Top 8 Fireflies AI Alternatives to Check Out in 2026

AI notetaker Fireflies is one of the more popular names on the market. A popular meeting intelligence tool can record, transcribe, and analyze your team’s conversation. It also comes with AskFred, an AI assistant that can help you search the transcripts for essential information. 

Fireflies is good at what it does, but the problem is, it’s not the only such solution on the market. It also has some limitations, as the industry shifts from powerful recorders to agentic workflows that have a set of features focused on what comes next. 

As good an AI notetaker as Fireflies is, it also comes with a bot that joins the meetings. I was present at more than one such meeting, and one of the executives from another company wasn’t thrilled. To make things worse, auto-bots joined more than one meeting, raising security concerns and prompting a reconsideration of cooperation. 

Privacy concerns and “silent guest” issues are among the issues with AI notetakers like Fireflies, but there are also other areas for improvement. 

TL;DR

• best for agencies, consultants, and client success teams – FuseBase
• best for students and journalists – Otter.ai
• best for sales Ops and HubSpot power users – Circleback
• best for product managers and UX researchers – tl;dv

What is Fireflies?

Fireflies excels at meeting recording and transcription. High accuracy and support for over 100 languages, along with speaker recognition, make it one of the more popular AI meeting assistants. 

You will also get an AI summary with an overview, action items, and custom notes. Its AI assistant AskFred is a robust search engine for current and past conversations. However, many users don’t feel comfortable seeing a message that the bot is joining the call. 

The solution does offer real-time suggestions and coaching tips during the meetings, but it is more for searching what happened, and not so focused on what needs to happen in the company workflow in the future. 

That is why we chose the 8 top competitors with similar features and some additional advanced ones.

What to expect from Fireflies alternatives in 2026?

When I started working on FuseBase, yes, it’s our solution, I’ve noticed limitations of passive recorders. When everyone is doing the basic thing satisfactorily, developing new features to help companies is essential. So, I saw a trend toward active agent solutions that help protect company margins, detect issues, and suggest the next step. As an active contributor in development, what I want to see in AI meeting intelligence/notetakers in 2026 comes down to several features.

Bot-free and invisible recording

Silent guest is the biggest issue with Fireflies, and it shows up as visible and intrusive, and external clients might block it. Alternative solutions like FuseBase, Granola, and Jamie have recording options via a browser extension or desktop app that record system audio. This way, no bot will join the call.

The agent does the next step, not just notice it

Fireflies can detect an action item and write it in a text summary. It sounds perfect, and many competitors can do the same. However, you will still have to open an email, write it down, and send it. If we already use AI, why ask it not just to list the task but also to automatically stage it by drafting the email and creating a task in a project management tool like Asana with a deadline and assignment? All you have to do is approve it. 

Smart partition between internal and external summary

A nagging issue some of the AI notetakers face is that the transcript or summary contains everything from the meeting. Well, isn’t that what it’s supposed to do? Yes, and no. If you have internal venting about a client’s budget, personality, changes, or similar issues, sharing a link can be a deal-breaker. In 2026, meeting assistants should use AI to automatically identify and separate internal strategy from the client recap, and prepare two views for one meeting. 

Detecting scope increase and protecting margins

If a client asks during the meeting, can we add one more landing page, AI notetakers might miss on what it actually means. It can lead to more working hours for the same price and undermine the profitability. Your tool should listen to intent, and not just words, and flag potential issues as a “scope creep”, “churn signals”, or other potential issues that can influence the revenue or deal health.

Move away from the links

If your AI notetaker has a raw transcript behind the link, it looks unprofessional. Clients might feel it’s like homework to go through the AI notes or summary. What I would like to see is instant deal rooms. AI can package the meeting into a branded Client Portal with a professional link that includes the video, an executive summary, other assets, and a proactive approve-next-step button.

Top 8 Fireflies competitors for 2026

Among dozens of quality competitors, we found the top 8 with features that replicate what Fireflies can do, and some unique options that make each choice compelling. 

