7 Fireflies Alternatives for Smarter Meeting Summaries

Published on
October 9, 2023

Leveraging AI for meeting notes is getting more and more common, both on tech-savvy teams and in the broader business world. And for good reason! Taking meeting notes can be a time-consuming and manual task. And whoever is taking the meeting notes can’t really engage in the conversation because they’re too busy typing out everything that’s said. Talk about a waste of productivity! 

One popular solution for AI meeting transcription is Fireflies.ai. This AI-powered tool delivers accurate meeting transcripts, but it's not without its limitations. For starters, its free plan comes with limited transcription credits. And the "meeting summaries" read more like a chaptered story of the full meeting rather than a concise summary.

And if you want integrations, and unlimited meetings? You'll have to opt for the Pro version. So, if your team needs a tool that offers more features without pushing you to upgrade, you might be interested in checking out some alternatives. Good news! Our experts did the research and identified seven top-notch options that can elevate your meeting game.

1. Spinach

First on our list of meeting transcription options is Spinach, an AI-powered meeting assistant that elevates all your team meetings. Spinach is your AI Scrum Master, transforming the way agile development teams conduct meetings, manage their workflow, and deliver projects. From generating instant, in-depth meeting summaries to documenting critical action items and assigning owners seamlessly, Spinach ensures that nothing is overlooked. Unlike conventional transcription tools, Spinach offers a suite of features designed to streamline your meetings and subsequent tasks.

Meeting summaries: One of the primary advantages of Spinach is its ability to generate concise meeting summaries. Rather than supplying you with a raw transcript, Spinach delivers key decisions and action items directly to your Slack channel. The summaries are organized into clear categories, making it easier to derive actionable insights from your meetings.

Action items: Spinach also excels in documenting action items. Following each meeting, a list of tasks along with their respective owners is sent out to the team via Slack. This not only clarifies responsibilities but also ensures that everyone is aligned, whether they were present at the meeting or not.

Ticket creation: Last but not least, Spinach has the capability to create tickets based on your meeting discussions. If a specific task or bug is discussed, Spinach will automatically suggest a corresponding ticket. You can either edit this ticket in Slack or approve it to be added to your board. This feature adds an additional layer of context to your summaries and action items, effectively serving as a bridge between your meetings and project boards.

Integrations: For teams using Zoom or Microsoft Teams, Spinach provides the added benefit of instant, context-rich meeting summaries that convert discussions into actionable steps. For those who leverage project management platforms like Trello or Linear, Spinach goes a step further by linking meeting summaries and action items directly to specific tasks or tickets. Plus, Spinach offers seamless integration options with Cisco WebEx and Google Meet, allowing for tailored meeting summaries across various platforms. This crucial information can be conveniently delivered to designated Slack channels or as direct messages, ensuring optimal team alignment.

If you're looking for a smart meeting tool that goes way beyond transcription, Spinach offers a comprehensive solution for managing your agile meetings and tasks.

2. Avoma

Avoma is an AI tool that could be a good option for teams who require high-quality transcription services. Unlike Fireflies, Avoma has a more dynamic range of features that include real-time transcription, sentiment analysis, and keyword flagging. It goes beyond just recording your conversations by adding a layer of analytics to your meetings.

Avoma is a good alternative to Fireflies because it brings you the best of both worlds—accurate transcriptions along with actionable analytics. Teams can not only review what was discussed but can also gain insights into the mood and focus of the meeting. This ensures that important details are effectively recorded and analyzed, enabling teams to refine their communication strategies more effectively.

3.  Otter

When it comes to transcription services, Otter is a name that you've likely heard. It's particularly known for its high-accuracy AI-powered transcriptions, making it an attractive alternative to Fireflies. Unlike Fireflies, Otter enhances the meeting experience by providing real-time transcriptions, enabling immediate modifications during discussions. It also incorporates features such as speaker identification and a searchable database of past transcripts. As an alternative to Fireflies, Otter excels in its adaptability; it can be employed for both live and post-meeting transcription.

So, what makes Otter a solid choice as an alternative? For starters, Otter is impressively versatile. It offers both live and post-meeting transcription services, allowing teams to utilize the tool in various contexts. Also, Otter's feature-rich platform means that you can get more than just a written record of your meetings. Teams can search past transcripts, identify speakers effortlessly, and even integrate Otter with other productivity tools they might be using. This creates a more rounded meeting experience that goes beyond just documentation.

4. Gong

Gong is another tool in the market for those in search of alternatives to Fireflies. It offers transcription services but tends to focus more on sales conversations. The tool is designed to capture customer interactions across multiple platforms and transcribe them for later analysis. Gong also brings in analytics to help dissect customer calls, a feature that could be useful for specific departments within a company.

As an alternative to Fireflies, Gong does provide basic transcription services, along with additional analytics functionalities. However, it's worth noting that its primary focus on sales interactions may not make it the best fit for all teams. The tool can transcribe meetings and conversations, but its utility may be limited if you're looking for something more versatile and centered around team collaboration rather than sales analysis.

5. Airgram

Airgram serves as a straightforward and efficient transcription tool designed to support teams in documenting their meetings. It offers real-time transcription services, integrates with several popular conferencing platforms, and allows for easy sharing of transcripts with team members. The tool aims to make the transcription process as seamless as possible, allowing teams to focus more on the meeting content rather than worrying about note-taking.

As an alternative to Fireflies, Airgram stands out for its ease of use and straightforward functionality. While it may not have an expansive set of features, it provides a solid, focused experience for teams primarily concerned with accurate and timely transcriptions. If you're looking for a no-frills, reliable transcription service, Airgram is a viable option.

6. Descript

Descript offers a somewhat different approach to meeting transcriptions, focusing on creating an editable "audio word processor" that allows you to manipulate audio files as if they were text documents. This is useful for teams that want to have more control over their transcribed content, whether for the purposes of documentation or content creation. The tool also supports multi-track editing, making it easier to manage meetings with multiple participants.

While Descript doesn't specialize solely in meeting transcriptions, its broader range of features could be beneficial for teams that require a more comprehensive content creation suite in addition to their transcription needs. Overall, it serves as a versatile alternative to Fireflies, especially if your team is looking for more than just a one-dimensional solution.

7. Tl;dv

Tl;dv is a tool designed to make meetings more manageable by offering video summaries, transcription services, and various collaboration features. This platform caters to teams who often find themselves juggling multiple meetings and looking for an efficient way to document those sessions. While transcription is part of what Tl;dv offers, it also provides the ability to convert meetings into action items, ensuring that discussions translate into meaningful work.

In comparison to Fireflies, Tl;dv offers a more expansive set of features beyond mere transcription, adding value for teams that need a multifaceted tool for their meetings. If you're in search of an alternative that provides more than just transcriptions, Tl;dv could be an option worth considering.

Maximize the value of your team meetings with Spinach

Agile teams looking to supercharge their meeting productivity with smarter notes and summaries have a lot of good options to choose from. Spinach stands out as the best tool for making all your meetings better. Unlike other options, Spinach is more than just a transcription service; it's an AI Scrum Master that actively improves your team's efficiency. From providing insightful meeting summaries directly in Slack to auto-generating action items and suggesting ticket updates, Spinach covers all bases, ensuring that no detail falls through the cracks. Plus it integrates seamlessly with all the tools you already use, so you get an instant productivity boost, without any added complexity. If you're looking to elevate all your team's meetings and simplify your workflow, you may want to give Spinach a try.

👉 Ready to transform your meetings into productivity powerhouses? Get started with Spinach today! 👈

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