Move from notes to action
Convo vs Fireflies
Comparing Fireflies.ai vs Convo as your AI note taker and meeting minute taker solution. See why teams choose Convo as the best note taking app for automatic meeting minutes.
AI Note Taker & Automatic Meeting Minutes
Convo is the best AI note taking app and meeting minute taker—automatically generating professional meeting minutes, structured notes, and accurate transcriptions in real-time.
AI Note Taker App
Best-in-class AI note taking app that captures every detail automatically. No manual typing required—just focus on the conversation.
Meeting Minutes Generator
Instantly generate professional meeting minutes with key decisions, action items, and summaries. Perfect for meeting minute takers.
Meeting Recording & Transcription
Record meetings with automatic transcription. Convert speech to text in real-time with industry-leading accuracy.
AI Meeting Assistant for Zoom, Teams, Meet & More
Unlike Fireflies, Convo works with all major platforms including Slack Huddles and Webex. Get real-time AI meeting notes and automatic transcription across your entire tech stack.
Learn more about our AI note taker:
Free meeting tools:
Why Teams Switch From Fireflies to Convo
Fireflies.ai is a popular meeting transcription tool that joins your calls as a bot, records the audio, and generates post-meeting notes. For teams that only need basic transcripts after the fact, it works.
But Fireflies has a fundamental design choice that creates problems: it sends a visible bot into your meeting. Every participant sees “Fireflies.ai Notetaker” join the call. In sales conversations, client calls, and sensitive internal meetings, that changes the dynamic. People speak differently when they know a third-party bot is recording them.
Convo takes the opposite approach. It captures system audio locally on your Mac—no bot joins the call, no recording notification appears, and no participant sees anything different. You get the same transcription and meeting notes, but without the awkwardness of a visible recording bot.
Beyond the bot issue, Convo provides real-time AI assistance during your calls. Fireflies only gives you notes after the meeting ends. With Convo, you get live transcription, suggested talking points, and action items as the conversation happens. And because Convo processes audio locally with AES-256 encryption, your meeting data never leaves your device.
Fireflies.ai Limitations
Before committing to Fireflies as your meeting assistant, consider these limitations:
- •Visible recording bot. Fireflies joins every meeting as a visible participant. Attendees are notified that a bot is recording, which can make clients and colleagues uncomfortable.
- •Cloud-only processing. All meeting audio is uploaded to Fireflies' servers for transcription. For teams handling confidential client data, this raises compliance and privacy concerns.
- •Post-meeting only. Fireflies generates summaries and action items after the meeting ends. There's no real-time transcription or live AI assistance during the call.
- •Limited free tier. Fireflies' free plan caps transcription credits and storage. The Pro plan starts at $18/user/month for unlimited transcription.
- •Privacy lawsuits. In late 2025, Fireflies faced a class-action lawsuit alleging illegal collection of biometric voiceprint data without consent. Several universities have blocked AI meeting bots entirely.
Convo Pricing vs Fireflies Pricing
Here's how the two compare on cost and features:
| Convo | Fireflies.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes — core notes & transcription included | Limited credits & storage |
| Paid plan | Starts at $16.99/mo | $18/user/mo (Pro) |
| Platforms included | Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack, Webex | Zoom, Meet, Teams |
| Real-time notes | Yes | Post-meeting only |
| Visible bot | No — completely invisible | Yes — bot joins meeting |
| Local processing | Yes — AES-256 encrypted | No — cloud only |
Convo's free tier includes core transcription and notes with no credit limits. Because Convo works across every platform from a single app, teams save money by replacing Fireflies and any other platform-specific tools with one solution.
How to Switch From Fireflies to Convo
Switching from Fireflies to Convo takes less than two minutes. No data migration needed.
Download Convo
Install Convo on your Mac in under 2 minutes
Remove the Fireflies Bot
Cancel your Fireflies subscription and remove the bot from your calendar
Start Your First Meeting
Convo captures automatically—no bots, no setup, no one knows
Privacy-First Meeting Notes with End-to-End Encryption
In 2025, Fireflies and Otter.ai both faced class-action lawsuits over recording consent, while Cornell, Oxford, and Cambridge blocked AI meeting bots entirely. Convo takes a different approach—audio is processed locally on your Mac, no bot joins the call. Read our full Fireflies privacy analysis →
AES-256 Encryption
Military-grade encryption for all meeting data, transcriptions, and notes stored locally on your device.
GDPR Compliant
Full GDPR compliance with data processing agreements available for enterprise customers.
SOC 2 Type II Certified
Enterprise-grade security standards with regular audits and compliance verification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & References
- Fireflies.ai Feature Comparison (2025)
- Meeting Recording Privacy Guidelines - GDPR
- SOC 2 Type II Certification Standards
- Industry Survey: Meeting Assistant Usage (Gartner, 2025)
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