Best Free AI Notetaker in 2026: 11 Free Plans Tested and Compared

Last updated June 20, 2026 · 11 tools tested over 6 weeks across 40+ real meetings

The best free AI notetaker for most people in 2026 is Scribbl: the free plan gives you 10 meetings a month with AI notes and action items, needs no credit card, and never sends a bot into your call on Google Meet, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams. If you want a different shape, Fathom records unlimited calls but caps you at 5 AI summaries a month, tl;dv gives unlimited recordings but only 10 AI summaries for the life of the account, Otter allows 300 transcription minutes a month (30 per conversation) for live captions, and Tactiq gives 10 transcripts a month with no bot. Below we read every free plan line by line, with the exact published numbers most lists describe but never name, so you can see precisely where free runs out, then pick one and start in a single session.

The best free AI notetakers at a glance

Here is the full field in one place. The single thing that does not change much, and that almost no other list puts up front, is whether a tool adds a bot to your call, so that is the second column.

Tool	Free plan (published)	Bot or bot-free	Platforms	AI summary on free	Best free for
Scribbl	10 meetings/mo, no card	Bot-free everywhere	Meet, Zoom, Teams + desktop	Yes, notes + action items	Most people, external calls
Fathom	Unlimited recordings, 5 AI summaries/mo	Bot joins the call	Meet, Zoom, Teams	5/mo, then basic	A generous recording allowance
tl;dv	Unlimited recordings, 10 AI notes lifetime	Bot joins the call	Meet, Zoom, Teams	10 lifetime	Clip sharing and highlights
Otter.ai	300 min/mo, 30 min/session	Bot by default (no-bot mode on Meet)	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Limited on free	Live captions
Fireflies	800 storage min/mo, ~20 AI credits/mo	Bot ("Fred") joins	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Credit-metered	CRM and search
Tactiq	10 transcripts/mo, 5 AI credits/mo	Bot-free, reads captions	Meet, Zoom, Teams	5 credits/mo	Live caption capture
Granola	25 notes lifetime, 14-day history	Bot-free, local audio	Desktop (Mac-first)	Yes (typed + AI)	Solo note-takers
Read AI	5 meetings/mo	Bot-free on Meet, bot on Zoom/Teams	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Yes	Meeting analytics
Notta	120 min/mo, 3 min/recording	Bot joins the call	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Limited on free	Multilingual transcription
MeetGeek	~5 hrs/mo, 1-mo audio storage	Bot joins the call	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Yes	Automated recaps
Krisp	2 AI notes/day, unlimited transcription	Bot-free, on-device audio	Any app (system audio)	2/day	Noise removal + notes

The four tools people weigh against Scribbl most often are Otter, Fathom, tl;dv, and Fireflies. Here is how the free plans line up on the dimensions that decide this query, with competitor numbers hedged to "verify on the pricing page" because they change quietly.

Feature	Scribbl	Otter	Fathom	tl;dv	Fireflies
No bot joins the call		No-bot mode on Meet only	–	–	–
Nothing announced to attendees		–	–	–	–
Free plan, no credit card		Free plan	Free plan	Free plan	Free plan
Google Meet
Zoom
Microsoft Teams
Connects to ChatGPT or Claude		–	–	–	–
AI notes + action items on free		Limited	5 summaries/mo	10 lifetime	Credit-metered
Recording / video capture
Search past meetings
Works in person (no meeting URL)		–	–	–	–
Free cap (where it runs out)	10 meetings/mo	300 min/mo	Unlimited rec, 5 AI/mo	Unlimited rec, 10 AI lifetime	800 min/mo

The exact free caps (where free runs out)

This is the table the search is really about, with the actual published numbers instead of words like "limited." Free-plan figures change and vary by region, so each is current as of June 2026 and you should confirm it on the vendor's pricing page before you commit (footnotes link the source for each). The pattern worth seeing up front: on most tools the real meter is AI summaries, not recording minutes, so a plan can advertise "unlimited recordings" and still cap the part you actually came for.

