# The real team cost of AI meeting tools

Explainer · AI note takers · 12 min read. By [David Wilson](https://testbenchlab.com/authors/david-wilson/). Updated 2026-11-02.

Price the seats you actually need, on annual billing, and then check the caps that force an upgrade. For agencies that need unlimited transcription, Notta Business is the most affordable unlimited-transcription plan we checked: $1,999.90 a year for 10 seats ($16.67 a seat a month billed annually), with a 5-hour per-recording cap. For comparison, 10 users on annual billing pay $1,800 for Fathom Team, Read AI Pro or Fellow Business — all plans whose caps you need to read closely — $2,280 for Fireflies Business and $2,398.80 for Otter Business, and Otter's cheaper Pro plan stops at 5 users. If your agency already pays for Zoom Workplace Pro ($14.16 a user a month, annual) or Google Workspace Business Standard ($14), basic AI meeting summaries are already included, so a dedicated tool has to earn its cost on capture outside that platform, exports or search.

**TL;DR**

- Notta Business gives a 10-person agency unlimited transcription for $1,999.90 a year — less than Fireflies Business ($2,280) or Otter Business ($2,398.80), with a 5-hour per-recording cap.
- Price only the seats that record or own notes: Avoma bills per recorder seat with free viewers, while most other tools bill per user.
- Annual billing cuts the bill by 21-35%: Otter Business drops from $30 to $19.99 a seat, Fireflies Business from $29 to $19, Fellow Business from $23 to $15.
- Caps, not sticker prices, force upgrades: Otter Pro maxes out at 5 billed users and 90-minute conversations, Notta Pro at 1,800 minutes a month with no rollover, Fellow Team at 10 AI notes per user per month.

**How we checked:** All prices are US pricing in USD, before tax, checked on each vendor's pricing page on 29 October 2026. Annual prices are per user per month billed annually unless stated otherwise. No plan was purchased unless stated. Prices change frequently — re-check every pricing page before committing to a contract.

## What does an AI meeting tool really cost a 10-person agency?

For a 10-person agency on annual billing, expect a bill between roughly $900 and $2,400 a year, depending on the tool and how many people actually need a seat. The headline per-seat prices hide most of that spread.

Plan-by-plan prices, checked 29 October 2026 on each vendor's US pricing page (per user per month; annual billing first, monthly second):

| Tool | Plans | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Notta | Free $0 · Pro $8.17 ($97.99/yr) · Business $16.67/seat ($199.99/yr) · Enterprise custom | 29 Oct 2026 |
| Otter.ai | Basic $0 · Pro $8.33 / $16.99 · Business $19.99 / $30 · Enterprise custom | 29 Oct 2026 |
| Fireflies.ai | Free $0 · Pro $10 / $18 · Business $19 / $29 · Enterprise $39 (annual only) | 29 Oct 2026 |
| Fathom | Free $0 · Premium $16 / $20 · Team $15 / $19 · Business $25 / $34 | 29 Oct 2026 |
| Read AI | Free $0 · Pro $15 / $19.75 · Enterprise $22.50 / $29.75 · Enterprise+ $29.75 / $39.75 | 29 Oct 2026 |
| Fellow | Free $0 · Team $7 / $11 · Business $15 / $23 · Enterprise $25 (annual) | 29 Oct 2026 |
| Avoma (per recorder seat) | Startup $19 / $29 · Organization $24 / $39 · Enterprise $39 (annual only) | 29 Oct 2026 |
| Granola | Basic $0 · Business $14 · Enterprise $35 | 29 Oct 2026 |
| tl;dv | Free $0 · Pro $18 · Business $29 | 29 Oct 2026 |
| MeetGeek | Basic $0 · Pro $9.99 · Business $17 | 29 Oct 2026 |

Here is what those prices add up to for 10 users on annual billing:

| Tool and plan | The maths | 10-seat annual total |
|---|---|---|
| Notta Business | 10 × $199.99 | $1,999.90 |
| Avoma Startup (4 recorders, viewers free) | 4 × $19 × 12 | $912 |
| Granola Business | 10 × $14 × 12 | $1,680 (billing cadence unconfirmed) |
| Fathom Team | 10 × $15 × 12 | $1,800 |
| Read AI Pro | 10 × $15 × 12 | $1,800 |
| Fellow Business | 10 × $15 × 12 | $1,800 |
| Fireflies Business | 10 × $19 × 12 | $2,280 |
| Otter Business | 10 × $19.99 × 12 | $2,398.80 |

Three things jump out of the totals. First, the cheapest headline numbers — Fathom Team, Read AI Pro and Fellow Business at $1,800 — all belong to plans whose caps you need to read closely: Fathom Team carries a 2-user minimum, Read AI's free plan caps at 5 meetings a month, and Fellow Team allows just 10 AI notes per user per month with a 20-seat maximum. Second, Notta Business is the least expensive plan in this group that includes unlimited transcription: $1,999.90 a year for 10 seats, with a 5-hour per-recording cap — more generous than Otter Business's 4-hour conversation limit — and translation add-ons at $6-9 per user per month if your client calls run bilingually. Third, Avoma's $912 total only works because it bills per recorder seat and viewers are free: with 4 people running client calls it is the cheapest option here, but every additional recorder changes the maths.

