Fireflies.ai Alternatives Compared (2025): Honest Face-Offs with Otter.ai, tl;dv, TeamsMaestro & More

AI meeting assistants have exploded in popularity for one reason: we’re drowning in virtual meetings. Whether it’s internal syncs, client calls, or back-to-back sales demos, the last thing anyone wants to do is manually take notes or miss critical details.

Fireflies.ai has positioned itself as one of the go-to solutions in this space and it deserves that spotlight. It's powerful, easy to use, and integrates with major platforms. But like any tool, it's not one-size-fits-all. Maybe you're bumping up against feature limitations. Maybe the UI doesn’t vibe with your team. Or maybe you just want to explore what else is out there before committing.

That’s where this article comes in. We’re not here to dunk on Fireflies or blindly hype our own product, TeamsMaestro (though yes, we’ll include it). We’re here to give you a side-by-side comparison of Fireflies.ai and its closest competitors so you can find the right AI meeting assistant for your workflow.

Let’s break down who’s got what, what Fireflies might be missing, and where another tool might just outshine it.

What Fireflies.ai Does Well—and Where It Falls Short

Before we pit it against the field, let’s give Fireflies its flowers.

Before we start comparing Fireflies.ai to every other AI note-taking tool on the planet, let’s be fair and give it some well-deserved applause. Fireflies has earned its place as a trusted AI meeting assistant for good reason, it automates a lot of the annoying parts of meetings so you can focus on actually having them.

But just like that one friend who always shows up to brunch but never splits the bill, Fireflies does have its quirks. Let’s break it down.

What Fireflies.ai Does Right

Fireflies.ai is kind of like the multitasker of your tech stack—it listens, it writes, it organizes, it remembers. For teams running on caffeine, calendar chaos, and back-to-back virtual meetings, it can feel like a lifesaver.

Here’s what it does well:

• It plays nice with your favorite tools. Whether your team is deep in Google Meet, riding high on Microsoft Teams, or somewhere in Zoomland, Fireflies shows up and does the job. That kind of compatibility with several video conferencing apps is a win.
• It attends all your meetings so you don’t have to. Fireflies can auto-join your upcoming meetings based on your calendar. It handles the meeting recordings, transcribes meetings, and drops a clean meeting transcript right in your inbox. Lazy? No. Efficient? Absolutely.
• It creates solid AI meeting notes. Fireflies takes your messy meeting discussions and boils them down into neat AI summaries with key takeaways and action items. You get the gist without having to replay a full hour of “Can you hear me now?”
• It talks to your other apps. With integrations for tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, and Notion, Fireflies doesn’t just stop at recording meetings. It helps you move insights into your workflow. That’s ideal for sales teams, customer success teams, or any team trying to make their meeting management tool do more.
• It’s searchable. Fireflies archives your voice conversations, transcriptions, and summaries in a way that’s actually useful. Looking for that moment when someone said “Let’s circle back in Q3”? Search by keyword and boom—it’s there. Your memory just got outsourced.

Where Fireflies.ai Drops the Ball (Just a Bit)

Now, we don’t want to throw shade, but if you’ve ever yelled “Where’s the sentiment analysis?!” at your screen, this part’s for you.

Fireflies might be good, but it doesn’t do everything. And as other tools are leveling up, a few gaps in Fireflies’ armor are starting to show.

Let’s talk pain points:

• That free plan is, well... kind of stingy. Fireflies' free version gives you 800 minutes of storage. That might sound like a lot until you realize it’s just 13 hours. Once you start recording multiple video meetings each week, you’ll be forced to upgrade to one of the paid plans sooner than you’d like.
• No sentiment analysis, no talk-to-listen ratio, no speaker breakdown. Want to know how much your top-performing rep actually listens on a call? Fireflies can’t tell you. Tools like TeamsMaestro and Sembly offer deeper AI insights, including speaker insights, talk-to-listen ratio, and even sales call coaching features. Fireflies just isn’t built for that level of post meeting analysis.
• Everyone gets the same summary. Fireflies’ meeting summaries are clean, but cookie-cutter. You can’t tailor summaries for different audiences—say, one version for your boss, one for the client, and one for your teammate who was half-listening. Some AI meeting tools allow you to do exactly that, with custom meeting templates and flexible formats.
• No timestamps or meeting clips. This one hurts if you're a visual learner or love a good highlight reel. Fireflies doesn’t let you grab meeting clips or tag key points with timestamps, which makes async team collaboration harder. Tools like tl;dv (yes, spelled like that) shine in this area, helping teams jump to the juicy parts without rewatching the entire call.
• Sales coaching? Not here. While Fireflies helps with CRM syncing, it’s not the best fit for sales teams looking for insights from sales calls or feedback after customer meetings. If you're trying to analyze voice conversations and improve rep performance, there are other tools that dig deeper.

