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Quick verdict: I ran the same recorded meeting through three AI note takers on their free plans. The best AI note taker overall was Fireflies (4.5/5): accurate English notes, a meeting bot for Zoom, Meet and Teams, and good summaries. Notta (4.4/5) was the only one that handled Urdu properly and has the cheapest paid plan. Otter (4.0/5) has the most generous free plan for English, but it made the most mistakes in my test and doesn’t support Hindi or Urdu.
Best overall: Fireflies · Best for Urdu and Hindi: Notta · Best free plan for English: Otter
Most lists of the best AI note taker are written from feature pages. I did it the slow way: I recorded one test meeting with names, dates, a budget and tasks, plus lines in Hindi and Urdu, and gave exactly the same audio to Fireflies, Notta and Otter on their free plans in October 2026. Below are the results, the free plan traps I found, and which tool fits which kind of user. Prices were checked on each official pricing page and are dated.
Best AI note taker: quick comparison
| Fireflies | Notta | Otter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| My score | 4.5/5 | 4.4/5 | 4.0/5 |
| English accuracy | Very good | Very good | Weaker ($250 became “two $50”) |
| Hindi | Perfect | Perfect | Not supported |
| Urdu | Urdu script, half missing | Urdu script, complete | Not supported |
| Summary in Hindi/Urdu | No | Yes | No |
| Joins live meetings | Yes (Zoom, Meet, Teams) | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | 3 meetings, or unlimited with join-all/share-all | 120 min/month, 3 min per recording | 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation |
| Free download | No | No | Yes (mp3, txt) |
| Cheapest paid plan | $10/month yearly | $8.17/month yearly | $8.33/month yearly |
Scores from my own tests (Fireflies and Otter on 16 October 2026, Notta on 19 and 21 October 2026). Prices checked on the official pricing pages: Fireflies and Otter on 16 October 2026, Notta on 21 October 2026.
How I tested these AI note takers
- Test audio
- My own recordings: a 1:15 English meeting script, a 12-second Hindi line and a 13-second Urdu line
- English script
- Three agenda items, the website launch on November 15, a budget of $250, Ali writing two reviews by Friday, Ahmed sending a report by 5 PM, the next meeting on Monday at 10:30, and the tool names Fireflies and Otter
- Extra
- One mixed Roman Urdu line and some free talk in Urdu/Hindi, to see how each tool handles the way we really speak
- Plans
- Free plans only, no credit card
Every tool got the same files, uploaded with the language picked by hand. I then checked the transcript word by word, read the AI summary and asked each tool’s AI assistant two questions about the meeting.
1. Fireflies: the best AI note taker overall
My score: 4.5/5. Fireflies got almost all of my English script right: $250, 10:30 and November 15 were correct, and the summary had clear sections. Its AI assistant, AskFred, answered questions about the meeting. It also has the strongest meeting bot of the three, joining Zoom, Google Meet and Teams on the free plan.
Where it slipped: it dropped the name “Ahmed”, wrote “taste fireflies and water” instead of “test Fireflies and Otter”, lost most of my mixed Roman Urdu line, and turned my free Urdu/Hindi talk into gibberish. Hindi was perfect, and Urdu came out in Urdu script, but only one of my two repetitions. It could not make a summary in Hindi or Urdu.
Free plan trap: Fireflies advertises “unlimited transcription” on free, but only if you let the bot join all your calendar meetings and share the notes with everyone invited. With that switched off, my dashboard showed 3 free meetings. Downloads also need a paid plan.
Best for: English-speaking teams who want a bot in every meeting and searchable notes. Full details in my Fireflies AI review.
2. Notta: the best AI note taker for Urdu and Hindi
My score: 4.4/5. Notta was the only tool that wrote my Urdu recording in proper Urdu script, both lines, word for word. Hindi was perfect too. In English it got the dates, $250, the 5 PM deadline and Monday 10:30 right, and it handled my mixed Urdu-Hindi talk far better than Fireflies.
Its AI summary follows the transcript language, so it made clean meeting minutes in Hindi, and its AI assistant, Notta Brain, wrote the action items in Urdu script when I asked in Roman Urdu.
Where it slipped: “Ahmed” became “Amal”, then “ML”, and “Otter” became “water”. The free plan stops at 3 minutes per recording and blocks exports. Its two-language (bilingual) mode has Hindi but not Urdu. Also note that Trustpilot currently hides Notta’s rating and recent reviews complain about charges after trials, so be careful with the trial offers.
Best for: Pakistani and Indian users, students, and anyone who mixes Urdu, Hindi and English. Full details in my Notta AI review.
3. Otter: the most generous free plan for English
My score: 4.0/5. Otter’s free Basic plan gives you 300 minutes a month, up to 30 minutes per conversation, and, unlike the other two, it let me download the transcript, summary and audio for free. November 15, 10:30 and “launch on” were transcribed correctly.
Where it slipped: it made the most mistakes of the three. “$250” became “two $50”, “Ahmed” became “Emma”, and its summary said the budget was $50 while its own AI Chat said $250. The action items list was empty. Otter supports only six languages, with no Hindi or Urdu, so my Hindi and Urdu lines came out as rough Roman-letter phonetics.
