Fireflies.ai

Overview

Fireflies.ai is an AI-powered meeting transcription and note-taking platform that automatically captures, transcribes, and summarizes meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and other conferencing tools. Founded in 2016, Fireflies targets SMB and mid-market teams who need affordable meeting documentation without manual note-taking.

The positioning: Fireflies is the "affordable AI meeting assistant for everyone." You get unlimited transcription, AI summaries, and 90+ integrations at $10-19/user/month—significantly cheaper than enterprise tools (Gong $1,200+/user/year, Chorus $1,200+/user/year) while offering more features than basic free alternatives (Otter 300 min/mo limit, Fathom no AI summaries).

Quick Facts:

• Category: AI Meeting Transcription & Note-Taking
• Pricing: FREE plan (800 min storage), $10-39/user/month paid plans
• Best For: SMB teams (5-50 people) needing affordable meeting transcription with CRM integrations

Fireflies automatically joins your scheduled meetings via calendar sync (Google Calendar, Outlook), records and transcribes conversations in real-time, generates AI summaries with action items, and integrates with 90+ tools (CRMs, project management, collaboration apps) to auto-log meeting outputs. You never manually invite the bot or take notes again.

Core Features

• Unlimited Transcription Across Platforms: Auto-join and transcribe Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Webex meetings with 69-language support
• AI-Powered Summaries: Generate meeting summaries, action items, questions, and key topics automatically using GPT-based AI
• Searchable Meeting Library: Search across all meeting transcripts by keyword, speaker, topic, date with timestamp navigation to exact moments
• Speaker Analytics: Track talk-time ratios, monologue alerts, filler word usage, sentiment analysis for coaching and performance improvement
• 90+ Integrations: Auto-log meeting outputs to HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, Asana, Notion, and 85+ other tools via native integrations or Zapier
• AskFred AI Assistant: Query meeting library with natural language (e.g., "What did John say about pricing last week?") to instantly retrieve insights

Our Take: Fireflies is ideal for SMB teams (5-50 people) needing affordable AI meeting transcription with unlimited transcripts at $10-19/user/month. The platform excels at post-call documentation, searchable libraries, and CRM auto-logging—reducing meeting follow-up time by 30+ min/week per employee. However, storage caps (800 min free, 8,000 min Pro) fill quickly for high-volume meeting teams, hidden AI credit fees create pricing confusion, and lack of real-time coaching limits sales team value vs Wingman ($60/mo) or Gong ($1,200+/year). Choose Fireflies if you prioritize affordability and integrations over real-time insights. Use Fathom (free unlimited storage) for individuals, Wingman ($60/mo) for real-time sales coaching, or Gong ($1,200+/year) for advanced sales intelligence.

Unlimited Transcription with Calendar Auto-Join

Fireflies connects to Google Calendar or Outlook and automatically joins scheduled meetings via bot (named "Fred"), records audio, and generates transcripts—no manual bot invites required. Supports Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Webex, and dial-in phone calls.

Why it matters: Manual meeting notes waste 15-30 min per meeting. Fireflies automates transcription, saving 5-10 hours weekly for teams with 20+ meetings/week.

Storage limitation: Free plan caps storage at 800 minutes (~13 hours). Teams averaging 10 hours/week of meetings hit the cap in 2 weeks. Pro plan ($10/mo) increases cap to 8,000 minutes (~133 hours = 3 months at 10 hours/week).

AI Summaries with Action Item Extraction

Fireflies' GPT-powered AI generates meeting summaries with key topics, action items, questions, and decisions automatically. Summaries are customizable (choose format: bullet points, paragraphs, SOAP notes for healthcare).

AI Credit System: Free plan includes 20 AI credits, Pro includes 30 credits, Business includes 50 credits. Each AI summary consumes 1 credit. Once credits are exhausted, you must upgrade or wait for monthly refresh.

Limitation: Hidden AI credit fees confuse users. Competitors (Fathom, Otter) include unlimited AI summaries at similar price points without credit limits.

Searchable Meeting Library & AskFred

All meeting transcripts are searchable by keyword, speaker, topic, or date. Click timestamps to jump to exact moments in recordings. AskFred AI assistant (requires AI credits) allows natural language queries like "What objections did prospects raise last month about pricing?" to retrieve insights across all meetings.

Use case: Customer success teams instantly retrieve past customer feature requests or objections. Sales managers identify common deal blockers by searching for keywords like "budget concerns" across all rep calls.

Speaker Analytics & Coaching Insights

Fireflies tracks talk-time ratios (e.g., sales rep spoke 70%, prospect 30%), monologue alerts (detect when one speaker dominates), filler word usage ("um," "like"), and sentiment analysis. Useful for coaching reps on active listening and conversation balance.

Limitation: Analytics are post-call only (no real-time coaching). Sales teams needing in-call guidance should use Wingman ($60/mo with real-time battlecards) or Gong ($1,200+/year with live call assist).

90+ Integrations (CRM, Slack, Asana, Notion)

Fireflies auto-logs meeting recordings, transcripts, and notes to HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive (native 2-way sync). Share summaries to Slack channels, create Asana tasks from action items, export transcripts to Notion—all automated via workflows.

Why it matters: Eliminates 15+ min/rep daily on manual CRM data entry. HubSpot/Salesforce auto-logging saves 5-7 hours weekly for 10-rep sales teams.

Setup requirement: Pro plan or higher required for CRM integrations (not available on free tier).

Free plan available with 800 minutes storage, unlimited transcription, and limited AI summaries (no credit card required).

Best value: Most SMB teams (5-50 people) should start with Pro plan ($10/user/mo) for 8,000 min storage and unlimited AI summaries. Business plan ($19/mo) is worth upgrading to if you need video recording, team analytics, or API access for custom integrations. Enterprise plan ($39/mo) required for HIPAA, SSO, and custom data retention policies.

Better Value Alternatives:

• Fathom: FREE unlimited storage, unlimited transcripts, SOC2 compliance—best for individuals and budget-conscious teams not needing AI summaries.
• tl;dv: FREE 20 hours/month transcription with unlimited storage—good middle ground between Fathom (no AI) and Fireflies (AI credits).
• Otter Business: $20/user/mo with unlimited transcription, AI summaries, and no credit limits—simpler pricing vs Fireflies' AI credit system.

Official Links

• Fireflies.ai Website
• Pricing Page
• Free Plan Signup

Research Sources

• Fireflies AI Pricing 2025: Complete Breakdown & Analysis - Outdoo.ai
• Fireflies AI Pricing | Review & Things I Wish I Knew Before Buying (2025) - MeetGeek
• Fathom vs Fireflies: Which is the best AI notetaker for SMEs? - Colman Rose
• Fireflies.ai Review 2025 — 12 Best Alternatives to Try - Krisp
• Fireflies.ai Integrations | AI Apps for Automating Work

• Fathom: FREE unlimited storage with AI summaries and HubSpot/Salesforce integration. Best free alternative for individuals and small teams.
• Otter Business: $20/user/mo with unlimited AI summaries and no credit limits. Best alternative for transparent pricing without hidden fees.
• Wingman: $60/user/mo with real-time call coaching and deal intelligence. Best alternative for sales teams needing in-call guidance.
• Gong: $1,200+/user/year with advanced sales intelligence, pipeline insights, and revenue forecasting. Best alternative for enterprise sales teams (50+ reps).