Top Fireflies.ai Alternative: Full Comparison

So if you’ve hit one of those friction points, here’s what the competition looks like:

Fireflies.ai vs Otter.ai: Real-Time Transcripts or Smart Summaries?

Otter.ai has been around for a while and leads the pack in real-time transcription. If you need live captions during meetings or want to edit transcripts on the fly, Otter delivers.

Where Otter Wins:

• Live transcription (great for accessibility and multitasking)
• Collaborative editing for meeting notes
• Generous free plan (300 monthly transcription minutes, 30 mins per meeting)
• Simple, clean UI that’s great for small teams and note taking

Where Fireflies Wins:

• Smart summary generation with tasks and decision tracking
• Better integrations for CRM workflows
• Broader automation across sales calls and meeting recordings

Otter.ai vs Fireflies Pricing:

• Otter.ai Pricing: $8.33/user/month (annual)
• Fireflies.ai Pricing: $18/user/month

Verdict:

If your team needs live captions or manual transcript editing, Otter has the edge. For more automated workflows and CRM syncing, Fireflies is stronger.

Fireflies.ai vs tl;dv: Async Hero or Note Taking OG?

tl;dv (too long; didn’t view) is perfect for people who love visuals and hate rewatching entire meetings. It’s built around meeting clips, timestamped highlights, and async collaboration—ideal if your team is scattered across time zones.

Where tl;dv Wins:

• Timestamped highlights with video snippets
• Great for async teams and post-meeting reviews
• Polished interface for sharing moments without digging through entire video meetings
• Integrates smoothly with Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams

Where Fireflies Wins:

• Task automation and action item detection
• Broader use across sales, internal meetings, and customer meetings
• More powerful AI summaries for traditional workflows

tl;dv vs Fireflies.ai Pricing:

• tl;dv Pro: $18/user/month (annual)
• Fireflies.ai Business: $29/user/month

Verdict:

tl;dv is perfect for async collaboration and visual learners. Fireflies is stronger if your team lives inside CRMs and needs tasks, not clips.

Fireflies.ai vs TeamsMaestro: Yes, It's Us—But Hear Us Out

We’re TeamsMaestro. And we promise this is going to be fair.

We’re focused entirely on Microsoft Teams—and we go deep, not wide. Fireflies does a good job supporting many platforms. But if you’re a Teams-only org? This one’s for you.

Where TeamsMaestro Wins:

• Native Microsoft Teams integration (auto-attendance, custom vocabulary, multi-meeting support)
• Role-based summaries (send one to the CEO, another to your intern)
• Talk-to-listen ratio, sentiment analysis, and speaker insights
• Great for sales call coaching and post-call feedback

Where Fireflies Wins:

• Works with Zoom, Google Meet, and more
• CRM integrations and calendar syncing are slightly more flexible

Fireflies.ai vs TeamsMaestro Pricing:

• TeamsMaestro Premium: $20/month or $17/month (annual)
• Fireflies.ai Business: $29/month

Verdict:

If you’re all-in on Microsoft Teams and want insightful analytics, smarter summaries, and multi-meeting automation, TeamsMaestro is your move. If your team is on multiple platforms, Fireflies offers more coverage.

Fireflies.ai vs Fathom: Sales Whisperer Showdown

Fathom is built by salespeople, for salespeople. If your job is to close deals and follow up fast, this is your jam.

Where Fathom Wins:

• Syncs call highlights to CRMs automatically
• Reps don’t have to lift a finger post-meeting
• Designed purely for sales and customer success teams

Where Fireflies Wins:

• More versatile for non-sales use cases
• Broader meeting template options for internal meetings, coaching, and more

Fathom vs Fireflies.ai Pricing:

• Fathom Premium: $19/month
• Fireflies.ai Business: $29/month

Verdict:

Fathom is ideal for sales teams who want call summaries and CRM updates without manual entry. Fireflies is better if you need one tool for multiple teams.