Tool	Meeting or minute cap (free)	Per-meeting length cap	Storage / retention	AI summary + action items	Source
Scribbl	10 meetings / month, no credit card	No fixed per-meeting cap	Recordings expire after ~2 months	Included on all 10	Pricing
Fathom	Unlimited recordings	Full-length calls	Unlimited storage	5 AI summaries / month, then basic	Pricing page
tl;dv	Unlimited recordings + transcripts	3-hour cap (all plans)	Recordings deleted after 3 months	10 AI summaries lifetime	Pricing page
Otter.ai	300 minutes / month	30 min per conversation	Keeps 25 most recent; 3 lifetime imports	Limited on free	Help center
Fireflies	800 storage minutes / month	2-hour cap per recording	Caps stored transcripts	~20 AI credits / month (varies by signup)	Pricing page
Tactiq	10 transcripts / month	Caption-dependent	Transcripts kept	5 AI credits / month	Pricing page
Granola	25 notes total (lifetime, not monthly)	Full-length calls	14-day meeting history	Included within the 25	Pricing page
Read AI	5 meetings / month	Full-length calls	800-minute storage cap	Included on free	Pricing page
Notta	120 minutes / month	3 minutes per recording	Limited on free	Limited on free	Pricing page
MeetGeek	~5 hours / month	Full-length calls	3-mo transcript, 1-mo audio	Included on free	Pricing page
Krisp	Unlimited transcription	Full-length calls	Limited on free	2 AI notes per day	Pricing page

The meter

Meetings, minutes, length, or storage cap

The card

Whether a credit card is required up front

The bot

Whether a participant joins your call by default

Feature matrix: accuracy, languages, platforms, integrations

The same field on the dimensions people screen for after the free cap. Accuracy is the engine's clean-English ceiling, which the free tier shares with the paid plan, so it is rarely what the free plan limits. Language and integration counts shift as vendors ship, so confirm specifics before you rely on them.

Tool	Clean-English accuracy	Languages	Platforms	Capture	Notable integrations
Scribbl	~90 to 95%	English-first (more added over time)	Meet, Zoom, Teams + desktop	Bot-free everywhere	ChatGPT, Claude, share / copy
Fathom	~90 to 95%	Multiple	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Bot	CRM and tool integrations on paid
tl;dv	~90 to 95%	Many (strong multilingual)	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Bot	Clip sharing, CRM, Slack
Otter.ai	~90 to 95%	English-focused	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Bot (no-bot mode on Meet)	Slack, calendar
Fireflies	~90 to 95%	Many	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Bot ("Fred")	CRM-heavy (Salesforce, HubSpot), search
Tactiq	Caption-dependent	Follows Meet captions	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Bot-free (reads captions)	ChatGPT, Slack, docs
Granola	~90 to 95%	Multiple	Desktop (Mac-first)	Bot-free (local audio)	In-app AI, exports
Read AI	~90 to 95%	Multiple	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Bot-free on Meet, bot elsewhere	Calendar, analytics
Notta	~90 to 95%	50+ (strong multilingual)	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Bot	Calendar, exports
MeetGeek	~90 to 95%	Many	Meet, Zoom, Teams	Bot	CRM, email recaps
Krisp	~90 to 95%	Multiple	Any app (system audio)	Bot-free (on-device)	Works across any call app

How we compared them

This is not a rewrite of vendor pages. Over roughly six weeks we ran each of the eleven tools through the same set of more than 40 real meetings and then read each free plan line by line, because on a free-tier question the limits are the product, not the marketing.

• Real meetings, three platforms. We ran the same agenda on Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams, including a two-person call, a five-person call with crosstalk, and one external client-style call to see what each tool does in front of people who did not opt in.
• Same after-meeting ask. For each tool we requested the same thing afterward: summarize the call, list the decisions, and pull the action items with owners. We compared the outputs for accuracy, hallucination, and how usable the summary was without editing.
• The free plan, read line by line. For every tool we logged the exact thing the free plan limits: meetings or minutes per month, per-meeting length cap, storage and retention window, whether AI summaries and action items are free or paywalled, export, and team seats. That is the section the search is really about.
• Free versus trial. We flagged anything that is a time-limited trial dressed up as free, because a 14-day full-feature trial is a different promise from a forever-free plan with a cap.
• Consent note. We disclosed recording on every external call. So should you. A tool being bot-free does not remove your obligation to tell people when the law or your policy requires it.

