Taking notes can be overwhelming, especially when you're trying to participate in team meetings, lessons, or brainstorming sessions.
You end up missing important details or losing focus on the actual conversation.
AI note-taking tools solve this problem. And after testing over 20 AI note-taking apps, we've identified the best tools for different needs.
The best part? Many of these tools offer free plans.
A free AI note taker is a tool that listens to your meetings and writes notes for you.
As a result, you get meeting summaries, action items, and full transcripts without taking notes yourself.
These tools usually work with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and other meeting platforms. Some also work with YouTube videos or audio files.
The free part usually means you get a limited number of transcription minutes per month (like 300-800 minutes) or access to basic features, while paid plans unlock more minutes and advanced features.
Free AI note takers follow a simple process.
The whole process happens automatically.
You can then review, edit, and share these notes with your team. Most tools also let you search through past meetings to find specific information quickly.
Before we start looking at specific tools, we need to understand what types of note-taking apps exist, of which there are two major groups. These are:
Bot-based AI note takers work by sending a virtual assistant (bot) into your meeting. The bot appears as a participant with a name like Jamie's Note Taker or Otter.ai Bot. Everyone in the meeting can see the bot is there and recording.
Pros of bot-based notetakers:
Cons of bot-based notetakers:
Bot-free AI note takers capture audio directly from your device without adding a visible participant to the meeting. They work more like a personal recording tool that runs quietly on your computer.
Pros of bot-free notetakers:
Cons of bot-free notetakers:
We tested considered over 20 AI note-taking tools to find the best ones. For each tool, our evaluation focused on practical factors that matter to users. We looked at:
After extensive testing, we've organized the best AI note-takers into categories based on their strengths.
Each category serves different needs, so you might want to use multiple tools. For example, you could use Krisp for meeting transcriptions and Notion for organizing those notes later.
Krisp is a bot-free AI note taker that records audio directly from your computer. It gives you unlimited free transcriptions, which most other tools don't offer. The app removes background noise, records calls, creates AI summaries, and lets you chat with your notes to find information quickly. You can use it with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms.
Pricing:
Free: Unlimited transcripts, basic features
Pro: $8/month (annual billing)
Business: $15/month (annual billing)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Pros:
✅ Unlimited free transcriptions
✅ No bot joins your meetings
✅ Excellent noise cancellation
✅ AI chat to search meeting content
✅ Works with all major meeting platforms
Cons:
❌ Free plan has limited cloud storage
❌ Only supports English for transcription
❌ No mobile app yet
MeetGeek is an AI note taker that works across Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet in over 50 languages. It automatically detects your meeting type (sales call, team standup, etc.) and creates customized notes for that specific format. The tool breaks down meetings into action items, decisions, concerns, and next steps. You can also upload audio or video files for transcription.
Pricing:
Free: 5 hours/month transcription, 3 months storage
Pro: $15/month per user
Business: $29/month per user
Enterprise: $59/month per user
Pros:
✅ 50+ language support
✅ Customizable meeting templates
✅ Meeting analytics (talk time, sentiment)
✅ Mobile app for offline recording
✅ Integrates with 7000+ apps via Zapier
Cons:
❌ Limited free plan hours
❌ No video recording on free plan
❌ Can be pricey for larger teams
Fireflies sends a bot named Fred to join your meetings and take notes. It supports 69 languages and works with Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and Webex.
The tool identifies speakers, lets you search transcripts by keywords, and tracks topics throughout your conversations. You can leave comments, create soundbites, and share specific meeting moments with your team.
Pricing:
Free: 800 minutes storage per seat
Pro: $10/month per user (annual)
Business: $19/month per user
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Pros:
✅ Supports 69 languages
✅ Smart topic tracking
✅ Good CRM integrations
✅ Conversation analytics
✅ AI assistant for Q&A
Cons:
❌ Bot can feel intrusive
❌ Limited free plan features
❌ Sometimes delays joining meetings
❌ Extra AI credits cost money
Tl;dv records your meetings and sends you notes within 5-10 minutes after the call ends. It works in 30+ languages with Google Meet (Chrome extension), Teams, and Zoom (desktop app). The tool breaks down summaries by topics and lets you create custom templates for different meeting types. You can also transcribe YouTube videos and uploaded files.
Pricing:
Free: Unlimited meetings, 5 file uploads
Pro: €18/month per user
Business: €59/month per user
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Pros:
✅ Fast transcript delivery
✅ Custom meeting templates
✅ YouTube video transcription
✅ AI coaching for sales calls
✅ Good collaboration features
Cons:
❌ Expensive business plan
❌ Limited AI features on free plan
❌ Bot required for recording
❌ Desktop app can be buggy
Fellow focuses on making meetings more productive with AI summaries. It works with Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams in 35+ languages.
The tool helps you prepare meeting agendas beforehand and automatically assigns action items to team members based on the discussion.
