Best free AI note taker: free plans compared
Answer in brief
Our best free AI note taker starting pick is Otter.ai. Free access includes 300 transcription minutes monthly. Only three audio or video file imports are included over the account’s lifetime, separately from live recording. Compare alternatives for your task; this is an editorial choice. Check the official sources before planning ongoing work around a free allowance.
Check the official sourcesSource review: November 2026 · Complete re-verification pending · By the Best Free AI editors · 3 tools compared
AI note takers transcribe meetings and lectures, then summarise them. The free plans differ on minutes, storage and file imports.
best free AI note taker: free plans at a glance
November 2026- 01Otter.aiBest for meetingsPaid from: Pro, $16.99/month ($8.49/month billed annually)
- 02Fireflies.aiBest unlimited transcriptionPaid from: Pro, $10/month billed annually
- 03NotebookLMBest for studentsPaid from: Included with Google AI plans
Otter.ai: best for meetings
By Otter.ai
Three hundred free minutes a month covers about five hour-long calls, with live transcription and speaker labels.
What's free
- 300 transcription minutes per month
- Live transcription with speaker labels
- AI chat about your meetings
Free-plan limits
- Only three audio or video file imports, ever
Fireflies.ai: best unlimited transcription
By Fireflies.ai
Fireflies' bot joins eligible calls without a minute cap, but free storage is stated as 400 minutes, with conflicting per-seat and per-team wording in official sources.
What's free
- Unlimited eligible auto-join transcriptions
- 400 storage minutes; help says per seat, pricing says per team
- 20 advanced AI credits per month
Free-plan limits
- Summaries use credits
- Unlimited transcription doesn't mean unlimited storage; official sources disagree on the storage allocation
NotebookLM: best for students
By Google
NotebookLM answers only from the sources you upload, so its summaries stick close to your material. Up to 50 sources per notebook.
What's free
- Up to 100 notebooks
- Up to 50 sources per notebook
- Free with a Gmail account or qualifying Workspace/Education access
Free-plan limits
- Daily chat and generation caps aren't fully published
- Higher limits come with Google AI plans
How to choose a free AI note taker
- Minutes vs storage
- Otter caps minutes; Fireflies caps storage.
- File imports
- Otter allows three file imports in total on Free.
- Consent
- Tell people when a bot is recording. Some places require it by law.
Questions about free AI note takers
What is the best free AI note taker?
Otter.ai for meetings, with 300 free minutes a month. NotebookLM for studying.
What is the best free AI for students?
NotebookLM, because it answers from your own course material. ChatGPT and Claude are good free study partners too.
Sources
- Otter.ai pricing · Otter.ai
- Learn about the Fireflies free plan · Fireflies Guide
- Gemini Notebook plans and limits · Google Help
Cite this entry
Best Free AI. "Best free AI note taker: free plans compared." Source review recorded November 2026; complete re-verification pending. https://www.bestfreeai.com/best-free-ai/note-takers.