Unlimited transcription on a free plan
No monthly minute meter, but check storage, retention and export limits before relying on the recordings.
Independent desk-research guide
Free AI meeting notes and transcription
Three tools allow unlimited transcription on a lasting free plan, but each limits storage, exports or AI queries. The rest meter minutes or meetings per month, and one is a trial rather than a free plan.
Quick answer
For unlimited transcription on a lasting free plan, Fathom and tl;dv are the clearest choices; Fireflies also records without a monthly minute cap but stores 400 minutes per seat. Otter (300 minutes a month, max 30 minutes per meeting) and MeetGeek (3 hours a month) fit occasional meetings. Read AI (5 meetings a month) and Notta (120 minutes a month, max 3 minutes per recording) are tighter, and Sembly is a free trial with a monthly allowance.
Free plans at a glance
Limits below are from official pages checked on 2026-11-02. “Not verified” means the official page did not publish the detail.
| Tool | Free plan | Free transcription allowance | Other free limits | Signup | Languages and platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai | Free plan | The Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes per month, shared across all transcription types at 300 minutes per user, with a maximum of 30 minutes per conversation. | History keeps the 25 most recent conversations, imports are limited to 3 lifetime per user, AI Chat is 20 per user and 3 per conversation, exports are limited to mp3 and txt, and only one meeting can run at a time. | Required | Transcribes English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese, with web and iOS/Android recording, Mac and Windows apps, Google Meet live notes and Zoom, Teams and Meet integrations. |
| Fireflies.ai | Free plan | Auto-join allows unlimited transcriptions on the Free plan, and each seat gets 400 minutes of storage, counted as total stored meeting minutes rather than per month, plus 20 AI credits per month. | Downloading transcripts requires a paid plan, uploaded files must be under 100 MB and 150 minutes and use one credit each, and sign-in is only possible with Google or Outlook. | Required | Transcribes in over 100 languages and lists 50+ integrations across video conferencing, CRMs and dialers, plus a Chrome extension, mobile app and desktop app. |
| Fathom | Free plan | The Free plan gives unlimited recordings and transcriptions with instant AI call summaries. | Advanced summaries and single-call search are marked "limited use", AI action items and account-wide Ask Fathom are paid features, and team collaboration is not part of Free. | Required | Captures Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls, offers bot-free capture as a Mac beta and links to an iOS app; the pricing page does not list transcription languages. |
| tl;dv | Free plan | The Free plan includes unlimited video recordings and unlimited transcription, with 10 meetings of AI notes and 10 Ask AI queries included per month. | Recordings made by Free users are automatically deleted after 3 months, Free users can create at most 4 clips, and only email and calendar integrations are included. | Required | Unlimited transcription in 30+ languages on the Free plan, plus iOS and Android apps and email and calendar integrations. |
| Read AI | Free plan | The Free plan gives 5 meetings per month with summaries, transcription and search, listed as 5 meeting transcripts per month. | Only basic integrations are included, uploads are not included, and the maximum meeting length is 1 hour. | Required | Supports Zoom, Teams and Meet in 20+ languages, with a web extension and Android, iOS, Windows and macOS apps. |
| Notta | Free plan | The Free plan gives 120 transcription minutes per month, capped at 3 minutes per conversation, plus 50 file uploads per month. | Includes 10 AI summaries per month, 1 seat, 3 custom vocabulary entries and 5 custom AI templates; the quota does not carry over and exporting transcripts is a Pro feature. | Required | Transcribes meetings in Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex and Slack, with a Chrome extension plus web and mobile apps; the pricing page does not state transcription languages. |
| MeetGeek | Free plan | The Basic plan is free and gives 3 hours of transcription per month. | Transcripts are stored for 3 months and audio for 1 month, a meeting can run at most 2 hours, and the comparison table excludes downloads, AI Chat and Zapier, Make or n8n on Free. | Required | Transcribes in 100+ languages with automatic language detection and records Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other calls, with mobile, Chrome extension and desktop apps. |
| Sembly AI | Free trial | The Free Trial plan covers 1 meeting hour per user per month and includes 750 credits per user each month. | Meeting, chat and artifact history are kept for 2 months, integrations are limited to 3 per user, the plan allows 1 user, and video capture is not included. | Required | Paid plans list unlimited capture and transcription in 45+ languages; the plan table lists Google Meet, Teams, Zoom and Webex support plus calendar sync and Zapier. |
Choose by meeting workflow
Start with the job you need to finish, then check the free limit that would interrupt it.
Tool notes
Use these notes to shortlist a tool; confirm the current limit on its official page before relying on it.
Otter.ai
Free planBest for
Live meeting notes with a familiar transcript view and a monthly minute pool.
Consider something else when
Long or frequent meetings: each conversation is capped at 30 minutes and the pool is 300 minutes a month.
- Free transcription allowance
- The Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes per month, shared across all transcription types at 300 minutes per user, with a maximum of 30 minutes per conversation.
- Other free limits
- History keeps the 25 most recent conversations, imports are limited to 3 lifetime per user, AI Chat is 20 per user and 3 per conversation, exports are limited to mp3 and txt, and only one meeting can run at a time.
- Signup
- Required
- Languages and platforms
- Transcribes English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese, with web and iOS/Android recording, Mac and Windows apps, Google Meet live notes and Zoom, Teams and Meet integrations.
Fireflies.ai
Free planBest for
Capturing meetings automatically without a monthly transcription-minute cap.
Consider something else when
Downloading transcripts: that is a paid feature, and stored minutes are capped at 400 per seat.
- Free transcription allowance
- Auto-join allows unlimited transcriptions on the Free plan, and each seat gets 400 minutes of storage, counted as total stored meeting minutes rather than per month, plus 20 AI credits per month.
