Fireflies.ai’s Free Plan: Unlimited Meeting Transcription for $0
Fireflies.ai has one of the more generous free plans in the AI meeting-notetaker space: unlimited meeting transcription at $0 a month, across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. The catch is in the details — AI summaries are limited, storage is capped at 800 minutes per seat, and you don’t get video recording on the free tier. It’s a real, usable free tier for light users, not a timed trial, but heavy meeting schedules will outgrow it fast.
Quick verdict: The best free option if you want unlimited transcription and can live with 800 minutes of storage and basic summaries. If you record a lot of meetings, Fathom’s unlimited free recordings may suit you better.
Quick Facts
- What it is: An AI meeting assistant that joins your calls, transcribes them, and generates summaries, action items, and searchable notes.
- Free plan: $0 forever — unlimited transcription, limited AI summaries, 800 minutes of storage per seat, audio recording only.
- Free limits: 800 minutes of storage per seat (it fills up faster than you’d think), AI summaries and AskFred limited by a small one-time pool of AI credits, no video recording, CRM and advanced integrations behind paid tiers.
- Paid plans: Pro $10/seat/month billed annually (or $18 month-to-month); Business $19/seat/month billed annually; Enterprise $39/seat/month.
- Best for: Freelancers, job seekers, and light meeting users who want reliable transcripts without paying — especially salespeople and recruiters drowning in calls.
What’s Actually Free vs. Paywalled
On the free plan, Fireflies joins your meetings as a bot and transcribes everything — unlimited. You also get a taste of AI summaries and the AskFred assistant, which lets you ask questions across all your past meetings, but these run on a limited pool of AI credits that don’t refill on a schedule. Once you’ve recorded about 13 hours of meetings (800 minutes), your storage is full and old recordings have to make way. Transcription covers 100+ languages, and you get real-time notes and meeting search.
What costs money: video recording (Business tier and up), 8,000 minutes of storage (Pro), unlimited storage (Business), conversation intelligence and team analytics, and full CRM/Slack/Zapier integrations. If AskFred becomes the feature you rely on most, expect to upgrade — the credit pool is the first thing heavy users hit.
Fireflies Free vs. the Alternatives
| Fireflies (free) | Otter.ai (free) | Fathom (free) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Transcription limit | Unlimited | 300 min/month, 30 min/meeting | Unlimited |
| Recordings/storage | 800 min/seat | Counts toward 300-min cap | Unlimited |
| AI summaries | Limited (credit pool) | Basic | 5 calls/month |
| Best for | Unlimited transcripts on a budget | Short, occasional meetings | Unlimited recording storage |
Pick per use case: Fireflies if you mainly need transcripts of lots of meetings. Fathom if you want unlimited recordings and storage with fewer AI summaries. Otter if your meetings are short and infrequent.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Unlimited transcription on the free plan is genuinely rare in this category.
- Joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams automatically — set it once and forget it.
- AskFred lets you query all your meetings at once, which is useful even in limited form.
- Transcription in 100+ languages, solid search, soundbite clips, and commenting.
Cons:
- 800 minutes of storage fills up in about a month of regular meetings.
- AI summaries run on limited credits — the “AI” part of the free tier is the thinnest part.
- No video recording on free, and CRM/integrations are paid-only.
- Audio-only capture and a cloud-only service mean a good connection is required.
Who It’s Actually For
Freelancers and solopreneurs with a handful of client calls a week — the free tier covers that easily. Job seekers who want transcripts of interviews. Sales reps and recruiters who live on calls and need searchable records. Skip it if you’re recording 15+ hours of meetings a month (storage will choke), if you need video capture, or if CRM sync is non-negotiable — that’s a paid-tier conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fireflies.ai really free?
Yes — the free plan is $0 forever, not a trial. You get unlimited transcription, but AI summaries are limited and storage is capped at 800 minutes per seat.
How many minutes can I transcribe for free on Fireflies?
Transcription itself is unlimited on the free plan. The cap is on storage: 800 minutes of recorded meetings per seat. Once full, you need to delete recordings or upgrade.
Does Fireflies record video on the free plan?
No — free is audio recording only. Video capture starts on the Business tier ($19/seat/month billed annually).
What are Fireflies AI credits?
AI features like advanced summaries, AI Skills, and AskFred consume separately metered AI credits. The free plan includes a small one-time pool of credits, and top-ups start around $5 for 50 credits.
The Bottom Line
Fireflies’ free plan is one of the strongest free offers among AI notetakers: unlimited transcription for $0 is hard to beat. Treat it as a transcript-first tool rather than an AI-summaries tool, keep an eye on the 800-minute storage ceiling, and verify current limits on Fireflies’ pricing page before relying on it — tiers and credit mechanics shift over time.