Guide · June 30, 2026 · 7 min read
Fireflies.ai Alternatives: Bot-Free Note Takers Compared
Fireflies is the stronger choice when a team needs a mature meeting workspace, integrations, and broad capture options. Its visible Notetaker saves replayable audio and video, while desktop Take Notes saves notes and a transcript without an audio or video file. Granola and Jamie are bot-free alternatives you can use today. Nod is a local-first notetaker that transcribes and writes notes on your own computer, with no account; it isn't released yet.
By Dmytro Barabash, founder of Nod · Published June 30, 2026 · Updated October 28, 2026 · Sources verified September 1, 2026
- Product evidence
- Nod's design is documented on its How it works page and in its source repository, which opens at launch; competitor capabilities come from the first-party pages linked below.
- Limits
- Nod is not released yet, so its behavior is described from the development build, not from shipping use. It will cost at most $5 a month at launch. Fireflies behavior depends on the capture path, plan, storage, and region you choose.
- Method
- The comparison uses public first-party product, help, pricing, and security documentation. Capabilities change, so the verification date matters and the linked vendor source takes precedence.
Competitor details were verified against first-party documentation on September 1, 2026; this article was last updated on October 28, 2026.
Why look for a Fireflies alternative?
Fireflies is a widely used meeting assistant, and its integration ecosystem is broad. That breadth matters most if your workflow lives inside a specific set of connected tools. Reasons to compare a narrower alternative include:
- Capture path. Fireflies documents visible Notetaker and bot-free desktop, Chrome, and Google Meet SDK modes, plus mobile, upload, and telephony paths. Check the exact path your workflow uses.
- Mode-specific retention. The Notetaker saves audio and video in the meeting library. Desktop Take Notes saves notes and transcript without a replayable audio or video file.
- Where your data lives. Some teams want control over where recordings are stored and who can access them, or want no vendor to hold them at all.
- Pricing and limits. Free tiers cap transcription minutes; some want a different model.
Fireflies remains the stronger fit when integrations, broad capture paths, team administration, or the Notetaker's retained recording library matter more.
How we compared these alternatives
We scored each tool on what actually differs between meeting note takers: whether it sends a bot into the call, whether it stores your audio, where data lives, which platforms it runs on, and its pricing model. Competitor details reflect how each tool is commonly documented as of this article's publish date, so verify current specifics on each vendor's own page. The Nod row is first-party and describes the app as it is being built.
Comparison table
| Tool | Bot-free? | Stores audio? | Data & privacy | Platforms | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fireflies.ai | Bot and bot-free desktop/Chrome/Meet SDK paths | Notetaker: audio/video saved; desktop Take Notes: notes/transcript only, no audio/video file | Verify current region, path, and plan | Web, desktop, extensions, mobile, uploads, telephony | Free + paid tiers |
| Nod | Yes | No (processed in memory, never written to disk) | On-device AI; no account; encrypted files on your device | macOS, Windows, Linux; any call app that plays sound | At most $5/month at launch; not released yet — waitlist |
| Granola | Yes | No (deletes audio after transcribing) | Cloud AI; verify current region and training controls | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android | Free + paid |
| Jamie | Yes | No (deletes audio after transcribing) | EU storage and processing documented | Desktop and iPhone | Free + paid |
The alternatives, one by one
Granola
Granola runs across desktop and mobile and shares the "quiet capture, clean notes" model without a bot. It deletes audio after transcribing and offers workspace administration. Verify its current region and model-improvement controls for your plan. See our Granola comparison for detail.
Jamie
Jamie uses botless native apps, deletes audio after transcription, and documents EU storage and processing. Choose Jamie when you want a shipping, privacy-first tool with broader device coverage.
Nod (pre-release)
Nod is a local-first AI meeting notetaker for macOS, Windows, and Linux. It captures your microphone and your computer's own audio, so nothing joins the call and no one sees a recorder bot. Its clearest difference from Fireflies is that the AI runs on your computer: speech-to-text and the notes (a short summary, key points, action items) are produced on the device, audio is never written to disk, and each meeting is saved as one encrypted file. There is no account, sync between your devices is end-to-end encrypted, and sharing sends only a meeting's title and summary. You can connect the AI assistant you already use to a read-only MCP server Nod runs on your computer.
Nod is not released yet. It does not match Fireflies' integrations, platform coverage, team administration, or replayable recording library, and its transcript labels lines "Me" and "Others" rather than naming each speaker. See how it works.
Which should you pick?
- Choose Fireflies if you need its integration ecosystem, cross-platform capture paths, mature team workspace, or the Notetaker's retained recording library.
- Choose Jamie if you want a bot-free tool today with broader device coverage and documented EU processing.
- Choose Granola if you want a bot-free tool today with desktop/mobile coverage, mature workspace administration, or a note-enhancement workflow.
- Join the Nod waitlist if you want transcription and notes on your own computer, no account, and open source code, for at most $5 a month at launch, and can wait for the release.
If your workflow depends on one specific Fireflies integration or on retained recordings, that can outweigh a narrower privacy model. Compare the exact capture path and storage limits rather than a generic bot label.
First-party sources: Fireflies desktop capture modes, what desktop Take Notes and Notetaker save, Fireflies meeting storage, Granola security and privacy, Jamie product and privacy, and how Nod works. If Nod fits, join the waitlist.
For the bigger picture, see meeting notes without a bot and our Otter alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the best Fireflies.ai alternative?
- Choose Fireflies for its bot and bot-free capture options, integrations, team workspace, cross-platform paths, or retained library. Choose Granola or Jamie for a bot-free tool today that keeps no recording. Nod runs the AI on your own computer with no account, but it is not released yet.
- Is there a Fireflies alternative that doesn't use a bot?
- Yes. Granola and Jamie are bot-free today, and Nod will be when it launches. Fireflies itself also documents bot-free desktop, Chrome, and Google Meet SDK paths alongside its visible Notetaker, so check the exact workflow, consent behavior, and recording retention you plan to use.
- Is there a free Fireflies alternative?
- Granola and Jamie publish free and paid options. Nod isn't released yet; it will cost at most $5 a month at launch. They differ on capture, audio retention, device coverage, storage region, training controls, and team administration, so verify the current plan details directly.