Top Free AI Note Taking Apps in 2025

Last Updated: 2025-09-01 18:55:45

"What's the best AI note-taking app right now for students/meetings? One with both recording and uploading capabilities for transcription and with AI "chat"" - From Reddit

This question resonates with many professionals and students seeking efficient ways to capture and organize information. AI note-taking apps have emerged as powerful tools to automate note-taking, transcribe meetings, and enhance productivity. In this guide, we'll explore the top AI note takers available in 2025.

Part 1: What is an AI Note Taker?

An AI note taker is a software application that utilizes artificial intelligence to transcribe audio, summarize content, and organize notes automatically. These tools are designed to assist in capturing information during meetings, lectures, or brainstorming sessions, reducing the need for manual note-taking and allowing users to focus on the conversation.

AI note takers can be categorized into two types:

Bot-Based AI Note Takers: These tools require a bot to join the meeting to record and transcribe the conversation. Examples include Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai.
Bot-Free AI Note Takers: These tools operate without the need for a bot to join the meeting. They can transcribe audio or video recordings uploaded by the user. Examples include Jamie AI and Krisp AI.

Choosing between bot-based and bot-free tools depends on your specific needs and preferences.

Part 2: Top AI Note Taking Apps in 2025

In 2025, AI note takers have matured into robust, feature-rich tools. Whether you value real-time transcription, multilingual support, privacy, or integration, there's an app built for you. Below are five standouts with detailed breakdowns:

1. Jamie AI

Jamie AI is a bot-free, privacy-focused AI note taker designed specifically for professionals who dislike intrusive meeting bots. Unlike traditional services that join your Zoom or Teams calls, Jamie works in the background on your device-listening in, then uploading audio for transcription and summary after the meeting ends. This unique design makes it less disruptive and more privacy-friendly while still delivering accurate meeting notes, summaries, and action items. Jamie is especially popular among European users thanks to its GDPR compliance and strong multilingual transcription (28+ languages).

Key Features:

Bot-free experience: works without adding a bot to calls
Automatic transcription in 28+ languages
AI-powered summaries and action points
Built-in AI assistant (Cmd+J) for drafting emails or querying notes
Desktop-first design (Mac/Windows), lightweight, and intuitive
Data privacy guaranteed: audio deleted after processing

Pros:

Highly accurate summaries with context awareness
Clean, minimal interface
Strong privacy compliance (GDPR)

Cons:

No real-time (live) transcription
No mobile app yet
Some initial setup needed for domain-specific vocabulary

Price:

Free: 10 meetings/month
Paid: €24 (Standard), €47 (Pro), €99 (Executive) per month

Jamie Reviews (G2):

2. Otter.ai

Otter.ai is one of the most popular AI note takers globally and a pioneer in real-time transcription. Unlike Jamie, Otter joins your meetings as a bot-capturing, transcribing, and highlighting conversations as they happen. It's widely used in education and corporate environments thanks to its mobile app, integrations with Zoom and Google Meet, and collaborative editing features.

Key Features:

Real-time transcription with speaker identification
AI-powered highlights and action item detection
Cloud sync across desktop, iOS, and Android
Integrations with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams
Searchable transcription archive
Supports 20+ languages

Pros:

Excellent real-time transcription
Works seamlessly across platforms
Robust collaboration features

Cons:

Relies on a meeting bot, which some find intrusive
Accuracy drops with heavy accents or poor audio
Some privacy concerns raised by users

Price:

Free: 300 minutes/month
Pro: $16.99/month
Business: $30/month per user

Otter.ai Reviews (G2):

3. NotebookLM (Google)

NotebookLM, developed by Google, is more than an AI note taker-it's a research assistant powered by Gemini AI. Designed for students and knowledge workers, it allows you to upload documents, PDFs, and audio files, then generates summaries, outlines, and even question-based insights. Its strength lies in working with large amounts of reference material, making it ideal for academic research or content creation.

Key Features:

Upload files (Docs, PDFs, audio, transcripts) for AI analysis
AI-generated summaries, outlines, and insights
Audio overview mode for listening to summaries
Integrated with Google Drive and Workspace
Supports 15+ languages

Pros:

Excellent for knowledge synthesis and research
Audio summaries are helpful for revision
Google ecosystem integration

Cons:

Not tailored specifically for meetings
Requires internet access for most functions
Still in beta for some regions

Price:

Free (currently in experimental rollout phase)

4. Krisp AI

Krisp AI started as a noise cancellation tool, but in 2025 it has expanded into a full AI note taker with transcription and meeting summaries. It's particularly useful for remote professionals working in noisy environments who want crystal-clear calls and AI-powered meeting notes-all in one app.

