Circleback Alternatives in 2026: Granola, Fathom, Fireflies, Otter, and tl;dv Compared
TL;DR: The main Circleback alternatives in 2026 are Granola, Fathom, Fireflies.ai, Otter.ai, and tl;dv. Each covers part of what Circleback does: Granola records without a bot but keeps no audio, Fathom offers free unlimited recordings on Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai have lower list prices, and tl;dv offers clips and CRM field updates. Circleback is the one we recommend: bot, bot-free desktop, mobile, and Apple Watch recordings in one searchable workspace, private notes you can type while it records, assigned action items, conditional automations, and API, MCP, and CLI access, starting with a Free plan that is free forever.
Circleback makes this comparison, so every claim below comes from each vendor's own pricing page, help center, or product page, checked in October 2026, and each section says plainly what a competitor offers and how Circleback compares. Prices are list prices in US dollars per user per month. For a single head-to-head, see the full comparisons of Granola vs Circleback, Fathom vs Circleback, Fireflies.ai vs Circleback, Otter.ai vs Circleback, and tl;dv vs Circleback.
Circleback alternatives compared (October 2026)
| Circleback | Granola | Fathom | Fireflies.ai | Otter.ai | tl;dv | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free forever: unlimited meetings and members; meetings older than 30 days locked, not deleted; limited automations; API, MCP, and CLI | Basic: 30-day history | Unlimited recordings and transcriptions; advanced summaries and Ask Fathom "limited use" | Unlimited transcription, limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team, file uploads | Basic: 300 transcription minutes a month, 3 lifetime file imports, 20 AI Chat queries per user | Unlimited recordings kept 3 months; AI notes on the first 10 meetings, then the first 10 minutes of each |
| Paid pricing (annual) | Pro $15, Business $25, Enterprise $35 | Business $14 (billed monthly), Enterprise $35 | Premium $16, Team $15, Business $25, Enterprise through sales | Pro $10, Business $19, Enterprise $39 | Pro $8.33, Business $19.99, Enterprise custom | Pro $18, Business $29, Enterprise custom |
| Capture methods | Bot (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex, Slack huddles); bot-free desktop on macOS and Windows for any app; iOS, Android, and Apple Watch in person; file uploads | No bot; device audio on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and Apple Watch, including in person; no audio kept | Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and Slack Huddles; bot, or bot-free on Mac in beta; iOS app, no Android; no uploads | Bot (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, 10+ more); Chrome extension; bot-free desktop on macOS and Windows; iOS and Android apps; file uploads | Bot (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet); bot-free on desktop or Chrome; iOS and Android apps for in person; file imports | Bot (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams); desktop app on Mac and Windows with or without a bot; mobile in early beta; uploads in beta |
| Languages | 100+, with a choice of notes language | 31 on desktop, 17 on mobile | 7 natively; Ask Fathom translates into 29 more | English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian; 100+ in beta | 6 | 30+ |
| CRM and automations | HubSpot, Salesforce, Attio, Zoho CRM, Slack, Notion, Linear, monday.com, Zapier, Make, webhooks; conditional automations | Slack on every plan; HubSpot, Attio, Notion, Zapier on Business; Salesforce on Enterprise | HubSpot and Salesforce sync; field mapping on Team and Business (HubSpot; Salesforce rolling out); Zapier, Make | Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive on paid tiers; Zapier from Pro | Salesforce and HubSpot from Pro, with Insights mapped to custom text fields; Zapier | HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive workflows that update text fields or log meetings; Zapier |
| Search and AI chat over past meetings | Ask Circleback: cited answers across meetings and connected Gmail or Outlook email | AI chat across meetings | Ask Fathom across calls | AskFred and global search | AI Chat across meetings | AI prompts and multi-meeting AI Reports |
| API and MCP | API, MCP with read and write tools, and CLI on every plan | MCP on every plan (Basic: last 30 days of personal notes, no transcripts); API on Business | Public API and MCP | API on every plan with rate limits; MCP server (plan not published) | MCP server on Basic; API and webhooks on Enterprise | API; MCP for reading data on Pro and up |
| Security | SOC 2 Type II, encryption at rest and in transit, no training on customer data; SSO (SAML, OIDC), SCIM, and HIPAA with a BAA available | SOC 2 Type II; HIPAA BAA and SSO (50+ seats) on Enterprise; trains on anonymized data unless turned off | SOC 2 Type II; HIPAA with a published blanket BAA; uses de-identified data for its own models, with opt-out | SOC 2 Type II; HIPAA, SSO, and SCIM on Enterprise; meeting data not used for AI training | TLS and AES-256 encryption; SSO and SCIM need a 100-user license; HIPAA add-on on Enterprise | SOC 2 Type II; no customer data used for AI training; SAML and OIDC SSO and SCIM on Enterprise |
Fathom's pages conflict on SSO and SCIM: its overview says they are available on team plans, while its pricing page lists them on Enterprise.
