Josh Mohrer·Published July 2, 2026·Updated November 3, 2026

The 5 Best Zoom AI Companion Alternatives in 2026

Zoom AI Companion is a solid bundled feature on paid Zoom plans, and its My Notes note taker now reaches Teams, Google Meet and in-person conversations. People look elsewhere when they are on a free Zoom account (3 note-taking uses a month), need regular phone calls recorded, or want one note taker that isn't tied to a Zoom subscription. These are the five best options.

352,143 people use Wave30 minutes free every month. No credit card.

The best Zoom AI Companion alternative for most people is Wave AI: it records Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams with or without a bot, plus in-person conversations from phones and watches and regular phone calls, and its free plan doesn’t depend on a Zoom subscription. Fathom is the best free option for video calls, Otter.ai the most established, Fireflies.ai the pick for CRM-heavy teams, and Granola the quietest.

Zoom’s AI is no longer Zoom-only: Zoom says its My Notes note taker works in Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and in-person conversations. The usual reasons people look past it now: they are on the free Workplace Basic plan, where My Notes is limited to 3 uses a month; they need regular phone calls recorded; or they want their notes in a tool that isn’t tied to a Zoom subscription.

1. Wave — best overall Zoom AI Companion alternative

Wave treats Zoom as one of many places conversations happen:

All three meeting platforms. A calendar bot auto-joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams meetings via your Google or Outlook calendar.
No-bot option. The Wave desktop app for Mac and Windows captures mic + system audio from any meeting app directly.
Beyond video calls. Record in-person meetings from your iPhone, Android phone, Apple Watch, or Wear OS watch, and, on every plan, record phone calls on iPhone and Android with the built-in Phone Bridge (Free minutes are shared; Pro is unlimited).
One archive. Every recording gets a speaker-labeled transcript, AI summary, and action items — all searchable, with a chat that answers questions from any past conversation.

Free plan: 30 minutes of recording per month (no paid Zoom account required); paid plans from $80 a year or $15 a month. Full matchup: Wave vs Zoom AI Companion.

2. Fathom — best free bot for video calls

Fathom’s free plan covers unlimited recordings, transcription and instant AI summaries for Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, far beyond Zoom Basic’s three uses. It joins with a bot by default (bot-free is a Mac-only beta), records in person from its iPhone app, and does not record phone calls.

3. Otter.ai — most established transcription suite

Otter brings real-time transcription, a meeting bot for the major platforms, and iPhone, Android, and web apps that record in person. Its free plan gives 300 min/month, capped at 30 min per conversation. No phone-call recording and no watch app.

4. Fireflies.ai — best for teams and CRM workflows

Fireflies records across the major meeting platforms with a bot, its desktop app, or its Chrome extension, records in person from its mobile app, and shines at team features: shared libraries, CRM integrations, and conversation search. Pro is $10 a seat per month billed yearly.

5. Granola — best quiet capture

Granola captures your computer’s audio from any meeting app with no bot and turns your rough notes into clean ones. It runs on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android with an Apple Watch app, but keeps no audio to replay, and its free plan keeps 30 days of meeting history. See Wave vs Granola.

At a glance

Tool	Best for	Main limitation
Wave	Every platform plus phone and in-person	Free plan capped at 30 min/month
Fathom	Free cross-platform video-call recording	Bot by default; no phone calls
Otter.ai	Real-time transcription ecosystem	30-min free conversation cap; no phone calls
Fireflies.ai	Team libraries and CRM sync	Team-priced; no phone calls
Granola	Quiet no-bot notes	No saved audio

The bottom line

Zoom’s AI is a fine feature for teams on paid Zoom plans, and My Notes now reaches other platforms. If you are on a free Zoom account, need phone calls recorded, or want to record from your wrist, Wave is the alternative that captures all of it in one place, whether or not you ever open Zoom again. For bot-free options side by side, see the best AI note takers without a bot.

Common questions about Zoom AI Companion alternatives

Which Zoom AI Companion alternative works with Google Meet and Teams?

Wave, Fathom, Otter, and Fireflies all cover Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, and Zoom’s own My Notes now does too. Wave additionally records phone calls and records in person from phones and watches, and the Wave desktop app can capture any meeting platform’s audio without sending a bot.

I'm on a free Zoom plan — what's the best AI note taker?

On the free Zoom Workplace Basic plan, Zoom’s AI note taker is limited to 3 uses a month and summaries to 3 hosted meetings a month. Alternatives don’t care what Zoom tier you’re on: Fathom’s free plan includes unlimited recordings for video calls, and Wave’s free plan includes 30 minutes a month shared across recordings, phone calls, and bot-recorded meetings. Importing audio or video files into the Wave app needs a subscription; the free file transcription tool on the website is separate.

Can I keep meeting notes outside the Zoom ecosystem?

Yes — that’s a core reason to use a dedicated note taker. Wave stores every recording, transcript, and summary in its own searchable archive regardless of where the conversation happened, so your notes aren’t tied to any meeting vendor.

Is there an alternative that also records phone calls and in-person meetings?

Wave. Its Phone Bridge records incoming and outgoing calls on iPhone and Android on every plan (Free minutes are shared; Pro is unlimited), and its mobile, Apple Watch, and Wear OS apps record in-person conversations. Zoom’s My Notes, Otter, and Fireflies also record in person, but none of them records a regular call on your own number. See the best call recorder apps.