11 tools

Free plans compared head-to-head over 6 weeks

40+ meetings

Real calls across Meet, Zoom, and Teams

6 limits

Minutes, meetings, storage, AI, export, seats

What other users say (third-party review scores)

Hands-on testing tells you how a free plan behaves; aggregated review scores tell you whether thousands of other people agree. Below are the public ratings with their sample sizes, because a score means nothing without the count behind it. These are pulled from G2 (and the Chrome Web Store for Scribbl) as of June 2026; ratings shift weekly, so check the live badge before you lean on a number.

Tool	Rating	Reviews (sample size)	Source	What reviewers praise
Scribbl	5.0	3,000	Chrome Web Store	Bot-free capture, fast setup, notes that turn into work
Fathom	5.0	~6,833	G2	Generous recording allowance, clean summaries
Krisp	4.6	~1,178	G2	Noise removal, on-device capture
Fireflies	4.7	~746	G2	Search and CRM integrations
MeetGeek	4.6	~478	G2	Automated recaps
Otter.ai	4.4	~462	G2	Live captions, brand familiarity
Notta	4.4	~234	G2	Multilingual transcription
tl;dv	4.7	several hundred	G2	Clip sharing, multilingual coverage
Tactiq	4.79	~3,256 (Chrome-led aggregate)	Multi-platform	Bot-free caption capture, simple UX
Granola	4.9	~23	G2	Local, bot-free, blended notes
Read AI	4.0	~43	G2	Analytics, no-bot Meet capture

What the free plans look like in practice

Two illustrations from our testing, drawn to scale rather than screenshotted, so you can see the two things that actually decide a free plan: where the meter sits, and who shows up in the call.

Free-plan meter, side by side

AI summaries on the free plan

• Scribbl 15 / month
• Fathom 5 / month
• Otter 300 min / mo
• tl;dv 10 lifetime
• Notta 3 min / recording
• Granola 25 total

Google Meet

Participants (bot tool)

• You
• Client
• Notetaker (bot) joined

The free-versus-trial trap (read this first)

The word "free" hides two very different things, and most disappointment with a "free AI notetaker" comes from confusing them.

A real free tier runs forever. You never pay, but something is capped: a number of meetings or minutes per month, a per-meeting length limit, a short storage window, or AI features held back for paid plans. This is the honest free plan you can build a habit on.

A trial gives you the full paid product for a few days or weeks, then stops working unless you enter a card. Trials are fine, but they are not what most people mean when they search for a free notetaker, and a tool that only offers a trial should not be on a "free" shortlist without that label.

The bigger catch most lists skip: the bot

Almost every free notetaker comparison stops at the meter and never mentions the bot. It is the difference that shows up in the room.

On the free plans of Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, tl;dv, Notta, and MeetGeek, a named bot joins your call as a visible participant and records everyone. That is fine for internal calls and async coverage. It is a surprise in client and candidate meetings, where the other side did not necessarily agree to a recording attendee. In 2025, Otter's notetaker bot drew consolidated consumer-privacy litigation in federal court over exactly this auto-joining, auto-recording behavior. You do not have to read that as "bots are bad," but you should read it as "a recording attendee is a decision, not a default."

A bot-free free plan removes that decision from your guests' surprise list. The bot-free free options are rarer: Scribbl is bot-free on Meet, Zoom, and Teams; Granola and Tactiq are bot-free; Krisp captures system audio on-device; and Read AI is bot-free on Google Meet but uses a bot on Zoom and Teams. For the full category, see our botless AI notetaker guide.

Free, bot-free

• In the call: nothing joins the participant list
• External calls: no surprise attendee for clients or candidates
• Credit card: Scribbl needs none to start
• Examples: Scribbl, Granola, Tactiq, Krisp, Read AI on Meet
• Free cap: Scribbl 10 meetings/mo, Tactiq 10 transcripts/mo, Granola 25 lifetime

Free, with a bot

• In the call: a named bot joins and records everyone
• External calls: the bot announces itself, sometimes by surprise
• Credit card: varies by tool
• Examples: Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, tl;dv, Notta, MeetGeek
• Free cap: Otter 300 min/mo, Fathom 5 summaries/mo, plus the bot

Every free plan, dissected

For each tool below we say what the free plan includes, where it runs out, and who it is for, with the published number wherever the vendor states one. Numbers are current as of June 2026; confirm them on the tool's pricing page the day you sign up, because they change quietly.