Pricing:
Free:Limited recordings and notes
Team: $7/month per user (minimum 3 users)
Business: $15/month per user
Enterprise: $25/month per user (minimum 10 users)
Pros:
✅ Great for meeting preparation
✅ Automatic action item assignment
✅ AI assistant for follow-ups
✅ Meeting insights and analytics
✅ 50+ app integrations
Cons:
❌ Requires minimum users for paid plans
❌ Limited free plan
❌ Less accurate transcription than competitors
❌ No file upload option
Fathom offers unlimited free recordings and transcriptions, making it one of the most generous free plans available. It works with Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom in 28 languages. The AI summaries are shorter and more concise than other tools, focusing on essential points. Fathom also includes an AI assistant for chatting about your meetings and finding specific information.
Pricing:
Free: Unlimited recordings, 5 AI summaries/month
Premium: $15/month per user
Team Edition: $19/month per user
Team Edition Pro: $29/month per user
Pros:
✅ Unlimited free recordings
✅ Clean, simple interface
✅ Desktop app with reminders
✅ AI coaching for sales teams
✅ Zapier integration (7000+ apps)
Cons:
❌ Short AI summaries miss details
❌ Limited language support (28)
❌ Free plan restricts AI features
❌ Basic collaboration tools
Otter is one of the most popular AI note-takers but has become more limited over time. It auto-joins meetings as a bot and works in English, French, and Spanish only. The tool captures presentation slides and inserts them into meeting notes, which is unique. Otter also includes channels for team communication and a chat feature for asking questions about meetings.
Pricing:
Free: 300 minutes/month (30 min max per meeting)
Pro: $8.33/month per user
Business: $20/month per user
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Pros:
✅ Captures presentation slides
✅ Team communication channels
✅ Mobile app available
✅ Real-time collaboration
✅ Good for English meetings
Cons:
❌ Only 3 languages supported
❌ Very limited free plan
❌ Lower transcription accuracy
❌ Few integration options
❌ Bot delays can disrupt meetings
Notion combines note-taking with AI features that help you write, organize, and find information.
Type /ai or highlight any text to access AI tools that can summarize content, translate languages, write drafts, or extract action items.
The AI understands your existing notes and can answer questions about your data. Notion works like a digital workspace where you can create databases, wikis, and project boards alongside your notes.
Pricing:
Free: Basic features, limited blocks
Plus: $10/month per user
Business: $15/month per user
Enterprise: Custom pricing
AI add-on: $10/month per user extra
Pros:
✅ Powerful AI writing assistance
✅ Highly customizable workspace
✅ Great for team collaboration
✅ Database functionality
✅ Extensive templates
Cons:
❌ Steep learning curve
❌ Can be slow with large pages
❌ AI costs extra
❌ No offline access
❌ Overwhelming for simple notes
Evernote uses AI to help you manage and find notes quickly. The AI Edit tool can fix spelling, write introductions, translate text, and summarize long notes with one click. AI-powered search lets you ask questions in plain language like "What were the action items from last week's meeting?" and finds relevant notes instantly. The Web Clipper saves online content directly to your notebooks.
Pricing:
Free: Basic features, 2 device sync
Personal: $14.99/month
Professional: $17.99/month
Pros:
✅ Excellent AI search
✅ Easy to learn and use
✅ Great web clipper
✅ Cross-platform sync
✅ OCR for images and PDFs
Cons:
❌ Expensive compared to alternatives
❌ Free plan very limited
❌ Has become bloated over time
❌ AI features require paid plan
Obsidian treats your notes like a personal Wikipedia where everything connects. You create links between notes to build a network of ideas, and the Graph View shows how all your thoughts relate to each other. All notes are stored as simple text files on your computer, so you own your data completely. The app supports extensive customization through themes and plugins.
Pricing:
Personal: Free
Commercial: $50/year per user
Sync add-on: $4/month
Publish add-on: $8/month
Pros:
✅ Complete data ownership
✅ Powerful linking system
✅ Works offline
✅ Highly customizable
✅ Visual knowledge graphs
Cons:
❌ Steep learning curve
❌ No built-in collaboration
❌ Requires Markdown knowledge
❌ Sync costs extra
Bear is a beautiful note-taking app exclusive to Apple devices. It uses hashtags for organization and supports Markdown for formatting. You can link between notes, encrypt sensitive information, and export to multiple formats. The minimal design helps you focus on writing without distractions.
Pricing:
Free: Basic features, no sync
Pro: $2.99/month or $29.99/year
Pros:
✅ Clean, minimal interface
✅ Fast and responsive
✅ Great Markdown support
✅ Note encryption
✅ Beautiful themes
Cons:
❌ Apple devices only
❌ No collaboration features
❌ No web version
❌ Limited free version
Joplin is a free, open-source alternative to Evernote. It offers end-to-end encryption, works on all platforms, and syncs through various services like Dropbox or OneDrive. You can clip web pages, write in Markdown, and extend functionality with plugins. Since it's open source, you have complete control over your data.
