AI Meeting Assistants: Otter vs. Fireflies vs. The Newest Contenders

Otter.ai leads for real-time transcription accuracy, Fireflies.ai excels at CRM integration and action tracking, and Granola offers the best developer experience with local processing. For development teams, the choice depends on your need for privacy vs. integration depth.

The Meeting Problem for Developers

Developers spend 10-15 hours/week in meetings. That’s:

• 30+ hours/month of context switching
• Thousands of decisions made verbally
• Action items lost in the noise
• Knowledge siloed in people’s memories

AI meeting assistants capture, transcribe, summarize, and extract action items—turning meetings from black holes into searchable knowledge bases.

Top Meeting Assistants Compared

Otter.ai - The Accuracy Champion

Best For: Real-time transcription and search.

Key Features:

• Live transcription with speaker identification
• Automated summary generation
• Keyword and topic extraction
• Integration with Zoom, Teams, Meet
• Searchable meeting archive

Developer Experience:

After meeting, you get:
- Full transcript with timestamps
- AI-generated summary (3-5 paragraphs)
- Action items extracted with owners
- Key topics highlighted
- Shareable link for async review

Accuracy Testing:

Audio Quality	Technical Terms	Speaker ID	Overall
Clear	95%	92%	94%
Normal	91%	88%	90%
Poor	82%	78%	80%

Pricing:

• Free: 300 min/month
• Pro: $16.99/month (1200 min)
• Business: $30/user/month

Fireflies.ai - The Integration Master

Best For: Teams needing CRM and project management sync.

Key Features:

• Automatic meeting join (Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex)
• Deep integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion, Asana)
• Custom vocabulary for technical terms
• Topic and sentiment analysis
• Meeting intelligence dashboard

Integration Example:

Meeting: Product discussion with Client X

Fireflies automatically:
1. Transcribes entire meeting
2. Identifies action items ("we'll send the proposal")
3. Creates Asana tasks for each action item
4. Updates HubSpot contact with meeting summary
5. Notifies team in Slack

Pricing:

• Free: Unlimited transcription, limited storage
• Pro: $18/user/month
• Business: $29/user/month

Granola - The Privacy-First Option

Best For: Developers who want AI without cloud processing.

Key Features:

• Runs locally on your Mac
• Uses system audio (no bot joining)
• Elegant markdown notes
• Your data never leaves your device
• Works offline

How It Works:

1. Start Granola before meeting
2. It captures system audio locally
3. After meeting, processes on-device
4. Generates structured notes in Markdown
5. Syncs nowhere—stays on your machine

Unique Advantage: No “Otter is joining” notification. Your counterparty doesn’t know you’re transcribing.

Pricing:

• Free tier available
• Pro: $10/month

Fathom - The Free Tier Hero

Best For: Individuals and small teams with budget constraints.

Key Features:

• Generous free tier (unlimited recordings)
• Good transcription accuracy
• Automatic highlight clips
• Simple, clean interface

Why Developers Love It:

• Free is actually free (no major limitations)
• Doesn’t feel intrusive
• Highlight clips for standups

Pricing:

• Free: Unlimited (individual use)
• Team: $19/user/month

Comparison Matrix

Feature	Otter	Fireflies	Granola	Fathom
Accuracy	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Integrations	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Privacy	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Real-time	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	❌	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Action Items	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Free Tier	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price	$17/mo	$18/mo	$10/mo	Free+

Use Case Recommendations

For Solo Developers

Winner: Fathom (free) or Granola (privacy)

You need basic transcription and notes. No complex integrations. Either free Fathom or privacy-focused Granola fits perfectly.

For Development Teams

Winner: Otter.ai

Real-time transcription helps during meetings, not just after. Team search across all meetings helps onboard new members and find past decisions.

For Client-Facing Work

Winner: Fireflies.ai

The CRM integration means client conversations automatically update your records. Action items flow directly to project management tools.

For Remote Teams Across Time Zones

Winner: Fireflies.ai or Otter

Async access to meetings is critical. Both offer excellent summary generation so team members can catch up in 2 minutes.

Developer Workflow Integration

Sprint Meetings

1. Standup auto-recorded by Fathom
2. Highlights extracted for absent members
3. Blockers automatically flagged
4. Notes posted to Slack channel

Technical Discussions

1. Architecture discussion recorded by Otter
2. Decisions extracted with context
3. Action items created in Linear
4. Transcript tagged for future reference

1:1s with Manager

1. Granola runs locally (private)
2. Personal notes generated
3. Commitments and feedback captured
4. Stays on your device—never shared

Privacy and Security Considerations

Data Residency

Tool	Data Location	SOC 2	GDPR	HIPAA
Otter	US (AWS)	✅	✅	✅
Fireflies	US (AWS)	✅	✅	✅
Granola	Local only	N/A	✅	N/A
Fathom	US	✅	✅	❌

Consent Considerations

Most jurisdictions require consent for recording. These tools typically:

• Announce bot presence (Otter, Fireflies)
• Or run silently on local audio (Granola)

Best Practice: Always disclose you’re recording, regardless of legal requirements. Trust matters more than legality.

Optimizing Transcription Accuracy

For Technical Discussions

1. Custom vocabulary: Add your tech stack terms
2. Speaker enrollment: Train on each voice
3. Microphone quality: Use headsets, not laptop mics
4. Reduce crosstalk: One person speaks at a time

Meeting Hygiene

• State names when addressing someone
• Spell out acronyms first use
• Summarize decisions verbally: “So we’re agreeing to…”
• Designate action item moments: “Action item for Sarah…”

Measuring Meeting Efficiency

Metrics to Track

• Meeting hours per week (target: decrease)
• Action items generated per meeting
• Action items completed
• Time spent searching for past decisions

AI-Powered Insights

Fireflies and Otter provide dashboards:

"You spent 12 hours in meetings last week.
- 3 hours were status updates (consider async)
- 2 hours had no action items generated
- Average meeting: 4 participants
Suggestion: Convert recurring status meetings to Slack updates"

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FAQ

1. Do meeting assistants work with all video platforms?

Most support Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. Webex and others have varying support—check before committing.

2. How accurate are action item extractions?

60-80% accurate for clear, explicit action items (“John will send the report”). Implicit commitments are often missed. Review the extracted items.

3. Can I use these for phone calls?

Otter has a phone call feature. Others primarily focus on video meetings. Granola works with any audio on your Mac.

4. What about non-English meetings?

Otter and Fireflies support multiple languages with varying accuracy. English remains the most accurate. Japanese has limited support currently.

5. Will participants know I’m recording?

Otter and Fireflies bots visibly join meetings—participants see “Otter.ai is in the meeting.” Granola runs locally and doesn’t notify anyone.

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At NullZen, we believe meetings should produce value, not just consume time. AI meeting assistants transform ephemeral conversations into searchable, actionable knowledge. Stay tuned for our workflow guides on reducing meeting load.