Roundup · Meetings

The best AI meeting note taker for UK small businesses (2026)

Published 19 October 2026 · Checked 19 October 2026, prices change

How we research: this guide is based on each vendor’s official pricing pages, help centre and privacy documentation, and official GOV.UK and regulator pages, read on 19 October 2026. We haven’t tested these tools hands-on for this page, and we haven’t been paid to include any tool. Where a vendor doesn’t publish something, we say “not stated”. Checked 19 October 2026, prices change.

An AI meeting note taker records or listens to your Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet calls, writes a transcript and turns it into a summary with action points. Four tools come up again and again for small businesses: Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Fathom and Granola. They differ most on what the free plan allows, the price per person, whether a bot joins the call, and what happens to your recordings. Here’s how they compare, from each vendor’s own pages.

Our verdict

Fathom for a free start, Otter.ai for the cheapest paid plan

On a free plan, start with Fathom: its Free plan lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions with instant AI summaries. If you need a paid plan for one person, Otter Pro was the cheapest we found at US$8.33 a month billed annually. See Fathom pricing ↗

Don’t want a bot in the call? Granola transcribes your device’s audio and never joins as a bot, with a free Basic plan that keeps 30 days of history. Notes need to flow into a CRM or other apps? Fireflies.ai is built for that, and says it doesn’t train AI on meeting data.

Otter vs Fireflies vs Fathom vs Granola at a glance

	Otter.ai	Fireflies.ai	Fathom	Granola
Free plan	Basic: 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation	Free: transcription listed as unlimited (with a footnote), limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team	Free: unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI summaries	Basic: AI meeting notes with 30 days of meeting history
Cheapest paid plan	Pro: US$8.33 per user a month billed annually (US$16.99 monthly)	Pro: US$10 per seat a month billed annually (US$18 monthly)	Premium: US$16 a month billed annually (US$20 monthly); Team US$15 per user a month billed annually, 2 users minimum	Business: US$14 per user a month
Joins as a bot?	Yes (desktop app records without one)	Yes (Chrome extension and desktop app options)	Choice of bot or bot-free capture (bot-free in beta, Mac)	No, it captures your device’s audio
Used to train AI?	Trains its own AI on de-identified audio and transcripts	Says meeting data isn’t used for AI training	Uses de-identified data to improve its own models unless you opt out	Opt out of model training at any time
Where data is stored	AWS, US West region	US by default	United States	Not stated on the pricing page

Prices as shown in US dollars on otter.ai/pricing and fireflies.ai/pricing (checked 18 October 2026, see our Otter vs Fireflies comparison), and on fathom.ai/pricing and granola.ai/pricing (checked 19 October 2026). VAT: none of the four shows a pound price or says on these pages whether UK VAT is included, so check the total at checkout. UK VAT at the standard rate is 20% (GOV.UK). Because prices are in dollars, the pound cost moves with the exchange rate.

1. Fathom: the most generous free plan

Fathom’s Free plan, which it describes as “free forever”, lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI call summaries, clips and search across calls, and a choice of bot-free capture (a beta feature for Mac) or a meeting bot (Fathom pricing). Paid plans add advanced summaries, AI-generated action items and a meeting assistant: Premium is US$16 a month billed annually (US$20 monthly) for one person, Team is US$15 per user a month billed annually (US$19 monthly) with a 2-user minimum, and Business is US$25 per user a month billed annually (US$34 monthly) with CRM field sync.

Fathom says all its data is stored in the United States, that it will sign a data processing agreement for UK and EU users, and that its AI sub-processors (Anthropic, OpenAI and Google) aren’t contractually permitted to train on users’ data. It does use de-identified customer data to improve its own AI models; you can opt out in your settings, and Team Edition admins can opt out everyone (Fathom: Is Fathom secure?).

Pick Fathom if…

You want unlimited free notes for your own calls.
You’d like the option of bot-free capture on a Mac.
You’re happy to switch off model training in settings.

