How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Fathom and Grain offer genuinely free plans with unlimited recordings; Fireflies starts paid at $10/seat/month.
- Gong and Chorus (ZoomInfo) are quote-only enterprise conversation intelligence, not self-serve recorders.
- Otter and tl;dv are transcription-first; Avoma adds scheduling and revenue intelligence add-ons.
- The free tier is the real battleground: compare recording limits, storage and AI summary caps before choosing.
- Coverage varies by platform: Fireflies and tl;dv join Zoom, Meet and Teams automatically, while some CRM dialer recorders only capture calls placed through their own dialer.
The shortlist
| Tool |
Best for |
Starting price |
Free plan |
| Gong |
Enterprise revenue and conversation intelligence |
See website |
No |
| Chorus by ZoomInfo |
Sales coaching inside the ZoomInfo platform |
See website |
No |
| Fireflies |
Affordable AI meeting notes for teams |
$10/seat/month (Pro, annual) |
Yes |
| Fathom |
Free unlimited recording and summaries |
$0 (Free forever) |
Yes |
| Otter |
Real-time transcription and AI chat |
See website |
Yes |
| tl;dv |
Meeting clips and multilingual notes |
See website |
Yes |
| Avoma |
Meeting assistant plus scheduling |
$19/seat/month (Startup, annual) |
No |
| Grain |
Team meeting library with free viewers |
$0 (Free plan) |
Yes |
The best call recording software
#1
Gong
Best for: enterprises turning every call into revenue insight
Visit gong.io
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Gong records and transcribes every sales call, then analyzes talk patterns, competitor mentions and deal risks across the pipeline. It is the enterprise standard for conversation intelligence, with managers coaching from real call data and forecasts informed by deal health signals. Pricing is quote-based with per-user fees plus a platform fee; third-party data puts Core well over $1,000 per user per year.
Gong is not a meeting notetaker; it is a revenue platform that happens to record calls. Small teams that just need recordings and summaries should start with Fathom or Fireflies. For sales organizations where call insight drives coaching and forecasting, Gong remains the reference point everything else is measured against.
What we like- Deepest conversation intelligence
- Deal signals and forecasting
- Now adds execution via Engage
Watch out for- Quote-only enterprise pricing
- Annual contracts
- Overkill for simple recording needs
#2
Chorus by ZoomInfo
Best for: ZoomInfo customers adding call intelligence
Visit zoominfo.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Chorus is ZoomInfo's conversation intelligence product, recording and analyzing sales calls with AI summaries, talk-track analysis and coaching scorecards. Its advantage is context: call insights sit alongside ZoomInfo's contact data, intent signals and engagement tools, so a rep can research, call and coach in one platform. Pricing is quote-only, typically bundled with ZoomInfo platform deals.
Standalone buyers get less of the magic, since the value compounds inside the ZoomInfo ecosystem. For teams already paying for ZoomInfo, adding Chorus is the natural call-intelligence move. For everyone else, Gong competes head-on and the self-serve tools below cost a fraction.
What we like- Native to the ZoomInfo GTM platform
- Strong coaching playlists and scorecards
- Buyer intent tie-in
Watch out for- Quote-only
- Best value locked inside ZoomInfo bundles
- Standalone buyers pay more
#3
Fireflies
Best for: teams that want affordable AI notes across every meeting platform
Visit fireflies.ai
Starting price$10/seat/month (Pro, billed annually)
Free planYes
Fireflies' pricing page is admirably clear: Free at $0 with unlimited transcription (limited AI summaries, 400 minutes storage), Pro at $10 per seat per month billed annually with unlimited AI summaries and 8,000 minutes storage per seat, Business at $19 and Enterprise at $39. The bot joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams to record, transcribe in 100+ languages, and generate summaries, action items and searchable meeting libraries.
The free plan is genuinely useful for individuals, and $10 per seat is the cheapest paid entry among the serious notetakers. The trade-off is the visible bot participant and AI credit limits on advanced features. For teams that want every meeting captured without enterprise contracts, Fireflies is the value leader.