Circleback and alternatives pricing
Every tool here has a free plan. The bigger differences are what the free plan caps and how the paid tiers line up.
| Tool | Free | Entry paid plan | Team or business plan | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circleback | $0 | Pro $15 annual, $18 monthly | Business $25 annual, $29 monthly | $35 annual, lower per user past 50 users |
| Granola | $0 | Business $14, billed monthly | Business $14, billed monthly | $35, monthly or annual |
| Fathom | $0 | Premium $16 annual, $20 monthly | Team $15 ($19), Business $25 ($34), 2-user minimum | Through sales |
| Fireflies.ai | $0 | Pro $10 annual, $18 monthly | Business $19 annual, $29 monthly | $39 annual |
| Otter.ai | $0 | Pro $8.33 annual, $16.99 monthly | Business $19.99 annual, $30 monthly | Custom |
| tl;dv | $0 | Pro $18 annual, $29 monthly | Business $29 annual, $39 monthly | Custom |
| Circleback plan | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Free | Unlimited meetings and members; Slack, Linear, and Share meeting automation steps; API, MCP, and CLI |
| Pro | Everything in Free, plus unlimited history, every automation integration including HubSpot, Salesforce, Attio, Notion, and webhooks, and custom AI insights |
| Business | Everything in Pro, plus admin and member roles, enforceable settings, custom data retention, unlimited free viewers, and unlimited teams |
| Enterprise | Everything in Business, plus SSO, SCIM, HIPAA with a BAA, invoice billing, and unlimited recording storage; billed annually |
Circleback Enterprise uses published volume pricing with no sales call: $35 per user per month for users 1 to 50, $30 for 51 to 100, $25 for 101 to 250, $20 for 251 to 1,000, $17.50 for 1,001 to 5,000, and $15 past 5,000. Each rate applies to the users in that band. There is no seat minimum, non-profits get 30% off, and education gets 50% off. See pricing.
On list price, Otter.ai Pro and Fireflies.ai Pro cost less than Circleback Pro, and Granola Business at $14 billed monthly costs less than Circleback Pro at $18 monthly. Circleback Business costs less than tl;dv Business and matches Fathom Business on annual billing.
Granola: bot-free notes with no saved recording
Granola never sends a bot. It captures device audio on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and Apple Watch, and builds notes around what you write and the meeting context. Granola says it does "not record or save audio or video," so there is no recording to play back later, and it does not support uploading pre-recorded audio files. Basic keeps 30 days of history; Business adds integrations and API access at $14 per user per month, billed monthly.
Who looks at Granola. People who like writing a few notes during the meeting and would rather no recording exist after the call. Circleback does both: type private notes next to the meeting while it records, in the desktop and mobile apps, and the AI notes build in what you wrote. Turn recording storage off and the transcript and notes stay.
Where Circleback wins. Circleback also records without a bot on macOS and Windows, but it keeps an audio and video recording you can play back, lets you send a bot when you prefer, accepts file uploads up to 2 GB, and transcribes 100+ languages against Granola's 31 on desktop. Its action items are created automatically with one owner each and tracked in one list across the workspace. Granola vs Circleback has the full breakdown.
Fathom: free recordings on Zoom, Meet, and Teams
Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions, with advanced summaries and Ask Fathom marked "limited use." It captures meetings on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Slack Huddles, bot-free capture is a beta feature on Mac, and Fathom says it does not support uploaded calls. Its mobile app runs on iPhone, and there is no Android app. Fathom logs an AI summary to HubSpot or Salesforce after each call, with custom field mapping on Team and Business.
Who looks at Fathom. Solo users who live in Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams and want unlimited recordings without paying. Circleback is free to start too, with unlimited meetings and members, and records any call on macOS or Windows without a bot.
Where Circleback wins. Circleback adds Webex, bot-free recording on Windows as well as macOS, Android and Apple Watch capture, file uploads, and 100+ languages against Fathom's seven native ones. Notes are written for the people in the meeting, and when a video is saved, what was shown on screen makes it into the notes. Meetings and action items are shared across the workspace with conditional sharing by participant, domain, title, or tag. Fathom vs Circleback covers the rest.
