Free meeting bots can finish the job. Fathom Free is unlimited recordings and transcripts (this is fathom-ai, not Fathom Analytics). Fireflies.ai Free is unlimited transcription with 400 minutes of team storage; Pro is $10 a user a month billed annually ($18 monthly). Otter.ai Free is 300 minutes a month with a 30-minute cap per conversation. tl;dv Free is unlimited recordings and transcripts, 10 AI summaries a month; Pro is €18 / $18 a user a month billed annually (€29 / $29 monthly). Granola Basic is free with a short history window; Business is $14 a user a month, monthly only. Descript Free is about 1 media hour; Hobbyist is $16 a user a month billed annually ($24 monthly). Read AI Free is 5 meetings a month; Pro is $15 a user a month billed annually ($19.75 monthly). Gong is sales-led revenue intelligence, the expensive end of this list.
8 tools compared on price, features and fit, with prices checked on vendor pages in September 2026.
Cheapest transcription in 2026 is often a free meeting bot. Fathom, Fireflies.ai, Otter.ai, and tl;dv all ship a lasting $0 recorder with different minute, storage, or summary caps. Paid revenue intelligence such as Gong sits at the other end: custom quotes, CRM coaching, and a bill that is not a $10 Fireflies Pro seat. Toolradar data: Toolradar lists 10,429 published tools as of September 1, 2026, including 142 published transcription tools, 69% of them free or freemium (8 free-only, 90 freemium, 44 paid).
This guide ranks 8 transcription and meeting-intel products by standing entry paid price, or by a generous free recorder when that recorder can keep a real meeting. We checked fathom.video/pricing, Fireflies billing docs, tldv.io pricing schema, granola.ai public 2026 cards, Descript 2026 plan tables, and read.ai/plans-pricing as of September 2026. This list uses fathom-ai (the meeting notetaker). It does not use the Fathom Analytics web-tracker slug. Chorus is omitted; eight picks already show the free-bot floor and the Gong ceiling.
The split that matters is a free Zoom / Meet / Teams bot versus a paid editor (Descript) versus sales-led revenue intel (Gong).
Top Picks
Picked by editorial review, informed by G2 and Capterra review volume and rating and by media mentions, the signals behind our category rankings. How we rate
Free forever: unlimited recordings and transcripts, instant summaries, Zoom / Meet / Teams. Premium $16 a month billed annually ($20 monthly). Team $15 / $19 with a 2-user minimum. fathom.video/pricing, September 2026. Not Fathom Analytics.
Starting price
From $18 /mo
4.9 (7,187 reviews)
Best for
Anyone who wants unlimited free meeting recording and will stay off Gong-priced revenue intel
Free: unlimited transcription, 400 minutes of shared team storage, no transcript export. Pro $10 a user a month billed annually ($18 monthly). Business $19 / $29. guide.fireflies.ai billing docs, 2026.
Starting price
From $10 /mo
4.7 (753 reviews)
Best for
Teams that want unlimited transcription minutes at $0 and will pay $10 annual Pro when storage or export blocks them
Free: 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports. Paid Pro is commonly $16.99 a month on 2026 public cards. Live captions during the call.
Starting price
From $8.33 /mo
4.4 (608 reviews)
Best for
People who want live in-meeting captions and can live inside 300 minutes and a 30-minute cap
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | From $18/mo | 4.9 7,187 reviews | Anyone who wants unlimited free meeting recording and will stay off Gong-priced revenue intel |
| Fireflies.ai | From $10/mo | 4.7 753 reviews | Teams that want unlimited transcription minutes at $0 and will pay $10 annual Pro when storage or export blocks them |
| Otter.ai | From $8.33/mo | 4.4 608 reviews | People who want live in-meeting captions and can live inside 300 minutes and a 30-minute cap |
| tl;dv | From $18/mo | 4.7 537 reviews | Teams that want unlimited free recordings and will pay €18 / $18 annual Pro when they need unlimited AI notes and CRM sync |
| Granola | From $14/mo | n/a | People who type notes in the meeting and want bot-free capture, and will pay $14 when history or CRM sync matters |
| Descript | From $16/mo | 4.6 1,106 reviews | Podcasters and video editors who transcribe to edit a timeline, and will pay $16 annual Hobbyist after the 1-hour Free cap |
| Read AI | From $15/mo | 4.0 35 reviews | Teams that want engagement scores later and will start on 5 free meetings or Pro at $15 annual |
| Gong | Custom | 4.7 7,281 reviews | Revenue orgs that will run an RFP and will not pretend Fireflies Pro at $10 is the same product |
Fathom
Free forever: unlimited recordings and transcripts, instant summaries, Zoom / Meet / Teams. Premium $16 a month billed annually ($20 monthly). Team $15 / $19 with a 2-user minimum. fathom.video/pricing, September 2026. Not Fathom Analytics.