1. Scribbl, the best free pick for most people (bot-free)

The free plan. Scribbl's free plan includes 10 meetings a month with AI notes and action items, needs no credit card, and never adds a participant to Google Meet, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams. You get a searchable transcript, AI notes, and action items after each call, from a Chrome extension and a desktop app. Recordings expire after about two months on free.

Where free runs out. The cap is 10 meetings a month plus the roughly two-month recording-retention window, not a feature lockout: AI notes and action items are included on every one of those meetings, not paywalled the way Fathom's and tl;dv's summaries are. When you pass 15, Pro lifts the limit and teams move to the Team plan for shared access and admin controls.

What makes it the pick. Among the bot-free options, it is the only one that is fully bot-free on all three major platforms (Meet, Zoom, and Teams) while still including AI notes on every free meeting; Tactiq caps free at 10 transcripts, Granola at 25 lifetime, and Read AI drops its bot-free promise off Google Meet. Scribbl also connects the meeting to ChatGPT or Claude, so the notes become follow-up work rather than a transcript you never reopen.

Honest caveat. Scribbl does not send a bot to cover calls you are not in, and 10 meetings a month is tighter than Fathom's unlimited recordings. If async bot coverage or high recording volume is what you need, a bot-based free tier is the trade.

• Best free for: most people, external client and candidate calls, and anyone who wants the notes to turn into work.
• Capture: bot-free on Meet, Zoom, Teams (extension + desktop app).
• Platforms: Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams.
• Pros: truly bot-free on all three platforms; no credit card; AI notes and action items included on free; connects to ChatGPT or Claude so the follow-up gets done; rated 5.0 from 3,000 reviews across 10,000+ organizations.
• Cons: does not send a bot to calls you skip; no built-in sentiment-analytics dashboard.

2. Fathom, unlimited recordings, 5 AI summaries a month (bot)

The free plan. Fathom has one of the most generous recording allowances in the category: unlimited call recordings, transcripts, and storage across Meet, Zoom, and Teams, plus unlimited clips and search, in 25 languages. It joins your call as a visible recording participant.

Where free runs out. The catch is the part you came for: the free plan caps AI summaries at 5 per month, after which summaries downgrade to a basic version. Action items, AI follow-up drafts, the "Ask Fathom" assistant, and custom templates are reserved for Premium (about $20/user/month). So you can record everything for free, but only the first five calls a month get a real AI summary. Confirm the current split on Fathom's pricing page.

• Best free for: people who want to record everything and do not mind a bot, as long as they only need a handful of AI summaries a month.
• Capture: bot joins the call.
• Pros: unlimited recordings, transcripts, and storage on free; unlimited clips and search; works across Meet, Zoom, and Teams.
• Cons: only 5 AI summaries a month on free; a visible bot joins by default, which is awkward on external calls; action items and the AI assistant are paid.

3. tl;dv, best free for clips and highlights (bot)

The free plan. tl;dv has a strong free plan with unlimited recordings and transcripts in 30+ languages, unlimited viewers, and unlimited moment summaries, and it is especially good at timestamped clips and highlight reels you can share. Bot-based capture by default.

Where free runs out. Two specific walls: you get only 10 AI meeting notes for the entire life of the account (not per month), and recordings are auto-deleted after 3 months. Folders, channels, and advanced integrations are paid, and there is a 3-hour meeting cap on every plan. Verify the current limits on tl;dv's pricing page.

• Best free for: sharing short clips and moments from calls, in many languages.
• Capture: bot joins the call.
• Pros: unlimited recordings and transcripts in 30+ languages; excellent timestamped clips and highlight reels; unlimited viewers.
• Cons: only 10 AI summaries for the lifetime of the account; recordings deleted after 3 months; bot joins every call; library organization is paid.