What we like- Published pricing from $10
- Joins Zoom, Meet, Teams automatically
- Free plan with unlimited transcription
Watch out for- AI summaries limited on free
- Bot joins meetings as a visible participant
- Enterprise features cost more
#4
Fathom
Best for: individuals and teams that want recording free forever
Visit fathom.ai
Starting price$0 (Free forever)
Free planYes
Fathom's free plan is the most generous in the category: unlimited recordings, unlimited transcriptions, instant AI call summaries, clips and search, free forever for individuals. Paid tiers add advanced summaries (Premium $16/user/month annual), team collaboration and CRM sync (Team $15/user/month annual, 2-user minimum; Business $25). A bot-free capture option is in beta for Mac.
The strategy is obvious: win individuals with free, convert teams to paid. It works because the free tier is not a trial but a real product. For anyone whose current workflow is "remember what was said," Fathom free is the zero-risk starting point, and the paid tiers stay cheap compared with enterprise alternatives.
What we like- Free plan with unlimited recordings and transcriptions
- Instant AI summaries
- Bot-free capture option
Watch out for- Advanced summaries and CRM sync need paid tiers
- Team features start at $15/user/month
#5
Otter
Best for: real-time transcription with AI chat over your meetings
Visit otter.ai
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Otter built its name on real-time transcription: live captions and notes as the meeting happens, on web and mobile, in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Otter AI Chat lets you ask questions across your meeting history, and integrations push notes to Salesforce and HubSpot. A free Basic plan exists with 300 transcription minutes per user per month.
The vendor's pricing page frustratingly does not display standard plan prices in text form, so confirm current pricing before budgeting; third-party data puts Pro around $8 to $17 per user per month. Minute caps and the 30-minute per-conversation limit on free are the constraints to watch. For live transcription quality, Otter still leads.
What we like- Best live transcription
- Otter AI Chat answers questions about meetings
- Strong mobile apps
Watch out for- Pricing page does not publish plan prices clearly
- Transcription minute caps on lower tiers
- 30-minute conversation limit on free
#6
tl;dv
Best for: highlight clips and multilingual meeting notes
Visit tldv.io
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
tl;dv (too long; didn't view) records meetings and makes it trivial to clip the moments that matter, timestamped highlights you can share with anyone who missed the call. Multilingual transcription, AI summaries and CRM integrations round out a package aimed at sales and customer teams. A free tier covers the basics for individuals.
The vendor's pricing page did not render cleanly in verification, so confirm current plans on the site before budgeting. For teams whose workflow is "send the clip, not the recording," tl;dv's highlight-first design beats scrolling through hour-long transcripts. It will not replace Gong for coaching analytics, but it was never trying to.
What we like- Excellent clip-making for sharing moments
- 30+ language support
- Generous free tier
Watch out for- Pricing page hard to verify
- Coaching features lag Gong and Chorus
#7
Avoma
Best for: teams that want recording plus scheduling and revenue intelligence
Visit avoma.com
Starting price$19/seat/month (Startup, billed annually)
Free planNo
Avoma's pricing is built around a fair idea: only recorder seats are paid, viewers and collaborators are always free. The vendor's pricing page lists Startup at $19 per recorder seat per month billed annually, Organization at $29 and Enterprise at $39, with add-ons for conversation intelligence, revenue intelligence and lead routing. A 14-day unrestricted trial is available; there is no free plan.
Beyond recording, Avoma bundles 1:1 scheduling, AI email follow-ups, CRM auto-save and deal risk alerts, positioning it as a revenue assistant rather than a notetaker. For growing sales teams that want one tool for meetings, scheduling and pipeline intelligence, Avoma's recorder-seat model keeps the bill honest.
