# The best automatic meeting recorder for scheduled calls

By [David Wilson](https://testbenchlab.com/authors/david-wilson/). Updated 2026-11-02. US prices checked 2026-10-29.

If you forget to press record, or you want every calendar meeting captured without thinking about it, an automatic meeting recorder solves the problem at the source: it reads your calendar and joins (or detects) the meeting for you. Notta is the tool we would choose here, but the differences between tools matter more than they look. Some need the host to admit a visible bot, some post compliance notices into the chat, some let you rule out internal one-to-ones, and a few can capture the call without a bot at all. After comparing nine tools on calendar support, join rules, admission behaviour and price, Notta is the automatic recorder we would choose for scheduled calls: it syncs with Google and Outlook calendars to auto-join your scheduled meetings, and its desktop app detects when a meeting starts and prompts you to record, bot-free, with nothing for a host to admit — covering both automatic-capture paths for $8.17 a month billed yearly. Fellow is the alternative for teams that need centralised admin control: it also scored 5/5 in the auto-join testing and pairs custom join rules with admin policies, at $15 a user a month billed yearly.

**How we assessed:** Auto-join behaviour in this guide is based on manual testing of each tool's calendar connection and automatic joining, plus documentation checks for tools not run live (Fathom and Granola). The scores are test ratings from that testing, not independent measurements. Prices were checked on vendor pages on 29 October 2026 and may change.

## Quick list

| # | Award | Product | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Best overall | Notta |  | Pro $8.17/mo billed yearly ($97.99/yr) |
| 2 | Best for team-wide control | Fellow |  | Business $15/user/mo billed yearly ($23 monthly); Free plan with 5 lifetime recordings |
| 3 | Best free automatic recorder | tl;dv |  | Free; Pro $18/seat/mo billed yearly |
| 4 | Best low-cost auto-join | Fireflies.ai |  | Pro $10/seat/mo billed yearly ($18 monthly); Free with 400 min storage/team |
| 5 | Best automatic without a bot | Krisp |  | Core $8/user/mo billed yearly ($16 monthly); 7-day free trial |
| 6 | Best free option with granular toggles | Fathom |  | Free; Premium $16/mo billed yearly |

## 1. Best overall: Notta

Notta is the most complete automatic recorder for scheduled calls because it covers both paths to automatic capture in one product. It syncs with Google and Outlook calendars and auto-joins your scheduled meetings, and because you choose which calendar it reads, you control which meetings it captures. Where Notta stands out is bot-free automatic recording: Notta Desktop auto-detects when a meeting starts and prompts you to record, with no bot for hosts to admit and nothing visible in the participant list, on macOS 13+ or Windows 10 (1903+). At $8.17 a month billed yearly ($97.99 a year) on the Pro plan, it costs roughly half of Fellow's Business plan while matching its dual bot and bot-free approach. The trade-off is that the desktop app prompts you to confirm rather than starting silently, and its join control is calendar-based rather than rule-based, so teams that need organisation-wide recording policies should look at Fellow.

**Price:** Pro $8.17/mo billed yearly ($97.99/yr)

**Pros:**
- Google and Outlook calendar sync with scheduled auto-join
- Notta Desktop auto-detects meetings and prompts you to record, bot-free
- No bot for hosts to admit in desktop mode
- Both bot and bot-free automatic capture in one product
- Pro plan at $8.17/mo billed yearly is the lowest-priced paid pick with auto-join

**Cons:**
- Desktop auto-detect prompts you to confirm rather than recording silently
- Join control is calendar-based rather than rule-based
- Bot-free desktop mode requires macOS 13+ or Windows 10 (1903+)

## 2. Best for team-wide control: Fellow

Fellow is the pick for organisations that need to standardise which meetings get recorded. It scored 5/5 in the auto-join testing, joining meetings on time in both bot and bot-free modes, and it is the only tool here that pairs custom join rules with admin-level policies, so teams can apply the same recording rules across every seat. Its calendar OAuth documentation was also the most transparent of the tools we checked. On the Business plan ($15 a user a month, billed yearly) you get the full rule engine; the free plan is limited to 5 lifetime recordings, so it is a trial rather than a long-term free option.

