# Fireflies vs Read AI: pricing, features, and which is better > Fireflies.ai and Read AI compared across pricing, capture, speaker labels, recordings, notes, sharing, automations, integrations, AI-agent access, and administration. - Canonical HTML: https://circleback.ai/compare/fireflies-ai-vs-read-ai - Structured JSON: https://circleback.ai/compare/fireflies-ai-vs-read-ai.json - Comparison directory: https://circleback.ai/compare - Language: en-US - Editorial perspective: Neutral competitor comparison. Circleback appears only as a clearly labeled third option. ## Short answer Choose Fireflies for capture breadth, a team task feed, integrations, and developer surfaces. Choose Read AI for live engagement and sentiment analytics plus search across connected workplace content. The useful buying test is to run both products on the same external call, internal planning session, and noisy in-person meeting. Compare the result, the sharing defaults, and the work that still has to happen by hand. ## Fireflies.ai at a glance Fireflies is one of the broadest meeting assistants: bot, desktop, mobile, integrations, search, API, and live or sales assistance. The nuanced bit is that its capture modes are not equivalent—bot-free desktop gives up recordings, named speakers, and Sales Assist. **Best for:** Teams that prioritize a large integration catalog, live assistance, sales workflows, flexible bot/desktop/mobile capture, and competitive pricing. **Less ideal for:** Teams that expect bot-free capture to preserve the same media, speaker fidelity, and sales intelligence as the bot experience. **Price:** Free; Pro from $10/user/month annually Prices are per user/month: Pro is $10 with annual billing or $18 month-to-month; Business is $19 or $29; Enterprise is $39 with annual billing. Storage, AI credits, video, advanced integrations, and governance differ by plan. **Free option:** Yes. Unlimited transcription requires both Auto-join and Share-all; otherwise initial transcription credits, storage limits, and plan-gated summaries or AI features apply. ### Fireflies.ai strengths - Bot, bot-free macOS/Windows, iOS/Android, uploads, and supported native meeting SDK paths. - A large integration catalog, public API, webhooks, remote MCP, AI apps, live assistance, and Sales Assist. - Automatically generated and assigned action items live in a team-wide task feed and can flow into tools such as Linear, Asana, Monday.com, and Microsoft Planner. - Competitive pricing and 100+ language claims make it accessible to distributed teams. - Meeting content is not used to train internal or external AI models, and compliance modes can retain the full record, text only, summary only, or summary plus audio. ### Fireflies.ai tradeoffs - Bot-free desktop mode stores no audio/video, labels speakers generically, and cannot run Sales Assist. - Fireflies says mobile recordings often do not auto-detect speakers, so in-person transcripts may need manual speaker relabeling. - The Google Meet SDK bot-free path asks attendees for approval, so “bot-free” does not always mean invisible or frictionless. - The advertised unlimited free transcription is conditional: users must enable both automatic bot joining and automatic sharing with every participant. Teams choosing tighter defaults fall back to a small transcription-credit allowance. - Meeting recaps default to workspace-wide access plus anyone with the link. Admins can enforce safer defaults and Enterprise rules can protect sensitive categories, but teams should configure this before broad rollout. - Two current Fireflies help articles disagree on whether Free includes 400 or 800 stored minutes, so confirm the live limit before relying on long-term free storage. - Advanced AI features use workspace-pooled credits that do not increase with seat count, so heavier teams may need a paid credit add-on. - The GraphQL API exposes transcripts and core meeting data but not Super Summaries or Custom Apps output. - The MCP server is much richer than the older API-only story, but some advanced search and fetch tools are still marked experimental, and data sent to an external AI no longer receives Fireflies’ zero-data-retention guarantee. - Company relationship context and general-purpose native automations are less cohesive than the sheer integration count suggests. ### Choose Fireflies.ai when - A large integration catalog and live assistance are high priorities. - You are happy to use the Fireflies bot when you need recordings, named speakers, and Sales Assist. - You want mobile and desktop capture at a lower entry price than many competitors. ## Read AI at a glance Read AI goes beyond notes with live engagement, sentiment, speaker metrics, Search Copilot, and access across meetings and other work sources. Its pricing looks approachable until recording playback and governance requirements push a team into Enterprise tiers. **Best for:** Teams that value live engagement/sentiment signals, speaker analytics, coaching, and a search assistant spanning multiple workplace content sources. **Less ideal for:** Teams that want recordings on ordinary plans, dislike behavioral scoring in meetings, need free viewer economics, or want simple transparent governance below Enterprise+. **Price:** Free for 5 meetings/month; Pro from $15/user/month annually Prices are per user/month: Pro is $15 with annual billing or $19.75 