Fireflies.ai vs Sembly: Data Geek vs Task Tracker

Sembly is for managers and analysts who want more than just a transcript—they want meeting health metrics, AI insights, and risk detection.

Where Sembly Wins:

• Powerful dashboards, productivity scoring, and sentiment analysis
• Great for executives tracking meeting outcomes across teams
• Risk detection and keyword monitoring

Where Fireflies Wins:

• Easier setup and automation for task summaries
• More affordable at scale

Sembly vs Fireflies.ai Pricing:

• Sembly Team: $20/user/month
• Fireflies.ai Business: $29/user/month

Verdict:

Sembly is great for managers and project leaders who want data to back up every meeting. Fireflies suits teams that need consistent, auto-generated notes and summaries.

Fireflies.ai vs Colibri.ai: Minimalist Matchup

Sometimes, you just want to hit record and get your transcript. No fluff, no dashboards, no CRM bloat.

Where Colibri Wins:

• Fast, clean transcripts
• Lightweight UI
• Affordable for freelancers or small teams

Where Fireflies Wins:

• Full-featured AI support, task generation, and meeting management
• Scales better for mid-to-large teams

Colibri.ai vs Fireflies.ai Pricing:

• Colibri.ai: $16–$20/month
• Fireflies.ai Pro: $18/month

Verdict:

If you’re just starting out or want a budget-friendly transcription tool, Colibri’s great. But if your team is growing or needs automation, Fireflies offers more firepower.

Fireflies.ai vs Supernormal: Polished Summaries for Polished People

Supernormal is all about creating elegant, sharable meeting notes. If you're client-facing, presentation matters—and this tool nails it.

Where Supernormal Wins:

• Beautiful, formatted meeting summaries
• Easy sharing with clients and stakeholders
• Instant recap emails and templates

Where Fireflies Wins:

• More back-end features like task assignment and deeper storage
• Better suited for internal meeting management

Supernormal vs Fireflies.ai Pricing:

• Supernormal Pro: $18/month
• Fireflies.ai Pro: $18/month

Verdict:

If you’re in client services, Supernormal makes you look polished without doing extra work. For internal team use and automation, Fireflies still holds strong.

Final Thoughts: Try Before You Buy (Or at Least Before You Commit)

Fireflies.ai is a solid player in the AI meeting assistant world—but it’s not perfect for everyone. Depending on your goals, team size, and platform of choice, there might be an alternative that’s a better fit.

Most of these tools offer a free version or trial, so you can experiment without blowing your budget. Dive in, test a few, and choose the AI note-taker that actually takes notes the way you need them.

And if it happens to be us? Hey, we won’t say “told you so”… out loud.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Fireflies.ai Alternative

Why would someone look for a Fireflies.ai alternative?

There are several reasons someone might consider switching. Some teams outgrow the limited features in the free plan, especially when handling a high volume of meetings. Others need deeper insights like talk-to-listen ratios, speaker performance data, or sentiment analysis. A few simply want better support for team collaboration or more flexible integration with their favorite video conferencing apps and tools.

What should I look for in an AI meeting assistant?

The best AI meeting assistant should do more than just transcribe meetings. Look for tools that can record video or audio calls, provide accurate meeting transcriptions, generate useful meeting summaries, and offer smart features like meeting templates, post meeting analysis, and speaker insights. If your team is remote or hybrid, it is also important to find a tool that supports async workflows and works across all your meetings on platforms like Microsoft Teams or Google Meet.

How can AI tools help with sales and customer meetings?

AI tools can help by analyzing voice conversations and identifying key points, follow-ups, and sentiment during sales calls or customer support check-ins. Some assistants provide automatic coaching insights, flag opportunities, and generate summaries that integrate directly into your CRM. This allows sales teams and customer success teams to focus more on the conversation and less on manual note taking.

Is it worth upgrading from a free plan to a paid one?

If you are only hosting a few meetings per month, a free version may be enough to capture basic notes and summaries. However, if your team is consistently running multiple video meetings per week, or if you need features like unlimited transcription, detailed analytics, or integrations with third party apps, upgrading to a business plan often provides significant value and saves time.

Do AI meeting assistants work with more than one video conferencing platform?

Many AI meeting tools are designed to support several video conferencing apps, including Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. However, not every tool supports all platforms equally. It is important to check that the assistant integrates with your most-used platform and also works well with your calendar, task management tools, and other collaboration software.

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