload recordings to make accurate transcripts, which is what makes Otter the right choice for me. I would encourage you to read my past posts on this topic to learn what make Sembly, Fathom, Fireflies, and some other options less ideal, in my opinion.
We’re also about three years in to the advent of AI notetakers, and this technology has come a long way. Some of the functionality that previously made platforms more distinctive have been lost as the big names in the space – Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, etc. expand their features. The choices are becoming less surprising, and while there are still new tools still trying to hit a niche for specific industries, I suspect we’ll move toward more consolidation of this services within the next five years.
Got a notetaker tool you love or hate? Let me know!
