Best AI Note Taker Without a Bot: Granola, Jamie, and No-Bot Options in Otter, Fireflies, and Fathom
Compare the best AI note takers without a bot, including Granola, Jamie, Otter, Fireflies, and Fathom, to capture meeting notes without adding a participant.
Best AI Note Taker Without a Bot: Granola, Jamie, and No-Bot Options in Otter, Fireflies, and Fathom
If you are searching for the best AI note taker without a bot, you usually want notes without a notetaker in the participant list. Typical reasons: a client forbids recording bots, a waiting room makes the bot awkward to admit, or you also capture in-person, phone, or Huddle audio where a meeting bot cannot join.
This is adjacent to, but not the same as, a Granola alternatives comparison. That page weighs bot-free notepads against bot-first team archives. This page starts from the constraint itself: no bot in the call.
The tools compared are Granola, Jamie, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, and Fathom. Granola and Jamie officially market themselves as bot-free by design. Otter, Fireflies, and Fathom are bot-first products that also document a no-bot path, with OS and platform limits.
Last checked: 2026-11-10 (Asia/Shanghai), against official product, pricing, and help pages listed at the end. This page is an official-docs verification, not a live product test. We did not run side-by-side recordings or score note quality. Prices, plan limits, and beta status change; treat the vendors’ live pages as source of truth.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Official no-bot stance | Where the no-bot path works (official) | Free-tier constraint (verified note) | Paid starting point (official) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granola | Bot-free by design — device-audio capture; no bot in the participant list | Desktop, iOS, Android, and Apple Watch apps listed on pricing | Basic $0: unlimited meetings; 30 days of in-app history | Business $14/user/month; Enterprise $35/user/month |
| Jamie | Bot-free by design — “No bot joins your call”; runs on your device | Official site: online platforms plus in-person; homepage lists Windows, macOS, iOS | Free €0/$0: 10 AI notes/month; 30 min meeting cap | Geo-priced. Yearly view: Plus ~€21/mo billed annually; Pro ~€39/mo billed annually. See pricing caveat below. |
| Otter.ai | Bot-first, with a documented bot-free path — desktop “botless recording” | Official desktop app for Mac and Windows | Basic: 300 monthly transcription minutes | Pro $16.99/mo or $8.49*/mo annual (first-time offer — confirm live); Business $30/mo or $24/mo annual |
| Fireflies.ai | Bot-first, with a documented no-bot path — Chrome extension without the Fireflies bot | Official KB: Google Meet in Chrome only. Zoom / Teams still use the bot. Mobile app for in-person audio. | Free $0: default transcription credits (e.g. 3 via website signup); 400 minutes storage/seat | Pro $10/user/mo annual or $18 monthly; Business $19 annual / $29 monthly; Enterprise $39/user/mo annual |
| Fathom | Choice of bot or bot-free — pricing still labels bot-free as a beta feature for Mac | Bot-free modes now live on Mac (Fathom 3.0+, macOS 14.2+, rollout eligibility). Windows bot-free is a limited Microsoft Teams alpha. Bot-free video is a limited beta. | Free: unlimited recordings + transcriptions + instant summaries (advanced features limited) | Premium ~$16/mo annual ($20 monthly); Team from $15/user/mo annual ($19 monthly, 2-user min); Business from $25/user/mo annual ($34 monthly, 2-user min) |
How to read this table: Granola and Jamie are built so that nothing joins the call. Otter, Fireflies, and Fathom can still send a bot unless you use the documented no-bot path — and that path may be limited by OS, browser, or meeting app.
Granola — the default starting point when the bot must not appear
Official site: granola.ai · Pricing · AI meeting assistant (no bot)
Granola markets itself as an AI notepad, not a guest in the call. Official pages state that it uses bot-free, device-audio capture; combines what you typed with what it heard into editable notes; keeps notes private by default; and deletes audio after transcription. Pricing lists desktop, iOS, Android, and Apple Watch apps. The free plan includes AI chat within and across meetings, templates, shared folders, and Slack; broader integrations, API, and MCP are on paid plans.
Granola can send an automated message at the start of a meeting to let others know you are using it. Official pricing still tells you to get permission before transcribing others where the law requires it. Bot-free is not consent-free.
