The best AI note takers in 2026
The best AI note takers are Caddie (no bot, and every promise becomes a task on your Mac's calendar), Granola (a polished no-bot notepad on Mac and Windows), Fathom (the best free plan), Otter (a bot that attends for you), Fireflies (integrations and task creation), Notion AI Meeting Notes (for Notion teams), Jamie (bot-free in 99+ languages) and tl;dv (unlimited free recording). Zoom, Google Meet and Teams also have built-in notes on paid plans.
The 8 picks at a glance
| App | Best for | Platforms | Free plan | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Caddie | Best for turning meetings into tasks, on a Mac | Mac (Apple silicon); notes, tasks and calendar in any browser; iPhone in beta | Everything, while in beta | Free while in beta, then $10 a month for everything |
| 2. Granola | Best no-bot notepad on Mac and Windows | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | Unlimited meetings; only the last 30 days of notes visible | Business $14 per user a month |
| 3. Fathom | Best free AI note taker | Zoom, Meet, Teams on Mac and Windows; iPhone for in person | Unlimited recordings, transcripts and summaries | Premium $20 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly |
| 4. Otter.ai | Best bot that attends for you | Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation | Pro $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed yearly |
| 5. Fireflies.ai | Best integrations | Web, Mac, Windows | Unlimited transcription, 400 minutes of storage per team | Pro $18 a month, or $10 a month billed yearly |
| 6. Notion AI Meeting Notes | Best for Notion teams | Notion's desktop apps (microphone only on web and phone) | A limited trial on Free and Plus | Business $20 per member a month |
| 7. Jamie | Best for many languages | Mac, Windows, iPhone, web | 10 AI notes a month, 30 minutes each | Plus €21 a month |
| 8. tl;dv | Best for unlimited free recording | Web and Chrome extension | Unlimited recordings; AI notes for 10 meetings; kept 3 months | Pro €29 a month, or €18 a month billed yearly |
Why people look for something better
Every AI note taker now writes a decent summary. They differ in whether a bot joins the call, how much the free plan allows, and whether the action items actually get done.
How we picked
We compared recording method, free limits, the cheapest paid plan and what each does after the call, from each product's pricing page on 31 October 2026.
1. Caddie
Best for turning meetings into tasks, on a Mac
Records any call your Mac plays (Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack) with no bot, writes the notes when it ends, and puts every promise on your day as a task. Notes, calendar, booking links and dictation are in the same app.
- Platforms
- Mac (Apple silicon); notes, tasks and calendar in any browser; iPhone in beta
- Free plan
- Everything, while in beta
- Paid from
- Free while in beta, then $10 a month for everything
- Watch out for
- Mac only for meetings and dictation (Apple silicon; macOS 26 to record and dictate). No Windows or Android app.
- Source
- usecaddie.app
2. Granola
Best no-bot notepad on Mac and Windows
A polished notepad: your own notes during the call, filled in by AI after. No bot.
- Platforms
- Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android
- Free plan
- Unlimited meetings; only the last 30 days of notes visible
- Paid from
- Business $14 per user a month
- Watch out for
- The free plan hides notes after 30 days, and there's no task list.
- Source
- www.granola.ai/pricing
3. Fathom
Best free AI note taker
The most generous free plan of the meeting note takers.
- Platforms
- Zoom, Meet, Teams on Mac and Windows; iPhone for in person
- Free plan
- Unlimited recordings, transcripts and summaries
- Paid from
- Premium $20 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly
- Watch out for
- A bot by default; bot-free recording is Mac-only and in beta.
- Source
- fathom.ai/pricing
4. Otter.ai
Best bot that attends for you
A bot that can attend calls for you, or a desktop recorder with no bot.
- Platforms
- Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android
- Free plan
- 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation
- Paid from
- Pro $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed yearly
- Watch out for
- Tight free limits: 30 minutes a conversation, the last 25 conversations.
- Source
- otter.ai/pricing
5. Fireflies.ai
Best integrations
Wide integrations, and it can create tasks in Asana and Jira.
- Platforms
- Web, Mac, Windows
- Free plan
- Unlimited transcription, 400 minutes of storage per team
- Paid from
- Pro $18 a month, or $10 a month billed yearly
- Watch out for
- A bot by default; recording without one is a paid feature.
- Source
- fireflies.ai/pricing
6. Notion AI Meeting Notes
Best for Notion teams
Notes land in the Notion workspace where your docs and tasks already are.
- Platforms
- Notion's desktop apps (microphone only on web and phone)
- Free plan
- A limited trial on Free and Plus
- Paid from
- Business $20 per member a month
- Watch out for
- Needs the Business plan, and meeting notes use AI credits.
- Source
- www.notion.com/pricing
7. Jamie
Best for many languages
Bot-free, works with any meeting app or in person, in 99+ languages.
- Platforms
- Mac, Windows, iPhone, web
- Free plan
- 10 AI notes a month, 30 minutes each
- Paid from
- Plus €21 a month
- Watch out for
- A small free plan, and Asana sync needs the €39 Pro plan.
- Source
- www.meetjamie.ai/pricing
8. tl;dv
Best for unlimited free recording
Unlimited recording on the free plan.
- Platforms
- Web and Chrome extension
- Free plan
- Unlimited recordings; AI notes for 10 meetings; kept 3 months
- Paid from
- Pro €29 a month, or €18 a month billed yearly
- Watch out for
- Free recordings are deleted after 3 months.
- Source
- tldv.io/pricing
What about the note takers built into Zoom, Meet and Teams?
Built in to your meeting app: Zoom AI Companion writes summaries on paid Zoom Workplace plans; Google Meet's "Take notes for me" needs an eligible Google Workspace plan; Microsoft Teams recaps come with Microsoft 365 Copilot. They're convenient, but the notes stay inside that one meeting app.
How to choose
- Free: Fathom, or Caddie while in beta.
- No bot: Caddie, Granola or Jamie.
- Action items done, not just listed: Caddie (tasks on your calendar) or Fireflies (Asana, Jira).
- You're on Windows: Granola, Otter, Fireflies or Jamie.
Questions people ask
What is the best free AI note taker?
Fathom has the most generous free plan (unlimited recordings, with a bot). Caddie is free while in beta and records with no bot. tl;dv records free but keeps free recordings for 3 months.
Which AI note takers don't use a bot?
Caddie, Granola, Jamie and Notion's desktop app record your computer's audio. Otter, Fireflies and Fathom can also record without a bot in their desktop apps.
What's the best AI note taker for Mac?
Caddie and Granola are both built for the Mac and record with no bot. Caddie also puts every action item on your calendar.