Productivity

Notes, meetings and email, with less busywork.

What do you need help with?

Or tap one

Meeting note takers, email helpers and task tools. First up are AI note takers: we signed up for free accounts with several and are checking consent, sharing and recording settings, then testing note quality on a real call. Results will be posted here.

How to choose

Less setup is better. A productivity tool should save time from day one. If it needs a weekend to configure, it may not be worth it.
Ask where recordings live. Meeting tools record and store your calls. Check who can see them and how long they are kept.

First look

Meeting note takers

We made free accounts on Oct 30, 2026 and saved screenshots of sign up, consent, settings and plan pages. We have not recorded a call with any of them, so no card gets a score.

Fathom

Joins your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams calls, records them, and writes a summary afterward.

Best for: Solo owners and small teams who want the biggest free plan for regular video calls.
Skip it if: You need a note taker for phone calls or in-person meetings, or you want your recordings kept fully private by default without checking settings.
Free plan: Free forever. Unlimited recordings, storage and transcripts in 38 languages. Advanced AI summaries for your first 5 calls each month, then the basic summary only. New accounts get a 30-day Premium preview first, then drop to Free on their own with no charge.
Price: Premium $20 a month billed monthly, or $16 a month billed annually. Team $19 per user a month monthly or $15 annually (2 user minimum). Business $34 per user a month monthly or $25 annually (2 user minimum). Enterprise: talk to sales. Checked Nov 3, 2026 From fathom.ai/pricing
Note quality: Not tested yet (real call test coming)

Tip: Two Fathom defaults favor sharing and AI training. Go to Settings (fathom.video/customize), scroll to Options, and (1) turn off "Use my anonymized data to improve Fathom's AI for everyone", and (2) change "Default Share Link Access" from "Anyone with the link can view" to "Only people added can view".

More on Fathom: your data, sign up and sources

Your data: Fathom's privacy policy says de-identified meeting content may train its own AI models depending on your settings, with an opt out in account settings; other companies are not allowed to train on it. In our account the switch "Use my anonymized data to improve Fathom's AI for everyone" was on by default (we turned it off Nov 3). Fathom was bought by Superhuman on Sep 14, 2026 ("Nothing changes today"). Source: fathom.ai/privacy, fathom.ai/superhuman, Oct 30, 2026.
What we saw when we signed up: Google sign up asked for read-only calendar access. It then walked us through connecting a calendar and Zoom (we skipped Zoom). A banner showed the 30-day free Premium preview. No card was asked for.
Settings we changed: Turned off auto-record and auto-share on Oct 30. Checked live on Nov 3, 2026 about 5:15 PM ET: "Use my anonymized data to improve Fathom's AI for everyone" was ON, now OFF (stays off after reload). "Default Share Link Access" was "Anyone with the link can view" (the default), now "Only people added can view" (the only other choice). The banner showed 26 days left in the free Premium preview.
Sources: Fathom pricing, fathom.ai/pricing, Nov 3, 2026
Fathom help, "Free vs. Premium for Individuals" (edited June 4, 2026), help.fathom.video, Nov 3, 2026
Our sign up and settings screenshots, Oct 30, 2026
Our settings screenshots, before and after, Nov 3, 2026

Visit Fathom

Fireflies

A meeting bot that records Zoom, Meet and Teams calls and writes transcripts and summaries.

Best for: Sales-heavy small teams who want lots of app and CRM connections.
Skip it if: You don't want to connect your calendar, or a pending privacy lawsuit is a dealbreaker.
Free plan: Free. "Unlimited transcription*" (with an asterisk on the page), "Limited AI summaries", 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits, and a 2 hour limit per recording.
Price: Pro $18 per seat a month billed monthly, or $10 per seat a month billed annually. Business $29 monthly or $19 annually per seat. Enterprise $39 per seat a month billed annually. Checked Nov 3, 2026 From fireflies.ai/pricing
Watch out: A privacy lawsuit over voice data is pending, with no ruling found as of Oct 30: Fricker v. Fireflies.AI (1:26-cv-02675). Source: pacermonitor.com, Oct 30, 2026.
Note quality: Not tested yet (real call test coming)