4. Otter.ai, free live captions with a real meter (bot by default)

The free plan. Otter's free Basic plan is the textbook metered tier: 300 transcription minutes a month, capped at 30 minutes per conversation, plus live captions. It also keeps only your 25 most recent transcripts and allows just 3 file imports total (lifetime, not monthly). The Otter notetaker bot auto-joins by default on every platform, though there is an opt-in on-device mode that avoids the bot on Meet.

Where free runs out. You hit the 300-minute monthly cap and the 30-minute per-conversation limit fast in a busy week (six 50-minute meetings would blow through the monthly minutes even before the per-call cap), and older transcripts drop off the 25-transcript shelf. The richer AI features are reserved for paid. This is the clearest example of "free, but watch the meter." See how it stacks up in Read AI vs Otter.ai, and our best Otter alternatives.

• Best free for: live captions and short, occasional calls.
• Capture: bot by default; opt-in no-bot mode on Meet.
• Pros: well-known live captions; clear published caps; opt-in on-device mode avoids the bot on Meet.
• Cons: 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation bite quickly; keeps only the 25 most recent transcripts; 3 lifetime imports; the notetaker bot drew consolidated consumer-privacy litigation in 2025 over auto-joining behavior.

5. Fireflies, free with limited storage (bot)

The free plan. Fireflies has a free tier with 800 storage minutes a month, a 2-hour cap per recording, transcription, search, and an AI-credit allowance (commonly around 20 credits a month, though the number varies oddly by how you signed up). Its "Fred" bot joins from your calendar. It is popular with sales teams for CRM connections.

Where free runs out. The 800-minute monthly storage cap is not much if you do 5+ hours of meetings a week, and AI summaries, action items, and AskFred all draw down the same limited credit pool, so the AI runs dry before the minutes do. Deeper CRM and conversation intelligence are paid. The bot is always a visible attendee. Confirm current storage and credit limits on Fireflies' pricing page.

• Best free for: searchable transcripts and CRM-leaning workflows with light AI use.
• Capture: bot ("Fred") joins.
• Pros: strong search across past calls; deep CRM connections (Salesforce, HubSpot); 800 free minutes a month.
• Cons: 800-minute monthly storage cap and 2-hour per-recording limit; the AI-credit system is confusing and small on free; the "Fred" bot is always a visible attendee.

6. Tactiq, bot-free live caption capture (bot-free)

The free plan. Tactiq is a Chrome extension that reads the live captions already in your meeting, so nothing joins the call. The free plan covers 10 transcripts a month and 5 AI credits a month for summaries and insights, with export to Google Docs and Drive.

Where free runs out. Ten transcripts and five AI summaries a month go quickly for anyone in daily meetings, after which it is paid. Because it relies on captions, it works best where captions are reliable and captures text rather than a recording.

• Best free for: bot-free live caption capture in the browser, for light use.
• Capture: bot-free, reads captions (Meet, Zoom, Teams).
• Pros: nothing joins the call; lightweight Chrome extension; quick to start; connects to ChatGPT and Slack.
• Cons: 10 transcripts and 5 AI credits a month on free; quality follows the meeting's own captions; you are capturing text, not a recording.

7. Granola, bot-free notes for solo note-takers (free allowance)

The free plan. Granola is a Mac-first desktop app that captures audio locally and blends your typed notes with an AI summary. No bot joins. The free plan gives you 25 meeting notes total (a lifetime cap, not 25 a month) with a 14-day meeting-history window, AI notes, and AI chat across meetings.

Where free runs out. Because the 25 is a lifetime number, the free plan behaves more like an extended trial than a forever-free tier: regular users hit the wall within weeks and move to the Business plan (about $14/user/month). It is built around a single note-taker rather than team distribution.

• Best free for: trying bot-free local capture, or very occasional solo notes.
• Capture: bot-free, local audio (desktop, Mac-first).
• Pros: bot-free local capture; blends your typed notes with AI cleanly; well-liked desktop experience.
• Cons: 25 notes total (lifetime, not monthly) and a 14-day history make it trial-like; Mac-first desktop only; built for a single note-taker.

8. Read AI, free analytics (bot-free on Meet only)

The free plan. Read AI's free plan covers 5 captured meetings a month with transcripts, summaries, meeting analytics (sentiment and engagement), and enterprise search, plus an 800-minute storage cap before you must delete or upgrade. It records Google Meet through Google's native API with no bot; on Zoom and Teams it uses a visible assistant.

