Best Meeting Recording Software (2026): 8 Options Compared
To keep a copy of the call, the recording built into Zoom, Google Meet or Teams is enough. For a recorder that keeps video on a free plan, start with Fathom. For AI notes without any stored audio, Granola. To turn long recordings into a transcript with speakers, a summary and action items, priced per file instead of per minute, HypeScribe.
Meeting recording software compared
Prices and plan limits change often; check each vendor's pricing page before you buy.
Four ways to record a meeting
1. A bot joins the call
You paste the meeting link or connect your calendar, and a recorder joins as an extra participant. Nobody else installs anything, and everyone sees a recorder in the participant list. The trade-offs: the host may have to admit the bot, and some companies block outside bots altogether.
2. An app records your computer without a bot
A desktop app captures your computer's audio; a browser extension such as Tactiq reads the platform's live captions instead and keeps text only. Nothing appears in the participant list, which puts the duty to tell people entirely on you. It only works on the computer where it runs. Several of these tools keep no audio at all, so you can't go back and listen to a moment: Granola deletes audio after transcription, Tactiq works from live captions, and Fireflies' no-bot mode leaves a transcript only.
3. The platform's built-in recording
Zoom's local recording works on free accounts but comes without a transcript; cloud recording and the audio transcript need a paid plan. Google Meet records on Business Standard and higher Workspace plans and saves to the organizer's Drive. In Teams, recording depends on the licence and on the admin turning it on, and guests from other organizations can't record. Built-in transcripts cover fewer languages: 19 in Zoom, 8 in Meet.
4. Upload a recording you already have
If the meeting was recorded by Zoom, a phone or a dictaphone, you can transcribe it afterwards. It works for in-person meetings and for calls someone else recorded.
How HypeScribe records meetings
- Notetaker for online calls. Paste the link of a Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams meeting. A bot joins as "your name's Hypescribe Notetaker" and posts a message in the meeting chat saying the call is being recorded. It records audio and video with its camera off, and leaves after 15 minutes of silence or 4 hours. The notetaker comes with the Pro plan (10 meetings a month) and the Ultra plan (30), up to two calls at the same time.
- Live Record for in-person meetings. Records from your browser through the computer's microphone. It doesn't capture the sound of a video call directly, and remote participants you hear through headphones won't be picked up, so for remote meetings use the notetaker or upload the platform's recording.
- Upload for everything else. Audio and video files up to 2 GB, or a link from Zoom, Google Drive, YouTube, Loom and other platforms.
After processing, the recording opens with:
- The transcript split by speaker with timestamps, and how long each person spoke. Highlight any line and press Play from here to hear it.
- Notes: a short overview, an outline of the topics and a list of action items.
- Answers: ask the AI assistant about the meeting, for example "What did we decide about pricing?", then check the answer in the recording and copy the tasks from Action Items. Download the transcript and notes as PDF, DOCX, TXT or Markdown, or the transcript as SRT subtitles.
Pricing works per file rather than per minute. Starter is $6.99 a month for 30 files of any length; the notetaker comes with Pro and Ultra. All plans are on the pricing page.
Record or upload
See it on your own meeting
Upload a meeting recording or paste a link, and get the transcript, summary and action items for it. On Pro and Ultra, you can send the notetaker to your next Zoom, Meet or Teams call instead.
Tell people before you record
Recording laws differ by country and, in the US, by state: some require one participant's consent, others require everyone's. A bot that announces itself in the chat helps, but it doesn't replace asking. With a recorder that runs silently on your computer, saying "I'm recording this for notes" at the start is the whole disclosure. For the details, see whether it's legal to record someone without permission and when you need consent to use an AI notetaker.
Before you pick one, check
- Does your company, or your client's, admit outside bots? If not, you need built-in recording, a no-bot app or an upload.
- Do you need the recording itself? To check a quote or a decision later, pick a tool that keeps audio or video, not just notes.
- Do you need the screen share? Only video recording keeps slides and demos.
- Which languages do you meet in? Built-in transcripts cover 19 languages in Zoom and 8 in Meet; HypeScribe handles 99+. Test a real recording if your calls mix languages.
- Does the plan fit your meetings? Compare the limits with your usual meeting length and number: some free plans cap each conversation (Otter at 30 minutes), others cap total minutes or storage.
FAQ
Does Zoom make a transcript of the recording?
Only for cloud recordings on paid plans (Pro, Business, Education or Enterprise) with audio transcripts turned on. Local recordings on your computer come without a transcript; you can upload the file to a transcription tool afterwards.
How do I record a Microsoft Teams meeting?
Use Teams' own recording if your licence and the organizer allow it, or add a notetaker by pasting the meeting link. Our guide to Teams meeting transcription covers both.
