Comparison
📊 Transcription Minute Allowances Comparison 2026 ⏰
Complete guide to free plans, monthly limits, and overage charges across all major meeting AI tools
Quick Answer 💡
Best unlimited free plans: tl;dv (unlimited forever), Zoom AI Companion (bundled)
Best free minute allowances: MeetGeek (3 hours/month), Otter.ai (300 min/month), Fireflies.ai (400 min storage)
Best value per minute: Notta ($0.0045/min)
🆓 Free Plan Minute Allowances
| Tool | Free Minutes/Month | Rollover | Additional Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 tl;dv | Unlimited | N/A | 20 meetings/month |
| 🥈 MeetGeek | 180 minutes (3 hours) | No | Not published |
| 🥉 Fireflies.ai | 400 minutes | No | Storage limit: 3 months |
| Otter.ai | 300 minutes | No | 40 min/conversation, 3 exports/month |
| Fellow | Free plan; see fellow.ai/pricing | No | Limited storage |
| Supernormal | 60 minutes | No | Basic templates only |
| Tactiq | 120 minutes | No | 10 AI summaries/month |
| Granola | 300 minutes | No | Limited features |
💰 Best Value Paid Plans (Cost per Minute)
| Tool | Plan | Minutes Included | Monthly Cost | Cost/Minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClickUp Brain | Business | Not published | $17 | Not published |
| Notta | Pro | 1,800 min | $8.17 | $0.0045 |
| Supernormal | Team | Not published | $20 | N/A |
| Fireflies.ai | Pro | Unlimited | $10 | N/A |
| Fathom | Premium | Not published | $16 | Not published |
| Read.ai | Pro | Not published | $15 | Not published |
| Grain | Pro | Not published | $15 | Not published |
| tl;dv | Pro | Not published | $18 | Not published |
| MeetGeek | Pro | Not published | $15.99 | Not published |
| Sembly | Pro | Not published | $29 | Not published |
| Otter.ai | Pro | 1,200 min | $8.33 | $0.007 |
♾️ Unlimited Transcription Plans
🌟 Free Unlimited
- ✓ tl;dv - Unlimited meetings (20/month limit)
- ✓ Zoom AI Companion - Bundled with Zoom
- ✓ Google Gemini - Bundled with Workspace
- ✓ MS Copilot - Bundled with 365
💎 Paid Unlimited
- ✓ Notta Business - $16.67/month
- ✓ Circleback - $16.67/month
- ✓ Rev AI (bulk) - Volume pricing
- ✓ Verbit Enterprise - Custom pricing
⚠️ Overage Charges & Hidden Costs
🚨 Overage Pricing
- Otter.ai: Not published
- Fireflies: Not published
- Notta: Not published
- MeetGeek: Not published
- Sembly: Auto-upgrade to next tier
🔍 Hidden Limitations
- Storage limits: Many tools delete old recordings
- Export restrictions: Limited downloads per month
- Meeting length caps: Some limit individual session time
- Feature locks: AI summaries may be extra
- User seat minimums: Business plans often require 5+ seats
📈 Value Analysis by Use Case
💚 Light Users (<2 hours/month)
- Best choice: MeetGeek Free (3 hours)
- Backup: Otter.ai Free (300 min)
- Value: $0/month
🔵 Medium Users (2-10 hours/month)
- Best choice: Notta Pro (30 hours)
- Backup: Supernormal Pro (33 hours)
- Value: Not published
🔮 Heavy Users (10+ hours/month)
- Best choice: ClickUp Brain (60 hours)
- Backup: Notta Business (unlimited)
- Value: $12-17/month
📊 2026 Transcription Allowance Trends
📈 What's Increasing
- • Free tier allowances (competition pressure)
- • Bundled solutions (platform integration)
- • Enterprise unlimited options
- • Multi-language support inclusion
- • Real-time processing capabilities
📉 What's Decreasing
- • Cost per minute (economies of scale)
- • Storage limitations (cloud improvements)
- • Meeting length restrictions
- • Manual setup requirements
- • Accuracy differences between tools
🛒 Smart Shopping Tips for 2026
🎯 Before You Buy
- • Calculate your actual monthly usage
- • Test free plans for 2-3 months
- • Check if your platform has built-in AI
- • Consider rollover policies
- • Read the fine print on overages
💡 Money-Saving Strategies
- • Start with unlimited free options (tl;dv)
- • Combine multiple free accounts legally
- • Annual billing often includes extra minutes
- • Negotiate enterprise pricing at 10+ seats
- • Monitor usage to avoid surprise charges
🔗 Related Comparisons
🆓 Free Transcription Services 2026
Complete guide to the best free transcription tools with no hidden costs
💰 Meeting Tool Pricing 2026
Comprehensive pricing analysis across all meeting AI platforms
⚖️ Free vs Paid Plans
Detailed comparison of features and limitations across plan tiers
📅 Monthly Minute Limits
Track monthly allowances and rollover policies across tools