month-to-month; Enterprise is $22.50 or $29.75 and adds playback; Enterprise+ is $29.75 or $39.75 and adds advanced retention, domain, SAML, and HIPAA-related options, with a five-license minimum. **Free option:** Yes: five meetings per month. ### Read AI strengths - Distinctive live engagement, sentiment, speaker, and meeting-quality analytics. - Search Copilot reaches beyond meetings into connected email, messaging, and document sources. - Automatic recaps and recurring-meeting pre-reads can carry action items and open questions into email, Slack, or Teams. - Current macOS/Windows desktop plus iOS and Android in-person capture broaden the product beyond a meeting bot. - Its open-beta REST API and MCP expose full speaker-labeled transcripts, summaries, actions, metrics, and recording download URLs for meetings the user can access. ### Read AI tradeoffs - Audio/video playback requires Enterprise or Enterprise+, while lower-tier source media is deleted after the documented grace period. - Advanced retention, SAML, domain controls, and HIPAA support require Enterprise+ and its license minimum. - Engagement and sentiment scoring can be useful for coaching but uncomfortable or noisy for some company cultures. - Workspace licensing does not offer the same free-viewer model as some competitors. - The API and MCP are open beta: OAuth tokens are short-lived, static keys/client credentials are not supported, and several app features and file upload are not exposed. - Read says meeting data is not used for AI training without explicit opt-in, but its Customer Experience Improvement Program is enabled on an opt-out basis for product evaluation. - Simply removing a person from a workspace does not revoke their account access or transfer their reports. Admins must deactivate the account and transfer workspace-owned reports as separate offboarding steps. ### Choose Read AI when - Live engagement and speaker analytics are genuinely useful to your managers or facilitators. - You want AI search across meetings plus connected workplace sources. - You are comfortable with Enterprise pricing for playback and Enterprise+ for stronger governance. ## Feature comparison | What matters | Fireflies.ai | Read AI | | --- | --- | --- | | Capture options | Broad support — Bot, bot-free desktop, mobile, and SDK-based capture. Fireflies has unusually broad capture. The modes differ: desktop bot-free capture works across apps but drops stored media and named speaker labels; the bot preserves the richer meeting record. | Broad support — Meeting bot, macOS/Windows desktop, and mobile. The assistant can join scheduled calls, while desktop records device audio without relying solely on a bot. Disclosure and opt-out flows remain part of the participant experience. | | Desktop and mobile | Broad support — Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. Desktop supports system-audio recording and live assistance. Mobile supports in-person recording, reviewing meetings, search, sharing, and tasks. | Broad support — Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. Desktop captures device audio for online meetings. The iPhone and Android apps record in-person conversations and put their reports beside Zoom, Meet, and Teams meetings; neither mobile app can record another app or phone call using the same microphone. | | In-person capture and speaker labels | Broad support — Mobile and desktop room capture. iOS and Android can capture in-person conversations. Fireflies documents that mobile recordings often do not auto-detect speakers, so names may need manual correction. Bot-free desktop can also hear room/system audio, with its own media and generic-label caveats. | Broad support — iOS and Android real-time transcript and summary. Both mobile apps record room conversations with a live transcript and summary. They do not capture phone calls, FaceTime, or a virtual-meeting app on the same device. In shared-room audio, distinct voices may begin as Conference Room — Speaker 1, Speaker 2, and so on; owners and editors can rename or reassign them afterward. | | Recordings, playback, and clips | Available with limits — Bot mode saves AV; bot-free desktop saves neither. This is the key evaluation detail: bot meetings can preserve audio/video and named speakers, while desktop bot-free mode produces notes/transcript without recording files and uses Speaker 1/Speaker 2 labels. | Narrow or indirect — Playback only on Enterprise and Enterprise+. Pro and free users can receive notes and transcripts, but source media is not a durable playback library. Read documents a 30-day grace period before lower-tier media deletion. | | Notes, action items, and search | Broad support — Notes, search, and a workspace-wide assigned task feed. Fireflies offers strong meeting search and multiple AI surfaces. It automatically creates and assigns meeting tasks, lets teams manage all accessible tasks in one feed, and can turn action items into trackable work in several project tools. Usage credits and plan gates still apply to advanced AI apps and assistant capabilities. | Broad support — Summaries, action items, Search Copilot, and coaching analytics. Read’s differentiated layer is live and post-meeting intelligence: engagement, sentiment, speaker stats, action items, and search across connected content. Recommendations can resurface recent work assigned to the user, but