**Price:** Business $15/user/mo billed yearly ($23 monthly); Free plan with 5 lifetime recordings

**Pros:**
- Scored 5/5 in auto-join testing: joined on time and posted a notice
- Both bot and bot-free recording modes
- Custom join rules plus admin policies for team-wide control
- Most transparent calendar OAuth documentation of the tools tested

**Cons:**
- Business plan costs $15 a user a month billed yearly ($23 monthly)
- Free plan is capped at 5 lifetime recordings

## 3. Best free automatic recorder: tl;dv

tl;dv is the pick if you want automatic recording without paying. Its free plan records unlimited meetings, with AI notes on the first 10, and it scored 4/5 in the auto-join testing with three join modes: all meetings, rule-based joining, or do not join. The caveats: the calendar connection is set at SSO signup and supports one calendar only, and the bot itself was not tested live, so its in-meeting behaviour is unverified.

**Price:** Free; Pro $18/seat/mo billed yearly

**Pros:**
- Free plan records unlimited meetings
- Three join modes: all meetings, rule-based, or none
- Scored 4/5 in auto-join testing

**Cons:**
- AI notes on the free plan are limited to the first 10 meetings
- One calendar, chosen at SSO signup
- Bot behaviour not tested live

## 4. Best low-cost auto-join: Fireflies.ai

Fireflies is the cheapest way to get a reliable, fully automatic bot. It scored 4/5 in the auto-join testing, joining meetings on time, though the host needs to admit it and it posts a compliance notice into the meeting. At $10 a seat a month billed yearly on the Pro plan it undercuts Fellow and tl;dv's paid tiers. The main limitation is calendar support: one calendar per account (Google or Outlook), set at signup, so anyone juggling multiple calendars should look at Otter.ai or Notta instead.

**Price:** Pro $10/seat/mo billed yearly ($18 monthly); Free with 400 min storage/team

**Pros:**
- Joins meetings on time (4/5 in auto-join testing)
- Posts a compliance notice, which helps with consent requirements
- Pro at $10/seat/mo billed yearly is cheaper than Fellow or tl;dv

**Cons:**
- Host must admit the bot
- One calendar per account, set at signup
- Free plan caps meetings at 2 hours with 400 minutes of storage per team

## 5. Best automatic without a bot: Krisp

Krisp is the pick for automatic capture with no bot for hosts to admit. It is bot-free by default, scored 4/5 in the auto-join testing, and its one-click calendar disconnect makes it easy to opt a meeting out. It connects one calendar, and there is no free tier anymore, only a 7-day trial, so it is a paid commitment from day one. If you want bot-free automatic capture with calendar-driven auto-join as well, Notta's desktop app is the alternative worth comparing.

**Price:** Core $8/user/mo billed yearly ($16 monthly); 7-day free trial

**Pros:**
- Bot-free by default; no host admission needed
- Scored 4/5 in auto-join testing
- One-click calendar disconnect for quick opt-outs

**Cons:**
- No free tier; 7-day trial only
- One calendar connection
- Core at $8/user/mo billed yearly ($16 monthly) is per user

## 6. Best free option with granular toggles: Fathom

Fathom's free plan includes separate toggles for external, internal and ad hoc meetings, which is the most granular free control set of any tool we checked. It cannot record a meeting the user does not attend, and its calendar connection is primary-calendar only. Fathom scored 3/5 in the auto-join assessment (from documentation), and its bot-free mode is a Mac beta, so treat it as a promising free option rather than a proven one.

**Price:** Free; Premium $16/mo billed yearly

**Pros:**
- Free plan with separate toggles for external, internal and ad hoc meetings
- Bot-free capture available (Mac beta)

**Cons:**
- Cannot record meetings the user does not attend
- Primary calendar only
- Auto-join rated 3/5 from documentation, not live testing

## Also considered

- [Read AI](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing): Uses Google Meet's native recording API rather than a bot, which means no admission, but you must confirm recording inside the meeting. Supports Google, Microsoft 365 and Zoom calendars with a sub-calendar toggle. Free plan covers 5 meetings a month; Pro is $15/$19.75.
- [Otter.ai](https://otter.ai/pricing): Scored 4/5 in auto-join testing and 5/5 for calendar connection, the only tool tested that connects multiple calendar accounts, which makes it the pick for anyone juggling several calendars. Pro is $8.33/mo billed yearly ($16.99 monthly).
- [MeetGeek](https://meetgeek.ai/pricing): Joins on time but needs host admission and posts a notice. Primary calendar only (Outlook possible). Free plan allows 3 hours of meetings a month; Pro is $9.99.
- [Granola](https://www.granola.ai/pricing): Bot-free, but recording needs a manual click, so it is not fully automatic. Supports Google and Outlook calendars but no Apple Calendar. Business is $14.

