15 Best AI Meeting Assistants in 2026 (Tested and Compared)

What to look for in an AI meeting assistant

Before diving into individual tools, here are the six criteria that matter most when choosing an AI meeting assistant.

Transcription accuracy: The foundation of any meeting tool. Look for tools that handle multiple speakers, accents, and background noise well. Accuracy above 95% for clear audio is the baseline.

AI summary quality: Raw transcripts aren't useful. The best tools produce structured summaries with decisions, action items, and key discussion points, not just condensed versions of the transcript.

In-person meeting support: Most tools only work with virtual meetings (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams). If your team meets in conference rooms, this is a critical filter.

Language support: International teams need tools that handle multiple languages for both transcription and summarization. The range varies from English-only to 50+ languages.

Pricing: Costs range from free to $100+/user/month. Consider per-user pricing, feature gates between tiers, and whether the free plan is genuinely usable.

Data privacy: Where is your meeting data stored and processed? For EU organizations, GDPR compliance and EU data residency may be requirements.

1. Menutes: best overall for in-person meetings and EU teams

Menutes stands out as the only major AI meeting assistant built specifically for in-person meetings. It records audio from any device microphone and produces structured meeting minutes with decisions, action items, and speaker identification. All data is processed on EU infrastructure.

What we liked: In-person meeting recording is genuinely excellent. The speaker identification works well even in room settings with overlapping voices. AI summaries are structured and professional, ready to share without editing. 50+ language support covers virtually any team. EU data hosting is a genuine differentiator, not a marketing claim.

What could be better: No CRM integrations (email sharing only). No video clip features. The tool is focused on documentation, not meeting analytics or engagement scoring.

Pricing: Free (5 hrs/month, 30-day history), Premium €9/month, Team €9/user/month.

Best for: Teams that hold in-person meetings, European organizations needing GDPR compliance, multilingual teams, budget-conscious organizations.

2. Otter.ai: best for real-time collaborative transcription

Otter.ai is one of the most recognizable names in meeting transcription. Its strength is real-time collaborative features that let team members interact with the transcript as it's being generated.

What we liked: The real-time collaboration features are genuinely useful for active meetings where multiple people are tracking different aspects. OtterPilot delivers fast AI summaries. The mobile app is polished for on-the-go review.

What could be better: No in-person meeting support. All data hosted in the US. The bot joins meetings as a visible participant. Pricing gets expensive for teams ($20/user/month for Business). Free tier is limited to 600 minutes/month.

Pricing: Free (600 min/month), Pro $16.99/month, Business $20/user/month.

Best for: Teams that want real-time transcript interaction, accessibility-focused organizations needing live captions.

3. Fireflies.ai: best for CRM integration and sales teams

Fireflies.ai has built the deepest integration ecosystem among meeting transcription tools. Its native connections to Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Notion, and dozens of other tools make it the default choice for sales-centric organizations.

What we liked: CRM integrations are genuinely robust, with automatic sync of meeting notes, action items, and conversation highlights. AskFred AI search across your entire meeting history is powerful. Conversation intelligence features (topic tracking, sentiment, talk-time ratios) are useful for sales coaching.

What could be better: No in-person meeting support. Bot joins meetings as a visible participant. US-only data hosting. Expensive for large teams ($29/user/month for Business). The feature set can feel overwhelming for non-sales use cases.

Pricing: Free (limited credits), Pro $18/user/month, Business $29/user/month.

Best for: Sales teams needing CRM push, revenue operations, organizations building a searchable meeting knowledge base.

4. tl;dv: best free plan with video highlights

tl;dv has earned a strong reputation for its generous free plan and video-first approach to meeting documentation. It lets you create shareable video clips from meeting recordings.

What we liked: The free plan is genuinely generous with unlimited recordings. Video highlight clips are a unique feature that works well for sharing customer feedback or key moments with stakeholders. The interface is clean and approachable.

What could be better: No in-person meeting support. Bot joins meetings. Data processed outside the EU. Team features are locked behind paid plans ($25/user/month). The video-first approach doesn't suit teams that prefer text-based documentation.