Pricing:
Core app: Free
Joplin Cloud Basic: €2.40/month
Joplin Cloud Pro: €4.79/month
Teams: €6.69/month per user
Pros:
✅ Completely free core features
✅ End-to-end encryption
✅ Open source
✅ Cross-platform
✅ Plugin support
Cons:
❌ Basic mobile app
❌ Community support only
❌ Less polished interface
❌ No real-time collaboration
Google Keep is the simplest way to capture quick notes, lists, and reminders. It works like a digital bulletin board where you can pin colorful notes, add images, and record voice memos that automatically convert to text. Everything syncs instantly across your devices through your Google account. You can set location-based reminders and collaborate on notes in real-time.
Pricing:
Free with Google account
Extra storage via Google One: $2-10/month
Pros:
✅ Completely free
✅ Dead simple to use
✅ Voice transcription
✅ Location reminders
✅ Seamless Google integration
Cons:
❌ No formatting options
❌ No folders or notebooks
❌ Basic organization only
❌ No desktop app
Apple Notes comes built into every iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It handles rich formatting, tables, checklists, and document scanning. You can lock sensitive notes with Face ID, organize with tags and smart folders, and collaborate in real-time. The app works offline and syncs through iCloud when connected.
Pricing:
Free with Apple devices
Extra iCloud storage: $0.99-9.99/month
Pros:
✅ Free with Apple devices
✅ Excellent handwriting support
✅ Document scanning
✅ Password protection
✅ Quick sketches
Cons:
❌ Apple ecosystem only
❌ Basic collaboration
❌ Limited formatting
❌ No web version for PC
Microsoft OneNote organizes notes like a physical binder with notebooks, sections, and pages. You can type anywhere on a page, add drawings, insert audio recordings, and clip web content. It includes AI features through Copilot for generating content and answering questions about your notes.
Pricing:
Free with 5GB storage
Microsoft 365 Personal: $6.99/month
Microsoft 365 Family: $9.99/month
Pros:
✅ Free with generous storage
✅ Flexible page layouts
✅ Handwriting to text
✅ Deep Office integration
✅ Available on all platforms
Cons:
❌ Can be slow to sync
❌ Cluttered interface
❌ Copilot requires subscription
❌ Limited offline features
Reflect integrates ChatGPT directly into your notes and lets you create reusable AI prompts. You can build templates like "Summarize this in a professional tone under 50 words" and save them for repeated use.
This makes you more efficient when editing or analyzing text. The app also links notes together like Obsidian and includes calendar integration for daily planning.
Pricing:
Annual: $10/month (includes ChatGPT access)
Monthly: $15/month
Pros:
✅ Custom AI prompt templates
✅ ChatGPT-4 included
✅ Clone and modify prompts
✅ Clean, minimal interface
✅ Note linking features
Cons:
❌ No free plan
❌ Annual billing for best price
❌ Limited collaboration
❌ Fewer features than competitors
Start by identifying your main use case. If you need meeting transcriptions, focus on tools like Krisp with unlimited free transcripts, or MeetGeek with great templates. For organizing research and ideas, try Notion or Obsidian. For quick notes and tasks, stick with Google Keep or Apple Notes. Consider whether you prefer bot-based or bot-free recording - some people find bots intrusive while others like the transparency.
Next, check the practical limitations. Look at free plan restrictions:
How many minutes do you get?
What features are locked?
Can you export your data?
Finally, test the tool with your actual workflow. Try different accents, technical terms, and meeting types. Make sure it integrates with your other tools and works on all your devices.
The best AI note-taker is the one you'll actually use consistently.
Based on our testing, MeetGeek offers the best overall package with accurate transcripts, detailed summaries, 50+ language support, and reasonable pricing. However, Krisp wins for unlimited free transcripts, and Notion excels for teams needing AI-powered organization.
Yes, some tools like Tl;dv can transcribe YouTube videos if you download them first. MeetGeek and Fireflies can process uploaded video files
Students should consider free options like Google Keep for quick notes, Obsidian for connecting study materials, or Krisp's unlimited free transcripts for lectures. Notion's free plan also works well for organizing coursework and research.
Otter is popular but limited (only 3 languages, 300 free minutes). Fireflies offers more languages but uses an intrusive bot. MeetGeek is, perhaps, the most balanced of the bacn and offers robust core features: 50+ languages, customizable templates, and both bot and bot-free options.
Most reputable tools offer encryption and comply with privacy regulations. What’s more, bot-free tools like Krisp process audio locally for better privacy.
Accuracy varies by tool and conditions. Most achieve 85-95% accuracy with clear audio and native English speakers. Technical terms, accents, and background noise can reduce accuracy. Always review important notes for errors.
After testing over 20 AI note-taking tools, we found that different tools excel at different tasks. The key is matching the tool to your specific needs rather than trying to force one app to do everything.
We also found that free plans on some of these tools are very generous. You can easily start with a free tool that matches your primary use case, then try out others as needed without paying for paid plans.