## How we chose

We compared nine automatic meeting recorders on the things that decide whether scheduled calls actually get captured: calendar providers supported, join rules (all meetings, rules, or none), whether the host has to admit the bot, whether a notice is posted, whether automatic recording works without a bot, free allowances, and price per seat. Auto-join behaviour comes from manual testing of each tool, supplemented by vendor documentation where a tool was not run live; prices were verified on vendor pages on 29 October 2026. We favoured tools that give you control over which meetings are recorded, because the most common complaint about automatic recorders is not that they miss meetings, it is that they join the wrong ones.

## How do the picks compare?

| Tool | Calendars | Join rules | Host admission needed | Posts a notice | Bot-free automatic | Free allowance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notta | Google, Outlook | Scheduled auto-join from synced calendar | No (Desktop bot-free mode) | No (Desktop bot-free mode) | Yes (Desktop auto-detect, prompts to record) | Free plan available |
| Fellow | Google, Microsoft 365 | Custom rules + admin policies | Bot mode: yes | Yes | Yes (bot-free mode) | 5 lifetime recordings |
| tl;dv | One calendar, set at SSO signup | All / rule-based / none | Yes (bot) | Not verified | No | Unlimited recordings; AI notes on first 10 |
| Fireflies.ai | One calendar (Google/Outlook), set at signup | Auto-join | Yes | Yes | No | 400 min storage/team; 2 h max meeting |
| Krisp | One calendar | Bot-free default; one-click disconnect | No | No | Yes (default) | None; 7-day trial |
| Fathom | Primary calendar only | Separate external / internal / ad hoc toggles | Yes (bot) | Not verified | Mac beta | Free plan |
| Read AI | Google, M365, Zoom; sub-calendar toggle | Auto via Meet native recording API | No, but confirm in meeting | Not applicable | No (native API) | 5 meetings/mo |
| Otter.ai | Multiple accounts (5/5) | Auto-join | Yes (bot) | Not verified | No | Free plan |
| MeetGeek | Primary only; Outlook possible | Auto-join | Yes | Yes | No | 3 h/mo |
| Granola | Google, Outlook; no Apple Calendar | Manual click needed | No | No | Yes, but not automatic | Free plan |

## How does an automatic meeting recorder know when to record?

Every automatic recorder works from the same two ingredients: a calendar connection and a capture mechanism. The tool syncs with your Google or Microsoft 365 calendar, sees the meetings you are scheduled to attend, and then either sends a bot to join the meeting link at the start time, or runs as a desktop app that detects when a call begins on your machine. Both approaches remove the 'did I press record?' problem, but they behave differently in the meeting. A bot appears in the participant list and usually needs the host to admit it; a desktop app captures locally, with nothing visible to other attendees. Notta supports both paths: calendar sync with Google and Outlook drives scheduled auto-join, and Notta Desktop auto-detects when a meeting starts on your computer and prompts you to record, bot-free. Fellow is the only other pick that offers both bot and bot-free modes. Platform-native options exist too: Zoom cloud recording and Teams auto-record can capture scheduled meetings without any third-party tool, and we cover how to set those up in our guides to recording a Zoom meeting and recording a Teams meeting.

## Which recorders let you choose which meetings get recorded?

Automatic capture is only useful if you can aim it. The tools with the best rule controls are tl;dv, Fathom and Fellow. tl;dv offers three modes: join all meetings, join based on rules, or do not join. Fathom gives you separate toggles for external meetings, internal meetings and ad hoc calls, so you can, for example, record client calls but skip one-to-ones. Fellow goes furthest, with custom rules plus admin policies that let an organisation standardise capture across every seat. Notta takes a simpler approach: you connect the calendar you want it to read, and it auto-joins the meetings scheduled there, so keeping a dedicated work calendar gives you coarse but effective control over what gets captured. If you are the host who does not want a note taker joining at all, we cover how to block AI note takers from your meetings in a separate guide.

