Fireflies.ai vs Read.ai – Feature and product comparison

Here's what you should look for in an AI meeting automation tool:

• Transcripts that create a word-for-word record of the meeting. For example, a one-hour product development meeting generates a searchable document containing every feature discussion, technical requirement, and team decision.

• Action items are pulled directly from the conversation. When someone says "John will update the wireframes by Friday," the AI automatically creates a tracked task with the assignee and deadline.

• Meeting summaries distill hour-long conversations into 2-3 paragraphs. A 45-minute sprint planning meeting becomes a concise overview of sprint goals, resource allocation, and key decisions.

• Topic segmentation breaks discussions into labeled sections. A client call covering multiple projects is automatically divided into sections like "Website Redesign," "Q1 Marketing Campaign," and "Budget Review."

Other key features

In addition to the quality of these deliverables, we'll want to look at a number of other key factors:

• Ease-of-use: does it have a simple, intuitive setup that works for non-technical users?

• In-person meeting support: can it transcribe audio from live recordings or uploaded files, not just virtual calls?

• Security and privacy: how is customer data handled on the platform?

• Integrations: can it connect with your existing stack, like HubSpot, Notion, or Slack?

• Functionality: does it go beyond transcriptions and actually help you take action?

• Languages: can it transcribe and summarize meetings in different languages?

• Desktop and mobile apps: can you access it on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android for on-the-go meetings?

Understanding Fireflies.ai and Read.ai

Fireflies.ai is a cloud-based meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and summarizes discussions across platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet. It sends an AI bot ("Fred") to join meetings, creates searchable transcripts with speaker labels, generates summaries with action items, and allows users to query meeting content through AskFred. The system integrates with tools like Slack, Asana, and CRM systems, functioning for virtual meetings, in-person discussions via mobile recording, and uploaded audio files.

The service offers a free tier with limited credits, a Pro plan ($10/user/month) with unlimited audio recording, and a Business plan ($19/user/month) adding video recording and analytics. Fireflies supports over 100 languages and provides mobile apps for iOS and Android. While praised for ease of use and transcription quality, limitations include occasional accuracy issues with accents or technical jargon, high-level summaries that may miss nuance, and feature restrictions on lower-tier plans.

Read.ai is an AI meeting copilot that transcribes meetings while analyzing engagement and sentiment. It provides real-time transcription with an optional live meeting summary visible to participants, then generates reports containing key points, action items, speaker metrics, sentiment analysis, and attention scores. The platform integrates with Zoom, Teams, and Meet, offers AI search across meeting transcripts, and can summarize Slack threads or emails. It supports over 16 languages with real-time translation capabilities.

The service operates on a tiered pricing structure with a free plan allowing 5 meetings monthly, a Pro plan at $19.75/user/month (annual) for unlimited meetings and advanced integrations, and Enterprise plans starting at $29.75/user/month with video playback features. Read.ai works through a web app and browser extensions rather than a desktop client, offers an iOS app for in-person meeting capture, and includes integrations with business tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, Confluence, and Notion.

Comparing Fireflies.ai and Read.ai

Fireflies.ai

• Fireflies offers transcription and summarization capabilities through a bot that joins virtual meetings, with basic integration to workflow tools. Its transcription quality works well for general conversations but struggles with accents and technical jargon. While it provides a free tier, many essential features require paid plans and its integration depth falls short of helping users fully leverage meeting content.

• The platform supports over 100 languages and works across major video conferencing platforms. Its mobile app enables in-person recording, but the absence of a desktop application limits offline functionality. Despite having many integrations, Fireflies lacks a robust automation engine to help users translate meeting insights into actionable workflows that could meaningfully impact productivity.

Read.ai

• Read functions as a meeting copilot with features beyond basic transcription, including engagement analysis and sentiment tracking. The platform's ability to measure speaker balance and provide real-time feedback during meetings differentiates it, but its limited integration ecosystem constrains users from effectively implementing meeting outcomes into their workflows.

• With support for over 20 languages and capabilities for asynchronous communication analysis, Read offers versatility for global teams. However, its restricted free tier, complex interface, and higher price point for advanced features create barriers to adoption, while the absence of comprehensive automation tools prevents users from fully operationalizing meeting intelligence.

Fireflies.ai better serves budget-conscious teams and individual contributors who prioritize simple meeting transcription across many platforms. Its lower price point, unlimited free tier with basic functionality, and cross-platform mobile support make it accessible for organizations with basic needs and diverse technical environments. However, teams shouldn't expect sophisticated workflow automation or deep analytics from this tool.

Read.ai is more suitable for teams focused on meeting effectiveness and engagement quality. Its analytics on speaker participation and sentiment provide valuable management insights, particularly useful for larger organizations concerned with meeting productivity and team dynamics. The higher price point and more complex feature set align better with enterprise users who can justify the cost through improved meeting outcomes, though both tools ultimately fall short on truly automating post-meeting workflows.

Another alternative: Circleback

Circleback provides best-in-class AI-powered meeting notes and automations. We support over 100 languages and automatic participant identification in both in-person and online meetings.

• Automatically-identified and assigned action items

• AI-enabled search across all meetings

• Automations with 100+ app integrations

• Industry-leading security with SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and HIPAA compliance

• Ability to capture both online and in-person meetings with desktop and mobile apps