Read does not document a full workspace-wide task board with assignee and completion management comparable to dedicated action trackers. | | People, companies, and context | Available with limits — Meeting channels and cross-meeting search. The meeting library is searchable and collaborative, but the product is less centered on a unified relationship timeline combining meetings, email, calendar, people, and companies. | Broad support — Cross-source Search Copilot. Search can span meetings, email, messages, and documents, which is broader than a transcript library. The experience is a search layer rather than explicit relationship timelines and upcoming-event pages. | | Automatic sharing and workspace defaults | Broad support — Enterprise rules can auto-route, share, and enforce privacy. Enterprise admins can match meeting title, host, participants, or internal/external type, then route to a channel, share with users or teams, or enforce privacy. This is genuinely strong automation. The default recap visibility is broader than many buyers expect—teammates plus anyone holding the link—so configure the workspace default deliberately. | Broad support — Workspace-wide participant and team report access. Workspace admins can set automatic report access for internal or external participants and give teams role-based access to matching reports, including retroactive access. Owners can send recaps and recurring-meeting pre-reads through email, Slack, or Teams. Participant rules use calendar invitees, including no-shows, and the owner’s settings govern each report, so teams should configure workspace controls deliberately. | | Automations | Broad support — Meeting rules, AI apps, CRM workflows, and automatic task handoff. Fireflies can automatically create and assign tasks, then route them to Linear, Asana, Monday.com, Planner, Salesforce, and other systems with meeting filters on eligible plans. It also supports specialized AI apps. The experience spans several feature systems rather than one simple general condition/action canvas. | Available with limits — Recaps, pre-reads, scheduled updates, and agent actions. Read can send post-meeting recaps, recurring-meeting pre-reads, and scheduled topic updates, while Ask Read actions can draft and send email, create calendar events, and update HubSpot after user approval. It is more opinionated around its own agents and intelligence outputs than a general meeting trigger/condition/action canvas. | | Integrations | Broad support — 100+ integrations plus Zapier and API. Breadth is a major advantage across CRM, collaboration, storage, dialers, and productivity tools. Verify the plan required for each connector and direction of sync. | Broad support — Calendar, conferencing, email, messaging, documents, and premium connectors. Search Copilot’s cross-source coverage is a strength, although connector eligibility varies by paid plan. | | API, MCP, CLI, and data portability | Broad support — GraphQL API, webhooks, and a rich remote MCP server. Fireflies exposes transcripts and core meeting data through GraphQL plus webhooks for custom integrations. Its OAuth or API-key remote MCP server can retrieve full transcripts, summaries, action items, active meetings, analytics, soundbites, channels, and user data; it can also share, rename, organize, and clip meetings. Some advanced search and fetch tools remain experimental. Super Summary and Custom Apps data are still absent from the documented GraphQL API, and content passed into an external AI follows that provider’s retention terms. | Available with limits — Open-beta REST API and MCP with full meeting reports. Read’s API and remote MCP can return meeting metadata, participants, summaries, chapters, action items, topics, metrics, full speaker-labeled transcripts, and recording-download URLs. They are open beta, use browser OAuth with short-lived rotating tokens, lack service credentials and file upload, and only reach reports the user can access unless an admin enables global report access. | | Security, privacy, and admin | Broad support — Business and Enterprise governance. Enterprise adds SSO/SCIM, Rules Engine governance, custom retention, and private storage. Its Super Admin role can access every workspace meeting, including “Only Me” content—useful for compliance, but a material privacy-policy decision. Fireflies says meeting content is never used for internal or external model training. | Broad support — Core admin on Enterprise; advanced governance on Enterprise+. Retention, domain controls, SAML, and HIPAA-related capabilities are concentrated in Enterprise+. That plan currently carries a five-license minimum. | | Languages | Broad support — 100+ languages advertised. Fireflies advertises broad transcription coverage. Real-world speaker separation and accuracy still depend on capture mode, room acoustics, accents, and vocabulary. | Available with limits — Read’s pricing page says 20+; its detail table says 16+. Read’s current pricing page uses “20+ languages” in the Free plan card but “16+ languages” in the detailed comparison table. The coverage is useful but materially narrower on paper than competitors advertising 75 or 100+; verify the language you need rather than relying on the headline count. | Ratings describe documented breadth rather than overall product quality: - **Broad support:** Broad native support across the product or relevant paid plans. - **Available with limits:** Documented support with meaningful scope, mode, or plan limits. - **Narrow or indirect:** Narrow, indirect, beta, or substantially plan-gated support. - **Not documented:** No current first-party documentation for a native option. ## Detailed analysis ### Capture options **Both products document broad support for capture options, with different scope and plan limits.