More on Fireflies: your data, sign up and sources

Your data: The pricing page says "Zero Data Retention: Your data is never used for AI training or any purpose outside your direct business needs." Source: fireflies.ai/pricing, Nov 3, 2026.
What we saw when we signed up: Sign up is Google or Microsoft only (the pricing page FAQ says the same). It would not continue without read-only calendar access. Twice it pushed a "Start your 7 days free trial" screen marked "Credit card required"; we declined both and stayed on Free.
Settings we changed: Auto-join set to meetings we're invited to only, recaps go to me only, prep emails off.
Sources: Fireflies pricing, fireflies.ai/pricing, Nov 3, 2026
Our sign up and settings screenshots, Oct 30, 2026

Visit Fireflies

Otter

Live transcripts and summaries for Zoom, Meet and Teams calls, plus a phone app that records in person.

Best for: People who want live transcripts on screen and a phone app for in-person talks.
Skip it if: You have long calls on the free plan, or the lawsuit and AI training terms below worry you.
Free plan: Basic, free. 300 transcription minutes a month, 3 audio or video file imports for the life of the account, 20 AI Chat questions a month. The pricing table lists 30 minutes for Basic in the per-meeting length row (Pro says "Up to 90 mins/meeting").
Price: Pro $16.99 a month billed monthly. Business $19.99 a month billed annually (inside our account, Oct 30; monthly Business price not read). Checked Nov 3, 2026 From otter.ai/pricing
Watch out: A privacy class action is in discovery: In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation, 5:25-cv-06911. On Aug 13, 2026 the court let the Wiretap Act, California privacy and Illinois voice data claims go forward. Source: cases.justia.com, Oct 30, 2026.
Note quality: Not tested yet (real call test coming)

More on Otter: your data, sign up and sources

Your data: Otter's privacy policy says it trains its own AI on de-identified audio and transcripts. Source: otter.ai/privacy-policy, Oct 30, 2026.
What we saw when we signed up: Email sign up with a confirm link. After confirming, it showed "Try Otter Business for free" for 14 days; we picked "I prefer the Basic plan". The trial page address says "credit_card_trial_info", so it likely asks for a card, but we did not click through to check. The setup screen says "By using Otter, you confirm that you will comply with applicable recording laws and get participant permission where required."
Settings we changed: Otter joins only "Meetings I manually select", notes set to "Don't share - keep meeting notes private". Live transcript and Chat Q&A messages to the meeting chat are off. "Allow Collaborators to share" is on by default (left as is).
Sources: Otter pricing, otter.ai/pricing, Nov 3, 2026
Our sign up and settings screenshots, Oct 30, 2026

Visit Otter

Circleback

Writes meeting notes and action items for online calls (bot or desktop app) and in-person meetings (phone and Apple Watch).

Best for: Privacy-minded small teams who want unlimited free meetings and can live with 30 days of history.
Skip it if: You use Windows and want the no-bot desktop app (the desktop app is Mac only), or you need notes older than 30 days for free.
Free plan: Free. Unlimited meetings, AI notes and action items, speaker-labeled transcripts, 30-day meeting and recording history, limited automations, 2 teams. New accounts start on a 15-day Pro trial with no card, then drop to Free.
Price: Pro $15 per user a month. Business $25 per user a month. Enterprise $35 per user a month. (The page does not say monthly vs annual billing next to these prices.) Checked Nov 3, 2026 From circleback.ai/pricing
Watch out: Thin review base: only one ratings source with 100 or more reviews (App Store 4.8, 270 ratings), so it can't pass our ratings gate yet. No lawsuit found. Source: apps.apple.com, Oct 30, 2026.
Note quality: Not tested yet (real call test coming)

More on Circleback: your data, sign up and sources

Your data: "We do not use customer data to train models." Source: circleback.ai/security, Oct 30, 2026.
What we saw when we signed up: Email sign up with a login code. Calendar access was required (read-only). Onboarding set invitees to "Limited viewer" by default, so meeting invitees would get access to notes. There is no AI training switch in settings (matches the security page).
Settings we changed: Invitee sharing off, auto-join off.
Sources: Circleback pricing, circleback.ai/pricing, Nov 3, 2026
Circleback security, circleback.ai/security, Oct 30, 2026
Our sign up and settings screenshots, Oct 30, 2026

Visit Circleback

tl;dv

Records and transcribes Zoom, Meet and Teams calls and writes AI notes.