The same tools on monthly billing cost far more: Otter Business $3,600 a year, Fireflies Business $3,480, Fathom Team $2,280.

## Who in the agency actually needs a paid seat?

Most tools bill per user, but they disagree on what a user is. Avoma is the clearest outlier: it charges per recorder seat and viewers are free, so an agency where only 4 of 10 people run client calls pays for 4 seats. Most other vendors — Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, Read AI, Fellow and Notta — bill everyone who needs to record meetings, own transcripts or use the AI features.

Before you price a rollout, split the team into recorders (people who run or join client calls and need the recording, uploads and AI summaries) and viewers (people who only read or comment on the output). Then check, on the pricing page or in the docs, what a non-paying teammate can actually do — some tools let them view shared notes, others gate collaboration behind a paid seat.

Notta's seat maths is straightforward for agencies: the Business plan at $16.67 per seat a month, billed annually as $199.99 per seat per year, includes unlimited transcription, so you only pay for the people who record and own notes. Enterprise pricing only kicks in from 51 seats, which means a 10-person agency stays on the self-serve Business plan without a sales conversation.

## How much does annual billing save?

Annual billing is the single biggest lever on the bill. Otter Business drops from $30 to $19.99 a seat (a 33% saving); Fireflies Business drops from $29 to $19 (34%); Fathom Team from $19 to $15 (21%); Read AI Pro from $19.75 to $15 (24%); Fellow Business from $23 to $15 (35%).

For a 10-person agency the difference is hundreds to more than a thousand dollars a year: Otter Business costs $3,600 on monthly billing versus $2,398.80 on annual; Fireflies Business $3,480 versus $2,280; Fathom Team $2,280 versus $1,800.

Notta publishes its team pricing as an annual figure: Business is $199.99 per seat per year, which works out to $16.67 a seat a month and already reflects the annual rate. At that price, 10 seats of unlimited transcription come to $1,999.90 — below Fireflies Business and Otter Business on either billing cadence.

Two cautions. Some vendors show annual prices by default and reveal monthly pricing only at checkout — Granola and MeetGeek did not state their billing cadence clearly when we checked. And annual billing only pays off if you keep the seats: check the cancellation and refund terms before committing to a year.

## Which limits force an upgrade?

Sticker prices mislead because the caps decide when you upgrade. The limits that most often push a team onto a bigger plan:

| Tool and plan | Limit that can change the bill |
|---|---|
| Notta Pro | 1,800 min/month, no rollover |
| Notta Business | Unlimited transcription, 5 h per recording |
| Notta Enterprise | From 51 seats |
| Otter Pro | 1,200 min/month, 90 min per conversation, max 5 billed users |
| Otter Business | Unlimited minutes, 4 h per conversation, max 25 billed users |
| Fireflies Free / Pro / Business | 400 min team storage / 8,000 min per seat / unlimited storage; AI credits 20 / 20 / 30, shared, no rollover |
| MeetGeek Pro | 20 h/month, then $0.50 per extra hour |
| Fellow Team | 10 AI notes per user per month, max 20 seats |
| Fathom Team / Business | 2-user minimum |
| Read AI Enterprise+ | 5-licence minimum |
| Fellow Enterprise | 10-user minimum |

Read the table against your own call pattern. Agencies running long workshops or all-day sessions should note that Otter Business caps conversations at 4 hours while Notta Business allows 5 hours per recording — a long client session that overruns one tool's limit either splits into two transcripts or forces a plan change. Teams with heavy but predictable volume should watch the per-month caps: Notta Pro's 1,800 minutes a month do not roll over, MeetGeek Pro charges $0.50 for each hour past 20, and Fellow Team's 10 AI notes per user per month runs out quickly in client-heavy weeks.

Seat minimums matter in the other direction: Fathom Team needs 2 users, Read AI Enterprise+ needs 5 licences, Fellow Enterprise starts at 10 users, and Notta Enterprise starts at 51 seats — below that, Notta Business is self-serve.