** **Fireflies.ai:** Bot, bot-free desktop, mobile, and SDK-based capture. Fireflies has unusually broad capture. The modes differ: desktop bot-free capture works across apps but drops stored media and named speaker labels; the bot preserves the richer meeting record. Evidence: [Fireflies bot-free desktop recording](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/6666374717-how-to-record-meetings-without-a-bot-on-the-fireflies-desktop-app), [Fireflies desktop app](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/1208704416-getting-started-with-the-fireflies-desktop-app). **Read AI:** Meeting bot, macOS/Windows desktop, and mobile. The assistant can join scheduled calls, while desktop records device audio without relying solely on a bot. Disclosure and opt-out flows remain part of the participant experience. Evidence: [Read AI desktop app](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/45911611006995-How-to-Use-Read-s-Desktop-App-for-Windows-and-Mac). ### Desktop and mobile **Both products document broad support for desktop and mobile, with different scope and plan limits.** **Fireflies.ai:** Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. Desktop supports system-audio recording and live assistance. Mobile supports in-person recording, reviewing meetings, search, sharing, and tasks. Evidence: [Fireflies desktop app](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/1208704416-getting-started-with-the-fireflies-desktop-app), [Fireflies mobile app](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/8937818258-learn-about-fireflies-mobile-app). **Read AI:** Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. Desktop captures device audio for online meetings. The iPhone and Android apps record in-person conversations and put their reports beside Zoom, Meet, and Teams meetings; neither mobile app can record another app or phone call using the same microphone. Evidence: [Read AI desktop app](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/45911611006995-How-to-Use-Read-s-Desktop-App-for-Windows-and-Mac), [Read AI iPhone app](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/34467337929107-Read-AI-App-for-iPhone), [Read AI Android app](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51863250182291-Read-AI-App-for-Android). ### In-person capture and speaker labels **Both products document broad support for in-person capture and speaker labels, with different scope and plan limits.** **Fireflies.ai:** Mobile and desktop room capture. iOS and Android can capture in-person conversations. Fireflies documents that mobile recordings often do not auto-detect speakers, so names may need manual correction. Bot-free desktop can also hear room/system audio, with its own media and generic-label caveats. Evidence: [Fireflies mobile app](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/8937818258-learn-about-fireflies-mobile-app), [Fireflies speaker labels](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4994477228-how-to-edit-speaker-labels-or-names-in-a-transcript). **Read AI:** iOS and Android real-time transcript and summary. Both mobile apps record room conversations with a live transcript and summary. They do not capture phone calls, FaceTime, or a virtual-meeting app on the same device. In shared-room audio, distinct voices may begin as Conference Room — Speaker 1, Speaker 2, and so on; owners and editors can rename or reassign them afterward. Evidence: [Read AI iPhone app](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/34467337929107-Read-AI-App-for-iPhone), [Read AI Android app](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51863250182291-Read-AI-App-for-Android), [Read AI mobile capture limits](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51863422605203-Can-I-use-Read-s-mobile-app-to-record-calls-from-my-phone), [Read AI speaker editing](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/36169538719379-Can-I-edit-text-and-speaker-names-in-my-meeting-report). ### Recordings, playback, and clips **Fireflies has broader documented support for recordings, playback, and clips.** **Fireflies.ai:** Bot mode saves AV; bot-free desktop saves neither. This is the key evaluation detail: bot meetings can preserve audio/video and named speakers, while desktop bot-free mode produces notes/transcript without recording files and uses Speaker 1/Speaker 2 labels. Evidence: [Fireflies bot-free desktop recording](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/6666374717-how-to-record-meetings-without-a-bot-on-the-fireflies-desktop-app). **Read AI:** Playback only on Enterprise and Enterprise+. Pro and free users can receive notes and transcripts, but source media is not a durable playback library. Read documents a 30-day grace period before lower-tier media deletion. Evidence: [Read AI recording availability](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/15107171454739-Why-can-t-I-see-recordings-in-my-report-when-I-received-a-recording-notification-in-my-meeting), [Read AI pricing](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing). ### Notes, action items, and search **Both products document broad support for notes, action items, and search, with different scope and plan limits.