---
title: "AI notetakers for hybrid meetings compared (October 2026): room audio and speaker names"
description: "AI notetakers for hybrid meetings compared in October 2026: Circleback, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Granola and Fathom on room capture, speaker names and price."
canonical: "https://comparenotetakers.com/ai-notetakers-hybrid-meetings"
last_updated: "2026-10-20"
---


# AI notetakers for hybrid meetings compared (October 2026): room audio and speaker names

A hybrid meeting puts one room and several remote callers in the same call, and the notetaker has two jobs: capture what the room says, and tell the people in the room apart. This comparison covers Circleback, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Granola and Fathom on how each captures a room, how it labels speakers and what it costs.

## What is the best AI notetaker for hybrid meetings?

Circleback is the pick for a hybrid team that wants a bot for the remote side of the call, a desktop app as an option on a laptop in the room, and the audio and video kept either way. The other four fit narrower setups.

- Circleback: a bot for the call, the desktop app on the room laptop, and audio and video saved either way.
- Fathom: speaker attribution that carries over to bot-free capture on Mac.
- Granola: no bot, microphone plus system audio, and speaker tags by display name on Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
- Otter.ai: speaker identification, with conversations up to 4 hours on Business.
- Fireflies.ai: botless desktop capture on Windows and Mac.

## What makes hybrid meetings hard to transcribe

- **The room can arrive as one participant.** Microsoft describes the problem for Teams Rooms: "In a hybrid meeting, without speaker recognition, the video, and audio feed for people in the room would be attributed to the space".
- **A laptop microphone hears the room.** The desktop apps below capture microphone and computer audio together, and Granola labels the two streams "Me" for the microphone and "Them" for system audio where speaker tags are unavailable.
- **Speaker names depend on the tool.** Circleback separates speakers on every recording method. Bot recordings get real participant names, while desktop and mobile names come from a voice signature plus calendar invitees and can stay "Participant N".

## Three ways to capture the room

1. **A bot in the call.** The bot joins as a participant and records the call, so a room that joins through one conferencing device arrives as that one participant. Circleback's bot joins Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex, and Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai and Fathom join Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams.
2. **A desktop app on a laptop in the room.** No bot joins the call. Circleback, Granola, Fireflies.ai and Otter.ai run on Windows and Mac, and Fathom's bot-free capture is a Mac beta.
3. **A built-in room system.** Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms add their own speaker recognition and summaries, covered below.

## The five notetakers, one by one

### 1. Circleback

Circleback turns conversations into speaker-labeled transcripts, notes, assigned action items, automations and searchable context.

**Key features:**
- A bot on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex, with calendar auto-join for Internal and External meetings.
- A bot-free desktop app for macOS 14.2+ and Windows with no bot and no visible participant in the call. It captures microphone and computer audio, and it saves the meeting video and audio automatically.

**Pros:**
- One tool covers the bot for remote callers and the desktop app for the room laptop, with audio and video kept either way.
- Joining can be switched on or off for a single upcoming meeting, and with joining preferences on and Detect meetings on, the desktop app steps in when the bot's join request is denied.

**Cons:**
- Desktop and mobile speaker names can stay "Participant N", and desktop recordings stop at 5 hours.

**Pricing:** [Circleback pricing](https://circleback.ai/pricing) lists a Free plan, Pro at $15 per user per month billed annually or $18 monthly, Business at $25 or $29, and Enterprise at $35 billed annually.

**Best for:** hybrid teams that want a bot, a room laptop option and recordings kept either way.

### 2. Otter.ai

Otter.ai records from a Mac or Windows desktop, a mobile device or a browser, and joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

**Key features:**
- Basic lists live transcription, speaker identification, audio recording playback, and iOS and Android apps. Pro adds taggable speakers.

**Pros:**
- Pro is the lowest paid price in this comparison, and Business conversations run up to 4 hours.

**Cons:**
- Conversations cap at 30 minutes on Basic and 90 minutes on Pro.

**Pricing:** [Otter.ai pricing](https://otter.ai/pricing) lists Basic as free, Pro at $8.33 per user per month billed annually or $16.99 monthly, and Business at $19.99 billed annually.

**Best for:** hybrid teams with shorter meetings that want a low paid price.

### 3. Fireflies.ai

Fireflies.ai records Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and more with a bot. Its desktop app runs botless meetings on Windows 10+ and macOS 12+ with an indicator shown to participants.

**Key features:**
- Free lists real-time notes, transcription in 100+ languages and audio and video file upload, and a Chrome extension records without the Fireflies bot.

**Pros:**
- Botless capture on both Windows and Mac.
- Recording limits rise from 2 hours on Free and Pro to 3 hours on Business and 4 hours on Enterprise.

**Cons:**
- Desktop mode stores no audio or video and labels speakers generically, and Free stores 400 minutes per team.

**Pricing:** [Fireflies.ai pricing](https://fireflies.ai/pricing) lists Free, Pro at $10 per seat per month billed annually or $18 monthly, Business at $19 or $29, and Enterprise at $39 billed annually.

