In the spirit of AppSumo’s AI Week event, our Head of Operations, Vanessa Yepes, took a handful of AI notetakers for a spin to figure out which ones actually make your meetings easier to manage.
If you’ve ever ended a call with messy notes, forgotten action items, or a vague sense of “what just happened?”—this one’s for you.
With the rise of remote work and back-to-back Zoom calls, AI notetakers have become one of the fastest-growing categories of productivity tools.
Instead of juggling note-taking, remembering action items, and participating fully in meetings, you can now rely on AI tools to handle the heavy lifting. Most of these tools can record conversations, transcribe them, tag key moments, and even suggest next steps.
In fact…
Bottom line? Good notetaking software with AI features isn’t just a “nice-to-have” anymore. It’s becoming a core tool for better meetings, stronger collaboration, and less cognitive overload.
Fathom was the standout winner in Vanessa’s testing. It automatically joins your Zoom meetings to deliver both a full recording and a highly accurate transcript—no extra work required.
The UI is smooth and intuitive, and it was the only tool that consistently got speaker identification right. That’s huge when you’re reviewing your notes or uploading to ChatGPT.
Features:
Why you want it:
Best transcript quality out of all the tools Vanessa tested. Great for demos, team calls, or any meeting where accuracy and clarity matter.
Pricing: Free plan available. Premium plans start at $15/month.
Vanessa’s note:
“The free plan doesn’t auto-generate action items, but since it labels speakers clearly, it’s easy to upload the transcript to ChatGPT and get those after. I liked the premium features enough that I’ll most likely upgrade.”
Limitless offers quiet background transcription without actually joining your calls. It’s a minimalist option that still delivers transcripts, outlines, and action items.
That said, you’ll need to remember to start and stop it manually. Speaker labeling is generic (e.g., “Speaker 1”, “Speaker 2”, etc.), which can be tricky in group meetings with a lot of participants.
Features:
Why you want it:
A great choice for solo users or teams that want lightweight transcription without screen presence or video recording.
Pricing: Free plan available. Pro Plan starts at $19/month for 100 hours of transcription per month.
Vanessa’s note:
“I liked the outlines and action items, but forgot to turn it on a few times. It’s best if you want something quiet and behind-the-scenes—but not ideal for larger calls where speaker tracking matters.”
Hedy goes beyond traditional notetaking by acting as a live AI meeting coach. It offers real-time suggestions tailored to your meeting type, helping you ask better questions, surface key points, and stay on track.
After the call, you get a transcript, summary, and detailed notes—making it a solid pick for anyone who wants both support during the meeting and documentation afterward.
Features:
Why you want it:
Ideal for customer calls, discovery meetings, or high-stakes conversations where thoughtful framing and in-the-moment support can make a difference.
Pricing: $59 for lifetime access (available on AppSumo)
Vanessa’s note:
“The real-time prompts weren’t a fit for internal meetings, but I can definitely see the value in sales or partner calls where you want help staying sharp. It’s a cool concept that feels especially useful when you’re trying to make the most of every interaction.”
Granola keeps things fast and simple. It connects to your calendar, prompts you to record before meetings, and provides live transcripts. Summaries are short and to the point, and the Slack integration makes sharing quick.
It’s best for teams that want speed and surface-level recaps, not deep analysis.
Features:
Why you want it:
Perfect for fast-moving teams that need quick, lightweight recaps to share right away.
Pricing: Free plan available with 25 free meetings. Paid plans start at $18/month for the individual plan.
Vanessa’s Note:
“I didn’t push it to its full potential, but the Slack sharing feature was a nice touch. I’d use this for team standups or syncs where detailed notes aren’t critical.”
Choosing the right notetaker saves time and is a smarter way to meet in 2025.
At AppSumo, we’re all about tools that help 10x founders and small teams. If you’re conducting any sort of meetings, whether they’re team standups or client calls, a great notetaker is one of the best upgrades you can make.
For now, Vanessa’s sticking with Fathom.
It gave her the best combination of accuracy, ease of use, and features that actually made her meetings easier to manage. The transcripts were clean, the UI was intuitive, and the free plan alone was surprisingly robust.
That said, she’s always on the lookout for new tools that could do it even better.
Tried something we didn’t cover here? Have a notetaker you swear by?
We’d love to hear about it—shoot us a message at support@appsumo.com!
Ready to level up your workflow?
AppSumo is the biggest marketplace for AI tools. If you’re looking for more AI solutions to automate your work and make life easier, start here.
Start small, experiment, and watch your productivity soar as you automate your way to a more efficient workday! We’ll talk through five common tasks you can easily automate to reclaim your time and focus on what matters most. Let’s dive in.
Managing multiple projects is challenging. Follow these project management principles to boost productivity, set realistic expectations, and ensure more project success.
Note taking is essential to your productivity. Here are the note-taking methods that will help you take better notes.
Part of the Sumo family with SendFox and TidyCal
