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The Productivity Revolution: AI note-taking apps save professionals an average of 5–10 hours per week by automatically transcribing meetings, extracting action items, and organizing insights—no manual typing required.
10 Best AI Note-Taking & Meeting Assistants for 2026 (Tested)
We tested the leading AI note-taking and meeting assistant apps of 2026 to help you choose the right tool. Compare features, pricing, and real-world performance of Notion AI, Fireflies, Otter, Jamie, Granola, and more.
- NotebookLM leads for research: Google's free AI turns documents into audio podcasts and grounded Q&A summaries [web:6][web:9]
- Fireflies beats Otter in accuracy: Fireflies scored 107 vs Otter's 82 in head-to-head transcription tests [web:7]
- Jamie is bot-free: Works offline and across all platforms without joining meetings as a participant [web:2][web:12]
- Notion AI costs $20/user/month: Bundled with workspace features for all-in-one productivity [web:8][web:11]
- Granola raised $43M at $250M valuation: Privacy-first, human-controlled editing meets AI transcription [web:18]
- Free tiers exist: Otter, Fireflies, Jamie, and NotebookLM all offer free plans with limitations [web:2][web:9]
- Best for students: NotebookLM + Notion AI deliver quizzes, summaries, and study aids [web:9]
Why AI Note-Takers Matter in 2026
Traditional note-taking during meetings forces you to choose between active participation and accurate documentation [web:2]. AI note-taking apps solve this by automatically transcribing conversations, identifying speakers, extracting action items, and generating summaries in real time [web:3][web:6].
In 2026, these tools have evolved beyond simple transcription. They now offer conversation intelligence, sentiment analysis, cross-meeting insights, and integrations with project management platforms like Notion, Asana, and Salesforce [web:7][web:12]. Whether you're a student reviewing lectures, a manager tracking team decisions, or a sales professional documenting client calls, AI note-takers improve organization and reduce cognitive load [web:9].
What We Tested (Our Criteria)
We evaluated each tool across seven dimensions to ensure practical, real-world performance [web:2][web:3][web:7]:
- Transcription accuracy: How well does it capture speech, handle accents, and identify speakers?
- Meeting platform support: Does it work with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and in-person meetings?
- Privacy and bot visibility: Does it join as a visible bot, or does it work offline/in-background?
- AI features: Summaries, action items, sentiment analysis, keyword tracking, and Q&A capabilities
- Integrations: Can it push notes to Notion, Slack, CRMs, or task managers automatically?
- Pricing: Free tier availability, cost per user, and value for money
- User experience: Speed, ease of use, editing capabilities, and searchability
The 10 Best AI Note-Taking & Meeting Assistants
1. Google NotebookLM — Best for Deep Research
NotebookLM is Google's free AI research assistant powered by Gemini [web:6][web:9]. It transforms uploaded documents (PDFs, Google Docs, websites, slides) into interactive Q&A sessions, study guides, and realistic audio podcast overviews [web:9]. Unlike ChatGPT, NotebookLM is grounded—it only answers based on your sources, eliminating hallucinations [web:6].
Key Features:
- Audio overviews: Two AI hosts discuss your documents in natural conversation [web:9]
- Grounded Q&A with inline citations linking back to source passages [web:6]
- 50 sources per notebook with 500,000-word total capacity [web:6]
- Automatic quiz and flashcard generation for students [web:9]
Pricing: Free (as of February 2026) [web:6][web:9]
Best For: Students reviewing lecture notes, researchers synthesizing papers, professionals analyzing industry reports [web:9]
2. Fireflies.ai — Best for Transcription Accuracy
Fireflies excels in transcription accuracy and conversation intelligence [web:7][web:10]. In direct testing against Otter, Fireflies scored 107 points versus Otter's 82, outperforming in accuracy, automation, and admin controls [web:7]. It joins meetings as a bot on Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, then automatically sends summaries to your team [web:10].
Key Features:
- 100+ language support including real-time translation [web:10]
- Sentiment analysis and keyword tracking (Pro plan) [web:7]
- Speech analytics and question detection [web:7]
- Advanced search across all meeting transcripts [web:10]
- Integrations: Slack, Notion, Salesforce, HubSpot [web:7]
Pricing: Free plan available; Pro plan starts at $10/seat/month (check official pricing for latest rates) [web:7][web:10]
Best For: Teams needing multilingual support, sales professionals tracking client sentiment, managers analyzing team communication patterns [web:10]
3. Otter.ai — Best for Real-Time Collaboration
Otter is known for real-time transcription and collaborative features [web:7][web:9]. Multiple users can highlight, comment, and assign action items during live meetings [web:9]. Otter also offers multi-meeting AI insights, allowing you to analyze trends and themes across multiple conversations—a feature Fireflies currently lacks [web:7].