**Best for:** teams that want botless desktop capture.

### 4. Granola

Granola takes notes with no bot, from the microphone and system audio, on desktop (macOS and Windows) and on the mobile app for iPhone and Android.

**Key features:**
- Speaker tags label who said what using each participant's display name on Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, on macOS and Windows. Where tags are unavailable, the transcript shows Me and Them.
- The mobile app can also recognize different speakers during face-to-face meetings.

**Pros:**
- Light setup that works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other meeting apps.

**Cons:**
- Granola does not record or save audio or video, so there is no recording to replay. Basic keeps 30 days of meeting history.

**Pricing:** [Granola pricing](https://www.granola.ai/pricing) lists Basic at $0, Business at $14 per user per month billed monthly, and Enterprise at $35.

**Best for:** teams that want notes from a room laptop with no recording.

### 5. Fathom

Fathom captures Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Slack Huddles, and offers three capture options, all with speaker attribution.

**Key features:**
- Speaker attribution carries over to bot-free capture, which is a beta for Mac with Windows support on the way.
- The bot captures full video, audio and a searchable transcript, and an iOS app covers meetings in person.

**Pros:**
- Free lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions.

**Cons:**
- Bot-free capture is Mac only, the mobile app is iOS only, and Team and Business need at least 2 users.

**Pricing:** [Fathom pricing](https://www.fathom.ai/pricing) lists Free, Premium at $16 per user per month billed annually or $20 monthly, Team at $15 or $19, and Business at $25 or $34, with Team and Business at a 2 user minimum.

**Best for:** Mac-based hybrid teams that want speaker attribution without a bot.

## Side by side

| Tool | Capture options | In-room speaker names | Keeps audio and video | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circleback | Bot, desktop app, mobile | Voice signature and invitees | Both; mobile audio only | $15 annual |
| Otter.ai | Bot, desktop, browser, mobile | Speaker identification | Audio playback | $8.33 annual |
| Fireflies.ai | Bot, botless desktop, mobile | Generic labels on desktop | Desktop stores neither | $10 annual |
| Granola | Desktop and mobile, no bot | Display-name tags, or Me and Them | Neither | $14 billed monthly |
| Fathom | Bot, Mac bot-free beta, iOS | Speaker attribution | Video with the bot | $15 annual, 2 user min |

Prices are per user per month for the lowest paid plan.

## If your room already runs Teams Rooms or Zoom Rooms

Microsoft's [Teams Rooms voice recognition](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/rooms/voice-recognition) page describes an Intelligent Speaker that identifies speakers in the room and attributes them to the correct person. It is available for Teams Rooms with Teams Room Pro licenses and for BYOD rooms where the room host has a Teams Premium or Copilot license. People to be identified enroll a voice profile and are invited to the scheduled meeting, and Microsoft suggests limiting in-person attendees to 10 for the best precision.

Zoom documents [meeting summary](https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0058013) for Zoom Rooms 5.16.0 and later for licensed users. Other rooms can use a bot in the call or a desktop app on a laptop.

## How to choose

- Pick Circleback if the remote side joins by bot, a room laptop can run the desktop app, and audio and video should be saved either way.
- Pick Fathom if the team is on Macs and wants speaker attribution in bot-free recordings.
- Pick Granola if the notes matter more than a recording.
- Pick Otter.ai if meetings fit the 90 minute Pro limit or the team moves to Business.
- Pick Fireflies.ai if botless capture on Windows and Mac matters and generic speaker labels are acceptable.
- Pick the room system if individual in-room names matter most.

## FAQ

### Can an AI notetaker tell apart people sitting in the same room?

Sometimes, depending on how the room is captured. Teams Rooms Intelligent Speaker identifies in-room speakers who have enrolled a voice profile. Among the notetakers here, Fathom says speaker attribution carries over to bot-free capture, Granola's mobile app can recognize different speakers in face-to-face meetings, and Circleback separates speakers on every recording method, though desktop and mobile names can stay "Participant N".

### Should the bot join or should a laptop in the room record?

A bot records the call as the call carries it, and a laptop captures the room's microphone plus computer audio with no bot in the call. Circleback supports both in one tool, and joining can be switched on or off for a single upcoming meeting.

### Do AI notetakers keep the audio and video of a hybrid meeting?

Some do. Circleback saves audio and video on every plan, including desktop-captured meetings, while mobile keeps audio only. Fathom's bot captures full video and audio, Otter.ai lists audio recording playback on Basic, and Granola and Fireflies.ai desktop mode keep neither.

### Which hybrid meeting notetaker works without a bot on Windows?

Circleback, Granola, Fireflies.ai and Otter.ai all run on Windows without a bot, and Fathom's bot-free capture is a Mac beta with Windows on the way. Circleback's desktop app has no visible participant in the call, while Fireflies.ai shows an indicator to participants.