Pricing (official)
| Plan | Price | Notable limits / unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0/user/month | AI notes, chat, templates, shared folders; 30 days history in-app; Slack; MCP limited to last 30 days of personal notes |
| Business | $14/user/month | Unlimited history; advanced models; Notion / HubSpot / Attio / Affinity / Zapier; centralized billing; API; MCP for personal + public workspace notes |
| Enterprise | $35/user/month | SSO, SCIM, workspace policies, HIPAA-compliant workspaces, org-wide training opt-out, analytics |
Billing docs add: no plan has a daily transcription limit; on Basic, notes older than 30 days are retained but not accessible in-app until you upgrade (you can still export a CSV of full history). Docs also state that Basic and Business are billed monthly; annual billing is available on Enterprise contracts only.
Who Granola is for
- Anyone whose first requirement is nothing in the participant list, on more than one OS
- People who already jot rough notes and want AI to fill gaps, including in-person or phone meetings
- Users who want notes private by default, with optional disclosure
Who should not pick Granola first
- Teams that need a shared recording archive every teammate can search without each person running the app
- Orgs that require SSO / SCIM / HIPAA workspace controls on day one (those are Enterprise; docs also note SSO for teams with 50+ users)
- Users who need long free history — Basic’s 30-day in-app window is the main free-tier tradeoff
Internal link: Granola tool page
Jamie — also bot-free by design, with EU hosting and tighter free limits
Official site: meetjamie.ai · Pricing · Subscriptions & plans
Jamie’s homepage is explicit: “No bot joins your call,” data stays in the EU, and the product is ISO 27001 and GDPR aligned. Official copy says Jamie runs on your device, works across Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, or any other online platform, and also captures in-person meetings from a laptop or phone. Privacy text says audio is streamed and not stored, and models are never trained on your data. Higher plans add CRM, MCP, and API connections.
The homepage schema lists Windows, macOS, iOS, and Web. Confirm current OS versions in Jamie’s download or docs at install time.
Pricing (official) — confirm currency and period on the live page
Jamie’s pricing is geo-localized (the same URL can render EUR or USD) and has a Monthly / Yearly toggle (Yearly advertised at −17%). These are official figures shown on 2026-11-10, not a single global price list.
| Plan | Usage (pricing grid) | Listed price — handle with care |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 10 AI notes / month; 30 min max meeting; Ask Jamie; unlimited storage | €0 / $0 |
| Plus | 20 AI notes / month; 2h max meeting; Notion, Google Docs, OneNote | Yearly view: €21/mo billed annually (a US-localized view showed about $24/mo billed annually). Docs list monthly €25, or $29 for US customers. |
| Pro | Unlimited AI notes; 5h max meeting; Salesforce, HubSpot, Asana, etc.; MCP | Yearly view: €39/mo billed annually (US-localized yearly view showed about $46/mo billed annually). Docs list monthly €47, or $55 for US customers. |
| Team | Everything in Pro, plus shared workspace, tags, templates, admin / centralized billing | Yearly view: €33/seat/mo billed annually (US-localized yearly view showed about $37/seat/mo billed annually). Docs list monthly €39, or $45 per member for US customers. |
| Enterprise (10+ users) | SSO, SCIM, RBAC, audit logs, custom retention, DPAs | Custom, billed annually |
Docs also say one credit is charged per recorded meeting, regardless of duration; meetings too short for a proper summary may not consume a credit. If you hit the credit or duration cap, notes can be locked until you upgrade.
Cold-water notes: Do not publish a single “Jamie costs $X” badge without opening the live pricing page in your market and checking Monthly vs Yearly. The pricing grid lists SOC 2 Type II (pending) — do not describe Jamie as SOC 2 certified on the basis of that line.