Key Features:
- Real-time transcription with live collaboration [web:9]
- Multi-meeting AI chat to analyze groups of meetings together [web:7]
- OtterPilot for Sales with automated CRM updates [web:7]
- Language support: English, French, Spanish [web:10]
Pricing: Free plan (300 minutes/month); Pro $16.99/month; Business $30/user/month [web:7]
Best For: Lecture capture for students, teams collaborating in real-time during brainstorming sessions, sales teams syncing notes to CRM [web:9]
4. Jamie AI — Best Bot-Free Experience
Jamie works completely offline and across all meeting platforms without joining as a visible bot [web:2][web:12]. It captures audio directly from your device, making it ideal for sensitive meetings where bot presence would be disruptive or prohibited [web:15]. Jamie supports 20+ languages and generates notes, action items, and summaries automatically [web:12].
Key Features:
- Bot-free: No visible participant in meetings [web:2]
- Works offline and in-person [web:13]
- GDPR compliant with EU server hosting [web:16]
- Custom templates for note formatting [web:15]
- Integrations: Notion, Google Docs, Salesforce, HubSpot [web:12]
Pricing: Free (10 meetings/month, 30 min each); Plus €25/month (20 meetings, 2 hours each); Pro €47/month (unlimited meetings, 3 hours each) [web:12][web:15]
Best For: Privacy-conscious professionals, executives in confidential meetings, consultants who can't use visible bots [web:15]
5. Notion AI — Best All-in-One Workspace
Notion AI integrates directly into your existing Notion workspace, combining note-taking with project management, databases, and wikis [web:6][web:9]. It offers Q&A across your entire workspace, autofill for databases, AI-powered writing assistance, and automated meeting summaries [web:8][web:11].
Key Features:
- Workspace-wide Q&A to search all your notes and docs [web:11]
- Autofill: Summarize meeting notes and generate action items automatically [web:11]
- AI writer for drafting content and refining text [web:8]
- Database creation from natural language prompts [web:11]
Pricing: Notion AI features included in Business plan at $20/user/month (billed annually) [web:11]. Individual AI add-on available for Plus plan users [web:8]
Best For: Teams already using Notion, students mixing study notes with task management, startups centralizing knowledge [web:9]
6. Granola — Best for Personal Control
Granola combines AI transcription with human editing control [web:18][web:21]. Unlike tools that generate static transcripts, Granola lets you edit notes at any point during or after meetings [web:18]. It recently raised $43 million at a $250 million valuation and launched collaborative team features including shared folders and cross-meeting Q&A [web:18].
Key Features:
- Editable AI notes with full user control [web:18]
- Recipes: Repeatable custom prompts for consistent formatting [web:21]
- Team folders for sales calls, customer feedback, hiring [web:18]
- AI chat across all recorded meetings [web:18]
Pricing: Check official website for current pricing (team pricing available) [web:18]
Best For: Professionals who want AI assistance but need manual editing flexibility, teams organizing knowledge by use case [web:18]
7. Supernormal — Best for Summaries
Supernormal specializes in generating concise, actionable meeting summaries with automatic action item extraction [web:17][web:20]. It integrates seamlessly with existing workflows and supports various meeting platforms [web:17]. The tool is designed to save 5–10 minutes per meeting by eliminating manual summarization work [web:20].
Key Features:
- Intelligent summarization highlighting key decisions [web:17]
- Action item extraction with automatic assignment [web:17][web:20]
- Speaker identification for attribution [web:17]
- Searchable and shareable notes [web:17]
Pricing: Check official pricing page for current plans
Best For: Busy managers needing quick post-meeting reviews, distributed teams tracking follow-ups [web:17]
8. Mem — Best AI Thought Partner
Mem positions itself as an "AI thought partner" that captures ideas, meetings, and research, then surfaces them exactly when needed [web:22][web:23]. Voice Mode lets you record brain dumps and watch Mem automatically structure them with audio and transcript attached [web:23]. Mem Chat acts as a personal AI that knows everything in your notes [web:23].
Key Features:
- Voice Mode for hands-free note capture [web:23]
- AI-powered automatic categorization (no manual folders) [web:25]
- Deep semantic search with contextual understanding [web:25]
- Collections for flexible multi-dimensional organization [web:25]
- Cross-platform with offline support [web:25]
Pricing: Check official website for current pricing
Best For: Knowledge workers managing personal research, creatives capturing ideas on the go, professionals building a second brain [web:25]
9. Wave AI — Best for Multi-Speaker Recognition
Wave delivers precise multi-speaker transcription for 30+ languages with real-time text generation [web:26][web:28]. It handles unlimited-length sessions with automatic call-pause detection and runs in the background [web:26]. Wave adds emotion and sentiment analysis to spotlight mood shifts during conversations [web:26].
