Fireflies: free AI meeting notes and action items, set up in 10 minutes
Fireflies joins your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams calls and writes the transcript, a summary and action items. The free plan includes unlimited transcription and AI summaries.
Verdict: Start on the free plan
Decided Oct 14, 2026, before any affiliate check
The free plan includes unlimited transcription and AI summaries. Upgrade only if you hit the 400-minute storage cap or need video recording.
- Tool
- Fireflies.ai
- Free tier
- Yes
- Price
- Free; Pro $10/seat/month billed annually or $18 monthly; Business $19/seat/month annually (checked Oct 14, 2026, source)
- Setup
- About 10 minutes
- Status
- Researched
Skip this
- Skip paying for Pro at first. Fireflies says the free plan includes unlimited transcription and AI summaries. Upgrade only if you hit the 400-minute storage cap or need video recording.
- Skip it for phone calls on your mobile. Your phone may already record and summarize calls (see the related guide).
- Skip it for very sensitive conversations (HR, legal, medical) unless everyone has agreed to recording and you've checked your company's rules.
Why it’s worth 10 minutes
If you spend time in video calls, you’re probably either typing notes while trying to listen, or forgetting what was agreed. Fireflies is an AI notetaker: it joins the meeting, records the conversation, and afterwards gives you a transcript, a short summary and a list of action items.
Most people we talk to have never heard of it, and the free plan is unusually generous. According to Fireflies’ own pricing guide, the free plan includes unlimited transcription, unlimited AI summaries and its “AskFred” assistant, with 400 minutes of storage per team.
Set it up (about 10 minutes)
- Go to fireflies.ai and sign up with the Google or Microsoft account you use for meetings.
- Connect your calendar when asked, so Fireflies can see your upcoming Zoom, Google Meet or Teams meetings.
- Choose which meetings the notetaker should join, for example all meetings with a video link, or only ones you invite it to. Start with “only when I invite it” until you’re comfortable.
- In your next call, the Fireflies notetaker appears as a participant. Say at the start: “I’m using an AI notetaker so I don’t miss anything. Is that OK?”
- After the call, open the meeting in Fireflies to read the summary and action items, and search the transcript.
What it’s great at
- Getting the decisions and to-dos out of a long call without re-watching it.
- Searching past meetings (“when did we agree on the price?”).
- Letting you actually listen instead of typing.
Good to know
- Free vs paid: Pro is $10/seat/month billed annually ($18 monthly). Upgrade only if you hit the storage cap or need video; check the current plan table first.
Privacy, in plain English
- Fireflies joins as a visible participant called a notetaker. Tell people at the start that the meeting is being recorded and transcribed.
- Recording laws differ by state and country, and some require everyone's consent. When in doubt, ask.
- Your transcripts are stored by Fireflies. Review its privacy settings and who on your team can see recordings.
What can break
- Free plan storage is 400 minutes per team (per Fireflies), so older meetings may need cleanup or an upgrade.
- Recordings on the free plan are capped at 2 hours per meeting (per Fireflies' plan table).
- Some meeting hosts block or remove bots. If the notetaker can't get in, nothing gets recorded.
- Transcripts get names and jargon wrong. Skim the summary before you send it to anyone.
Next step
Pair it with your email: paste or forward the Fireflies summary into a follow-up email to attendees, so the recap goes out in two minutes. (Pairing guide coming soon.)