Best AI meeting assistants 2026: Fireflies, Fathom, Otter

For most teams in 2026 the choice comes down to three: Fireflies.ai (notes that end up in your CRM), Fathom (the most generous free tier) and Otter.ai (transcription while the meeting runs). The difference between them isn’t recognition quality but what happens to the text after the call.

Below: the selection criteria, a side-by-side table and honest pros and cons for each.

How do you choose the right one in four steps?

1. 1

   Decide why you need the text

   Searching past meetings, feeding a CRM or producing minutes are three different tools.

2. 2

   Test your language

   Accuracy outside English varies. Run a real call before you pay.

3. 3

   Do the maths per seat

   Per-user pricing multiplies fast; a free tier often covers solo work entirely.

4. 4

   Agree on recording consent

   Technical capability isn't permission. Set the rule before launch.

Which criteria matter?

Look at four things: what happens after the meeting (plain text or an action in your CRM), accuracy in your language, cost at your real headcount, and storage of recordings. Fifth: whether you actually need a live feed during the call.

How do the three compare?

The score is our editorial 0–10 rating, not a vendor ranking. It reflects the balance of capability, price and usefulness to a small team.

Prices are the vendors’ own published rates, checked in August 2026, and all three assume annual billing: Fireflies Pro at $10 per seat a month billed annually, $18 monthly, on top of a free plan Fireflies.ai pricing page, August 2026 , Fathom Premium at $16 per user a month billed annually, $20 monthly, also with a free plan Fathom pricing page, August 2026 , and Otter Pro at $8.33 per user a month billed annually, with a free Basic plan Otter.ai pricing page, August 2026 . Fathom has also moved from fathom.video to fathom.ai.

Who is each one for?

Fireflies.ai — when notes have to become work: reach the CRM, turn into tasks, be searchable across your whole history. Downside: the most valuable analytics start on higher tiers, and processing happens after the call.

Fathom — the best start when there’s no budget at all: the free tier doesn’t cap recordings. Downside: team features are younger, and a growing team outgrows it.

Otter.ai — if you need text while the conversation is happening rather than a summary afterwards. Downside: beyond transcription it’s weaker than both competitors, and free-tier storage is short.

So which should you pick?

Start from what you’ll do with the text. Actions in a CRM — Fireflies.ai. Free and uncapped recording — Fathom. Real-time transcript — Otter.ai. And in every case, agree your recording-consent rule before you switch an assistant on for a first client meeting.