Pricing: Free (unlimited recordings), Pro $25/user/month, Enterprise custom.

Best for: Teams on tight budgets, organizations that value video sharing, customer research teams.

5. Fathom: best free option for individual Zoom users

Fathom offers what might be the simplest meeting transcription experience: unlimited free summaries for Zoom calls with a clean interface that stays out of your way.

What we liked: Truly unlimited free plan for individual Zoom users. Summaries are clean and actionable with highlighted key points. The simplicity is refreshing compared to enterprise tools. No bot joining the meeting.

What could be better: Primarily Zoom-only. No in-person recording. Team plans are expensive ($32/user/month). Limited Google Meet and Teams support. No CRM integrations on the free plan.

Pricing: Free (unlimited individual Zoom), Team $32/user/month.

Best for: Individual Zoom power users, people who want simple meeting summaries without enterprise complexity.

6. Read AI: best for meeting engagement analytics

Read AI adds a data analytics layer to meeting transcription. Beyond summaries, it provides engagement scores, sentiment analysis, and meeting quality metrics.

What we liked: Engagement scoring gives managers data about meeting effectiveness. Sentiment analysis offers directional insights on meeting tone. Meeting quality reports help identify which recurring meetings need restructuring.

What could be better: No in-person recording. US-based data hosting. Engagement metrics are approximations. Pro starts at $19.75/user/month. The analytics focus may feel invasive in some team cultures.

Pricing: Free (limited), Pro $19.75/user/month, Enterprise custom.

Best for: Teams focused on improving meeting culture through data, managers who want to measure meeting effectiveness.

7. Fellow: best for meeting management and agendas

Fellow takes a lifecycle approach to meetings, covering preparation (agendas), execution (collaborative notes), and follow-through (action item tracking). Transcription is a feature, not the core product.

What we liked: Agenda builder with templates helps teams prepare for meetings. Action item tracking with assignments and due dates is well-designed. One-on-one meeting templates are thoughtful for manager workflows.

What could be better: AI transcription is supplementary, not core. No in-person recording. Primarily English. Meeting management features add complexity if you just want transcription.

Pricing: Free (up to 10 users, limited features), Pro $7/user/month, Business $10/user/month.

Best for: Teams that need meeting process improvement, managers running structured one-on-ones.

8. Avoma: best for revenue intelligence

Avoma is a premium revenue intelligence platform that combines meeting transcription with deal tracking, coaching scorecards, and pipeline analytics.

What we liked: Deal intelligence connects meeting insights to revenue outcomes. Coaching scorecards let managers evaluate rep performance systematically. Topic tracking across meetings identifies patterns in customer conversations.

What could be better: Very expensive ($49/user/month minimum). No in-person recording. US-based data hosting. No free plan. Overkill for non-sales teams.

Pricing: Starter $49/user/month, Business $79/user/month, Enterprise custom.

Best for: Enterprise sales organizations, revenue operations teams, companies with formal sales coaching programs.

9. Grain: best for video-first meeting documentation

Grain's unique angle is creating and sharing video highlights from meetings. If your team communicates through video rather than text, Grain's clip-based approach is compelling.

What we liked: Video clips capture tone and context that text summaries miss. Highlight reels combine multiple clips into shareable briefings. The workflow is intuitive for video-native teams.

What could be better: No in-person recording. English-focused. Bot joins meetings. Less suited for teams that need formal text-based documentation.

Pricing: Free (limited), Business $19/user/month, Enterprise custom.

Best for: Customer research teams, sales teams sharing call highlights, video-first organizations.

10. Jamie: best for on-device privacy

Jamie processes meeting audio locally on your computer, offering the strongest privacy guarantees in this category. Audio never leaves your device.

What we liked: On-device processing is a genuine privacy differentiator. Works with any audio source without platform integrations. No bot joining meetings. Simple setup.

What could be better: Requires sufficient local computing power. Limited language support (15+ languages). Starts at €24/month. Limited team features. No shared meeting library.

Pricing: Free (limited), Pro €24/month, Teams €49/month.