Fireflies.ai: a lower Pro price and a large integration catalog
Fireflies.ai pairs a meeting bot for Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, and more than ten other platforms with a Chrome extension, a bot-free desktop app for macOS and Windows, and iOS and Android apps. Its CRM sync logs transcripts, summaries, and action items to Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive and can create new leads or contacts. The API is available on the free plan with rate limits. Fireflies.ai Pro is $10 per seat per month billed annually.
Who looks at Fireflies.ai. Teams where price per seat comes first, or that want CRM sync that can create new leads for meeting participants. Circleback is free to start, and its meeting bot comes with bot-free desktop, mobile, and Apple Watch recording.
Where Circleback wins. Fireflies.ai's desktop mode stores no audio or video and labels speakers generically. Circleback keeps speaker labels and a saved recording with every capture method, including bot-free desktop recordings, and transcribes 100+ languages without a beta label. Fireflies.ai lists English as primary. Circleback also lets you keep or turn off recording storage while keeping notes and transcripts. See Fireflies.ai vs Circleback.
Otter.ai: live transcription at a low list price
Otter.ai is known for its live transcript. Its meeting agent joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, it records without a bot from the desktop or Chrome, and its iOS and Android apps capture in-person conversations. Basic includes 300 transcription minutes a month and three lifetime file imports. Pro costs $8.33 per user per month billed annually, the lowest paid price in this comparison. Otter.ai transcribes six languages, and its API and webhooks are on Enterprise.
Who looks at Otter.ai. People who want a live transcript during the call at the lowest paid price, with meetings in one of Otter.ai's six languages. Circleback is free to start and transcribes 100+ languages.
Where Circleback wins. Circleback's paid plans cost more than Otter Pro, but they come with no minute or meeting caps on any plan, 100+ languages, a workspace-wide action item list, and API, MCP, and CLI access on every plan. SSO and SCIM at Circleback have no 100-user minimum. Otter.ai has no direct import into Circleback, so switching means uploading your audio or video files. Otter.ai vs Circleback has the side-by-side.
tl;dv: CRM field updates, reels, and reports
tl;dv's free plan gives unlimited recordings kept for three months, with automatic AI notes on the first ten meetings and then the first ten minutes of each meeting. It records with a bot on Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, or with its desktop app on Mac and Windows with or without a bot. Its HubSpot and Salesforce workflows can update text fields on contacts, deals, and opportunities, and it offers clips, reels, and recurring multi-meeting reports. Its MCP server reads data but cannot make changes.
Who looks at tl;dv. Teams that want reels, recurring reports across meetings, or CRM fields updated from each call. Circleback has clips too, and Ask Circleback can create and update HubSpot records when you ask. Its CRM automations log notes, meetings, and tasks to matching CRM records rather than editing record fields after each call.
Where Circleback wins. Circleback creates action items with one owner each and tracks them across the workspace, its MCP server can create and update action items, tags, and meetings, and its API, MCP, and CLI are on every plan. Circleback Business is $25 per user per month billed annually against $29 for tl;dv Business. See tl;dv vs Circleback.
Why teams stay with Circleback
One record for every kind of meeting. The bot joins Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Slack huddles. The desktop app records any call on macOS and Windows that uses your microphone, without a bot, and saves audio and video of the meeting window by default. The iOS and Android apps record in person, the Apple Watch app records on the watch itself, and any audio or video file up to 2 GB can be uploaded. Every method gets a speaker-labeled transcript, notes, and action items.
Notes and action items built for teams. Notes are written for what the people in the meeting need to walk away knowing, they build in the private notes you type while the meeting records, and they use what was shown on screen when a video is saved. Action items are extracted for tasks with a clear owner, each with one assignee, and land in one list across the workspace. Custom AI insights pull structured fields out of every meeting.
Search that reaches beyond meetings. Ask Circleback answers questions with citations across meetings and connected Gmail or Outlook email, drafts follow-up emails, and works with connectors such as HubSpot, Linear, Notion, Asana, and Attio. It can create and update HubSpot records when you ask.
Automations and developer access. Conditional automations send notes and action items to HubSpot, Salesforce, Attio, Zoho CRM, Notion, Slack, Linear, monday.com, and Zapier, with Make and signed webhooks for everything else. The API, the MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other clients, and the cb CLI are available on every plan.