Solution	Pricing	Free trial	Top features	Best for
FuseBase	Value-Based / Contact Sales	Free trial	Branded deal rooms replace “naked link” with more professional digital experience, AI agent detects missing next steps and creates tasks in PM layer, Smart partition separates internal risks from external safe client output	Agencies, consultants, and client success teams
Otter.ai	starts at $8.33/month	Free tier	OtterPilot bot joins meetings and answers questions, live transcripts transcribe words in real-time, and slide capture auto-inserts shared slides into transcripts	Students and journalists
Circleback	starts at $25/month	Not indicated	CRM sync pushes data to Salesforce or HubSpot, Advanced agentic search for key insights from past meetings, and an action item engine for task detection	Sales Ops and HubSpot power users
tl;dv	starts at $18/month	Free tier	Clip reels can stitch together multiple video clips, and advanced timestamping allows one-click marking of key moments	Product managers and UX researchers
Fathom	starts at $16/month	Free tier	Has a 100% free personal edition with unlimited recording, instant sync allows pushing notes to HubSpot instantly	Individuals and Zoom power users looking for an affordable tool
Gong	Contact sales	Not indicated	Deal warnings can flag deals that are at risk of stalling, and advanced pipeline forecasting	Enterprise sales leaders
Granola	starts at $14/month	Free tier	Bot-free recording, runs locally on a Mac computer, and numerous writing templates	Consultants and writers who want human-like notes
Jamie	starts at $47/month	Free tier	Offline mode supports work without an internet connection, has a native app feel as it’s integrated in the menu bar.	Executives and privacy-conscious leaders

1. FuseBase – Best for Agencies, Consultants, and Client Success Teams

While working on FuseBase, I was keen to create a platform that pivots from recording to delivering, as this is what AI should do. As a Fireflies competitor, FuseBase captures the meeting, avoiding “silent guest” as it records through a private browser extension. But, more importantly, it immediately partitions the data into a Client Portal for external users/clients and an Internal Workspace for your internal team. Because it’s a comprehensive solution, it’s best for agencies and client success teams. Top features include smart partition (one view for the company, another for the client), agentic workflows that create tasks in the project management layer, and branded deal rooms that replace the naked link.

Pros:

• No more silent guest bot problem
• Can detect scope creep and protect margins for organizations
• Elevates brand perception with a custom Client Portal

Cons:

• Overkill for smaller teams or individuals
• Not everyone needs its advanced features

2. Otter.ai – Best for Students and Journalists

Almost every solution has one killer feature, and what I like most about Otter is its live transcript, which shows words as they appear in real time. Otter is a classic AI notetaker that has transcripts, automatic summaries, and AI chat. Along with its live transcript option, you get slide capture that can auto-insert slides into notes so you can understand the context.

Pros:

• Arguably best-in-class interface for reading in real-time during the meeting
• Its dedicated and polished mobile app is among the absolute best among competitors
• Slide capture grabs screenshots of shared content and inserts them into transcripts

Cons:

• Silent guest issue with the bot joining the meeting, which some IT departments frequently block
• Sharing is through a generic link, which might look unprofessional.

3. Circleback – Best for Sales Ops and HubSpot Power Users

Structured notes and workflow automation are key strengths for Circleback, a meeting intelligence tool that has AI meeting notes, action items recognition, and advanced search. You can use AI Agent to find out about things like pricing deals or revenue reports from previous meetings. Its action item engine has high accuracy, and it can assign tasks. Circleback automates data entry into HubSpot, effectively reducing administrative overhead.

Pros: 

• Excellent at identifying tasks and assigning them to owners
• Deep Salesforce and HubSpot integration with automatic deal records update
• AI Agent allows questions from your meeting database

Cons:

• Summaries look generic 
• While it can log data, it doesn’t excel at managing project work
• Occasional bot reliability

4. tl;dv – Best for Product Managers and UX Researchers

The name is a pun, but it delivers on the promise, as you can do what most expect from meeting intelligence. Tl;dv can record and transcribe, create AI notes and summaries, and offer multi-meeting insights. The solution supports over 30 languages and numerous integrations. A video-first recorder focuses on moments, making it easy to create highlight reels. Clip reels allow you to stitch together multiple video clips, and with one click, you can mark key moments. 

