# The best AI note takers in 2026, compared honestly > Seven AI note takers compared on where audio becomes text, whether a bot joins, phone recording, free plans and training. Sources linked, Aurora's gaps included. COMPARE · SEVEN AI NOTE TAKERS Seven AI note takers compared on where audio becomes text, whether a bot joins, phone recording, free plans and training. Sources linked, Aurora's gaps included. Leandro Piccione Published 5 November 2026 · Updated 5 November 2026 ## Which AI note taker is best for you? It depends on where you meet and where you are willing to send audio. For calls you skip, consider Otter or Fireflies. For calls on headphones, a bot or device-audio capture fits better. For in-person conversations where audio should stay on the phone, an on-device iPhone app fits better. Aurora records, transcribes, separates speakers and summarizes on the iPhone. It is a private TestFlight beta with no team features. Competitor facts below link to vendor pages read on 5 November 2026; we have not tested those apps. Recording, transcription, speaker separation and summaries run on the iPhone. Aurora is local-first, not network-free: its [Privacy Notice](https://auroraisyours.com/privacy/#app-egress) names the separate model, entitlement, iCloud and diagnostic flows. ## How we compared We make Aurora, so read this with that in mind. We did not run the other apps through a test. Every fact about them comes from the vendor's own pricing, help or privacy page, with the link beside it, read on 5 November 2026. Where a page did not answer a question, the table says so instead of guessing. Prices change often; check the linked page before you pay. We compared six questions that decide most choices: 1. How does the tool capture the conversation: a bot in the call, the computer's audio, or a phone's microphone? 2. Where is speech turned into text: on your device or on a server? 3. Can you record an in-person conversation on a phone? 4. What does the free plan give you? 5. What does the first paid plan cost? 6. Does your content train the vendor's models? ## The comparison table Seven AI note takers, from vendor documentation read 5 November 2026 | Tool | How it captures | Where speech becomes text | Phone recording in person | Free plan | First paid plan, as listed | Source | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Aurora | The iPhone's microphone, in the room or beside a laptop. No bot. | On the iPhone | iPhone only, iOS 18 or newer | Free during the TestFlight beta; pricing comes later | None yet | [Product](https://auroraisyours.com/product/), [Privacy Notice](https://auroraisyours.com/privacy/) | | Granola | Your device's audio. No bot. | Granola passes the audio to its transcription provider | iOS and Android apps; the mobile app cannot capture audio from virtual meeting apps | Basic, with 30 days of meeting history | Business, $14 per user per month | [Granola pricing and training FAQ](https://www.granola.ai/pricing), [Granola transcription help](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/taking-notes/transcription) | | Otter | Joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet; also records in its own apps | Audio uploads for transcription; data stored on AWS S3 | iOS and Android apps | Basic: 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation | Pro, $16.99 billed monthly (annual billing is lower) | [Otter pricing](https://otter.ai/pricing), [Otter privacy and security](https://otter.ai/privacy-security), [offline recording help](https://help.otter.ai/hc/en-us/articles/44008744581271-Record-with-Otter-offline-or-without-an-internet-connection) | | Fireflies | A bot for Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and others; a Chrome extension records without the bot | Fireflies' service (dedicated "Private Storage" on Enterprise) | Mobile app for in-person conversations | Yes: transcription, summaries and search | Not shown in the page text we read | [Fireflies features and privacy](https://fireflies.ai/), [Fireflies pricing](https://fireflies.ai/pricing) | | Fathom | A bot, or bot-free capture, which is a beta feature for Mac | Not stated on the pages we read | Not stated on the pages we read | Yes, with unlimited recordings and transcription | Premium, $20 a month billed monthly ($16 billed annually) | [Fathom pricing](https://www.fathom.video/pricing) | | Plaud | A separate Plaud recorder; Plaud Desktop and audio file import also exist | Sent to Plaud's AI service providers when you ask for a transcript or summary | Through the recorder, which pairs with the phone app | Starter: 300 transcription minutes a month, included with every device | Pro, $8.33 a month billed annually ($17.99 billed monthly), plus the device for the recorder workflow | [Plaud pricing](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing), [Plaud AI data policy](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/ai-data-usage-transparency-policy), [Plaud Team help](https://support.plaud.ai/hc/en-us/articles/63440000574361) | | Apple Voice Memos | The iPhone's microphone | Not stated in Apple's guide | Built in; transcription on iPhone 12 or later in listed languages, not in every region | Free with the iPhone | Not applicable | [Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios) | ### Does your content train models? Model training statements, read 5 November 2026 | Tool | What the vendor says | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Aurora | Recordings are not uploaded for transcription. Conversation text can sync through your own iCloud if you turn it on; a diagnostic report can include session content when you send one. | [Privacy Notice](https://auroraisyours.com/privacy/#app-egress) | | Granola | Training opt-out per user (workspace-wide on Enterprise); Granola uses anonymized data unless you opt out. Enterprise has training off by default. | [Granola pricing and training FAQ](https://www.granola.ai/pricing) | | Otter | Otter "uses a proprietary method to de-identify user data before training our models"; its AI providers do not train on customer data | [Otter privacy and security](https://otter.ai/privacy-security) | | Fireflies | "Your data is never used for AI training" | [Fireflies features and privacy](https://fireflies.ai/) | | Fathom | Not stated on the pages we read | [Fathom pricing](https://www.fathom.video/pricing) | | Plaud | No training without your explicit consent | [Plaud AI data policy](https://www.plaud.ai/pages/ai-data-usage-transparency-policy) | | Apple Voice Memos | Not covered in the guide we read | [Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios) | ## Pick by situation **You need calls recorded when you are not there.