Where free runs out. Five meetings a month is tight for anyone with daily stand-ups or customer calls, and the bot-free promise only holds on Meet. If you mostly use Zoom or Teams, a bot is back in the room.

• Best free for: Google Meet users who want analytics and no bot, on a handful of calls a month.
• Capture: bot-free on Meet, bot on Zoom and Teams.
• Pros: no-bot Meet capture via Google's native API; meeting analytics like sentiment and engagement; tidy recaps.
• Cons: only 5 meetings a month and an 800-minute storage cap; the bot-free promise holds on Meet only (Zoom and Teams use a visible assistant).

9. Notta, free multilingual transcription (bot)

The free plan. Notta is strong on languages and offers a free plan with 120 transcription minutes a month and a 3-minute cap per recording, plus AI summaries. It joins calls as a bot for live meetings, and also transcribes uploaded audio.

Where free runs out. The 3-minute-per-recording cap is the real limit: it is too short to capture a single real meeting end to end, so on free Notta is closer to a demo than a working notetaker. Exports and advanced features are paid. Notta's strength shows up on the paid plans, where the language coverage (50+) is genuinely strong.

• Best free for: sampling multilingual transcription before paying.
• Capture: bot joins live calls.
• Pros: strong language coverage (50+) on paid; transcribes uploaded audio as well as live calls.
• Cons: 120 minutes a month and just 3 minutes per recording on free, too short for a real meeting; a bot joins live calls; exports are paid.

10. MeetGeek, free automated recaps (bot)

The free plan. MeetGeek auto-joins your calendar meetings as a bot and emails AI recaps and highlights. The free plan covers about 5 hours of transcription a month (some listings cite 3), with 3 months of transcript storage and 1 month of audio storage, plus AI summaries, insights, folders, and search.

Where free runs out. The monthly transcription hours and the one-month audio-storage window are the limits you feel, and team and integration features are paid.

• Best free for: hands-off automated recaps after every call.
• Capture: bot joins the call.
• Pros: fully hands-off (auto-joins calendar meetings and emails recaps); AI summaries on free; reasonable monthly hours.
• Cons: ~5 hours a month and a 1-month audio-storage window; a bot joins every call; team and integration features are paid.

11. Krisp, free notes on top of noise removal (bot-free)

The free plan. Krisp is best known for AI noise cancellation, and it now captures meeting transcripts and AI notes from system audio on-device, with no bot, across any app. The free plan includes unlimited transcription but caps AI meeting notes at 2 per day and noise cancellation at 60 minutes a day.

Where free runs out. Transcription is unlimited, but the AI summary (the part that turns a transcript into notes) is the meter at 2 a day, and the noise-removal feature it is famous for is capped at an hour a day on free.

• Best free for: people who already want noise removal and want bot-free notes on a couple of calls a day.
• Capture: bot-free, on-device system audio.
• Pros: captures from system audio on-device with no bot, across any call app; unlimited transcription; class-leading noise cancellation bundled in.
• Cons: only 2 AI notes a day and 60 minutes of noise cancellation a day on free; richer notetaking sits on paid; notetaking is secondary to the noise-removal product.

Privacy and security on a free plan

Free does not mean unsafe, but a free plan is still recording your conversations, so screen it the way you would a paid tool. The mainstream notetakers encrypt data in transit and at rest, and several publish SOC 2 Type II reports and GDPR compliance, but the specifics differ by vendor and sometimes by plan, so read each tool's trust or security page before you put client calls through it.

Three questions cut through most of it:

• Where does the audio go, and is it used to train models? On-device or local capture (Granola, Krisp) keeps audio off a third-party server. Cloud tools should let you opt out of model training; check the data-processing terms.
• Who is in the room? A bot is a visible third party recording everyone. A bot-free tool (Scribbl, Tactiq, Granola, Krisp, Read AI on Meet) keeps the recording decision and the disclosure in your hands, which matters most on external calls.
• Can you delete it? Look for the ability to delete recordings and transcripts and a clear retention window, especially on free plans where storage is often short.

A 60-second decision framework

If you would rather not weigh eleven tools, answer these in order and stop at your first yes.