Best for: Privacy-strict or EU-based teams who want free recordings.
Skip it if: You don't sign in with Google or Microsoft, or you want free transcripts without auto-recording every meeting.
Free plan: Free. Our account came with 10 premium transcription credits. The Oct 30 pricing page listed unlimited recordings and transcription, AI notes for 10 meetings and 10 Ask AI questions.
Price: Read on Nov 3 in euros only: Pro EUR 29 per seat a month billed monthly, or EUR 18 per seat a month billed annually (EUR 216 a year). Business EUR 39 monthly, or EUR 29 a month billed annually (EUR 348 a year). On Oct 30 the page showed Pro $18 and Business $29 per seat a month billed annually, with no monthly USD price. Checked Nov 3, 2026 From tldv.io/pricing
Watch out: Thin review base: one ratings source with 100 or more reviews (G2 4.7, 546), and G2 lists "Recording Issues (71)". Source: g2.com, Oct 30, 2026.
Note quality: Not tested yet (real call test coming)

Tip: On tl;dv, keeping your meetings private can cost you the unlimited free transcripts, so you work from the 10 credits.

More on tl;dv: your data, sign up and sources

Your data: Privacy policy section 9 says tl;dv does not use Customer Content to train models. Source: tldv.io/privacy, Oct 30, 2026.
What we saw when we signed up: Sign in is Google, Microsoft or company SSO only. Read-only calendar access. The setup screen defaulted to "Auto-record: All meetings in my calendar" and "share notes: With all participants". The "Enable unlimited free transcripts" switch says it requires both of those. It also offered a 7-day Pro trial, which we declined.
Settings we changed: Auto-record set to manual, sharing set to only me.
Sources: tl;dv pricing, tldv.io/pricing, Nov 3, 2026
tl;dv privacy, tldv.io/privacy, Oct 30, 2026
Our sign up and settings screenshots, Oct 30, 2026

Visit tl;dv

Fellow

Meeting agendas plus an AI note taker for Zoom, Meet and Teams.

Best for: Teams with recurring meetings who want shared agendas and notes in one place.
Skip it if: You want a free plan for ongoing use. The free AI notes run out after 5.
Free plan: Free. "5 AI notes (lifetime) / user" and "5 AI recordings (lifetime) / user". No credit card required.
Price: Team $7 per user a month billed annually, or $11 billed monthly. Business $15 per user a month billed annually, or $23 billed monthly. Enterprise $25 per user a month billed annually, starts at 10 users. Checked Nov 3, 2026 From fellow.ai/pricing
Watch out: The free plan works more like a trial: 5 notes total, not per month. Thin review base outside G2. Source: fellow.ai/pricing, Nov 3, 2026.
Note quality: Not tested yet (real call test coming)

More on Fellow: your data, sign up and sources

Your data: Not found. The privacy policy did not load on Oct 30, so we found no statement on AI training. The trust center lists SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR and CCPA. Source: fellow.ai/security, Oct 30, 2026.
What we saw when we signed up: Google sign up. Fellow asked for calendar edit access, not just read-only. Defaults were record all meetings, email AI notes to all invitees and add Fellow links to calendar events. The pricing page says "No credit card required."
Settings we changed: Recording set to "Meetings I manually select", AI notes emailed to "No one", links in events off.
Sources: Fellow pricing, fellow.ai/pricing, Nov 3, 2026
Fellow security, fellow.ai/security, Oct 30, 2026
Our sign up and settings screenshots, Oct 30, 2026

Visit Fellow

Keep reading

Prompt Set up an AI note taker the right way

Every Friday

One AI prompt to try and one task to hand your AI agent, every Friday.

Browse past issues

What do you need help with?

How to choose

Meeting note takers

Related guides and prompts

One AI prompt to try and one task to hand your AI agent, every Friday.