Key Features:

Real-time noise cancellation for both input and output audio
AI-powered meeting transcription and summaries
Speaker detection and diarization
Works with all conferencing apps (Zoom, Teams, Meet)
Supports 10+ languages
Privacy-first: processes audio locally when possible

Pros:

Best-in-class noise cancellation
Combines call quality and note-taking
Cross-platform support

Cons:

Limited features compared to dedicated note takers
Fewer integrations
Smaller language support compared to Fireflies or Otter

Price:

Free: Basic noise cancellation
Pro: $8/month
Teams: $10/month per user

Krisp Reviews (G2):

5. Fireflies.ai

Fireflies.ai is the integration powerhouse of AI note takers. It automatically joins meetings across platforms, records, transcribes, and organizes conversations in real time. With 100+ language support and integrations with tools like Slack, Notion, and CRMs, Fireflies is perfect for teams that need their meeting notes connected to workflows. Its AI assistant, AskFred, can answer questions about past meetings, making it more than just a passive recorder.

Key Features:

AI meeting bot joins calls automatically
Real-time transcription with 100+ languages
AI-powered summaries and action items
AskFred AI assistant for querying past meetings
Integrations with Slack, Notion, Salesforce, HubSpot, and more
Collaboration dashboard for teams

Pros:

Best for teams and organizations
Huge integration library
Powerful search and Q&A assistant

Cons:

Requires bot participation in calls
Privacy concerns for sensitive industries
Free plan has limited storage

Price:

Free: Limited transcription credits
Pro: $10/month
Business: $19/month per user

Fireflies Reviews (G2):

Part 3: How to Choose the Right AI Note Taking App

Choosing the right AI note taking app depends on your workflow, privacy needs, and whether you prioritize real-time transcription, summarization quality, or team integrations. Below is a comparison table of the top five AI note takers in 2025:

Feature / App	Jamie AI	Otter.ai	NotebookLM (Google)	Krisp AI	Fireflies.ai
Real-time Transcription	❌	✅	❌	✅	✅
Speaker Recognition & Memory	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅
AI Assistant	✅ (Cmd+J for tasks)	❌	✅ (Gemini-powered Q&A)	❌	✅ (AskFred)
Supported Languages	28+	20+	15+	10+	100+
AI Chat / Query Notes	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅
Automated Meeting Summaries	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Mobile App	❌	✅ (iOS/Android)	❌	✅	✅
Offline Use	✅ (desktop app)	❌	❌	✅	❌
Works with Conference Platforms	✅ (indirect, no bot)	✅	❌	✅	✅
Privacy Focus	⭐⭐⭐⭐ (GDPR compliant, bot-free)	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐
Bot-Free	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌
Noise Cancellation	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌

Quick Takeaways:

If you value privacy and simplicity, go with Jamie AI.
If you need real-time transcription and collaboration, Otter.ai is the classic choice.
For research and document-heavy work, NotebookLM is unmatched.
If noise-free meetings are your top priority, Krisp AI is your best bet.
For large teams and integrations, Fireflies.ai is the powerhouse.

Part 4: Pro Tip - Enhance Note Taking with Speech to Text Converter

AI note takers are powerful during meetings and lectures, but what if you already have audio or video recordings that need to be converted into text or subtitles? This is where a dedicated Speech-to-Text tool becomes indispensable.

One of the most reliable solutions in 2025 is Univd's Speech-to-Text Converter, which transforms audio and video into editable, accurate text or subtitles. Whether you're a student reviewing lectures, a content creator repurposing video material, or a business professional archiving calls, Univd makes the process simple and highly accurate.

Key Features of Univd Speech-to-Text

Multi-format Support: Upload video (MP4, MOV, MKV) or audio (MP3, WAV, AAC) files directly.
Multilingual Transcription: Supports 16+ languages for global users.
Fast & Accurate Conversion: Advanced AI ensures precise transcription with quick turnaround.
Editable Transcripts: Clean interface allows easy corrections and formatting.
Export Options: Export aspure text or subtitles.
Secure & Private: Your data is processed securely, ensuring compliance with privacy standards.

How to Use Univd Speech-to-Text in 5 Simple Steps

Step 1.Open Univd and choose Speech to Text feature on the home page.
Step 2.Upload your audio or video file (MP3, WAV, MP4, MOV, etc.).
Step 3.Select the primary language of your file, and choose whether you want pure text transcription or subtitle files.
Step 4.Click Create to automatically transcribes your file with speaker recognition and timestamping.
Step 5.You can preview the transcription and use the built-in editor to quickly correct words. Once all is fine, click Export button to aCW the transcript as TXT, or SRT file.

Pro Tip: You can combine Univd's Speech-to-Text with an AI note-taking app like Jamie AI or Fireflies-record meetings with them, then run the raw audio/video through Univd to create highly accurate transcripts or subtitles for training, documentation, or content publishing.

Conclusion

In 2025, the best AI note taking apps-from Jamie AI to Fireflies-make it easier than ever to capture AI meeting notes, AI lecture notes, and real-time transcription. Each tool offers unique strengths, whether you value privacy, integrations, or research support. And if you need to go beyond meetings and convert existing audio or video into pure text or subtitles, Univd's Speech-to-Text Converter is the perfect complement, ensuring no insight is ever lost.