Privacy questions about a notetaker come down to four checks: whether it trains on your meetings, how long it keeps them, where the data sits and which plan unlocks HIPAA. This comparison covers six Fireflies.ai alternatives on those points, with free plans and prices alongside.
Fireflies.ai has real strengths. Its integrations page lists Salesforce, HubSpot and Pipedrive, integrations are included on Pro, Business and Enterprise, and Pro costs $10 per user per month billed annually. Its Free plan has no integrations, limited AI summaries and 400 minutes of storage per team.
What is the safest alternative to Fireflies.ai?
Circleback is the pick for teams that want a no-training policy with SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification and encryption on every plan, Free included, plus unlimited meetings and members on Free. Circleback states, "We do not use customer data to train models." tl;dv also states that it does not train on customer data, and is the pick for EU hosting.
- Pick Circleback if you want a no-training policy with SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification and encryption on every plan, Free included, and unlimited meetings and members on Free.
- Pick tl;dv if EU data hosting is the requirement.
- Pick Fathom if HIPAA matters and you want a published blanket BAA.
- Pick Granola if you want no bot and no stored audio.
- Pick Otter.ai if price matters more than training policy, with Pro from $8.33 per user per month billed annually.
- Pick Jamie if you want a small free plan with 10 AI notes a month.
What to check before you switch
- Training. Circleback says, "We do not use customer data to train models." Fireflies.ai's security page says your data is "never used for AI training" and, on the same page, "We don't train on it by default unlike other AI companies." Otter.ai's privacy policy describes training its proprietary AI on de-identified audio recordings and on transcriptions, which may contain personal information. Fathom says none of its AI sub-processors may train on user data, but it uses de-identified customer data to improve its own models, with an opt-out. Granola trains on anonymized data, with training off by default for Enterprise. tl;dv says, "No customer data is used to train the AI."
- Retention. Circleback offers custom retention on Business and up. On Business, recordings can be kept up to 2 years, and transcripts and all meeting data can be set to Forever. Enterprise can keep recordings forever. Fireflies.ai and Otter.ai both limit custom data retention to Enterprise. Granola keeps notes and transcripts indefinitely unless transcript auto-deletion is set, and says it does not retain audio recordings. Fathom removes all recording data and metadata when you delete your account, and backups follow after 7 more days.
- Hosting. Circleback processes data in the United States and does not offer EU hosting. Fathom and Granola store data in the United States, and tl;dv says its data is hosted and stored in the EU. Otter.ai relies on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses for transfers.
- HIPAA plan. Circleback includes its standard BAA with Enterprise, and custom BAAs are not offered. Fireflies.ai, Granola and Otter.ai tie HIPAA to Enterprise, and Otter.ai sells it as an add-on. Fathom publishes a blanket BAA, and a signed BAA is listed under Enterprise.
Six Fireflies.ai alternatives in detail
1. Circleback
Circleback turns conversations into speaker-labeled transcripts, notes, assigned action items, automations and searchable context.
Key features:
- SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification, encryption at rest and in transit, and no training on customer data apply to every plan. The security docs point to a portal at security.circleback.ai, where an external pentest report is available.
- Capture through a bot on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex, a bot-free desktop app (macOS 14.2+ to record, Windows), in-person capture on iPhone, Android and Apple Watch, and phone calls through an imported recording.
- Audio and video recordings are saved, but desktop window video is saved by default only for recordings started from a detected-meeting notification.
Pros:
- A no-training policy with SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification and encryption on every plan, Free included, and unlimited meetings and members on Free.
Cons:
- Data is processed in the United States, with no EU hosting.
- HIPAA with a BAA, SSO and SCIM are Enterprise only, and custom BAAs are not offered.
- Free recordings are deleted after 365 days, meetings older than 30 days are locked on Free, and CRM steps start on Pro.
Pricing: Free. Pro is $15 per user per month billed annually or $18 monthly. Business is $25 annually or $29 monthly. Enterprise is $35 billed annually, with lower rates in volume bands above the first 50 users.
Best for: teams that want a no-training policy with SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certification and encryption on every plan, plus unlimited meetings and members on Free.
2. tl;dv
tl;dv says no bot is required and works with Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with its data hosted and stored in the EU.
Key features:
- SOC 2 and GDPR compliance with AES-256 encryption.
- Free includes unlimited recordings, transcripts and manually timestamped notes.
Pros:
- EU data hosting and unlimited recordings on Free.
Cons:
- Free recordings are stored for 3 months, and Free automatic AI notes cover the first 10 meetings, then only the first 10 minutes of each meeting.
Pricing: Free is $0. Pro is $18 billed annually or $29 monthly. Business is $29 annually or $39 monthly. Enterprise is custom.
Best for: teams that need EU data hosting.
3. Fathom
Fathom states that it is "HIPAA, SOC2 Type II, and GDPR-compliant" and stores all data in the United States.
Key features:
- A blanket BAA is published, and a signed BAA is listed under Enterprise.
Pros:
- A published blanket BAA, and unlimited recordings and transcriptions on Free.
