The best meeting transcription apps in 2026, online and in person

For video calls, a notetaker that joins the meeting is the easiest: Fathom and Fireflies have free plans with unlimited transcription, and Otter gives 300 minutes a month. If you already pay for Zoom, Teams or Google Workspace, check their built-in transcripts first. For meetings in a room, recorded on a phone, HiText Business splits the recording by speaker and gives you minutes in Word.

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Weekly team meeting

Nov 5 · 47:12

SummaryTranscriptQuiz

Minutes, ready to send:

Decided: New pricing goes live on the 1st.
Owner: Laura sends the customer email.
Open: Budget for the spring campaign.

47:12

47 min transcribed

Pick in three questions

1
Is the meeting online or in a room?
Online, a notetaker that joins Zoom, Meet or Teams records and transcribes for you. In a room, the meeting app can't hear anything: you record on a phone and transcribe the file afterwards.
2
Can a bot join the call?
Some clients and companies don't allow a notetaker bot in their calls. In that case, use the transcript built into your meeting app, or record the call yourself and transcribe the recording.
3
What do you need at the end?
A searchable transcript, an AI summary, or formal minutes with who said what. The free plans differ most in the summaries and in how much they let you store.

Eight options for meetings, side by side

Free plans and prices as published on each company's pricing or help page, checked on November 8, 2026. They change often, so check the source before you pay.

Fathom: free plan "free forever" with unlimited recordings and transcriptions and instant AI call summaries; the Team plan is $15 per user a month billed yearly ($19 monthly), with a 2-user minimum. Source: Fathom pricing
Fireflies: free plan with unlimited transcription (marked with an asterisk on the page), limited AI summaries and 400 minutes of storage per team, in 100+ languages; Pro $10 per seat a month billed yearly. Source: Fireflies pricing
Otter: Basic plan with 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation; Pro $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed yearly. AI transcription in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Source: Otter pricing
Notta: free plan with 120 minutes a month and conversations of up to 3 minutes; Pro $8.17 a month billed yearly. Source: Notta pricing
Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet: each has its own transcript, depending on your plan and on what your administrator allows. Step by step: Zoom, Teams and Google Meet
HiText (app): for recordings you already have, in 13 languages: you get the full text, a summary and a translation. 30 free minutes once, then Pro. It doesn't join calls and doesn't label speakers
HiText Business (web): for in-person meetings and interviews. Upload the recording and download minutes or a transcript by speaker, as a Word file. €29 a month + VAT, with 20 hours a month and files up to 3 hours; your first interview free, up to 60 minutes, no card. Source: HiText Business

Who should pick which

Sales and client calls on Zoom, Meet or Teams: Fathom or Fireflies, for their free plans with unlimited transcription
Internal calls where you only need a transcript: the one built into your meeting app, if your plan includes it
English team meetings with live notes: Otter
Meetings in a room, recorded on a phone, with minutes in Word: HiText Business
A recording you already have, in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or another of 13 languages, with a summary: HiText. See how to transcribe interviews and meetings

Where HiText is not the best choice

HiText doesn't join calls as a bot and doesn't transcribe while people talk: you give it the recording and get the text once it's processed. For video calls where a bot is welcome, a notetaker like Fathom, Fireflies or Otter saves you a step. The standard HiText app doesn't label speakers; HiText Business does, but it's a separate paid plan for the web.

Comparing more tools? See the best transcription apps, apps that record and transcribe and free transcription software.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free meeting transcription app?

For video calls, Fathom and Fireflies both advertise unlimited transcription on their free plans, with limits on AI summaries or storage. Otter's free plan gives 300 minutes a month with up to 30 minutes per conversation. Figures checked on November 8, 2026.

How do I transcribe an in-person meeting?

Record it on a phone placed in the middle of the table, then transcribe the file. HiText Business splits the recording by speaker and gives you minutes in Word; the HiText app gives you the full text and a summary in 13 languages.

Do I need a bot to transcribe a Zoom or Teams meeting?

No. Zoom, Teams and Google Meet can create their own transcripts, depending on your plan and settings. You can also record the call and transcribe the file afterwards, which works when bots aren't allowed.

Which app labels who said what?

In video calls, notetakers like Otter tag speakers. For in-person recordings, HiText Business splits the text by speaker and lets you rename them before you export the Word file. The standard HiText app doesn't label speakers.

Is this comparison neutral?

It's written by the HiText team, so we say where HiText is not the best option. Every figure comes from the official page linked next to it, checked on November 8, 2026; if something has changed, the official page is what counts.

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