- 5.0 on G2 (6,990 reviews)
- 4.8 on Trustpilot (197 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $18/mo
- Free plan
- Free to use
- Rating
- 4.9 (7,187 reviews)
Best for: Anyone who wants unlimited free meeting recording and will stay off Gong-priced revenue intel
- Pro: Unlimited recordings and transcripts on Free, with no Otter-style 300-minute monthly meter
- Pro: Premium at $16 annual is a published individual upgrade for advanced summaries and action items
- Pro: Team at $15 annual per user (2-user minimum) adds collaboration without a Gong RFP
- Con: Free AI summaries and Ask Fathom are limited. Unlimited recordings are not the same as unlimited AI extras
- Con: CRM field sync and Deal View start on Business at $25 a user a month billed annually (2-user minimum)
Fathom's pricing is very generous, especially with its robust Free tier offering unlimited recordings and transcription.
Watch out
Team tier requires 2+ users minimum.
Fireflies.ai
Free: unlimited transcription, 400 minutes of shared team storage, no transcript export. Pro $10 a user a month billed annually ($18 monthly). Business $19 / $29. guide.fireflies.ai billing docs, 2026.
- 4.7 on G2 (753 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $10/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.7 (753 reviews)
Best for: Teams that want unlimited transcription minutes at $0 and will pay $10 annual Pro when storage or export blocks them
- Pro: Unlimited transcription on Free, unlike Otter's 300-minute monthly cap
- Pro: Pro at $10 annual is the cheapest standing paid meeting-bot seat on this list
- Pro: Business at $19 annual adds unlimited storage and conversation intelligence
- Con: Free storage is 400 minutes shared across the team, so a second teammate fills the tank faster
- Con: Free blocks transcript export and video recording
Fireflies offers good value for meeting transcription.
Watch out
Storage caps on lower plans
- Starting price
- From $8.33/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.4 (608 reviews)
Best for: People who want live in-meeting captions and can live inside 300 minutes and a 30-minute cap
- Pro: 300 free minutes a month with no credit card, a numbered cap you can plan around
- Pro: Live captions during the call, which Fathom and Fireflies treat as after-the-fact transcripts
- Pro: Speaker labels and calendar sync with Zoom, Meet, and Teams on the free rung
- Con: 30-minute cap per conversation cuts a long all-hands in half on Free
- Con: 300 minutes disappears in a week of back-to-back calls, unlike Fathom's unlimited recordings
Otter.ai offers a generous free tier with 300 monthly transcription minutes, making it highly accessible.
- Starting price
- From $18/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.7 (537 reviews)
Best for: Teams that want unlimited free recordings and will pay €18 / $18 annual Pro when they need unlimited AI notes and CRM sync
- Pro: Unlimited recordings and transcripts on Free, closer to Fathom than to Otter's 300 minutes
- Pro: Pro at €18 / $18 annual undercuts Read AI Pro monthly at $19.75 and matches Fireflies Pro monthly only if you refuse annual Fireflies
- Pro: Timestamped clips and a meeting library, useful when the job is share-the-moment, not only a doc
- Con: 10 AI summaries a month on Free. The transcript stays; the recap meter does not
- Con: Monthly Pro at €29 / $29 is a large premium over the €18 / $18 annual card
The pricing for tl;dv is quite generous, especially with its robust Free tier offering unlimited meetings and AI transcription.
Granola
Basic is free (unlimited meetings, limited history). Business is $14 a user a month, monthly only, no annual discount in 2026 public cards. Bot-free: device audio, not a calendar bot. Enterprise from $35.
- Starting price
- From $14/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
Best for: People who type notes in the meeting and want bot-free capture, and will pay $14 when history or CRM sync matters
- Pro: Basic at $0 covers unlimited meetings if you accept a short history window (30 days or a low note cap, depending on the 2026 card you hit)
- Pro: Business at $14 a user a month is under Read AI Pro monthly and Fathom Premium monthly
- Pro: Bot-free capture: no extra participant named 'Granola bot' on the Zoom roster
- Con: History on Basic is the upgrade trigger. Confirm whether your account shows 25 notes total or a 30-day window
- Con: No annual discount. $14 times 12 is $168, with no cheaper yearly card
Granola's pricing is fair, offering a generous free Basic tier.