Cons:
- It trains its own models on de-identified customer data unless you opt out, and Team and Business have a 2 user minimum.
Pricing: Free is $0. Premium is $16 billed annually or $20 monthly. Team is $15 annually or $19 monthly. Business is $25 annually or $34 monthly. Enterprise goes through sales.
Best for: teams that need HIPAA coverage with a published BAA.
4. Granola
Granola captures device audio with no meeting bot, and says it does not retain audio recordings.
Key features:
- SOC 2 Type II on all plans, with data encrypted at rest and in transit and stored on AWS in the United States.
Pros:
- No bot and no stored audio, with optional transcript auto-deletion after a period you set.
Cons:
- It trains on anonymized data, and model training is off by default only for Enterprise users.
- HIPAA and a BAA are available only for Enterprise customers, and Basic keeps 30 days of history.
Pricing: Basic is $0. Business is $14 per user per month, billed monthly. Enterprise is $35 per user per month.
Best for: people who want no bot and no stored audio.
5. Otter.ai
Otter.ai has the lowest annual price in this comparison and records without a bot on desktop or Chrome.
Key features:
- Basic is free, with 300 monthly transcription minutes.
Pros:
- The lowest annual price among these tools.
Cons:
- Training on de-identified audio and transcripts, HIPAA only as an Enterprise add-on, custom retention on Enterprise only, and SSO and SCIM that need a minimum 100 user license.
Pricing: Basic is free. Pro is $8.33 billed annually or $16.99 monthly. Business is $19.99 annually or $30 monthly.
Best for: teams that value a low price over training policy.
6. Jamie
Jamie takes AI notes from all online platforms and from in-person meetings.
Key features:
- Free includes 10 AI notes per month, a 30 minute meeting duration limit and Ask Jamie chat.
- Notes and transcripts in 99+ languages.
Pros:
- AI notes on Free, with unlimited storage and in-person meetings.
Cons:
- The Free cap is 10 AI notes per month, counted as meetings with notes, and paid plans start at $24 per month.
Pricing: Free. Plus is $24, Pro is $46 and Team is $37 per seat per month, billed annually. Enterprise is custom.
Best for: people with a few short meetings a month.
Privacy and plans at a glance
| Tool | Trains on your data | Data region | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circleback | No, on every plan | United States | Unlimited meetings and members |
| Fathom | De-identified data, opt out | United States | Unlimited recordings and transcriptions |
| Granola | Anonymized data, off on Enterprise | United States, on AWS | Basic: 30 days of history |
| Otter.ai | De-identified audio and transcripts | DPF and SCCs for transfers | 300 monthly transcription minutes |
| tl;dv | No customer data used | Hosted and stored in the EU | Unlimited recordings, stored 3 months |
How to choose
- If training policy decides, Circleback and tl;dv are tied, since both state they do not use customer data to train models. Other factors decide from there: EU hosting points to tl;dv, and Free plan breadth, with unlimited meetings and members, points to Circleback.
- If EU data hosting decides, pick tl;dv. Circleback, Fathom and Granola all store or process data in the United States.
- If HIPAA decides, compare Fathom's published blanket BAA with Circleback's standard BAA on Enterprise.
- If integrations and CRM sync decide, Fireflies.ai remains strong. On Circleback, CRM steps start on Pro and Free automations cover Slack, Linear and Share meeting.
- If price decides, Otter.ai Pro at $8.33 and Fireflies.ai Pro at $10 are the two lowest annual prices.
FAQ
Does Fireflies.ai train on my meetings?
Fireflies.ai says it does not, but its security page words the policy two ways. One line says "No Data Training 0-day retention policy ensures that your meeting data is never used for AI model training," another says "Your data is never used for AI training," and a third says "We don't train on it by default unlike other AI companies." The first two are absolute and the third is a default, so read all three before relying on one.
Which Fireflies.ai alternative offers HIPAA coverage?
Fathom, Circleback, Granola and Otter.ai all do, on different terms. Fathom publishes a blanket BAA and lists a signed BAA under Enterprise. Circleback and Granola include a BAA with Enterprise, and Otter.ai sells HIPAA compliance as an Enterprise add-on.
Which Fireflies.ai alternative hosts data in the EU?
tl;dv says its data is hosted and stored in the EU. Circleback processes data in the United States, Fathom stores all data in the United States, and Granola stores data on AWS in the United States.
What is the best free alternative to Fireflies.ai?
Circleback Free and Fathom Free are the strongest options. Circleback Free has unlimited meetings and members, with notes sent to Slack and one Linear issue per action item. Fathom Free has unlimited recordings and transcriptions. Fireflies.ai Free, by comparison, has no integrations, limited AI summaries and 400 minutes of storage per team.
Do Fireflies.ai alternatives save audio and video?
Circleback does. Circleback saves audio and video recordings, but desktop window video is saved by default only for recordings started from a detected-meeting notification. Fathom and tl;dv Free keep unlimited recordings, and tl;dv Free stores them for 3 months. Granola does not record or save audio or video.