The best AI note takers for Mac in 2026

AI note takers all promise the same thing: you talk, and a transcript and notes appear afterwards. They differ in the parts that matter day to day. Does a bot join your call? Where does the audio go? Can it handle a meeting in a room? And what does it cost per person, per month? This guide compares the main options on a Mac, using each company's own pricing and help pages.

We make Poffle, one of the apps below, so we have tried to be fair and to say where each of the others is the better choice.

At a glance

Checked on October 21, 2026 on each company’s own website. Plans and prices change, so check before you decide.

How to choose

• Bot or no bot. A bot that joins as a participant works on any computer but is visible to everyone, and some companies block it. Bot-free apps record your own computer's audio instead.
• Cloud or on device. Most note takers upload audio to transcribe it and keep notes on their servers. If meetings are confidential, look at where both happen.
• One person or a team. Shared workspaces, CRM sync and admin controls are what the per-seat price pays for. If you only need your own notes, you may not need them.
• Platforms. Only some apps run on Windows, Android or the web.
• Price over time. Most plans charge each person every month. Two of the apps below are one-time purchases.

Poffle

Poffle notices when a call starts and offers to record it, then stops when the call ends. No bot joins. The transcript is made with Apple's on-device speech recognition, and the notes, with decisions and action items with owners, with Apple Intelligence, so everything stays on your Mac. You can ask questions across meetings and get answers that cite their source, and turn actions into Apple Reminders. It costs $25 once and includes eight other tools, such as clipboard history and a file tray. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26, and has no Windows, mobile or team workspace. Best for: one person on a Mac who wants private notes without a subscription.

Granola

Granola records your computer's audio without a bot and writes polished notes, with templates and saved prompts. Transcription goes to a cloud provider, and notes are stored on Granola's servers in the United States. It runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with shared folders and integrations for teams. Business is $14 a month per person; the free plan locks notes older than 30 days. Best for: teams who want bot-free notes in a shared workspace. See Granola compared with Poffle.

Otter.ai

Otter's Notetaker joins Zoom, Meet and Teams as a participant, and a desktop app can record without it. Audio and transcripts are stored in Otter's cloud. It has live transcription, mobile apps and team channels, and transcribes six languages. Pro is $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed yearly; the free plan includes 300 minutes a month. Best for: English-speaking teams who want live transcripts on every device. See Otter compared with Poffle.

Fireflies.ai

Fireflies sends its bot, Fred, by default and offers bot-free recording in its desktop app. It transcribes more than 100 languages and connects to most CRMs and work tools. Pro is $18 a month per seat, or $10 billed yearly. Best for: sales and customer teams who want meeting data in their CRM. See Fireflies compared with Poffle.

Fathom

Fathom records with a bot by default and is testing bot-free recording on the Mac. Its free plan is generous, with unlimited recordings and detailed summaries for five calls a month. Premium is $20 a month, or $16 billed yearly. Best for: people who want a capable free plan and do not mind a bot.

Jamie

Jamie records without a bot on Mac, Windows and phones, processes audio on servers in Frankfurt and deletes the audio afterwards. That makes it a common choice in Europe. Plus is $29 a month, or $24 billed yearly, and the free plan includes ten notes a month of up to 30 minutes. Best for: European teams who want bot-free notes processed in the EU.

MacWhisper

MacWhisper transcribes on your Mac with Whisper models, supports 100 languages and can record meetings in its Pro version, which is a one-time purchase of €64. It is a transcription tool first: you can chat with transcripts through an AI provider you connect, but it does not write structured notes with decisions and owned action items. Best for: accurate on-device transcripts and subtitles.

Notion AI Meeting Notes

Notion records without a bot from its desktop and mobile apps and puts the notes in a Notion page. Transcription runs through Notion's partners and the audio is not stored. It needs the Business plan, $20 a month per member billed yearly, and transcribes 16 languages. Best for: teams who already work in Notion.

Built into your meeting app

Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet can summarize their own meetings. Zoom includes meeting summaries with paid Zoom Workplace plans and gives the free plan three a month, and its My Notes plan, $10 a month, also covers other apps and in-person meetings. Teams intelligent recap needs a Teams Premium license, $10 a month per user billed yearly, or Microsoft 365 Copilot. Google Meet's Take notes for me needs Workspace Business Standard or higher, from $14 a month per user billed yearly, and supports eight languages. They are convenient when every meeting happens in one app and the organizer has the right plan, but your notes then live with that company.

Which one to pick

If your notes need to live in a team workspace or a CRM, pick the team tool your company already uses: Granola, Otter or Fireflies. If you are one person on a Mac and want your meetings to stay on your computer without paying every month, Poffle is built for that, and it brings a set of everyday tools with it. Poffle has a seven-day trial, so you can record a few real meetings before you decide.