** **Fireflies.ai:** Notes, search, and a workspace-wide assigned task feed. Fireflies offers strong meeting search and multiple AI surfaces. It automatically creates and assigns meeting tasks, lets teams manage all accessible tasks in one feed, and can turn action items into trackable work in several project tools. Usage credits and plan gates still apply to advanced AI apps and assistant capabilities. Evidence: [Fireflies pricing guide](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/3734844560-learn-about-the-fireflies-pricing-plans), [Fireflies AI credits](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/9606045468-fireflies-billing-terms), [Fireflies Tasks Feed](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/1574234155-learn-about-the-tasks-feed). **Read AI:** Summaries, action items, Search Copilot, and coaching analytics. Read’s differentiated layer is live and post-meeting intelligence: engagement, sentiment, speaker stats, action items, and search across connected content. Recommendations can resurface recent work assigned to the user, but Read does not document a full workspace-wide task board with assignee and completion management comparable to dedicated action trackers. Evidence: [Read AI pricing](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing), [Read AI report distribution](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/23219401248019-How-do-I-control-meeting-report-sharing-and-distribution). ### People, companies, and context **Read AI has broader documented support for people, companies, and context.** **Fireflies.ai:** Meeting channels and cross-meeting search. The meeting library is searchable and collaborative, but the product is less centered on a unified relationship timeline combining meetings, email, calendar, people, and companies. Evidence: [Fireflies pricing guide](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/3734844560-learn-about-the-fireflies-pricing-plans). **Read AI:** Cross-source Search Copilot. Search can span meetings, email, messages, and documents, which is broader than a transcript library. The experience is a search layer rather than explicit relationship timelines and upcoming-event pages. Evidence: [Read AI pricing](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing). ### Automatic sharing and workspace defaults **Both products document broad support for automatic sharing and workspace defaults, with different scope and plan limits.** **Fireflies.ai:** Enterprise rules can auto-route, share, and enforce privacy. Enterprise admins can match meeting title, host, participants, or internal/external type, then route to a channel, share with users or teams, or enforce privacy. This is genuinely strong automation. The default recap visibility is broader than many buyers expect—teammates plus anyone holding the link—so configure the workspace default deliberately. Evidence: [Fireflies Rules Engine](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4608292950-learn-about-the-rules-engine-feature), [Fireflies recap privacy defaults](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/5319481450-how-to-configure-privacy-settings-for-your-meeting-recaps). **Read AI:** Workspace-wide participant and team report access. Workspace admins can set automatic report access for internal or external participants and give teams role-based access to matching reports, including retroactive access. Owners can send recaps and recurring-meeting pre-reads through email, Slack, or Teams. Participant rules use calendar invitees, including no-shows, and the owner’s settings govern each report, so teams should configure workspace controls deliberately. Evidence: [Read AI workspace sharing settings](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/7962819152659-What-are-all-of-the-settings-and-permissions-available-with-Workspaces), [Read AI report distribution](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/23219401248019-How-do-I-control-meeting-report-sharing-and-distribution). ### Automations **Fireflies has broader documented support for automations.** **Fireflies.ai:** Meeting rules, AI apps, CRM workflows, and automatic task handoff. Fireflies can automatically create and assign tasks, then route them to Linear, Asana, Monday.com, Planner, Salesforce, and other systems with meeting filters on eligible plans. It also supports specialized AI apps. The experience spans several feature systems rather than one simple general condition/action canvas. Evidence: [Fireflies Rules Engine](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4608292950-learn-about-the-rules-engine-feature), [Fireflies pricing guide](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/3734844560-learn-about-the-fireflies-pricing-plans), [Fireflies Tasks Feed](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/1574234155-learn-about-the-tasks-feed), [Fireflies Linear integration](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/8360629677-how-to-integrate-linear-with-fireflies). **Read AI:** Recaps, pre-reads, scheduled updates, and agent actions. Read can send post-meeting recaps, recurring-meeting pre-reads, and scheduled topic updates, while Ask Read actions can draft and send email, create calendar events, and update HubSpot after user approval. It is more opinionated around its own agents and intelligence outputs than a general meeting trigger/condition/action canvas. Evidence: [Read AI report distribution](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/23219401248019-How-do-I-control-meeting-report-sharing-and-distribution), [Read AI actions](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/48863788829971-Using-Ask-Read-actions). ### Integrations **Both products document broad support for integrations, with different scope and plan limits.