2. Otter.ai: cheapest paid plan for one person

Otter’s free Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes a month but caps each conversation at 30 minutes, which rules it out for most client meetings. Pro is US$8.33 per user a month billed annually, or US$16.99 monthly (Otter pricing). Otter’s help centre says it stores data with AWS in the US West region (Otter data security), and its privacy policy says it trains its own AI on de-identified audio recordings and transcripts (Otter privacy policy). Our step-by-step Otter set-up guide covers the settings.

Pick Otter if…

You need a low-cost paid plan for one or two people.
You want live transcripts during the call.

3. Fireflies.ai: when notes need to go into other tools

Fireflies’ Free plan lists transcription as unlimited (with a footnote mark), but limits AI summaries and stores only 400 minutes per team. Pro is US$10 per seat a month billed annually, or US$18 monthly (Fireflies pricing). Fireflies stores and processes data in the US by default, and says customer meeting data is not used for AI training (Fireflies data storage).

Pick Fireflies if…

Meeting notes need to flow into your CRM or other apps.
You want a vendor that says it doesn’t train AI on meeting data.

4. Granola: no bot in the call

Granola transcribes the audio on your own device, so no bot joins the meeting, and it has desktop, iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps (Granola pricing). Basic is US$0 with 30 days of meeting history; Business is US$14 per user a month with unlimited history and integrations such as Notion, HubSpot and Zapier; Enterprise is US$35 per user a month. Granola’s pricing page says audio is deleted after transcription, a data processing agreement is available on every plan, and you can opt out of model training at any time. Where it stores data is not stated on the pricing page.

Pick Granola if…

Clients don’t like a bot joining the call.
You mainly want your own notes, enhanced, rather than a shared recording.

UK privacy note: tell people before you record

A meeting recording and transcript are personal data. Tell everyone before you record or transcribe, have a lawful basis (the ICO’s lawful basis guidance explains the options), use a provider under a data processing agreement and set how long recordings are kept. All four tools store data outside the UK or don’t state where, so read the ICO guidance on international transfers. Keep sensitive conversations, such as health, HR or legal matters, out of AI note takers unless you’ve checked the tool. This is general information, not legal advice.

FAQ

What’s the best free AI meeting note taker in the UK?

On the vendors’ own pricing pages, Fathom has the most generous free plan: unlimited recordings and transcriptions with instant AI summaries. Otter Basic gives 300 minutes a month but caps each conversation at 30 minutes, Fireflies Free limits AI summaries and storage, and Granola Basic keeps 30 days of meeting history.

Which AI note taker is cheapest?

For one person, Otter Pro at US$8.33 a month billed annually was the cheapest paid plan we found. Fireflies Pro is US$10 per seat billed annually, Granola Business US$14 per user a month, and Fathom Premium US$16 a month billed annually. All four price in US dollars.

Is there an AI note taker that doesn’t join the call as a bot?

Yes. Granola captures your device’s audio and never joins as a bot. Fathom offers bot-free capture as a beta feature for Mac, Otter’s desktop app can record without a bot, and Fireflies has a Chrome extension and desktop app. Tell people you’re transcribing either way.

Do these tools store data in the UK?

No UK storage is stated. Otter uses AWS in the US West region, Fireflies stores and processes data in the US by default, and Fathom says all its data is stored in the United States. Granola’s pricing page doesn’t say where data is stored.

Do AI note takers use my meetings to train AI?

It varies. Otter trains its own AI on de-identified recordings and transcripts. Fathom uses de-identified data to improve its own models unless you opt out. Fireflies says meeting data isn’t used for AI training. Granola lets you opt out of model training at any time.

Have you tested these tools?

No. This roundup is based on each vendor’s official pricing pages and documentation, checked on 18 and 19 October 2026. Prices change, so check the vendor’s page before you buy.

Sources

Official pages read on 19 October 2026. Checked 19 October 2026, prices change — always check the vendor’s own page before you buy.