• Do any of your calls include clients, candidates, or anyone external? Pick a bot-free free plan so no surprise attendee appears. Scribbl is the only fully bot-free option across Meet, Zoom, and Teams (Tactiq and Granola are bot-free too, but with tighter free caps).
• Do you need a real AI summary on more than a handful of calls a month? Watch the summary meter, not the recording one: Scribbl includes notes on all 10 free meetings, while Fathom caps summaries at 5 a month and tl;dv at 10 for the life of the account.
• Are you a solo note-taker who types during calls and lives on a Mac? Granola, if 25 lifetime notes is enough.
• Do you mainly need live captions for short, occasional calls and do not mind a meter? Otter, watching the 300-minute monthly and 30-minute-per-call caps.
• Do you want to record everything and only need a few summaries, and a bot is fine? Fathom (unlimited recordings, 5 summaries a month).
• Do you share clips and highlights from calls? tl;dv.
• Do you take calls in many languages? Notta on a paid plan (its 3-minute free cap is too short for real meetings).
• Do you already want noise removal and want bot-free notes bundled in? Krisp (2 AI notes a day free).

Pick your free notetaker by use case

If you do not want to read all eleven, match your situation to one of these.

• Best free for most people: Scribbl. 10 meetings a month with AI notes, bot-free across Meet, Zoom, and Teams, no credit card.
• Best free with no bot in front of clients: Scribbl, then Granola or Tactiq if you prefer a single-platform browser or desktop tool and can live with their lifetime / 10-a-month caps.
• Best free across Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams at once: Scribbl, the only fully bot-free option on all three free. See free AI notes for Google Meet and the best Zoom AI notetaker.
• Best free for unlimited recordings: Fathom (unlimited recordings, 5 AI summaries a month), if you are comfortable with a bot.
• Best free for sharing clips: tl;dv (10 lifetime AI summaries; recordings deleted after 3 months).
• Best free for live captions: Otter, watching the 300-minute monthly and 30-minute-per-call caps.
• Best free for searchable transcripts and CRM: Fireflies (800 minutes a month).
• Best free for multilingual calls: Notta, on a paid plan, since the free tier caps recordings at 3 minutes.
• Best free for in-person meetings: a tool that captures device audio without a meeting URL. See AI notetaker for in-person meetings.
• Best free for privacy-first teams: start bot-free and check each vendor's trust page. See private AI notetaker.

How to start your free notetaker in one session

You came here to pick and start today, not to read forever. Here is the fastest path.

1. 1

   Decide bot or bot-free

   If any of your calls are external, choose a bot-free free plan so no surprise attendee shows up. Scribbl is bot-free on Meet, Zoom, and Teams.

2. 2

   Check where free runs out

   Confirm the real meter on the pricing page: usually AI summaries, not recording minutes. Scribbl gives 10 meetings a month with notes, Fathom 5 summaries, Otter 300 minutes, tl;dv 10 summaries lifetime.

3. 3

   Install and connect

   Add the Chrome extension or desktop app and join your normal meeting. No credit card needed for a real free tier.

4. 4

   Review the notes and ship the follow-up

   After the call, read the AI summary and action items, then send the recap or push it into the AI you already use so the work actually gets done.

Our pick: Scribbl free

For a free AI notetaker that gives you usable notes from day one, with no credit card and no bot in any call, Scribbl is the one we recommend. The free plan includes 10 meetings a month with AI notes and action items, never adds a participant to Google Meet, Zoom, or Teams, and connects the meeting to ChatGPT or Claude so the notes become follow-up work rather than a transcript you never reopen. When you pass 10 meetings, Pro lifts the limit, and teams can move to the Team plan for shared access and admin controls.

The honest caveat: 10 meetings a month and a roughly two-month retention window are tighter than Fathom's unlimited recordings, and Scribbl does not send a bot to cover calls you are not in. If you need to record everything or want async bot coverage, a bot-based free tier is the trade. For the deeper field, see our best AI notetaker, tested and ranked and AI notetaker without a bot guides.

FAQ

What is the best free AI notetaker?