** **Fireflies.ai:** 100+ integrations plus Zapier and API. Breadth is a major advantage across CRM, collaboration, storage, dialers, and productivity tools. Verify the plan required for each connector and direction of sync. Evidence: [Fireflies integration directory](https://fireflies.ai/integrations), [Fireflies Linear integration](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/8360629677-how-to-integrate-linear-with-fireflies). **Read AI:** Calendar, conferencing, email, messaging, documents, and premium connectors. Search Copilot’s cross-source coverage is a strength, although connector eligibility varies by paid plan. Evidence: [Read AI pricing](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing). ### API, MCP, CLI, and data portability **Fireflies has broader documented support for API, MCP, CLI, and data portability.** **Fireflies.ai:** GraphQL API, webhooks, and a rich remote MCP server. Fireflies exposes transcripts and core meeting data through GraphQL plus webhooks for custom integrations. Its OAuth or API-key remote MCP server can retrieve full transcripts, summaries, action items, active meetings, analytics, soundbites, channels, and user data; it can also share, rename, organize, and clip meetings. Some advanced search and fetch tools remain experimental. Super Summary and Custom Apps data are still absent from the documented GraphQL API, and content passed into an external AI follows that provider’s retention terms. Evidence: [Fireflies API](https://docs.fireflies.ai/introduction), [Fireflies MCP tools](https://docs.fireflies.ai/mcp-tools/overview). **Read AI:** Open-beta REST API and MCP with full meeting reports. Read’s API and remote MCP can return meeting metadata, participants, summaries, chapters, action items, topics, metrics, full speaker-labeled transcripts, and recording-download URLs. They are open beta, use browser OAuth with short-lived rotating tokens, lack service credentials and file upload, and only reach reports the user can access unless an admin enables global report access. Evidence: [Read AI API and MCP overview](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49379985941523-Read-AI-API-and-MCP-Overview), [Read AI MCP tools](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49381158409491-MCP-Server). ### Security, privacy, and admin **Both products document broad support for security, privacy, and admin, with different scope and plan limits.** **Fireflies.ai:** Business and Enterprise governance. Enterprise adds SSO/SCIM, Rules Engine governance, custom retention, and private storage. Its Super Admin role can access every workspace meeting, including “Only Me” content—useful for compliance, but a material privacy-policy decision. Fireflies says meeting content is never used for internal or external model training. Evidence: [Fireflies pricing guide](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/3734844560-learn-about-the-fireflies-pricing-plans), [Fireflies storage limits](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4777633252-learn-about-meeting-storage-limits), [Fireflies Rules Engine](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4608292950-learn-about-the-rules-engine-feature), [Fireflies data safety](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/2154538358-policy-on-keeping-information-safe), [Fireflies compliance recording modes](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/3598930706-set-up-transcript-only-mode-for-compliance), [Fireflies Enterprise controls](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4771323041-learn-about-fireflies-enterprise-plan). **Read AI:** Core admin on Enterprise; advanced governance on Enterprise+. Retention, domain controls, SAML, and HIPAA-related capabilities are concentrated in Enterprise+. That plan currently carries a five-license minimum. Evidence: [Read AI pricing](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing), [Read AI workspace sharing settings](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/7962819152659-What-are-all-of-the-settings-and-permissions-available-with-Workspaces), [Read AI workspace offboarding](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/27433066427283-How-do-I-offboard-someone-from-my-Read-workspace), [Read AI data handling](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/52055801266579-What-Does-Read-AI-Do-With-My-Data-Read-AI). ### Languages **Fireflies has broader documented support for languages.