Free Transcription: 6 Meeting Tools Compared
What each free plan transcribes, and where it stops.
For free transcription of meetings, tl;dv and Fireflies are the most generous: both transcribe without a monthly minute limit. Otter's free plan gives 300 minutes a month and MeetGeek's 3 hours. Google Meet and Zoom only transcribe fully on paid plans.
Checked November 2026 on each tool's own site.
Free transcription plans compared
| Tool | Free plan | Paid from |
|---|---|---|
| tl;dv | Unlimited recordings and transcripts in 30+ languages, AI notes for 10 meetings | €18 a month, billed yearly |
| Fireflies | Unlimited transcription, limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team | $10 a month, billed yearly |
| Otter | 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 file imports in total | $8.33 a month, billed yearly |
| MeetGeek | 3 hours a month, transcripts kept for 3 months | See meetgeek.ai/pricing |
| Google Meet | No transcripts on free accounts | Google Workspace Business Standard |
| Zoom | AI summaries of 3 meetings a month, 40-minute meetings | $14.16 a month, billed yearly |
Which one to pick
- • Many meetings a week: tl;dv or Fireflies, which have no minute limit.
- • Lectures and interviews on your phone: Otter, with its iPhone and Android apps.
- • You already pay for Google Workspace or Zoom: use their own transcripts first.
Which free transcription tool has no monthly limit?
tl;dv and Fireflies both transcribe meetings without a monthly minute limit on their free plans. The limits sit elsewhere: tl;dv writes AI notes for 10 meetings, and Fireflies keeps 400 minutes of storage per team.
Can I transcribe an audio file for free?
Yes. Fireflies' free plan transcribes uploaded audio and video files. Otter's free plan imports 3 files in total, so it suits a one-off file better than a regular one.
How accurate is AI transcription?
On clear audio with one person speaking at a time, AI transcripts need few corrections. Crosstalk, strong accents and poor microphones cause most of the errors. When a transcript must be exact, a human service such as Rev promises 99% accuracy or better.
Do Google Meet and Zoom transcribe for free?
Not on free accounts. Google Meet transcripts need a paid Google Workspace plan, from Business Standard up. Zoom's free plan writes AI summaries of 3 meetings a month, and meetings stop at 40 minutes.