AI meeting assistants
We put 6 AI meeting assistants through the same test. Otter.ai came out on top with 4 out of 5. Here are all the results, what each tool costs and how we test them.
AI meeting assistants we tested
Best score first. Each one has a full review with the test results, prices and what users say.
Otter.ai
4/5Read our review →
tl;dv
3/5Read our review →
Fathom
2.5/5Read our review →
Fireflies.ai
2.5/5Read our review →
Read.ai
2.5/5Read our review →
Tactiq
2/5Read our review →Test results compared
Every tool got the same test, between October 16, 2026 to October 22, 2026.
| Tool | Score | Word error rate against the human transcript | Speaker labels correct | Summary and action items: points captured out of a fixed checklist | Turnaround time per hour of audio | Data handling: storage location, retention, opt-out of model training |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai | 4/5 | 291/5000 word errors (5.8%) | Speaker labels 87/100 correct | Checklist captured 42/50 | 10.5 min/audio hour | Retention/deletion/training checks 5/6 |
| tl;dv | 3/5 | 500/5000 word errors (10.0%) | Speaker labels 69/100 correct | Checklist captured 36/50 | 15.6 min/audio hour | Retention/deletion/training checks 4/6 |
| Fathom | 2.5/5 | 633/5000 word errors (12.7%) | Speaker labels 70/100 correct | Checklist captured 30/50 | 16.6 min/audio hour | Retention/deletion/training checks 3/6 |
| Fireflies.ai | 2.5/5 | 600/5000 word errors (12.0%) | Speaker labels 66/100 correct | Checklist captured 37/50 | 17.9 min/audio hour | Retention/deletion/training checks 3/6 |
| Read.ai | 2.5/5 | 653/5000 word errors (13.1%) | Speaker labels 65/100 correct | Checklist captured 30/50 | 16.9 min/audio hour | Retention/deletion/training checks 4/6 |
| Tactiq | 2/5 | 705/5000 word errors (14.1%) | Speaker labels 54/100 correct | Checklist captured 27/50 | 16.4 min/audio hour | Retention/deletion/training checks 3/6 |
Want just the shortlist?
Our best-of list ranks every tool in this test, with what each one is best for.
What AI meeting assistants do
AI meeting assistants join or capture video calls, transcribe them, write summaries and action items, and let you search past conversations. Many now also sync notes to CRMs, coach sales calls and expose meeting data to chat assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT.
Who uses them: Sales and customer success teams, Recruiters, Managers and project leads, Consultants and freelancers, Students and educators.
Price range: All five have a free plan. Paid individual seats start around 8 to 16 USD a month billed yearly (Otter Pro 8.33, Fireflies Pro 10, Fathom Premium 16, Read Pro 15, tl; dv Pro 18 EUR) and 17 to 29 on monthly billing. Team and business tiers run about 15 to 29 USD a month yearly, with Enterprise by quote (Fireflies lists 39 yearly).
What to check before you buy
Transcript and summary accuracy. Wrong names or action items erode trust; test on accents, noisy audio and several speakers. A hands-on roundup found most top tools at 90 to 95 percent in English, so workflow fit often matters more.
Free plan limits. Caps differ widely: Otter 300 minutes a month, Fireflies 400 minutes of team storage, Read 5 transcripts a month, tl; dv capped AI notes, Fathom unlimited recordings.
Privacy, consent and training policy. Check SOC 2, whether your data trains models, opt-out, and how the bot announces itself; lawsuits over recording consent were filed against Otter (2025) and Fireflies (2025).
Bot or bot-free capture. Visible bots can be banned by hosts or institutions; bot-free options exist at Otter desktop, Fathom beta and tl; dv.
Integrations and CRM sync. Value comes from pushing notes into Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack and project tools; sometimes gated to higher plans.
How we test AI meeting assistants
The test for this category: Join the same 5 scripted video calls; score notes, action items and speaker labels.
A fixed library of recordings: 5 meetings and calls with different accents, crosstalk and background noise, each with a human-checked transcript. Every tool processes the same files or joins the same scripted test calls.
Each tool is tested on a paid plan, and its review shows the plan, the price and the test dates. The overall score is the average of the five parts on the right, rounded to the nearest half star. See the full method for meetings, transcription and call recording tools.
What we measure
- Word error rate against the human transcript
- Speaker labels correct
- Summary and action items: points captured out of a fixed checklist
- Turnaround time per hour of audio
- Data handling: storage location, retention, opt-out of model training
The five parts of the score
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free AI meeting assistant?
Fathom and tl; dv list unlimited recordings on free plans; Otter caps at 300 minutes, Fireflies at 400 minutes of team storage and Read at 5 transcripts a month.
Are AI meeting assistants legal to use?
Recording laws vary; some US states need all-party consent. Class actions were filed against Otter (August 2025) and Fireflies (December 2025). Tell participants and check local law.
Do AI notetakers train on my meetings?
Otter trains its models on de-identified data; Fathom uses de-identified data for its own models with opt-out; Fireflies, tl; dv and Read say they do not train on customer data by default.
Can I use a notetaker without a bot?
Otter desktop, Fathom (beta) and tl; dv offer bot-free capture.
How accurate are they?
A hands-on roundup reported 90 to 95 percent plus for top tools in English; vendors claim figures such as 95 percent. Accents and noise reduce accuracy.
More in AI chat and agents
Page updated November 4, 2026.
Liam Foster
If there's a strange new AI tool making its way around the internet, I've probably already bookmarked it. My favorite part is figuring out what these platforms can actually do.
Make your case
Think we got a review wrong?
If you use a tool we reviewed, or work for the company, email us with what you saw. We'll look at the evidence and update the review if it changes our findings.
Want your company reviewed?
Send us your product, website and the category it fits. We'll test it the same way as every other tool. It's free, and we can't promise a date or a score.