- Starting price
- From $16/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.6 (1,106 reviews)
Best for: Podcasters and video editors who transcribe to edit a timeline, and will pay $16 annual Hobbyist after the 1-hour Free cap
- Pro: Hobbyist at $16 annual is a published editor seat, cheaper than Creator at $24 annual
- Pro: Free at about 1 media hour lets you test text-based editing before you pay
- Pro: Filler-word removal and Studio Sound sit on paid rungs that meeting bots do not ship as an NLE
- Con: 1 free hour is not Fathom's unlimited meeting archive
- Con: Creator at $24 annual is the rung most weekly publishers need; Hobbyist is the cheap floor, not the full AI kit
Descript's pricing is generally fair, offering a generous Free tier and a well-structured progression.
Watch out
Overage fees for exceeding media minutes
- Starting price
- From $15/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.0 (35 reviews)
Best for: Teams that want engagement scores later and will start on 5 free meetings or Pro at $15 annual
- Pro: Pro at $15 annual matches Fathom Premium's $16 annual neighborhood
- Pro: Free 5 meetings a month is enough to test transcripts and summaries before a seat
- Pro: Annual Pro at $15 versus monthly $19.75 is a published 25 percent-class discount
- Con: Free is 5 meetings, far tighter than Fathom, Fireflies, or tl;dv unlimited recordings
- Con: Video playback and highlights start on Enterprise ($22.50 annual), and that tier often wants 10 seats
Read.ai's pricing is fair, offering a generous free tier for basic needs.
- Starting price
- Custom
- Rating
- 4.7 (7,281 reviews)
Best for: Revenue orgs that will run an RFP and will not pretend Fireflies Pro at $10 is the same product
- Pro: Conversation intelligence and deal inspection are the product, not a side feature on a $10 bot
- Pro: CRM write-back and coaching workflows are built for sales managers, not a solo founder archive
- Pro: Useful as the expensive end of this ranking so a $0 Fathom plan has something to compare against
- Con: No public $10 or $19 card. Any blog that prints a Gong per-seat number without a quote is guessing
- Con: Implementation and seat minimums put this outside freelancer transcription budgets
Gong is the dominant revenue intelligence platform, but its pricing is deliberately opaque and expensive.
Watch out
Standard contracts are 2-3 years with annual upfront payment, no monthly billing option exists. Early termination means forfeiting the remaining contract value
What 'Cheapest Transcription Software' Actually Means
Cheap transcription here is a meeting recorder that returns a transcript you can search. Fathom Free keeps unlimited recordings and transcripts. Fireflies.ai Free keeps unlimited transcription inside 400 minutes of shared storage. Otter.ai Free meters 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation. tl;dv Free keeps unlimited recordings and caps AI summaries. Those are production $0 rungs with different meters.
Granola is bot-free device audio plus your typed notes, free on Basic with a short history window, then $14 a user a month. Descript is a text-based editor: 1 free media hour, then Hobbyist at $16 annual. Read AI Free is 5 meetings a month. Gong is conversation intelligence for revenue teams, sold on a sales call, not a $10 self-serve card.
Why a Free Bot and Gong Are Not the Same Bill
A $0 Fathom or tl;dv transcript is cheap until you need CRM field write-back, coaching scorecards, or a legal hold. Fathom Business (CRM field sync, Deal View) is $25 a user a month billed annually with a 2-user minimum. Gong never publishes that rung. Comparing Gong's custom quote to Fireflies Pro at $10 annual is how "cheapest transcription" lists launder a revenue-intel RFP.
Annual versus monthly also moves the cheap paid floor. Fireflies Pro is $10 annual or $18 monthly. tl;dv Pro is €18 / $18 annual or €29 / $29 monthly. Read AI Pro is $15 annual or $19.75 monthly. Granola Business is $14 and bills monthly only, so there is no cheaper yearly card to hunt.
Key Features to Look For
What $0 actually meters (Essential)
Fathom: AI extras limited on Free; recordings unlimited. Fireflies: 400 minutes team storage, no transcript export on Free. Otter: 300 minutes and 30 minutes per conversation. tl;dv: 10 AI summaries a month. Read AI: 5 meetings. Granola: short history window. Descript: about 1 media hour.