## Will the bot need to be let in, and will people see it?

This is the question that surprises most first-time users. Fireflies.ai and MeetGeek both need the host to admit the bot, and both post a notice into the meeting when they join, which at least keeps you on the right side of consent rules. Read AI avoids the bot entirely by using Google Meet's native recording API, but you still have to confirm recording inside the meeting. Krisp needs no admission at all because it is bot-free by default. Notta Desktop is in the same camp: with no bot in the participant list, there is nothing for a host to admit and no notice posted, which makes it a strong option for calls where a visible recorder would change the dynamic. Fellow's bot joins on time and posts a notice, so everyone knows it is there. If you record calls across US states, check our recording consent laws guide for the one-party versus two-party consent picture.

## Can it record automatically without a bot?

Yes, and for many teams this is the deciding factor. Krisp records bot-free by default with no admission step. Notta Desktop auto-detects when a meeting starts and prompts you to record, capturing the call without a bot on macOS 13+ or Windows 10 (1903+), and it is free to all Notta users. Fellow also offers a bot-free mode alongside its bot. Fathom's bot-free capture is available but currently a Mac beta. Granola is bot-free too, but recording needs a manual click, which drops it out of the 'automatic' category. The trade-off with bot-free automatic recording is usually a small amount of friction: Notta Desktop prompts you to confirm rather than starting silently, which is one click, but it is not zero. We compare the full bot-free field, including tools that are not calendar-driven, in our guide to bot-free AI note takers.

## Which calendars are supported?

Calendar support is where cheap auto-join falls over. Fireflies allows one calendar per account, chosen at signup. tl;dv sets its calendar at SSO signup with no multiple-calendar support. Fathom syncs the primary calendar only, and MeetGeek is primary-only with Outlook possible. Otter.ai is the standout here, the only tool tested that connects multiple calendar accounts. Read AI supports Google, Microsoft 365 and Zoom calendars with a sub-calendar toggle. Notta and Fellow both cover the two calendars most teams need, Google and Microsoft 365/Outlook, with Fellow's OAuth documentation the most transparent of the tools we checked. Granola supports Google and Outlook but has no Apple Calendar support. If your meetings live anywhere other than the primary calendar on one of the big two providers, check this before you commit to a plan.

## What does automatic recording cost per month?

Prices checked 29 October 2026. Notta Pro is the cheapest paid pick with calendar-driven auto-join at $8.17 a month billed yearly ($97.99 a year), and it includes the bot-free desktop app at no extra cost. Krisp Core is $8 a user a month billed yearly ($16 monthly) with no free tier, only a 7-day trial. Fireflies Pro is $10 a seat a month billed yearly ($18 monthly). Fellow Business is $15 a user a month billed yearly ($23 monthly). tl;dv Pro is $18 a seat a month billed yearly. Fathom Premium is $16 a month billed yearly. On the free side, tl;dv records unlimited meetings with AI notes on the first 10, Fathom's free plan includes the granular toggles, Read AI allows 5 meetings a month, MeetGeek allows 3 hours a month, and Fellow's free plan is capped at 5 lifetime recordings. If budget is the deciding factor, Notta and tl;dv cover the two ends of the spectrum: the cheapest reliable paid auto-join, and the most generous free recording.

## Our verdict

Notta is the best automatic meeting recorder for scheduled calls: Google and Outlook sync with scheduled auto-join, plus a desktop app that detects meetings and records bot-free with no admission step, covering both automatic-capture paths for $8.17 a month billed yearly. Fellow is the strongest alternative for teams that need centralised control: it scored 5/5 in the auto-join testing and pairs custom join rules with admin policies at $15 a user a month billed yearly. Choose tl;dv for free automatic recording of unlimited meetings, Fireflies Pro for the cheapest fully automatic bot, Krisp for bot-free capture with no admission, and Fathom for the most granular free toggles. Whatever you pick, check the calendar limits and the admission behaviour before you commit, because those two details decide whether your scheduled calls actually get recorded.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can a note taker record a meeting I don't attend?