Who Jamie is for
- People who want bot-free capture as the product, not a mode, including on Windows (where Fathom’s no-bot path is still limited)
- Buyers who need EU data residency, ISO 27001, and a “no model training” statement from official pages
- Teams that will eventually want CRM exports, MCP, or a shared workspace (Team / Enterprise)
Who should not pick Jamie first
- Free-tier users with more than 10 meetings a month, or meetings longer than 30 minutes — tighter than Granola Basic
- Anyone who needs a documented SOC 2 Type II certification today (official grid says pending)
- Users who want Granola’s “typed notes + audio enhancement” notepad UX — Jamie is positioned as meeting intelligence / notes-and-workflow, not that exact model
Internal link: Jamie tool page
Otter.ai — bot-free on the desktop app, still a minute-limited notetaker
Official site: otter.ai · Pricing · Desktop app (record without a bot) · Desktop help
Otter is still, officially, an AI notetaker that can join Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet from the calendar. It is in this comparison because official pages also document a bot-free path. The desktop product page covers recording without a bot, including Slack Huddles, Zoom, Google Meet, and in-person. Help Center language is “botless recording”: the desktop app captures and transcribes without Otter Notetaker joining as a participant, including while you wear headphones, if the required microphone and screen/audio-recording permissions are granted. Official help lists the app for macOS 13.0 or later and Windows 10 or later.
The homepage also mentions recording bot-free on desktop or Chrome. If the browser path matters, confirm it on Otter’s live help pages — this article relies on the desktop docs, which are the clearest official “no participant” write-up.
Pricing (official pricing page)
| Plan | Listed price (USD) | Usage notes from the pricing page |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Free | 300 monthly transcription minutes; 3 lifetime A/V imports; AI Chat (e.g. 20 queries/user with per-conversation caps on the comparison grid); Otter MCP |
| Pro | $16.99/mo or $8.49*/mo annual | 1200 in-app recording minutes; up to 90 mins/meeting; 10 monthly imports; advanced templates/workflows |
| Business | $30/mo or $24/mo annual | Unlimited meetings + in-app recordings; up to 4 hours/meeting; join 3 concurrent meetings; admin analytics |
| Enterprise | Custom | SSO/SCIM (pricing page notes a minimum 100-user license for SSO/SCIM), HIPAA add-on, API/webhooks, sales notetaker, deeper AI Chat connectors |
*The annual Pro price is footnoted as valid for first-time subscribers only. The same page also surfaces $8.33 in places depending on how the annual toggle renders. Confirm the live offer before publishing a hard “always $8.49” or “always $8.33” badge. Otter also documents a .edu student/teacher 20% discount on Pro (official FAQ: Pro Annual $6.67/mo billed $79.99 annually; Pro Monthly $13.59/mo) — eligibility-limited, not the default rate.
Who Otter is for
- People who want one account that can do calendar auto-join or bot-free desktop capture
- Users who like Otter’s live transcript / AI Chat workflow and can live within minute-based limits
- Mac or Windows users who need a documented bot-free desktop app today (not a Mac-only beta)
Who should not pick Otter first
- Anyone whose free usage will blow past 300 minutes/month quickly
- Strict “the product itself must never be able to send a bot” buyers — Otter remains bot-capable; you have to choose botless recording
- People who want Granola-style typed-note enhancement as the core UX (Otter is transcript/notetaker-first)
Internal link: Otter.ai tool page
Fireflies.ai — no-bot Chrome capture, but only for Google Meet
Official site: fireflies.ai · Pricing · Pricing KB · Free plan KB · Chrome extension
Fireflies is built around a meeting bot ([email protected]) and a Notebook of transcripts, summaries, clips, and integrations. It belongs here because official docs answer “Can I record without the bot joining?” with yes, using the Chrome extension (Google Meet only) or the mobile app for in-person recordings.
The pricing comparison lists “Record using Chrome extension without Fireflies bot.” The extension guide is explicit: it only works with Google Meet in Chrome. For Zoom or Teams, use the Fireflies Notetaker bot. The extension records audio, not video; video requires inviting the bot. Live Assist can show real-time notes in the meeting tab without using the bot. Official docs also say the bot cannot be hidden if you do use it: it appears in the participant list and posts in meeting chat.
Pricing (official KB)
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Free | $0 |
| Pro | $10/user/month billed annually, or $18/user/month monthly |
| Business | $19/user/month billed annually, or $29/user/month monthly |
| Enterprise | $39/user/month billed annually |
Free-plan nuances if you are avoiding the bot: website signup gets 3 transcription credits by default (Chrome extension signup is listed at 5; new mobile users 10). Credits are used for summaries and for uploaded / dialer transcriptions. Auto-join is what Fireflies documents as the path to unlimited meeting transcriptions on Free — but Auto-join is the calendar setting that lets the bot join eligible meetings. If your constraint is “no bot in the list,” do not treat Auto-join as your no-bot setup; confirm on the live KB how Chrome-extension-only capture is counted on Free. Free storage is 400 minutes per seat. AI features such as AskFred still consume 20 AI credits/month on Free. Downloading transcripts is called out as requiring a paid plan.