Standing paid seat versus monthly premium (Essential)
Fireflies Pro $10 annual / $18 monthly. tl;dv Pro €18 / $18 annual / €29 / $29 monthly. Fathom Premium $16 annual / $20 monthly. Read AI Pro $15 annual / $19.75 monthly. Granola Business $14 monthly only.
fathom-ai versus Fathom Analytics (Important)
This list's Fathom is the meeting recorder at fathom.video (slug fathom-ai). It is not the privacy web-analytics product also named Fathom.
Editor hours versus meeting bot minutes (Important)
Descript Hobbyist at $16 annual buys about 10 media hours and a text-based editor. Fireflies Pro at $10 annual buys meeting storage and AI, not a podcast NLE.
Revenue intel as the ceiling (Nice to have)
Gong is included so 'cheapest' has an upper bound: sales-led conversation intelligence, not a $10 bot seat.
Mistakes to Avoid
- ×
Confusing fathom-ai (meeting recorder at fathom.video) with Fathom Analytics (privacy web tracker). This list is the meeting product.
- ×
Treating Fireflies Pro monthly at $18 as the cheap card. Standing cheap Pro is $10 a user a month billed annually.
- ×
Budgeting tl;dv at €18 / $18 while paying monthly. Monthly Pro is €29 / $29. The cheap card is annual.
- ×
Calling Granola Business $14 an annual rate. 2026 public cards bill Business monthly only, with no yearly discount.
- ×
Putting Gong in a $10 bake-off. Gong is sales-led revenue intel. The cheap path is Fathom, Fireflies, Otter, or tl;dv at $0.
Expert Tips
- →
- →
If you need export and storage, price Fireflies Pro at $10 annual against Fathom Premium at $16 annual. Free Fireflies blocks export.
- →
If a calendar bot is a problem, try Granola Basic at $0, then Business at $14 monthly. That is a different capture model than Fathom's bot.
- →
If you edit podcasts, buy Descript Hobbyist at $16 annual, not a second meeting-bot seat. The transcript is a timeline.
- →
Quote Gong only as a ceiling. If a vendor will not put a number on a page, it is not the cheap pick.
The Bottom Line
The cheapest usable transcription in 2026 is a free meeting bot. Fathom Free (fathom-ai, not Fathom Analytics) and tl;dv Free keep unlimited recordings. Fireflies.ai Free keeps unlimited transcription inside 400 minutes of storage; Pro is $10 a user a month billed annually. Otter.ai Free is 300 minutes a month. Granola Basic is free with a short history window; Business is $14 a user a month, monthly only. Descript Hobbyist is $16 a user a month billed annually after a 1-hour Free cap. Read AI Pro is $15 a user a month billed annually. Gong is sales-led revenue intelligence, the costly ceiling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest transcription software in 2026?
Fathom Free (the meeting product, slug fathom-ai) and tl;dv Free keep unlimited recordings and transcripts at $0, with AI extras capped. Fireflies.ai Free keeps unlimited transcription inside 400 minutes of shared storage. Otter.ai Free is 300 minutes a month with a 30-minute cap per conversation. The cheapest standing paid meeting-bot seat on this list is Fireflies Pro at $10 a user a month billed annually.
Is Fathom on this list the analytics tool?
No. This pick is Fathom the AI notetaker (fathom.video, tool slug fathom-ai). It is not Fathom Analytics, the privacy-oriented web analytics product. Do not mix the two slugs.
How much is Fireflies after the free plan?
Pro is $10 per user per month billed annually, or $18 billed monthly. Business is $19 annual or $29 monthly. Enterprise is $39 annual only. Those figures match Fireflies' 2026 billing help articles.
Does tl;dv charge in euros or dollars?
The public pricing schema on tldv.io lists Pro at €29 monthly or €216 a year (€18 a month). USD cards at $29 / $18 appear on the same product. Confirm the currency on the checkout you use. The cheap Pro card is annual, not monthly.
Why is Gong on a cheapest list?
Gong is the expensive end: sales-led revenue intelligence with no public self-serve seat. It is here so 'cheapest transcription' has a ceiling. If you only need a transcript, use Fathom, Fireflies, Otter, or tl;dv at $0.
Cite this page: Toolradar, "Cheapest Transcription Software in 2026", updated September 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/cheapest-transcription-software
Sources
Prices and plan details on this page come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker:
- Fathom pricing, checked
- Fireflies.ai pricing, checked
- Otter.ai pricing, checked
- tl;dv pricing, checked
- Granola pricing, checked
- Descript pricing, checked
- Read AI pricing, checked
- Gong pricing, checked
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