Switching is straightforward. Circleback imports meeting history directly from Fathom, Fireflies, Granola, and Read AI, and Otter.ai users can upload their audio or video files.
Security for company-wide rollouts. Circleback is SOC 2 Type II, encrypts data at rest and in transit, and does not use customer data to train models. SSO with SAML or OIDC, SCIM directory sync, and HIPAA with a BAA are available, and the security portal has a report of an external pentest.
Honest limits. Circleback has no Linux app and no browser extension, its CRM automations do not edit record fields, and it does not score calls the way coaching tools do. Desktop and mobile recordings name speakers by voice and calendar invitees, so a speaker can stay "Participant 1" when there is no match.
To see how Circleback ranks against the wider field, read the best AI meeting assistants in 2026, where it comes first of eight tools.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to Circleback?
As of October 2026, the main Circleback alternatives are Granola, Fathom, Fireflies.ai, Otter.ai, and tl;dv. Each covers part of what Circleback does: Granola records without a bot but keeps no audio, Fathom offers free unlimited recordings on Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, Fireflies.ai and Otter.ai have lower Pro prices, and tl;dv offers clips and CRM field updates. Circleback is the one we recommend: it records every meeting, online or in person, with a bot or without one, lets you type your own notes while it records, and keeps everything in one searchable workspace with assigned action items and automations.
What is the best Circleback alternative?
Circleback is the tool we recommend, and each alternative covers a narrower slice of it. Granola records without a bot but keeps no audio. Fathom offers free unlimited recordings on Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. Otter.ai Pro at $8.33 per user per month billed annually and Fireflies.ai Pro at $10 have lower list prices. tl;dv offers clips and CRM field updates. Circleback brings a bot, bot-free desktop recording, mobile and Apple Watch capture, your own typed notes, and assigned action items together in one tool.
Circleback vs Otter, which is better for meeting notes?
Circleback, for detailed notes, 100+ languages, and team-wide follow-up. It writes notes for the people in the meeting, builds in the notes you type while it records, assigns each action item to one owner, and keeps them in a workspace-wide list. Otter.ai transcribes six languages. Otter.ai Pro costs less on list price, at $8.33 per user per month billed annually against $15 for Circleback Pro.
Circleback vs tl;dv: which is better for teams?
Circleback, for teams that want shared meeting history, clips, action items assigned to one person each, conditional automations, and API, MCP, and CLI access. tl;dv offers reels, recurring reports, and CRM workflows that update HubSpot or Salesforce text fields after each call. Circleback Business costs $25 per user per month billed annually, against $29 for tl;dv Business.
Circleback vs Fathom: which has better meeting summaries?
Circleback, and the fair way to check is to record the same meeting with both free plans, since no vendor publishes an independent accuracy benchmark. Circleback notes are written for the people in the meeting, build in the notes you type during the call, use what was shown on screen when a video is saved, and keep speaker labels with every recording method. Circleback transcribes 100+ languages; Fathom transcribes seven natively, and its advanced summaries and Ask Fathom are limited on its free plan.
Circleback vs Granola: which is better for bot-free notes?
Circleback. Both record without a bot on macOS and Windows, and both let you type notes during the meeting. In Circleback, you type private notes next to the meeting while it records, in the desktop and mobile apps, and the AI notes build in what you wrote. Circleback also keeps an audio and video recording you can play back, or lets you turn recording storage off and keep the transcript and notes. It gives you a choice between a bot and bot-free desktop recording, accepts file uploads, and assigns each action item to one owner. Granola keeps no audio at all.
Is Fireflies cheaper than Circleback?
Yes, on list price. Fireflies.ai Pro is $10 per seat per month billed annually and Business is $19, against $15 and $25 for Circleback Pro and Business. Fireflies.ai Enterprise is $39 per seat per month billed annually, more than the $35 Circleback Enterprise starting rate, which drops automatically past 50 users.
Does Circleback have a free plan?
Yes. Circleback Free is free forever, not a trial. It includes unlimited meetings and members, limited automations, and API, MCP, and CLI access. Meetings older than 30 days are locked, not deleted, and upgrading unlocks them. The Free plan launched in August 2026, so older reviews that say Circleback has no free plan are out of date.
Can Circleback record meetings without a bot?
Yes. The Circleback desktop app for macOS and Windows records any call that uses your microphone, on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, or any other app, without a bot joining. It saves audio and video of the meeting window by default. The iOS and Android apps and the Apple Watch app record in-person meetings, also without a bot.