Who Fireflies is for
- Google Meet–centric users who already like Fireflies’ Notebook and want extension capture without Fred in the call
- Teams that will sometimes accept the bot (Zoom / Teams, video, unattended recording) and only need no-bot mode for Meet
- In-person capture via the official mobile app
Who should not pick Fireflies first
- Anyone whose meetings are mostly Zoom or Teams and who cannot allow a bot — official docs send those platforms to the Notetaker
- People who want a simple private notepad with no team Notebook model
- Free users who assume “unlimited” covers storage, downloads, and AI summaries — it does not
Internal link: Fireflies.ai tool page
Fathom — bot-free modes exist, but officially still Mac-beta (Windows is limited)
Official site: fathom.ai · Pricing · What’s new · Fathom 3.0+ upgrade help
Fathom markets unlimited free recordings and transcriptions, instant summaries, and paid team / CRM / coaching features. Official pricing still includes: “Choice of bot-free and bot capture-types (Beta feature for Mac).” That label had not been removed as of this check.
What official pages add (checked 2026-11-10):
- What’s new says bot-free capture is “Now live on Mac,” with modes for bot-free audio + transcript, bot-free transcript only, and bot-free video (limited beta). It also notes bot-free capture is what makes Slack Huddles possible.
- Help for Fathom 3.0+ (edited 2026-11-05) says 3.0+ is only available for Mac users, with eligibility as of 2026-10-30 for macOS 14.2 or newer, the latest desktop app, rollout inclusion, and language eligibility (20 languages, including English).
- The same help article states: “Windows bot-free recording is currently in a limited Microsoft Teams alpha.” What’s new still lists “Windows users, you’re up next” under Coming soon.
- Bot capture remains the generally available path on macOS and Windows; the bot appears in the participant list.
So Fathom is a real no-bot option if you are on an eligible Mac. It is not, on official pages today, a general Windows bot-free notetaker.
Pricing (official pricing page)
| Plan | Listed price |
|---|---|
| Free | $0 — unlimited recordings/transcriptions; instant summaries; LLM integrations; advanced features limited |
| Premium (individuals) | About $16/mo annual or $20/mo monthly |
| Team | About $15/user/mo annual or $19/user/mo monthly (2-user minimum) |
| Business | About $25/user/mo annual or $34/user/mo monthly (2-user minimum) |
| Enterprise | Listed around $35*/user/mo, annual only — confirm the live quote |
Exact annual vs monthly toggles can shift; use the pricing URL at publish time. Paid tiers add advanced summaries, action items, shared workspaces, Ask Fathom across team calls, trackers, CRM field sync, coaching/scorecards, and SSO/SCIM on Enterprise. HIPAA language is plan-dependent (standard BAA on some team tiers; custom BAA eligibility on Enterprise).
Who Fathom is for
- Eligible Mac users who want unlimited free capture without Granola’s 30-day free history window or Jamie’s 10-note free cap
- People who want to choose bot or bot-free meeting by meeting, including transcript-only or audio-only
- Teams that may start free and later need shared folders, Ask Fathom, or CRM sync
Who should not pick Fathom first
- Windows-only users who must have bot-free capture today — official pages still describe this as a limited Teams alpha / “up next,” not general availability
- Mac users who are not yet in the 3.0+ rollout (help says eligibility depends on OS, app version, rollout, and language)
- People whose primary job is “enhance my typed notes, private by default” — that workflow is closer to Granola
Internal link: Fathom tool page
How to choose (decision guide)
Use this order — it matches the search intent:
-
Must nothing appear in the participant list, every time?
Hard yes, as a product architecture choice → start with Granola or Jamie. Hard yes, but only on some calls, and you already live in a bot-capable tool → verify Otter desktop botless recording, Fireflies Chrome (Google Meet only), or Fathom bot-free (Mac, still labeled beta on pricing). -
Which operating system are you actually on?
Mac and Windows, bot-free as the default → Granola or Jamie, or Otter’s documented desktop app. Windows and you were hoping to use Fathom without a bot → official pages do not yet promise general Windows bot-free support. Google Meet in Chrome only, and you already use Fireflies → the official extension path may be enough. -
What breaks the free tier first?