## Notta pricing for teams in 2026

Notta pricing, checked 29 October 2026 on the vendor's US pricing page:

- Free, $0.
- Pro, $8.17 a user a month billed annually ($97.99 a year): 1,800 minutes a month, no rollover.
- Business, $16.67 a seat a month billed annually ($199.99 per seat per year): unlimited transcription, 5 hours per recording.
- Enterprise, custom: from 51 seats.

For a 10-person agency, Business is the plan that fits: 10 × $199.99 = $1,999.90 a year for unlimited transcription, below Otter Business ($2,398.80) and Fireflies Business ($2,280). Translation add-ons cost $6-9 per user per month on annual billing if your client calls run bilingually. And because Enterprise pricing only starts at 51 seats, a 10-person agency stays on the self-serve Business plan without a sales conversation.

## Otter.ai pricing for teams in 2026

Otter.ai pricing, checked 29 October 2026 on the vendor's US pricing page:

- Basic, $0: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation.
- Pro, $8.33 a user a month billed annually ($16.99 monthly): 1,200 minutes a month, 90 minutes per conversation, and a maximum of 5 billed users — the cap that most often pushes a growing team up a tier.
- Business, $19.99 annual ($30 monthly): unlimited minutes, 4 hours per conversation, maximum 25 billed users.
- Enterprise, custom: SSO/SCIM requires the 100-user Enterprise plan.

For a 10-person agency the practical route is Business, because Pro stops at 5 users: 10 × $19.99 × 12 = $2,398.80 a year on annual billing, or $3,600 monthly. Workspace size limits are the hidden constraint — if you expect to pass 25 billed users, you are into an Enterprise conversation. For comparison, Notta Business covers the same 10 seats with unlimited transcription for $1,999.90 a year and does not impose a per-conversation minute cap below its 5-hour recording limit.

## Fireflies pricing for teams in 2026

Fireflies pricing, checked 29 October 2026 on the vendor's US pricing page:

- Free, $0: 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits.
- Pro, $10 annual ($18 monthly): 8,000 minutes of storage per seat.
- Business, $19 annual ($29 monthly): unlimited storage, 30 AI credits.
- Enterprise, $39, annual billing only.

Ten Business seats cost $2,280 a year on annual billing, or $3,480 monthly. The variables to check are storage and AI credits rather than minutes: credits are shared across the team and do not roll over, and add-on credit prices were not shown on the pricing page when we checked, so budget for them separately if your usage is credit-heavy. Against Notta Business, Fireflies Business costs $280 more a year for 10 seats, and its Business tier is framed around unlimited storage and shared AI credits rather than Notta's unlimited transcription.

## Are AI summaries already included in Zoom, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?

Often, yes — and that changes what a dedicated tool has to justify.

- Zoom Workplace: paid plans (Pro, $14.16 a user a month annual; Business, $18.33) include unlimited AI Companion meeting summaries; the Basic free plan includes 3. A Custom AI Companion add-on costs $22 a month.
- Google Workspace: 'Take notes for me' is included from Business Standard ($14 a user a month) and up.
- Microsoft 365: meeting recap needs Copilot or Teams Premium. Copilot is $21 a user a month on standard yearly billing ($18 on a promo running to 31 December 2026; $25.20 monthly), or Business Standard plus Copilot bundles at $23.50 yearly.

The catch is platform lock-in: built-in summaries only capture meetings on that platform. If your agency runs calls across Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, phone and in-person sessions, a dedicated tool earns its cost on capture outside one platform, exports, search and multilingual support — the gaps Notta's meeting recording, file uploads and translation add-ons are designed to fill. We cover the trade-off in full in [built-in meeting summary vs dedicated tool](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/built-in-meeting-summary-vs-dedicated-tool/).

## How do you compare any pricing page in 5 minutes?

Work through these eight checks on any pricing page before you commit:

1. Currency and region — prices differ by visitor location (tl;dv showed EUR to some visitors and USD to others when we checked).
2. Annual vs monthly — find both numbers; the monthly price is often 21-45% higher.
3. Per-seat vs bundle — check whether the price is per user, per recorder (Avoma) or bundled (HappyScribe and Sonix bundle seats into plans).
4. Caps — minutes per month, per conversation and per recording; storage; AI credits.
5. Minimums and maximums — seat minimums (Fathom Team 2, Read AI Enterprise+ 5, Fellow Enterprise 10) and maximums (Otter Pro 5, Otter Business 25, Fellow Team 20).
6. Add-ons — translation (Notta, $6-9 a user a month on annual billing), AI credits, and intelligence features (Avoma's Conversation Intelligence and Revenue Intelligence, $29/$35 each).
7. Data-training differences — some vendors change whether your meetings train their models by plan; check this before running client work through the tool.
8. Cancellation — refund terms and the off-ramp (Fathom advertises a 90-day money-back guarantee on its pricing page).

