Fireflies.ai alternatives in 2026: what to use instead

Fireflies is strong at turning calls into conversation intelligence and CRM updates, and it does it by joining the call as a named participant. Most people who look elsewhere want something that works differently. Otter gives you a live transcript to read during the call. Fathom is built around an instant summary. Granola avoids putting a bot in the participant list. None of the four record a conversation that is not on a call, which is a different product category.

Match the alternative to what you need

01 / You want to read along live

Fireflies is at its best after the call. Otter gives you a live transcript you can read while the other person is still talking, which matters in an interview or a long technical call where you need to check what was just said.

02 / You only need the summary

If the conversation intelligence goes unused and what you actually read is the recap, Fathom is built around instant summaries of recorded calls and asks very little of you to set up.

03 / The bot in the participant list is a problem

Fireflies joins meetings as a visible attendee. In some client and legal settings that reads as adding a third party to the call, and it is a conversation you may not want to have every time. Granola uses your own computer’s audio and does not appear as a participant.

04 / Half your meetings are not on a call

Fireflies, Otter, Fathom and Granola all need a Zoom, Teams or Meet session. If the conversations that decide things happen across a desk, on a site visit or in a corridor, none of them are in the room. A device is the only answer to that — Scriben is a pen that records for up to 18 hours with 400 hours of storage on the pen and no phone or network.

05 / You want the follow-up, not only the notes

Fireflies pushes a call into your CRM. Scriben does the equivalent for a conversation in a room: it prepares the HubSpot update, the follow-up email or the calendar hold, and waits for you to approve each one before anything leaves.

Where these facts come from

Competitor products change. Every fact here is quoted from the vendor’s own published pages on the date given — check theirs before you decide anything on ours.

Fireflies features checked on 15 September 2026 on fireflies.ai: a notetaker that joins the call as a named participant, transcription, conversation intelligence and CRM sync. Products change — check theirs before you decide.

Otter features checked on 15 September 2026 on otter.ai: a notetaker that joins Zoom, Teams and Meet, a live transcript you can read during the call, and summaries afterwards. Products change — check theirs before you decide.

Fathom features checked on 15 September 2026 on fathom.video: a notetaker that joins the call, with recordings and instant summaries. Products change — check theirs before you decide.

Granola features checked on 14 September 2026 on granola.ai: it captures the computer’s own audio with no bot in the call, fills in around the notes you type, and offers MCP and API access. Products change — check theirs before you decide.

Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, Notta and Granola each require a virtual meeting or a running app to capture from — checked on 15 September 2026 against each vendor’s own product pages and documentation. All five offer mobile apps that can record in person from a phone; none captures a conversation with no session and no app running. If that changes, this page is wrong and we would like to be told.

Questions

What is the best Fireflies alternative?

It depends what pushed you off it. For a live transcript during the call, Otter. For a quick summary with almost no setup, Fathom. For no visible bot, Granola. For in-person meetings, a recording device rather than any of these — none of the software tools capture a conversation with no call attached.

Does Fireflies join meetings as a bot?

Yes. It joins as a notetaker that appears in the participant list, which is how it records and transcribes. Everyone on the call can see it, which some teams prefer and some clients object to.

Fireflies vs Otter: what is the difference?

Both join the call. Otter is built around a live transcript you can read during the meeting; Fireflies is built around what happens afterwards — conversation intelligence and CRM sync. If you are in sales and live in a CRM, Fireflies usually fits better.

Can Fireflies record in-person meetings?

It has a mobile app, so you can record from a phone on the table. It is not what the product is built around, and a phone placed between you and a client is a visible piece of technology in a way a notebook is not.

Do I need both a software tool and a device?

Many people do, and it is a sensible answer rather than a hedge. A virtual transcription tool covers calls; a pen covers rooms. Neither covers the other, so the honest recommendation for someone whose week contains both is one of each.

We make a competing product. Four of the five recommendations below are not ours, and for a virtual-first sales team Fireflies is often the better tool. Every feature is described from each vendor’s own pages with the date we checked. Scriben is recording people know about. You say what the pen is and what it does, they agree, and then it stays out of the way for the rest of the conversation — that second half is the product, and it only works after the first. Recording law varies by jurisdiction and by profession: see recording people lawfully before you start.