Pros: 

• Highlight reels allow you to stitch together multiple clips into one video 
• Timestamp lets you mark key moments during live meetings with one-click marking
• Very generous fee tiers for video recording

Cons:

• AI summaries are not on par with advanced competitors
• Public link to summaries and transcripts feels too casual for professional delivery

5. Fathom – Best for Individual and Zoom Power Users Looking for an Affordable Tool

Fathom is a meeting-intelligence platform and a Zoom-centric recorder that has won substantial market share with its free personal tier. It’s best for freelancers, individual users, and Zoom power users. You will get AI meeting summaries, transcriptions, and it supports numerous integrations. You can sync notes to CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce. AI assistant Ask Fathom lets you ask about current and past meetings.

Pros:

• Completely free personal edition with unlimited recording for individuals
• Instant sync pushes notes to HubSpot and Salesforce
• Click to highlight feature during the call is useful

Cons:

• Coaching and team folder sharing are behind the paywall
• Only has a desktop app
• It’s not a place to manage projects or deliverables

6. Gong – Best For Enterprise Sales Leaders

Gong is not in the same category as Fireflies, but it does share key features of meeting intelligence. This tool is more of an AI operating system for revenue teams. It records calls, provides deal-health analysis, and provides a basis for forecasting revenue. Gogn can flag deals at risk of staling and predict revenue using data from conversations and meetings. Its AI Agents can automate follow-ups, edit the pipeline, and correct forecasts, among other things.

Pros:

• Deal health warnings can accurately predict if a deal will stall by detecting ghosting or a lack of executive presence
• Offers deep analytics for talk-to-listen ratios and competitor mentions across thousands of calls
• The coaching feature has great scorecarding for grading rep performance

Cons:

• Pricing is aimed at large organizations
• Strictly for sales, and offers little value for after-sales, implementation or project management teams
• Focuses on internal users and not the clients

7. Granola – Best for Consultants and Writers Who Want Human Notes

Granola avoids the “silent bot” problem by transcribing the computer’s audio directly, so no bots join the call. Granola can enhance your raw bullet points. It can also transcribe your meeting and enhance the notes, so it works as a writing assistant with an almost “human touch”. The app runs locally on your Mac and offers customizable styles through writing templates.

Pros: 

• Feels like a writing partner that enhances your notes
• Records locally on your system with no bots in the meetings
• Broad selection of output formats through custom templates

Cons:

• Limited functionality for Windows users
• Has only manual sharing
• Notes are stored on your laptop, and it’s not a team-friendly environment

8. Jamie – Best for Executives and Privacy-Conscious Leaders

Like Granola, Jamie is also developed for Mac OS, and it is another AI note taker that doesn’t have a bot present at meetings. Jamie records system audio and works in offline mode. It has a native app feel as it lives in the menu bar. Ask Jamie’s assistant can answer about client mentions in previous conversations. This popular Fireflies alternative also connects to tools like Notion, Google Docs, OneNote, and HubSpot and can send notes and transcripts automatically.

Pros:

• Offline mode allows working without an internet connection
• Strong support for 15+ languages
• Strong privacy as it records system audio without meeting bots

Cons:

• Higher price compared to competitors
• Summaries can take time to generate

Other notable solutions

Our eight picks are some of the best you can find on a saturated market, but there are many other noteworthy competitors. Here is a quick overview of some popular software solutions.

• Rev.com – has human or AI checked transcripts and captions are priced per minute. Lacks advanced AI options
• Sonix.ai– offers audio and video transcription in 49 languages
• Trint– Recordings become searchable text and offer real-time team collaboration
• Descript– aimed at creators who can edit audio and video by editing the transcript
• Happy Scribe is a solution for creating accurate multilingual subtitles for lectures and videos with AI and human transcripts

Conclusion

The AI note-taking market has dozens of quality competitors. Fireflies has a tough challenge of staying relevant in such a competitive landscape. Looking ahead to 2026, I would like to see more advanced features that provide actionable next steps, enable a deeper understanding of transcriptions, and prepare safe-to-share content for external meeting guests. 

If you want a free meeting recorder, Fathom is probably your best choice. Video-centered users might like tl;dv, and Granola and Jamie avoid bots in the meetings. However, if you run a service business, FuseBase is the only choice. It also solves the bot problem by running through a browser extension, and it addresses the value problem by turning meeting recordings into a paid deliverable. 

If you want to stop the bot spam and start delivering value from your meeting and data, try FuseBase for free.