The 5 Best Krisp Alternatives in 2026
Krisp is unmatched at noise cancellation, and its bot-free meeting notes and mobile app are a real convenience. If you came to it for the notes, you may have hit its edges: no free plan after the trial, phone-call recording limited to outgoing US calls, and no watch app. These alternatives are built for the notes-and-recording job itself.
Windows
ChromeThe best Krisp alternative for meeting notes is Wave AI: it records meetings without a bot on Mac and Windows like Krisp, adds a free plan, records incoming and outgoing phone calls on iPhone and Android, and records in person from an Apple Watch or Wear OS watch. Granola suits people who type notes during calls, Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai are the established bot-based options, and Fathom is the free pick for video calls. For noise cancellation itself, keep Krisp.
A quick sorting question first: are you looking to replace Krisp’s noise cancellation, or its recording and meeting notes? For pure noise removal, Krisp remains the benchmark. This guide is for the second group: people who want deeper transcripts and summaries, a free plan, or recording for conversations Krisp can’t reach, such as incoming calls or a watch on your wrist.
1. Wave — best overall Krisp alternative for notes
Wave keeps the thing Krisp users like — bot-free capture of mic + system audio via the Wave desktop app on Mac and Windows — and builds the full note taker around it:
- Capture everywhere, including your wrist. iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS, web, and a Chrome extension: record in-person meetings, lectures, and interviews wherever they happen.
- Incoming and outgoing calls. The Phone Bridge records both directions on iPhone and Android, not only US outgoing calls. It works on every plan; on Free, calls count toward the 30 minutes a month, and Wave Pro is unlimited.
- Notes as the main event. Speaker-labeled transcripts, AI summaries with action items, and a chat that answers questions from any past recording.
- Optional calendar bot. Wave can auto-join your scheduled Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams calls, so meetings get captured even when you’re away from the computer.
Free plan: 30 minutes of recording per month; paid plans from$80 a year or $15 a month. Direct comparison: Wave vs Krisp.
2. Granola — closest match for quiet desktop capture
Granola shares Krisp’s quiet approach (no bot in the call) and turns your notes plus the call audio into clean, opinionated notes. It runs on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android with an Apple Watch app, but keeps no audio you can replay, and the free plan keeps 30 days of meeting history. See Wave vs Granola.
3. Otter.ai — most established transcription ecosystem
Otter pairs a meeting bot with real-time transcription and iPhone, Android, and web apps that record in person. Its free plan gives 300 min/month, capped at 30 min per conversation. It uses a visible bot for video calls and has no phone-call recording.
4. Fathom — best free option for video calls
Fathom records Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams calls free with polished summaries. It joins with a visible bot by default, the opposite of Krisp’s invisible capture; its bot-free mode is in beta on Mac only. Its iPhone app records in person; there is no Android app and no phone-call recording.
5. Fireflies.ai — best for team meeting libraries
Fireflies records with a bot, or without one from its desktop app and Chrome extension, and organizes meetings into a shared, searchable team library with CRM integrations. Its mobile app records in person. Pro is $10 a seat per month billed yearly.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Wave | Bot-free capture plus mobile, phone, and deep notes | No noise cancellation |
| Granola | Quiet no-bot notes you type into | No saved audio |
| Otter.ai | Real-time transcription ecosystem | Visible bot; no phone calls |
| Fathom | Free video-call recording | Bot by default; bot-free is a Mac beta |
| Fireflies.ai | Shared team meeting libraries | Team-priced; no phone calls |
The bottom line
If noise cancellation is why you use Krisp, keep it — nothing here replaces that. If recording and notes are the actual job, Wave captures more conversations (desk, incoming and outgoing calls, room, wrist) and does more with them once captured. Many people simply run both. For every bot-free option side by side, see the best AI note takers without a bot.