** **Fireflies.ai:** 100+ languages advertised. Fireflies advertises broad transcription coverage. Real-world speaker separation and accuracy still depend on capture mode, room acoustics, accents, and vocabulary. Evidence: [Fireflies pricing guide](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/3734844560-learn-about-the-fireflies-pricing-plans). **Read AI:** Read’s pricing page says 20+; its detail table says 16+. Read’s current pricing page uses “20+ languages” in the Free plan card but “16+ languages” in the detailed comparison table. The coverage is useful but materially narrower on paper than competitors advertising 75 or 100+; verify the language you need rather than relying on the headline count. Evidence: [Read AI pricing](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing). ## A third option to consider: Circleback Circleback turns online meetings, in-person conversations, and imported calls into one shared company memory. Record with a bot, with the botless desktop app, from an iPhone or Android phone, or on Apple Watch. Every route produces the same speaker-labeled record, detailed notes designed to stand alone, and automatically assigned action items. Sharing rules and automations carry the useful parts into the teams and tools that need them. Circleback is built for people and AI agents: the complete meeting record available to a person is also available programmatically through its API, MCP, and CLI. Circleback can also search connected apps and take action in them. It is built for people and AI agents: the same complete meeting data available to a person is available programmatically to ChatGPT, Claude, other agents, and internal tools through the API, MCP, and CLI. Free; Pro from $15/user/month annually; Business from $25/user/month annually; Enterprise $35/user/month, billed annually. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which is better: Fireflies.ai or Read AI? Choose Fireflies for capture breadth, a team task feed, integrations, and developer surfaces. Choose Read AI for live engagement and sentiment analytics plus search across connected workplace content. ### Which is less expensive, Fireflies.ai or Read AI? Fireflies.ai: Free; Pro from $10/user/month annually. Read AI: Free for 5 meetings/month; Pro from $15/user/month annually. Compare the paid seats, included usage, recording access, and admin features you actually need. ### Can Fireflies.ai and Read AI record without a bot? Fireflies.ai: Bot, bot-free desktop, mobile, and SDK-based capture. Read AI: Meeting bot, macOS/Windows desktop, and mobile. The useful check is whether your required capture mode keeps video, a recording, and speaker names. ### Which is better for a whole company? First ask who gets each note automatically; otherwise useful context stays with the recorder. Then compare permissions, retention, and enforced defaults. Fireflies: Enterprise rules can auto-route, share, and enforce privacy. Read AI: Workspace-wide participant and team report access. ### Can I access and move the full meeting data? Fireflies: GraphQL API, webhooks, and a rich remote MCP server. Read AI: Open-beta REST API and MCP with full meeting reports. Check the selected plan, authentication model, transcript scope, export format, and retention window for the workflow you need. ### How was this comparison researched? We use first-party pricing pages, product pages, help docs, and release notes for both products. The sources are linked below. ## Methodology Circleback reviews first-party pricing pages, product pages, help docs, and release notes. Prices and capabilities move, so check the linked sources when a detail is important to your decision. Every feature dimension links to the exact first-party documents used for that claim. Ratings describe documented breadth, not an overall score or winner. This page is a neutral competitor-to-competitor comparison. There are no paid placements or affiliate rankings. ## First-party sources ### Fireflies.ai sources - [Fireflies pricing guide](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/3734844560-learn-about-the-fireflies-pricing-plans): July 2026 prices and plan structure. - [Fireflies unlimited free transcripts](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/8632872350-how-to-get-unlimited-meeting-transcripts-on-fireflies-ai-s-free-plan): Auto-join and Share-all requirements for unlimited free transcription. - [Fireflies storage limits](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4777633252-learn-about-meeting-storage-limits): Current storage limits by plan; its Free figure conflicts with an older Free-plan article. - [Fireflies bot-free desktop recording](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/6666374717-how-to-record-meetings-without-a-bot-on-the-fireflies-desktop-app): No AV files, generic speakers, and Sales Assist limitation. - [Fireflies desktop app](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/1208704416-getting-started-with-the-fireflies-desktop-app): Capture modes, Live Assist, and bot versus botless behavior. - [Fireflies mobile app](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/8937818258-learn-about-fireflies-mobile-app): iOS/Android in-person recording, search, sharing, and tasks. - [Fireflies speaker labels](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4994477228-how-to-edit-speaker-labels-or-names-in-a-transcript): Manual corrections and the mobile-recording speaker-detection caveat. - [Fireflies API](https://docs.fireflies.ai/introduction): GraphQL authentication, user/admin scope, available meeting data, and current