Best for: Privacy-conscious individuals, organizations with strict data governance, freelancers.

11. Krisp: best noise cancellation with transcription

Krisp made its name with AI noise cancellation and has expanded into meeting transcription. It works as a virtual audio layer between your microphone and meeting app.

What we liked: Noise cancellation is genuinely industry-leading. The virtual microphone approach works with any meeting platform. Background noise reduction improves transcription accuracy in noisy environments.

What could be better: Transcription and summarization are newer features, less mature than dedicated tools. No in-person meeting optimization. Team features are limited.

Pricing: Free (limited), Pro $8/month, Enterprise custom.

Best for: People working from noisy environments (cafes, open offices), teams that need noise cancellation alongside transcription.

12. Tactiq: best browser-based transcription

Tactiq is a Chrome extension that transcribes Google Meet and Zoom calls directly in your browser without requiring a separate app or bot.

What we liked: Browser-based approach means no app installation. Works as a Chrome extension with minimal setup. Transcripts can be exported to Google Docs, Notion, and other tools.

What could be better: Chrome-only. Limited AI summary features compared to dedicated tools. No in-person recording. Less polished than standalone applications.

Pricing: Free (limited), Pro $12/month, Team $20/user/month.

Best for: Chrome users wanting lightweight transcription, people who prefer browser extensions over standalone apps.

13. Supernormal: best for simple automated notes

Supernormal focuses on generating simple, clean meeting notes without the complexity of enterprise meeting intelligence platforms.

What we liked: Notes are clean and easy to scan. The interface is simple. Good integration with Google Calendar. Fast note generation.

What could be better: Less detailed than tools with full transcription. No in-person recording. Limited language support. Smaller user base means fewer reviews and community resources.

Pricing: Free (limited), Pro $24/user/month, Business custom.

Best for: Teams that want simple automated notes without full transcription.

14. MeetGeek: best for meeting analytics dashboards

MeetGeek combines transcription with meeting analytics, providing dashboards that track your meeting patterns, time allocation, and key topics over time.

What we liked: Meeting analytics dashboards provide useful insights about where your time goes. KPI tracking across meetings helps identify trends. Integration with project management tools.

What could be better: No in-person recording. Analytics are useful but not essential for most teams. Pricing is mid-range but adds up for larger teams.

Pricing: Free (limited), Pro $19/user/month, Enterprise custom.

Best for: Data-driven teams that want to track meeting patterns, managers optimizing team time allocation.

15. Sembly AI: best for task management integration

Sembly AI extracts tasks and commitments from meetings and integrates them with project management tools like Jira, Asana, and Trello.

What we liked: Task extraction and project management integration is well-executed. Meeting insights are organized by team and project. Good support for recurring meeting series.

What could be better: No in-person recording. Less focused on transcription accuracy than dedicated tools. Smaller market presence.

Pricing: Free (limited), Professional $15/user/month, Enterprise custom.

Best for: Project-driven teams using Jira or Asana, organizations where meeting action items feed directly into project management workflows.

Feature comparison table

Here's a summary of how all 15 tools compare across the key decision criteria.

How to choose the right AI meeting assistant

With 15 options on the table, here's a decision framework based on your primary need.

You hold in-person meetings: Menutes. It's the only tool on this list that records face-to-face meetings natively.

You need GDPR compliance with EU hosting: Menutes. No other cloud-based tool on this list offers EU data residency.

You need CRM integration for sales: Fireflies.ai for mid-market, Avoma for enterprise revenue intelligence.

You want the best free plan: tl;dv for video-centric documentation, Fathom for simple Zoom summaries, Menutes for in-person + virtual coverage.

You want meeting process improvement: Fellow for agendas and workflows, Read AI for engagement analytics.

You want maximum privacy: Jamie for on-device processing.

You want the simplest option: Fathom for Zoom, Supernormal for basic notes.

You need the cheapest team plan: Menutes at €9/user/month or Fellow at $7/user/month.

For most teams looking for a versatile, affordable, and privacy-respecting meeting assistant that covers both in-person and virtual meetings, Menutes provides the strongest all-around value.

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