Key Features:
- Multi-speaker transcription with role recognition [web:26]
- Emotion and sentiment analysis [web:26][web:28]
- Smart summaries with decision and action item extraction [web:26]
- Powerful search with jump-to-audio [web:26]
- Export to PDF, Markdown, plain text [web:28]
Pricing: Check App Store for current pricing
Best For: Focus groups with multiple participants, therapists documenting client sessions, journalists conducting interviews [web:26]
10. Obsidian + AI Plugins — Best for Privacy
Obsidian is a markdown-based note-taking app that stores all files locally [web:27][web:29]. When combined with AI plugins like Copilot, it offers AI assistance without cloud dependency [web:27]. The Obsidian + NotebookLM workflow has become popular: take notes in Obsidian, then export markdown files to NotebookLM for AI analysis and audio overviews [web:29].
Key Features:
- Local-first storage with complete data ownership [web:29]
- Copilot plugin for summarization, translation, custom prompts [web:27]
- Backlinks and graph view for connecting ideas [web:25]
- Markdown export to NotebookLM for AI augmentation [web:29]
Pricing: Obsidian is free; Copilot plugin requires API keys (costs vary by usage) [web:27]
Best For: Privacy-conscious researchers, digital garden builders, technical users comfortable with markdown [web:29]
Pricing Breakdown & Free Trials
| Tool | Free Plan | Paid Plans (Monthly) | Best Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| NotebookLM [web:6][web:9] | Yes (unlimited) | Free (no paid plans yet) | Researchers, students |
| Fireflies [web:7][web:10] | Yes (limited) | Pro ~$10/seat | Multilingual teams |
| Otter [web:7][web:9] | Yes (300 min/month) | Pro $16.99, Business $30/user | Real-time collaboration |
| Jamie [web:12][web:15] | Yes (10 meetings, 30 min) | Plus €25, Pro €47 | Privacy-first professionals |
| Notion AI [web:8][web:11] | Limited AI in free tier | Business $20/user (includes AI) | All-in-one workspace users |
| Granola [web:18] | Check official site | Team pricing available | Editable AI control |
| Supernormal [web:17] | Check official site | Varies by plan | Quick summaries |
| Mem [web:22][web:23] | Check official site | Subscription model | Voice-first capture |
| Wave [web:26] | Check App Store | Mobile app pricing | Multi-speaker analysis |
| Obsidian + Copilot [web:27] | Obsidian free | API costs for Copilot | Privacy, local storage |
How to Choose the Right AI Note-Taking Tool
Choosing the best tool depends on your specific workflow and priorities. Use this decision framework [web:2][web:3][web:6]:
By Use Case
- Students: NotebookLM (free, grounded research) + Notion AI (study task management) [web:9]
- Sales Teams: Fireflies (CRM integration, sentiment tracking) or Otter (multi-meeting insights) [web:7][web:10]
- Privacy-Conscious Professionals: Jamie (bot-free) or Obsidian (local storage) [web:15][web:29]
- Researchers: NotebookLM (audio overviews, grounded Q&A) [web:6][web:9]
- Remote Teams: Otter (real-time collaboration) or Supernormal (quick summaries) [web:9][web:17]
- Multilingual Organizations: Fireflies (100+ languages) [web:10]
By Budget
- $0/month: NotebookLM (unlimited) or free tiers of Otter, Fireflies, Jamie [web:6][web:9]
- Under $20/month: Fireflies Pro, Otter Pro, Jamie Plus [web:7][web:12]
- $20–50/month: Notion AI Business, Jamie Pro, Otter Business [web:11][web:12]
- Enterprise: All tools offer custom enterprise pricing with SSO, admin controls, and dedicated support [web:12]
By Privacy Model
- Cloud-based with bot: Fireflies, Otter, Supernormal [web:7][web:10][web:17]
- Bot-free cloud: Jamie (records locally, syncs encrypted) [web:15]
- Fully local: Obsidian + Copilot (data never leaves your device) [web:27][web:29]
- Grounded AI: NotebookLM (doesn't train on your data, Google's privacy policy applies) [web:6]
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Fireflies and Otter?
Can I use these tools for in-person meetings?
Are these tools GDPR compliant?
Do these apps work with my calendar?
Can I edit AI-generated notes?
What's the best free AI note-taking app?
How accurate are AI transcriptions in 2026?
Sources & Further Reading
- Jamie AI: We Tried the Best 7 AI Note Taker Apps in 2026 [web:2]
- 14 Best AI Note-Taking Apps Reviewed in 2026 [web:3]
- 8 Best AI Note-Taking Apps in 2026 (Tested + Ranked) [web:6]
- Fireflies.ai vs Otter: Battle for the Best AI Notetaker [web:7]
- How Much Does Notion AI Cost? Complete Pricing Guide [web:8]
- The 10 Best AI Note Takers in 2026 (For Students) [web:9]
- Wrap-up: Fireflies AI vs Otter AI [web:10]
- Jamie AI Official Pricing [web:12]
- TechCrunch: AI Notetaking App Granola Raises $43M [web:18]
- The Future of Meetings: AI Notes with Supernormal [web:17]