What we like- Only pay for recorder seats, viewers free
- Scheduling built in
- Conversation and revenue intelligence add-ons
Watch out for- No free plan
- Add-ons push the real price to $29-$39
- Minimums on Enterprise
#8
Grain
Best for: building a searchable team library of customer conversations
Visit grain.com
Starting price$0 (Free plan)
Free planYes
Grain's pitch is the shared meeting library: every customer conversation recorded, transcribed, summarized and searchable by the whole team, with free viewer seats so non-recorders cost nothing. The vendor's pricing page shows a $0 free plan and paid seats from $19 per seat per month, with no required annual contracts and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The no-annual-contract stance and free viewers make Grain the low-commitment team option. AI notes, custom prompts and conversation intelligence scale with the paid tiers. For product, research and customer success teams that want institutional memory of every conversation, Grain's library-first design fits better than sales-coaching-first tools.
What we like- Free plan for the whole team
- Paid seats from $19
- No required annual contracts
- Free viewer seats
Watch out for- Smaller ecosystem than Fireflies or Fathom
- Coaching depth trails Gong
Notetakers vs. conversation intelligence: different jobs
This list splits into AI notetakers (Fireflies, Fathom, Otter, tl;dv, Grain, Avoma) and conversation intelligence platforms (Gong, Chorus). Notetakers answer "what was said" for $0 to $29 per seat. Conversation intelligence answers "what does it mean for revenue" for $1,000+ per seat per year, with coaching, deal scoring and forecasting.
Buy the notetaker when the problem is missed notes and forgotten follow-ups. Buy conversation intelligence when the problem is rep performance and forecast accuracy. Many companies run both: Fathom free for everyone, Gong for the sales org.
The bot question and recording consent
Most of these tools join meetings as a visible bot participant, which announces the recording to attendees. Fathom's bot-free capture (beta, Mac) and dialer-native recording avoid this. Whatever you choose, check two things: your jurisdiction's consent laws (one-party vs. two-party consent states and countries), and your prospects' tolerance for bots. Enterprise buyers increasingly ask about data retention, SOC 2 and whether recordings train vendor AI models.
Retention is the setting buyers overlook. Most tools keep recordings indefinitely by default, which bloats storage and complicates privacy requests. Set a retention policy (90 or 180 days is common) during setup, and check bulk export for recordings and transcripts before you commit, because a locked-in library is painful to leave.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best call recording software?
Gong is the best enterprise conversation intelligence platform. For affordable AI notetaking, Fireflies ($10/seat/month) leads on value, Fathom leads on free (unlimited recordings free forever), and Avoma ($19/seat/month) is best for recording plus scheduling.
Is there a free call recording software?
Yes. Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings, transcriptions and AI summaries free forever. Grain offers a $0 free plan for whole teams, Fireflies has a free tier with unlimited transcription, and Otter and tl;dv offer free plans with minute limits.
How much does Gong cost?
Gong does not publish pricing. Third-party data puts Core at roughly $1,360 to $1,600 per user per year plus a platform fee, with annual contracts and implementation. Negotiate: enterprise buyers routinely secure significant discounts off initial quotes.
What is the difference between Fireflies and Otter?
Fireflies focuses on automatic meeting capture with an AI assistant, summaries and CRM integration, from $10/seat/month. Otter focuses on real-time transcription and live captions with AI chat over meetings. Both offer free plans; Fireflies publishes pricing more transparently.
Do I need consent to record calls?
It depends on jurisdiction. US states are split between one-party and two-party (all-party) consent; many countries require all participants to consent. Most tools announce recording via a bot or banner, but you should verify the law in every jurisdiction where participants are located and get explicit consent for sensitive calls. States like California and Florida are two-party consent with real penalties, so most teams default to announcing every call.
Which call recorder integrates best with Salesforce?
Gong and Chorus offer the deepest Salesforce integrations with deal scoring and activity capture. Among affordable tools, Fathom's Team and Business tiers sync summaries to CRM, Avoma auto-saves notes to Salesforce records, and Fireflies integrates with Salesforce on paid plans.
Sources we checked (5)
- https://fireflies.ai/pricing
- https://www.fathom.ai/pricing
- https://otter.ai/pricing
- https://www.avoma.com/pricing
- https://grain.com/pricing
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.