Best AI note taker: 6 picks, 4 tested on the same meeting
We ran one meeting through Granola, Fathom, Fireflies, and Otter. The best AI note taker depends on whether you take client calls, want it free, or run a team.
Best free AI note taker: which free plan actually lasts
Most free AI notetakers are trials in disguise. We tested the tiers: Fathom's stays unlimited forever, and Granola, Fireflies, and Otter each win a niche.
Fathom pricing 2026: free, $20 Premium, and who pays nothing
Fathom pricing: Free $0, Premium $20/mo, Team $19 and Business $34 per user. What the free plan keeps, the 30-day preview catch, and which plan you need.
Fireflies AI review: the team brain, not the solo notetaker
I ran a controlled test meeting through Fireflies: a near-flawless transcript, 25+ CRM syncs, and real team analytics. Brilliant for teams, overkill solo.
Fireflies pricing: what the credits and caps really cost
Fireflies pricing runs $0 to $39 a seat, but the free plan's real limit is storage, not minutes, and the AI is metered by credits. Here's the actual math.
Granola pricing: is the free plan enough, or pay $14?
Is Granola free? Basic is $0 with unlimited meetings, but only 30 days of history. Business is $14 a user, Enterprise $35. Which plan you actually need.
Make.com pricing: what you'll really pay per operation
Make is free for 1,000 credits, then $9/mo Core — but every module run spends a credit, so the operations meter sets your real Make.com pricing.
Make.com review: more power than Zapier, if you watch the meter
Make is the visual middle ground between Zapier and n8n: router logic and 3,000+ apps, at a price that depends entirely on how fast you burn operations.
n8n vs Make: which is cheaper, and which is easier?
We ran n8n in production for months and built a real scenario in Make. The honest n8n vs Make verdict: who's cheaper at scale, who's easier to start, who wins.
Otter.ai pricing: what you'll actually pay in 2026
Otter.ai pricing runs from free to $30 a user. Here's what each tier really costs, the limits the pricing page soft-pedals, and which plan you actually need.
Zapier pricing: what you'll really pay as tasks add up
Zapier is free for 100 tasks, then $19.99/mo — but the per-task bill climbs fast as you scale. The real Zapier pricing, plan by plan, with worked cost math.
Zapier MCP tested in Claude Code: one command, two tasks a call
I connected Zapier MCP to Claude Code on a free Zapier plan and ran real tool calls. Setup, what each call cost in tasks, and the traps in onboarding.