Last updated: October 2026 · Prices come from vendor pricing pages and may change. No hands-on testing is claimed.
What is an AI meeting assistant?
An AI meeting assistant joins or listens to your video calls, records and transcribes them, then produces a summary, action items and a searchable archive. For a small business the payoff is simple: nobody has to take notes, and decisions from a call are easy to find months later.
Best AI meeting assistants compared (pricing as of October 2026)
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid pricing (per user per month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Small teams and sales calls | Unlimited recordings and transcripts, instant AI summaries | Premium $16 annual ($20 monthly); Team $15 annual ($19 monthly); Business $25 annual ($34 monthly) |
| Otter | Everyday Zoom, Teams and Meet notes | 300 minutes per month, 30 minutes per conversation | Pro $8.33 annual ($16.99 monthly); Business $19.99 annual ($30 monthly) |
| Fireflies | Teams wanting analytics and many integrations | 400 minutes of storage per team, limited summaries | Pro $10; Business $19; Enterprise $39 (billed annually) |
| Read AI | Reports and integrations (Notion, Jira, Salesforce) | 5 meeting reports per month, 1-hour meetings | Pro $15 annual ($19.75 monthly); Enterprise $22.50 annual ($29.75 monthly) |
1. Fathom: best for small teams on a budget
Fathom’s free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcripts plus instant AI call summaries, clips and search across calls, which is unusually generous. Paid plans add advanced summaries, action items and a conversational assistant (Premium, $16 annual), then team features such as global search, shared highlight playlists, comments and keyword alerts (Team, $15 annual per user, two-user minimum). Business ($25 annual) adds CRM field sync, Deal View and coaching metrics, so it targets sales teams. Paid plans carry a 90-day guarantee on the vendor’s page.
2. Otter: best for Zoom, Teams and Google Meet notes
Otter’s free Basic plan works with Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet and includes live transcription and speaker identification, but it caps you at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation. Pro lifts that to 1,200 minutes and 90-minute meetings and adds Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier integrations. Business gives unlimited meeting minutes, 4-hour meetings, admin tools such as activity logs and usage analytics, and custom AI workflows. Enterprise adds SSO and SCIM, with a 100-user minimum for those two.
3. Fireflies: best for conversation analytics
Fireflies’ Free plan has unlimited transcription across 100+ languages but only 400 minutes of storage per team. Pro ($10 per seat, annual) raises storage to 8,000 minutes per seat, adds video recording, unlimited summaries and a task manager. Business ($19) adds multi-language mode, conversation intelligence and team analytics. Enterprise ($39) adds a rules engine, SSO, audit logs and HIPAA compliance.
4. Read AI: best for meeting reports and integrations
Read AI’s free plan covers 5 meeting reports per month and meetings up to 1 hour. Pro ($15 per user, annual) gives unlimited reports and transcripts, meetings up to 4 hours, and premium integrations including Notion, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Confluence, Zapier and webhooks. Enterprise ($22.50 annual) adds audio and video playback and video highlights, and Enterprise+ (five licenses minimum) adds HIPAA, SAML and SCIM.
How much does an AI meeting assistant cost for a 10-person team?
Illustrative maths from published annual list prices, multiplied by 10 seats:
| Option | Per seat | 10 seats per month |
|---|---|---|
| Fathom Team | $15 | $150 |
| Read AI Pro | $15 | $150 |
| Fireflies Business | $19 | $190 |
| Otter Business | $19.99 | about $200 |
| Fathom Business | $25 | $250 |
Monthly billing costs more: for example Fathom Team is $19 per user on a monthly plan instead of $15, and Otter Business is $30 instead of $19.99.
How do you choose an AI meeting assistant?
- Count meeting hours. Free plans cap minutes (Otter 300, Fireflies 400 of storage) or reports (Read AI 5), while Fathom’s free plan does not cap recordings.
- Check your meeting platform. Otter lists Zoom, Teams and Google Meet; Fireflies lists Zoom, Google Meet and Teams too.
- Decide who needs it. Sales teams benefit from CRM sync and scorecards (Fathom Business), while general teams only need summaries and action items.
- Review security needs. SSO, SCIM and HIPAA sit on Enterprise tiers for all four vendors.
- Tell attendees. Recording laws and consent rules vary by state, so announce recording and get consent where required.
What features matter most?
- Accurate transcripts with speaker identification.
- Action item extraction you can send straight to your task manager.
- Search across past meetings.
- Integrations with your CRM, Slack or project tool.
- Admin controls and data retention for team rollouts.
Which tool fits which team?
- Solo founder or very small team: Fathom Free.
- Sales team: Fathom Business or Fireflies Business.
- Zoom-heavy team wanting simple notes: Otter Pro.
- Team using Notion, Jira or Confluence: Read AI Pro.
Common mistakes
- Comparing annual and monthly prices as if they were the same.
- Ignoring free-plan caps and hitting them mid-month.
- Rolling out a bot to every call without telling clients.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI meeting assistant for small business?
Fathom is the best starting point for most small teams because its free plan has unlimited recordings and its paid Team plan is $15 per user per month billed annually.
Is there a free AI meeting assistant?
Yes. Fathom, Otter, Fireflies and Read AI all have free plans, with limits such as Otter’s 300 minutes per month and Read AI’s 5 reports per month.
How much does Otter cost?
Otter Pro is $16.99 per month or $8.33 per month billed annually, and Business is $30 per month or $19.99 per month billed annually, per Otter’s list prices.
Do AI meeting assistants work with Zoom, Teams and Google Meet?
Otter and Fireflies both list Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet integrations. Check each vendor’s integrations page for your exact setup.
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