It depends on the tool. Fathom cannot record a meeting the user is not in. Bot-based tools such as Fireflies and Otter.ai can generally send a bot to a scheduled meeting from your calendar even if you join late or not at all, but you should verify the behaviour for your plan. Notta's scheduled auto-join works from your synced calendar, and Notta Desktop captures meetings detected on your machine, so it records the calls you are actually on.

### How do I stop the bot joining internal one-to-ones?

Use join rules. tl;dv has three modes (all meetings, rule-based, none), Fathom has separate toggles for external, internal and ad hoc meetings, and Fellow supports custom rules plus admin policies. With Notta, control comes from which calendar you sync: keep one-to-ones off the connected calendar and they will not be auto-joined. If you are a host trying to keep other people's bots out entirely, see our guide to stopping AI note takers from joining meetings.

### Does automatic recording work with Zoom, Teams and Google Meet?

Yes, for the picks in this guide. The bot-based tools (Fellow, tl;dv, Fireflies, Otter.ai, MeetGeek) join meeting links from your calendar regardless of platform. Read AI uses Google Meet's native recording API. Bot-free tools such as Krisp and Notta Desktop capture audio on your machine, so they work with any conferencing platform, including ones with no bot support at all.

### Is there a free app that records meetings automatically?

Yes. tl;dv's free plan records unlimited meetings automatically, with AI notes on the first 10. Fathom's free plan includes granular toggles for external, internal and ad hoc meetings. Read AI allows 5 meetings a month and MeetGeek 3 hours a month. Fellow's free plan is capped at 5 lifetime recordings, and Krisp has no free tier, only a 7-day trial. Notta also has a free plan, though heavy scheduled auto-join use will need the Pro plan at $8.17 a month billed yearly.

### Do I have to tell people an AI recorder is joining?

In many cases the tool does it for you: Fireflies and MeetGeek post a notice into the meeting when they join, and Fellow's bot posts a notice too. But notice is not the same as consent, and consent rules vary, particularly across US states with two-party consent laws. Bot-free tools such as Notta Desktop and Krisp post nothing automatically, so the disclosure responsibility is on you. Check our recording consent laws guide before recording calls in regulated or cross-state contexts.

## Related reading

- [The best bot-free AI note takers: tools that don't join your meeting](https://testbenchlab.com/best/bot-free-ai-note-takers/)
- [How to stop AI note takers joining your meetings (Teams, Zoom and Google Meet)](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/stop-ai-note-takers-joining-meetings/)
- [The best AI note taker for project meetings](https://testbenchlab.com/best/best-ai-note-taker-for-project-meetings/)
- [AI Note Takers That Work With Slack Huddles and WhatsApp Calls](https://testbenchlab.com/best/ai-note-takers-for-slack-huddles-and-whatsapp/)
- [How to record a Zoom meeting (and get an AI transcript)](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/how-to-record-a-zoom-meeting/)
- [How to record a Microsoft Teams meeting](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/how-to-record-a-teams-meeting/)
- [One-party vs two-party consent states: can you use an AI voice recorder?](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/recording-consent-laws-by-state/)

## Sources

1. Manual testing of calendar connection and automatic meeting-bot joining — manual testing
2. [Bot-free meeting capture with Notta Desktop](https://notta.ai/en/features/bot-free) — Notta; vendor documentation
3. [Fellow pricing](https://fellow.ai/pricing) — Fellow; vendor pricing page
4. [tl;dv pricing](https://tldv.io/app/pricing/) — tl;dv; vendor pricing page
5. [Fireflies pricing](https://fireflies.ai/pricing) — Fireflies.ai; vendor pricing page
6. [Krisp pricing](https://krisp.ai/pricing/) — Krisp; vendor pricing page
7. [Fathom pricing](https://www.fathom.ai/pricing) — Fathom; vendor pricing page
8. [The 10 Best AI Note Takers in 2026](https://meetingnotes.com/blog/best-ai-note-takers) — MeetingNotes.com; roundup; published 26 August 2026
9. [Top 10 AI Notetakers](https://productive.io/blog/ai-notetakers/) — Productive; vendor roundup; published 23 June 2026
10. [Otter.ai Goes Full Enterprise](https://www.uctoday.com/unified-communications/otter-ai-goes-full-enterprise-new-ai-suite-wants-to-turn-meetings-into-living-knowledge-base/) — UC Today; news; published 8 October 2025