The pricing is nearly identical — Otter $17, Fireflies $18, Granola $18 for a standard monthly plan — so this comes down to one design decision: does a bot join your call?
Otter, Fireflies and [Fathom](/entry/otter-vs-fireflies-vs-fathom-ai-meeting-notes-pricing-free-tiers-compared) all send a visible bot that shows up in the participant list. Granola doesn't — it listens through your machine's audio and enhances the notes you're already taking, invisibly. For a lot of people, especially in external meetings where a "Fireflies Notetaker has joined" popup is awkward, that alone is the reason to pick Granola.
| Free tier | Paid | Bot on the call? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granola | Basic $0, limited history | Business $14/user, Enterprise $35/user | no |
| Otter.ai | 300 min/mo, 30-min cap per call | Pro ~$16.99, Business $30/user | yes |
| Fireflies.ai | 800 min total storage | ~$18/mo, scales | yes |
Beyond the bot question, each still has its lane. Otter is strongest for live transcription you watch during the call and a searchable archive you'll mine later. Fireflies is the sales pick — its reason to exist over the others is pushing call notes and deal signals straight into Salesforce or [HubSpot](/entry/hubspot-vs-hootsuite-which-price-tag-fits-your-marketing-hustle). Granola is the quiet personal-notes tool: it makes your notes better rather than producing a separate bot transcript.
If your meetings are mostly internal and you want CRM automation, Fireflies. If you want live captions and a deep transcript archive, Otter, and its free 300 minutes is a real starting point. If you take meetings with clients or candidates and don't want a bot announcing itself, Granola — and its $0 Basic tier covers casual use.