- Other free limits
- Downloading transcripts requires a paid plan, uploaded files must be under 100 MB and 150 minutes and use one credit each, and sign-in is only possible with Google or Outlook.
- Signup
- Required
- Languages and platforms
- Transcribes in over 100 languages and lists 50+ integrations across video conferencing, CRMs and dialers, plus a Chrome extension, mobile app and desktop app.
Fathom
Free planBest for
Unlimited recordings, transcripts and instant summaries on a lasting free plan.
Consider something else when
Advanced summaries, account-wide search and team features, which the pricing page marks as limited or paid.
- Free transcription allowance
- The Free plan gives unlimited recordings and transcriptions with instant AI call summaries.
- Other free limits
- Advanced summaries and single-call search are marked "limited use", AI action items and account-wide Ask Fathom are paid features, and team collaboration is not part of Free.
- Signup
- Required
- Languages and platforms
- Captures Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls, offers bot-free capture as a Mac beta and links to an iOS app; the pricing page does not list transcription languages.
tl;dv
Free planBest for
Unlimited transcription in 30+ languages with timestamped AI notes.
Consider something else when
Keeping recordings long-term: Free recordings are deleted after 3 months, and AI notes are capped at 10 meetings a month.
- Free transcription allowance
- The Free plan includes unlimited video recordings and unlimited transcription, with 10 meetings of AI notes and 10 Ask AI queries included per month.
- Other free limits
- Recordings made by Free users are automatically deleted after 3 months, Free users can create at most 4 clips, and only email and calendar integrations are included.
- Signup
- Required
- Languages and platforms
- Unlimited transcription in 30+ languages on the Free plan, plus iOS and Android apps and email and calendar integrations.
Read AI
Free planBest for
A quick summary-and-search layer on a handful of meetings each month.
Consider something else when
Regular meeting schedules: the free plan covers 5 meetings a month and caps each meeting at one hour.
- Free transcription allowance
- The Free plan gives 5 meetings per month with summaries, transcription and search, listed as 5 meeting transcripts per month.
- Other free limits
- Only basic integrations are included, uploads are not included, and the maximum meeting length is 1 hour.
- Signup
- Required
- Languages and platforms
- Supports Zoom, Teams and Meet in 20+ languages, with a web extension and Android, iOS, Windows and macOS apps.
Notta
Free planBest for
Short interviews and voice memos with a simple upload workflow.
Consider something else when
Full-length meetings: each free conversation is capped at 3 minutes, and transcript export is paid.
- Free transcription allowance
- The Free plan gives 120 transcription minutes per month, capped at 3 minutes per conversation, plus 50 file uploads per month.
- Other free limits
- Includes 10 AI summaries per month, 1 seat, 3 custom vocabulary entries and 5 custom AI templates; the quota does not carry over and exporting transcripts is a Pro feature.
- Signup
- Required
- Languages and platforms
- Transcribes meetings in Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex and Slack, with a Chrome extension plus web and mobile apps; the pricing page does not state transcription languages.
MeetGeek
Free planBest for
Occasional meetings in many languages, with automatic language detection.
Consider something else when
Downloading transcripts or building automations: both are listed as paid features.
- Free transcription allowance
- The Basic plan is free and gives 3 hours of transcription per month.
- Other free limits
- Transcripts are stored for 3 months and audio for 1 month, a meeting can run at most 2 hours, and the comparison table excludes downloads, AI Chat and Zapier, Make or n8n on Free.
- Signup
- Required
- Languages and platforms
- Transcribes in 100+ languages with automatic language detection and records Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other calls, with mobile, Chrome extension and desktop apps.
Sembly AI
Free trialBest for
Trying AI meeting notes and slide-style reports before committing to a plan.
Consider something else when
A lasting free tier: the plan is a free trial capped at one meeting hour per user per month.
- Free transcription allowance
- The Free Trial plan covers 1 meeting hour per user per month and includes 750 credits per user each month.
- Other free limits
- Meeting, chat and artifact history are kept for 2 months, integrations are limited to 3 per user, the plan allows 1 user, and video capture is not included.
- Signup
- Required
- Languages and platforms
- Paid plans list unlimited capture and transcription in 45+ languages; the plan table lists Google Meet, Teams, Zoom and Webex support plus calendar sync and Zapier.
Common questions
Is any meeting-notes tool really unlimited on the free plan?
Fathom lists unlimited recordings, transcripts and instant summaries; tl;dv lists unlimited recording and transcription; Fireflies lists unlimited auto-join transcriptions. The limits move elsewhere: Fireflies stores 400 minutes per seat, tl;dv deletes Free recordings after 3 months, and Fathom marks advanced summaries and account-wide search as limited or paid.
Which free plan lets me download the transcript?
Otter exports mp3 and txt on the free plan. Fireflies and Notta list transcript downloads or exports as paid features, and MeetGeek lists no downloads on Free. Fathom, Read AI and Sembly do not state free-plan export rules on the pages checked here, and the 4-clip limit on tl;dv applies to clips rather than transcripts.
What happens when the monthly allowance runs out?
Each plan lists a fixed allowance and Notta states that unused quota does not carry over. Otter gives 300 minutes, MeetGeek 3 hours, Notta 120 minutes and Read AI 5 meetings. Sembly lists 1 meeting hour per user per month without a published end date.
Which free plans transcribe languages other than English?
Otter lists Chinese among six languages. Fireflies lists 100+, MeetGeek 100+ with automatic detection and tl;dv 30+; Read AI lists 20+ and Sembly 45+ on paid plans, but a language count does not confirm Chinese. Fathom and Notta do not publish a language list on the pages checked, so treat their support as unverified.