Best for: English-only users who want the most free minutes and free exports. Full details in my Otter AI review.
AI note taker free plans compared
| Free plan | Fireflies | Notta | Otter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes | 3 meetings (unlimited only with join-all + share-all) | 120 min/month | 300 min/month |
| Per recording | Up to 2 h per meeting | 3 min | 30 min |
| File uploads | Included | 50/month | 3 lifetime imports |
| AI extras | 20 AI credits (one-time) | 10 AI summaries/month, 1,000 Brain credits | 20 AI Chat questions/month |
| Download | No | No | Yes (mp3, txt) |
| Trial trap | 7-day trial needs a card | $1 Pro trial and Business trial offers | 14-day Business trial needs a card |
Tip: all three push paid trials during signup. If you only want to test, close the trial screen and stay on the free plan. If you do start a trial, set a reminder to cancel before it ends.
Best AI note taker for Hindi and Urdu
This is where the tools differ the most, and almost no other review tests it. If your meetings are even partly in Hindi or Urdu:
- Notta is the clear winner: correct Urdu script, perfect Hindi, summaries in Hindi and answers in Urdu.
- Fireflies handles Hindi well, but lost half of my Urdu and can’t summarize either language.
- Otter is not an option: it supports neither language.
For more on this, see my Urdu speech to text test, where I also tried ElevenLabs.
AI note taker pricing in 2026
| Plan | Fireflies | Notta | Otter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan, yearly | Pro $10/month | Pro $8.17/month ($97.99/year) | Pro $8.33/month |
| Entry paid plan, monthly | Pro $18/month | Pro $13.49/month | Pro $16.99/month |
| Business, yearly | $19/month | $16.67/month | $19.99/month |
| Business, monthly | $29/month | $27.99/month | $30/month |
Per seat, in USD. Fireflies and Otter checked 16 October 2026, Notta 21 October 2026, each on its official pricing page. Taxes may apply.
What other reviewers and users say
| Tool | G2 rating | My score |
|---|---|---|
| Fireflies | 4.7/5 (754 reviews) | 4.5/5 |
| Otter | 4.4/5 (505 reviews) | 4.0/5 |
| Notta | 4.2/5 (442 reviews) | 4.4/5 |
G2 ratings checked 16 October 2026 (Fireflies, Otter) and 21 October 2026 (Notta).
My scores are a little lower than G2 for Fireflies and Otter because G2 reviewers are mostly English-speaking business users on paid plans, while I tested the free plans and gave weight to Hindi and Urdu. That same weighting is why Notta scores higher with me than on G2.
Which AI note taker should you choose?
- Your meetings are in English and you want a bot in every call: Fireflies.
- You speak Urdu or Hindi, or mix them with English: Notta.
- You want the most free minutes and free downloads, English only: Otter.
- You want the cheapest paid plan: Notta Pro on yearly billing.
Whichever you pick, check names and brand names in every transcript. All three got at least one name or tool name wrong in my test. For a head-to-head look at two of them, read Fireflies vs Otter.
Tools I haven’t tested yet
Other popular AI note takers include Fathom, tl;dv, Granola and Read.ai. I haven’t run my test meeting through them yet, so I don’t rank them here. When I do, I’ll add them to this list with the same test.
Best AI note taker FAQ
What is the best free AI note taker?
For English, Otter has the most generous free plan in my test: 300 minutes a month and free downloads. For Urdu or Hindi, Notta’s free plan is the better test, though it stops at 3 minutes per recording.
Which AI note taker supports Urdu?
Notta and Fireflies both list Urdu. In my test Notta wrote my Urdu completely and correctly in Urdu script, while Fireflies missed half of it. Otter doesn’t support Urdu.
Do AI note takers need to join the meeting?
Fireflies, Notta and Otter can all join online meetings as a bot. All three also let you upload a recording instead, which is how I tested them.
Is it legal to record meetings with an AI note taker?
Rules depend on your country, but the safe habit is simple: tell everyone the meeting is being recorded and transcribed before you start.
Is this best AI note taker list sponsored?
No. I tested all three tools on my own free accounts and ranked them myself. Some links may become affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See the affiliate disclosure.
Final verdict: the best AI note taker in 2026
To sum up this best AI note taker test: Fireflies is the best all-rounder for English meetings, Notta is the one to pick if Urdu or Hindi is part of your work, and Otter gives you the most for free if you only need English and can live with more errors. Start on the free plan of the one that fits, test it with one of your own recordings, and only then pay.
Sources checked for this best AI note taker list (7)
Facts below were checked on the dates shown. Plans change often, so confirm on the official pages before you buy.
- Fireflies pricing page (16 October 2026): plans, free plan limits, downloads
- Otter pricing page (16 October 2026): plans, Basic limits, exports
- Notta pricing page (21 October 2026): plans, free plan limits
- G2 Fireflies reviews, G2 Otter reviews, G2 Notta reviews: user ratings
- My own hands-on tests: Fireflies and Otter on 16 October 2026, Notta on 19 and 21 October 2026