Super Summary/Custom Apps gaps. - [Fireflies MCP tools](https://docs.fireflies.ai/mcp-tools/overview): Remote MCP authentication, full meeting-data access, read/write tools, and experimental-tool status. - [Fireflies AI credits](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/9606045468-fireflies-billing-terms): Workspace-pooled credit allowances, non-seat scaling, and add-on behavior. - [Fireflies Tasks Feed](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/1574234155-learn-about-the-tasks-feed): Automatic task generation and assignment, all-team task views, completion, reassignment, and project-tool handoff. - [Fireflies Linear integration](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/8360629677-how-to-integrate-linear-with-fireflies): Automatic issue creation, project and status routing, assigned-task filtering, and meeting-rule conditions. - [Fireflies integration directory](https://fireflies.ai/integrations): Current first-party directory advertising 100+ integrations across CRM, project, collaboration, storage, and other categories. - [Fireflies Rules Engine](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4608292950-learn-about-the-rules-engine-feature): Enterprise conditions and actions for routing, automatic sharing, privacy enforcement, and deletion. - [Fireflies recap privacy defaults](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/5319481450-how-to-configure-privacy-settings-for-your-meeting-recaps): Default teammates-and-link visibility, narrower audience choices, and retroactive privacy changes. - [Fireflies data safety](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/2154538358-policy-on-keeping-information-safe): No-training and third-party zero-retention commitments plus governance controls. - [Fireflies compliance recording modes](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/3598930706-set-up-transcript-only-mode-for-compliance): Full-record, text-only, summary-only, and summary-plus-audio retention modes. - [Fireflies Enterprise controls](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4771323041-learn-about-fireflies-enterprise-plan): SSO, SCIM, private storage, retention, and Super Admin access behavior. ### Read AI sources - [Read AI pricing](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing): Current meeting limits, prices, languages, playback gate, governance, and Enterprise+ minimum. - [Read AI desktop app](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/45911611006995-How-to-Use-Read-s-Desktop-App-for-Windows-and-Mac): Device-audio recording and participant disclosure behavior. - [Read AI iPhone app](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/34467337929107-Read-AI-App-for-iPhone): In-person real-time transcript and summary. - [Read AI Android app](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51863250182291-Read-AI-App-for-Android): Android in-person capture, live transcript and summary, and report access. - [Read AI mobile capture limits](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/51863422605203-Can-I-use-Read-s-mobile-app-to-record-calls-from-my-phone): Phone-call and same-device virtual-meeting limitations across iOS and Android. - [Read AI speaker editing](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/36169538719379-Can-I-edit-text-and-speaker-names-in-my-meeting-report): Generic same-room labels plus transcript-wide speaker renaming and turn reassignment. - [Read AI recording availability](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/15107171454739-Why-can-t-I-see-recordings-in-my-report-when-I-received-a-recording-notification-in-my-meeting): Enterprise playback requirement and lower-plan source-media deletion. - [Read AI workspace sharing settings](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/7962819152659-What-are-all-of-the-settings-and-permissions-available-with-Workspaces): Participant auto-sharing, team report access, and workspace distribution controls. - [Read AI report distribution](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/23219401248019-How-do-I-control-meeting-report-sharing-and-distribution): Owner-level participant sharing, invitee behavior, email/Slack/Teams recaps, recurring-meeting pre-reads, and workspace controls. - [Read AI actions](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/48863788829971-Using-Ask-Read-actions): Agent actions for HubSpot updates, approved email sending, calendar creation, and scheduled reports. - [Read AI API and MCP overview](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49379985941523-Read-AI-API-and-MCP-Overview): Open-beta scope, prerequisites, OAuth and rate-limit constraints, permissions, and current feature gaps. - [Read AI MCP tools](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/49381158409491-MCP-Server): Full transcript, summary, action, metric, recording-download, agent-dispatch, and sharing tools. - [Read AI data handling](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/52055801266579-What-Does-Read-AI-Do-With-My-Data-Read-AI): Storage, access, AI-training consent, and the opt-out Customer Experience Improvement Program. - [Read AI workspace offboarding](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/27433066427283-How-do-I-offboard-someone-from-my-Read-workspace): Account deactivation, report transfer, and the limits of simply removing a workspace member.