Granola free: history window (30 days in-app), not meeting count, and no daily transcription cap. Jamie free: 10 notes/month and a 30-minute meeting cap. Otter free: 300 transcription minutes/month. Fireflies free: credits / 400 minutes storage / AI credits; do not confuse this with a no-bot Auto-join setup. Fathom free: generous unlimited recordings/transcriptions, with advanced features gated — if you can use the Mac bot-free modes. -
Do you need EU residency, SSO, SCIM, HIPAA, or CRM write-back on day one?
Those sit on specific paid or Enterprise packages, and the paperwork differs (Jamie emphasizes EU hosting and ISO 27001; Granola HIPAA workspaces are Enterprise; Otter HIPAA is an Enterprise add-on; Fathom BAA language is plan-dependent). Check the live trust/pricing pages rather than assuming Free covers them.
Who should not use which
| Situation | Prefer | Avoid as primary |
|---|---|---|
| Client forbids any recording bot in the participant list | Granola or Jamie (bot-free by design), after you verify consent features | Default Otter / Fireflies / Fathom bot auto-join |
| You are on Windows and need no-bot today | Granola, Jamie, or Otter’s official desktop botless recording | Fathom bot-free as a general Windows promise (officially still limited / coming soon) |
| Meetings are mostly Zoom or Teams, no bot allowed | Granola, Jamie, or Otter desktop | Fireflies Chrome extension alone (officially Meet-only; Zoom/Teams use the bot) |
| You want unlimited free recordings and you are on an eligible Mac | Fathom Free, after you confirm 3.0+ bot-free eligibility | Granola Basic alone if you need months of in-app history; Jamie Free if you have >10 meetings |
| You have many long meetings on a free plan | Granola (no daily minute cap) or Fathom Free (if bot-free is available to you) | Jamie Free (10 notes / 30 min) or Otter Basic (300 minutes) |
| You never want to run a local app and will accept a visible bot | Otter / Fireflies / Fathom auto-join | Granola or Jamie (both expect device-side capture) |
FAQ
Which AI note taker is truly without a bot?
On official positioning, Granola and Jamie are bot-free by design: they capture audio on your device and do not join as a meeting participant. Otter, Fireflies, and Fathom officially document no-bot options, but they also still offer a meeting bot. If the bot existing in the product is itself a policy problem, start with Granola or Jamie.
Is Fathom bot-free yet, or still beta?
Both statements appear on official pages at once. The pricing grid still marks bot-free as a beta feature for Mac. The What’s new page says bot-free modes are now live on Mac, with bot-free video still a limited beta. Help (updated 2026-11-05) limits Fathom 3.0+ to eligible Mac users and describes Windows bot-free recording as a limited Microsoft Teams alpha. Verify your OS and eligibility before you plan around it.
Can I use Fireflies without Fred joining?
Yes, with limits. Official FAQs say you can record without the bot via the Chrome extension (Google Meet only) or the mobile app for in-person audio. Official extension docs say Zoom and Teams still require the Notetaker bot, and the extension does not record video.
Is there a free bot-free notetaker?
Yes, with different ceilings. Granola Basic is $0 with unlimited meetings and a 30-day in-app history window. Jamie Free is €0/$0 but capped at 10 notes per month and 30 minutes per meeting. Otter Basic is free with 300 monthly transcription minutes, including the desktop bot-free path. Fathom Free is the most generous on recording volume, but the no-bot path is officially Mac-beta / eligibility-gated. Fireflies Free can capture Meet without the bot via the extension, subject to credit, storage, and AI-credit rules.
Does “bot-free” mean I can skip telling other people?
No. Every vendor reviewed here still puts consent and notification on you. Granola documents an optional in-meeting notice. Jamie documents a consent email. Fathom documents a recording-notice chat message. Fireflies states that even the visible bot plus a chat message may not meet consent laws. Bot-free only means no extra participant in the roster, not a free pass to record silently.
Sources & last checked
Checked: 2026-11-10, Asia/Shanghai (UTC+8). Official-docs verification only; no live hands-on product test.
No traffic estimates, Wikipedia, or Product Hunt links are used as Website sources on this page.