** Consider a bot such as Otter or Fireflies. Fathom requires you to be present on the call, according to its [help page](https://help.fathom.video/en/articles/5461313). Aurora cannot record a meeting you skipped, because it only hears what the phone's microphone hears. **You take video calls on a laptop and do not want a bot in the call.** Granola captures your device's audio, Fireflies has a Chrome extension that records without its bot, and Fathom's bot-free capture is a Mac beta. Aurora works here only in a limited way: a call on a laptop speaker beside the phone works, with worse audio, and a call in your headphones reaches it only as your own voice. See [why Aurora records from the room](https://auroraisyours.com/blog/no-meeting-bot). **Your meetings happen in person and the audio should stay on the phone.** This is what Aurora is built for. Recording, transcription, speaker separation and summaries run on the iPhone, and Aurora tells the people in the room apart. More on [in-person meetings](https://auroraisyours.com/use/in-person-meetings/). **You already carry an iPhone and want something free today.** Voice Memos is built in, shows a live transcript on iPhone 12 or later, and can summarize with Apple Intelligence on supported iPhones. It is a recorder with a transcript, not a meeting tool. Compare it with Aurora on [the Voice Memos page](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/apple-notes-voice-memos-alternative/). **You want a dedicated recorder you clip on.** Plaud sells one. Plaud Team also supports desktop recording and file imports without a recorder (minimum two seats). Transcripts and summaries are made by Plaud's AI providers when you ask for them. See [Aurora vs Plaud](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/plaud-alternative/). **Your team needs shared notes, CRM sync and admin controls.** Fireflies, Otter, Fathom and Granola all sell team plans. Aurora has no team, CRM or external workflow integrations. ## Where Aurora falls short - It is an iPhone beta (iOS 18 or newer), by invitation through TestFlight. The Mac app is not released. - On-device calendar reading and plain-text export. No team, CRM or external workflow integrations. - It cannot hear a call playing in your headphones, and it cannot record a meeting you skipped. - Audio is deleted from the device once more than seven days old, unless it is awaiting refinement. That audio is kept until refinement finishes. The transcript stays. If you want recordings kept for good, Aurora does not suit you. - Search works inside a session, not across your library yet; that is in development. - Speaker attribution is measured and not perfect: on real earnings calls, the median word diarization error rate was 0.34, roughly one word in three on the wrong speaker (six scored Earnings-21 cases, measured on a Mac, 17 June 2026). This is the last published measurement, not a score for today's iPhone beta. The numbers are in [our speaker attribution post](https://auroraisyours.com/blog/speaker-attribution-measured). - Those historical speaker results are provisional: one run per case, two incomplete Earnings-21 cases, and the scored cases did not pass the suite's boundary-quality gate. The [public attribution results](https://auroraisyours.com/evidence/speaker-attribution-2026-06-17.json) carry the configuration and limitations. - Pricing after the beta is not decided. ## FAQ ### Which AI note takers process audio on the device? Of the tools in this table, Aurora transcribes on the iPhone. Granola, Otter and Plaud say on their own pages that audio or transcription goes to a server or an AI provider. Apple's Voice Memos guide does not say where transcription runs. ### Is there an AI note taker that does not join the meeting as a bot? Yes. Granola captures your device's audio, Fireflies has a Chrome extension that records without its bot, Fathom offers bot-free capture as a Mac beta, and Aurora records through the iPhone's microphone. ### What is the best AI note taker for iPhone? For calls you are not in, a bot-based service with an iPhone app, such as Otter or Fireflies. For in-person conversations where the audio should not be uploaded for transcription, an on-device app such as Aurora. For a free transcript of a voice recording, Voice Memos. ### Is Aurora free? Yes, during the private TestFlight beta, as of 5 November 2026. Final pricing is undecided, and testers hear about it first. ### Do I need an account to use Aurora? No. There is no account with us. The beta installs through Apple's TestFlight app with your Apple Account. ## Read the individual comparisons [Granola](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/granola-alternative/), [Otter](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/otter-alternative/), [Fireflies](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/fireflies-alternative/), [Fathom](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/fathom-alternative/), [Plaud](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/plaud-alternative/) and [Apple Notes / Voice Memos](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/apple-notes-voice-memos-alternative/) each have a full side-by-side. [Aurora for iPhone](https://auroraisyours.com/iphone/) walks through a session. [What happens to your audio](https://auroraisyours.com/blog/what-happens-to-your-audio) sets out the speech pipeline and the separate network flows. ## How do I try Aurora? [Join the waitlist](https://auroraisyours.com/beta/) for an invitation to the private TestFlight beta.