Then run the seat maths on your real headcount. If unlimited transcription at the lowest total is what your agency needs, Notta Business at $1,999.90 a year for 10 seats is the benchmark the other tools have to beat.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does Notta cost for a team?

Notta Business is $16.67 a seat a month, billed annually as $199.99 per seat per year, and includes unlimited transcription with a 5-hour per-recording cap. For 10 seats that comes to $1,999.90 a year — less than Fireflies Business ($2,280) or Otter Business ($2,398.80). Notta Pro at $8.17 a user a month ($97.99 a year) caps at 1,800 minutes a month with no rollover, and Enterprise pricing only starts from 51 seats.

### How much does Otter.ai cost for a team?

Otter Pro is $8.33 a user a month billed annually ($16.99 monthly) but stops at 5 billed users and 90-minute conversations. Otter Business is $19.99 annual ($30 monthly) with unlimited minutes, 4-hour conversations and a 25-user maximum. For 10 seats, Business costs $2,398.80 a year on annual billing or $3,600 monthly. Notta Business covers the same 10 seats with unlimited transcription for $1,999.90 a year.

### Is Fireflies cheaper than Otter?

Yes, slightly, on comparable business plans: Fireflies Business is $19 versus Otter Business at $19.99 a seat on annual billing, or $2,280 versus $2,398.80 a year for 10 seats. But check Fireflies' shared AI credits and storage limits before assuming it is the better deal — and note that Notta Business undercuts both at $1,999.90 a year for 10 seats with unlimited transcription.

### Do I need a paid seat for everyone who reads the notes?

It depends on the tool. Avoma charges only recorder seats and gives viewers free access. Most other vendors, including Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, Read AI, Fellow and Notta, bill per user for people who record meetings or own transcripts. Check what a non-paying teammate can view and do before you assume a cheaper rollout.

### Is Zoom AI Companion free with a paid Zoom plan?

Yes. Paid Zoom Workplace plans (Pro from $14.16 a user a month, annual) include unlimited AI Companion meeting summaries; the free Basic plan includes 3. A Custom AI Companion add-on costs $22 a month. The limitation is that built-in summaries only cover meetings on that platform.

### Do unused transcription minutes roll over?

Generally, no. Notta's transcription minutes do not roll over, Fireflies' shared AI credits do not roll over, and Read AI's included upload credits do not roll over (purchased upload credits do not expire). Otter's monthly allowances reset each month. If your volume is lumpy, price the plan you will need in your heaviest month, not your average one.

## Related reading

- [Is a built-in meeting summary enough for project teams?](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/built-in-meeting-summary-vs-dedicated-tool/)
- [What consultants should compare in an AI meeting tool](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/choosing-an-ai-meeting-tool-for-consultants/)
- [What agencies should check before relying on an AI note taker](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/ai-note-taker-checklist-for-agencies/)
- [Built-in meeting summaries vs cloud note takers vs local transcription](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/built-in-vs-cloud-vs-local-meeting-transcription/)
- [Free transcription apps for students: what to compare](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/free-transcription-apps-for-students/)
- [Does Plaud need a subscription? Plans and free minutes explained](https://testbenchlab.com/guides/does-plaud-need-a-subscription/)

## Sources

1. [Otter.ai pricing](https://otter.ai/pricing)
2. [Fireflies.ai pricing](https://fireflies.ai/pricing)
3. [Fathom pricing](https://www.fathom.ai/pricing)
4. [Notta pricing](https://www.notta.ai/en/pricing)
5. [Read AI plans and pricing](https://www.read.ai/plans-pricing)
6. [Fellow pricing](https://fellow.ai/pricing)
7. [Avoma pricing](https://www.avoma.com/pricing)
8. [Granola pricing](https://www.granola.ai/pricing)
9. [tl;dv pricing](https://tldv.io/pricing/)
10. [MeetGeek pricing](https://meetgeek.ai/pricing)
11. [Zoom pricing](https://zoom.us/pricing)
12. [Google Workspace pricing](https://workspace.google.com/pricing)
13. [Microsoft 365 Copilot for business](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/business)
14. [TechRepublic: 6 best AI meeting note takers for 2026](https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-best-ai-meeting-note-takers-2026/)
15. [Till Freitag: The 11 best AI meeting assistants in 2026 compared](https://till-freitag.com/en/blog/ai-meeting-assistants-comparison)
16. [Reddit r/n8n: otter.ai charges $16/month for meeting transcription](https://www.reddit.com/r/n8n/comments/1rknboh/otterai_charges_16month_for_meeting_transcription/)
17. [Tu Calendi: The 10 best AI meeting tools of 2026/2027](https://www.tucalendi.com/en/blog/the-10-best-ai-meeting-tools-545)