Meeting Summaries: how to choose a tool
Short answer General advice
Four things decide the choice: whether a visible notetaker may join the call or the tool should capture quietly on your own computer, who has to be told, whether the free allowance covers a whole meeting, and whether you need a live capture or already hold a recording. Then run one low-stakes meeting and read the summary against what was said.
First, separate the job
General adviceMeeting notes start from a live call, a calendar entry or a recording and produce a summary with decisions and follow-up items. Transcribing an interview or lecture file, or a voice memo, is a close but different job, and a tool that fits one does not prove it fits the other. A summary is a model's reading of a transcript, so check it with the people who attended before you share it.
Questions to decide
Tools under each question come from our dated records of official pages, not tests.
Is a visible notetaker in the call acceptable?
- Why it matters
- A bot that joins as a participant is obvious to everyone, and some clients and internal groups object to it. Capture on your own computer or browser avoids the extra guest but still records people.
- How to check on the official page
- Find out whether the tool joins as a participant or records through a desktop app or browser extension, and which meeting apps and systems each route supports.
According to our records · checked
Granola · Desktop
The help pages say there is no meeting bot: the app runs on your own computer, uses system audio and the microphone, and can also transcribe in-person meetings, voice memos and other audio playing on the machine.
Source: docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription and docs.granola.ai/help-center/getting-started/setting-up-granola-for-the-first-time ·
Krisp · Desktop · AI meeting notes
The pages describe capture on your own device with no bot joining, and the meeting assistant page also describes an optional bot for platforms such as Zoom that appears as a participant to make recording and consent handling more open.
Source: krisp.ai/ai-meeting-assistant/ and krisp.ai/ai-note-taker/ ·
Notta · Website
Besides meeting integrations, a desktop app for Mac and Windows with bot-free recording and a Chrome extension are described.
Source: www.notta.ai/en ·
Who has to be told, and can they refuse?
- Why it matters
- Recording rules vary by country and region, and neither a notice sent by the tool nor the absence of a visible bot replaces asking people. This is general advice, not legal advice.
- How to check on the official page
- Read the tool's own consent page for what participants see, whether recording stops if someone declines, and how you can pause it, remove the notetaker or exclude sensitive meetings.
According to our records · checked
Fireflies · Website
Participants can refuse: on opt-in platforms nothing is recorded if anyone declines, and in other meetings they can pause the recording or remove the notetaker.
Source: guide.fireflies.ai/articles/7003995379-Recording+Consent+and+Meeting+Compliance+in+Fireflies%3A+Opt-In%2C+Opt-Out%2C+and+Controls ·
Does the free allowance cover a whole meeting?
- Why it matters
- A meeting tool can cap each conversation separately from any monthly total, and some free offers are only a short trial, so an allowance that looks generous can still stop partway through an hour-long weekly call.
- How to check on the official page
- On the pricing page find out whether the free offer is a lasting plan or a trial, the length allowed per recording, the monthly total and how much history it keeps; then try one short clip before you build a routine on it.
According to our records · checked
Krisp · Desktop · AI meeting notes
The pricing page lists a free trial that lasts a week, with no card needed and no permanent free plan; the terms say access stops when the trial ends unless a paid subscription is bought, and content stays available only for a limited time so you can export it.
Source: krisp.ai/pricing/ and krisp.ai/terms-of-use/ ·
Otter · Website
Meeting length decides the plan: the pricing page lists a limit per conversation on the free plan that is shorter than an hour and a longer one on the paid Pro plan, so an hour-long weekly meeting will not fit the free plan.
Source: otter.ai/pricing ·
Do you need a live capture, or do you already have a recording?
- Why it matters
- Some tools capture a call only while it happens and cannot take a finished file; others also accept uploads. A tool built for live meetings says little about an old recording, and the reverse holds as well.
- How to check on the official page
- Find out whether the tool must be running when the meeting starts, whether it can import an audio or video file, and what happens to a call that nobody captured live.
According to our records · checked
Granola · Desktop
Built for live meetings: the transcription page says importing or uploading pre-recorded audio files is not supported, so it does not fit a recording you already have.
Source: docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription ·
Fireflies · Website
Also fits a recording you already have: uploads of common audio and video files are listed, and the mobile app can capture in-person conversations.
Source: fireflies.ai/ ·
Limits
According to our records · checked
Granola: Notes and transcripts are kept indefinitely by default on servers in the United States, and no regional storage is offered; on the free and Business plans transcripts can be set to delete automatically. Anonymized data may be used to improve Granola's own models by default on those plans until you switch the setting off, and the free plan keeps only a limited meeting history.
Source: docs.granola.ai/help-center/consent-security-privacy/security-privacy-data-faqs and www.granola.ai/pricing ·
Krisp: The privacy statements need reading together: the product pages say no voice data is visible to Krisp servers, while the privacy policy says transcripts, recordings and summaries may stay on its servers until you ask for deletion and may be shared with service providers to write summaries. The pricing page says meeting data is never used for model training, yet the policy lists improving its models as a purpose that depends on consent, and the pages do not reconcile this.
Source: krisp.ai/privacy-policy/ and krisp.ai/pricing/ ·
Notta: The confidentiality page names encryption and compliance with several privacy laws but does not say whether content is used for AI training or how long it is kept, so ask before uploading confidential recordings and get consent before recording a meeting.
Source: www.notta.ai/en/confidential-transcription-services ·
Fireflies: The pricing page names four plans but gives no numbers for the free one; unlimited transcripts and video recordings, advanced AI features, API access, team workspaces and the desktop app are listed as paid features, so check the limits inside the app before you commit.
Source: fireflies.ai/pricing ·
A first try
General advice- Choose one low-stakes meeting and tell everyone beforehand that it will be recorded and summarized. Keep your own short notes of the decisions.
- Run it through one or two tools that fit your answers, on the plan you would use, and compare names, numbers and decisions in the summary with the transcript and your notes.
- Before it becomes routine, check how long notes and transcripts are kept, whether your data may be used to improve models and which export formats the plan gives, and decide which sensitive meetings it must never capture.
If nothing fits
General adviceThe full meeting summary list shows every recorded tool with its conditions. For a recorded interview or lecture file rather than a meeting, see speech to text; for subtitles, see automatic subtitles.
Compare documented features
This comparison is based on published official documentation. It is not a hands-on test or a quality ranking. Unknown features are not treated as verified.
- Yes
- No
- Not verified
| App name | Where will you use it? | Free output | No account needed | No watermark | Works offline | Batch processing | Content language | Good to know / Sources and review date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notta | Website | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| Otter | Website | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| Timeless | Website | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| tl;dv | Website | Not verified | No | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| Tactiq | Extension | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| Fathom | Desktop | Not verified | No | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| Granola | Desktop | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Check the official page for current quotas and output conditions. Sources and review date
|
| Clipto.AI | Website | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| Fellow | Website | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| MeetGeek | Website | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| Muesli | Desktop | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| ScreenApp | Website | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| Fireflies | Website | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
| Krisp | Desktop · AI meeting notes | Not verified | No | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Sources and review date
|
Notes that apply to several tools
- Check minute, upload and summary limits for your chosen plan and language.
- Check AI answers against their sources. Review account permissions and data settings before sharing private files or connections.
- Available features may vary by device and access method.
- Check each tool’s plan separately; one feature’s allowance does not cover another.
- Requires desktop installation.