For most people the best free AI notetaker is Scribbl: the free plan includes 10 meetings a month with AI notes and action items, needs no credit card, and never puts a bot in your call across Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. If you want a different shape, Fathom gives unlimited recordings but only 5 AI summaries a month free, tl;dv gives unlimited recordings with 10 lifetime AI notes, Tactiq gives 10 transcripts a month bot-free, and Otter gives 300 transcription minutes a month for live captions. Pick by where each free plan runs out for your use, not by brand, and verify the current numbers on each vendor pricing page.

Is there a truly free AI notetaker, or is it just a trial?

Both exist, and the difference matters. A real free tier runs forever with a cap; a trial gives you full features for a few days then stops unless you pay. The trickier middle case is a lifetime cap dressed as free: Granola gives 25 meeting notes total (not per month) and tl;dv gives 10 AI summaries for the life of the account, so both feel like a trial once you hit the wall. Genuine forever-free monthly plans include Scribbl (10 meetings a month), Fathom (unlimited recordings, 5 AI summaries a month), Otter (300 minutes a month), Fireflies (800 minutes a month), and Tactiq (10 transcripts a month). Always check whether the page says per month or total before you commit.

Do free AI notetakers put a bot in my meeting?

Many do. On the free plans of Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, and tl;dv, a named bot joins your call by default and everyone can see it. Bot-free free options are rarer: Scribbl, Granola, and Tactiq capture without adding a participant, and Read AI is bot-free on Google Meet but uses a bot on Zoom and Teams. If you take external client or candidate calls, a bot-free free plan avoids a surprise attendee.

Which free AI notetaker is most accurate?

Good notetakers reach roughly 90 to 95 percent word accuracy on clear English audio with a decent mic, and the free tiers use the same transcription engine as the paid plans, so accuracy is rarely what the free plan limits. Accuracy drops with crosstalk, heavy accents, jargon, and poor audio for every tool. Speaker labels are less reliable than the words themselves, so spot-check names before sharing notes.

Are free AI notetakers safe and private?

The mainstream tools encrypt data in transit and at rest, and many publish SOC 2 Type II or GDPR compliance, but specifics differ by vendor and by plan, so check each tool's trust or security page. The bigger free-plan privacy question is the bot: a bot is a visible third party recording everyone, and on external calls the other side did not necessarily agree to it. A bot-free tool keeps the disclosure in your hands. Recording-consent laws still apply either way.

What is the catch with free AI notetakers?

Free tiers are real, but they are metered, and the meter is usually AI summaries rather than recording. Fathom records unlimited calls but caps AI summaries at 5 a month. tl;dv gives unlimited recordings but only 10 AI summaries for the life of the account, then deletes recordings after 3 months. Otter caps you at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation. Notta allows just 3 minutes per recording on free, which is too short for a real meeting. Scribbl includes AI notes and action items on all 10 free meetings a month, no credit card. The quieter catch on most free tools is the bot that joins your call by default.

Which free AI notetaker is best for Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams?

Scribbl is bot-free on all three on the free plan, so you get one tool across Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams with nothing in the participant list. Otter and Fireflies cover all three on free but join as a visible bot. Read AI is bot-free on Meet only. If you live in one platform, any tool that supports it works; if you bounce between all three, pick a free plan that behaves the same way everywhere.

Where do free AI notetaker plans usually run out?

At a specific number you can look up. Otter caps free at 300 transcription minutes a month with a 30-minute-per-conversation limit and keeps only your 25 most recent transcripts. Fathom records unlimited calls but caps AI summaries at 5 a month. tl;dv gives 10 AI summaries for the life of the account and deletes recordings after 3 months. Fireflies allows 800 storage minutes a month. Notta caps recordings at 3 minutes each. Scribbl includes AI notes and action items on 10 meetings a month with no credit card, and recordings expire after about 2 months. Always confirm the current number on the vendor pricing page, because they change quietly.

Can I use a free AI notetaker on Zoom or Teams without a bot?

Yes, but the options narrow. Scribbl is bot-free on Zoom and Teams as well as Google Meet on the free plan. Krisp captures system audio on-device across any app with no bot. Read AI is bot-free only on Google Meet and uses a visible assistant on Zoom and Teams. Most other free notetakers (Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, tl;dv, Notta, MeetGeek) send a named bot into Zoom and Teams by default.