--- title: "Fireflies.ai Alternative That Helps During the Call" description: "Switch from Fireflies.ai to an assistant that helps during calls, not just after. No bot, no credit limits, no per-seat pricing. Audio captured locally." canonical: https://www.itsconvo.com/alternatives/fireflies-ai markdown: https://www.itsconvo.com/alternatives/fireflies-ai.md last-updated: 2026-10-22T00:05:13.000Z --- # The best Fireflies.ai alternative without credits or bots. > Switch from Fireflies.ai to an assistant that helps during calls, not just after. No bot, no credit limits, no per-seat pricing. Audio captured locally. Source: https://www.itsconvo.com/alternatives/fireflies-ai By Convo Team • Published January 10, 2026 • Last updated July 18, 2026 Convo is the best Fireflies.ai alternative for professionals who need real-time help during calls, not just a transcript after. Unlike Fireflies' credit-gated AI and visible meeting bot, Convo captures audio locally on your device, provides live suggestions during meetings, and automates post-call follow-ups — all without joining the call. FIREFLIES.AI ALTERNATIVE Fireflies gives you a transcript and charges per AI credit. Convo gives you an assistant that helps during calls, drafts follow-ups after, and never runs out of features mid-month. [Get Started](https://www.itsconvo.com/convo-setup.dmg) ## [01] The Credit Problem / AI Limits Fireflies doesn't give you unlimited AI. Every summary, every action-item extraction, every AskFred query deducts from a monthly credit balance. When credits hit zero, AI features stop working until your next billing cycle — or you pay for more. [Source: Fireflies.ai pricing page](https://fireflies.ai/pricing) FREE PLAN 20 credits/mo 800 minutes of storage. 2-hour cap per meeting. AI features stop after 20 operations. A few days of meetings and you're out. PRO — $10/SEAT/MO 30 credits/mo Unlimited transcription but only 30 AI credits. Summarize 10 meetings and ask 20 questions before you're cut off. Extra credits cost ~$0.10 each. CONVO - $22.49/MO No limits Every AI feature works without limits on every plan. Summaries, follow-up emails, action items, Ask AI — use them as much as you need. No credit meter. No mid-month cutoffs. WHAT COSTS CREDITS ON FIREFLIES Generate a meeting summary The core output you're paying for Extract action items Each extraction is a separate charge Ask AskFred a question Their AI chatbot — limited to one meeting at a time Smart Search queries Searching across your transcript library ## [02] Before, During, After / The Difference Phase Fireflies.ai Convo BEFORE Preparing for the call No pre-meeting features. You check your notes manually or go in cold. No context from past conversations with the same person. No way to review past [meeting minutes](https://www.itsconvo.com/features) quickly. [Pre-meeting briefings](https://www.itsconvo.com/features) surface context from every past conversation with this person. Open commitments, discussion history, suggested talking points. Zero prep time. DURING While you're on the call A bot named “Fireflies.ai Notetaker” joins the call visibly. It records and transcribes. No live suggestions, no objection handling, no in-call AI help of any kind. You're on your own. [No bot joins](https://www.itsconvo.com/bot-free-meeting-assistant). Audio captured locally from your device. [Real-time suggestions](https://www.itsconvo.com/features), objection handling, and Ask AI (Cmd+Enter) help you while the conversation is happening. AFTER Post-call follow-up Transcript and AI summary available (if you have credits). AskFred can answer questions about the call — one meeting at a time. No email drafting. No action-item routing. No cross-meeting memory. [Follow-up email drafted in 30 seconds](https://www.itsconvo.com/features) referencing what was actually discussed. Action items extracted and routed. Context saved and connected to future meetings with the same person. Role-specific outputs for [sales](https://www.itsconvo.com/sales), [recruiting](https://www.itsconvo.com/recruiting), [consulting](https://www.itsconvo.com/consulting), and [customer success](https://www.itsconvo.com/customer-success) teams. WORKS WITH EVERY PLATFORM Fireflies relies on a bot that joins your calls. Convo captures audio locally from your device — it works with anything that outputs audio. [Zoom meeting recording with Convo Zoom](https://www.itsconvo.com/guides/record-zoom-meeting) [Google Meet transcription with Convo Google Meet](https://www.itsconvo.com/guides/record-google-meet) [Microsoft Teams meeting assistant Teams](https://www.itsconvo.com/guides/record-teams-meeting) [Slack Huddles recording with Convo Slack](https://www.itsconvo.com/guides/record-slack-meeting) [WebEx meeting transcription WebEx](https://www.itsconvo.com/guides/record-webex-meeting) ## [03] The Privacy Question / Data & Compliance BIPA ### Class-action lawsuit filed December 2025 Cruz v. Fireflies.AI Corp. alleges Fireflies illegally collects biometric voiceprints from meeting participants under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. The “Speaker Recognition” feature generates voiceprints from people who never created a Fireflies account or consented to biometric data collection. The lawsuit seeks $1,000–$5,000 per violation in statutory damages. [National Law Review, December 2025](https://natlawreview.com/article/lawsuit-alleges-firefliesai-corp-illegally-collects-biometric-data-virtual-meetings) ### Cloud-only processing All recordings are uploaded to US-based servers (Google Cloud / AWS). EU data residency is only available on Enterprise plans with custom pricing. ### Biometric voiceprints Speaker Recognition generates voiceprints from every participant — including people who never signed up. This is the basis of the BIPA lawsuit. ### Mandatory calendar access Fireflies requires calendar integration during signup with no opt-out. The bot auto-joins meetings from your calendar, sometimes unexpectedly. INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE RESTRICTED THE FIREFLIES BOT Cornell University Tufts University University of Oxford University of Cambridge [Microsoft Q&A threads](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4429002/removing-fireflies-ai-note-taker-bot-from-microsof) document widespread requests from IT administrators to block the Fireflies bot from institutional meetings. CONVO'S APPROACH Convo captures audio locally with no bot, protected by [AES-256 encryption](https://www.itsconvo.com/features/privacy-compliance). The audio goes only to our transcription provider, which deletes it after processing and never trains on it. No biometric data is generated. No calendar access is required to start. Convo works as a [private AI note taker](https://www.itsconvo.com/features) that keeps you in control of your conversations. ## [04] What It Costs at Scale / Per-Seat vs Flat Fireflies charges per seat. Every team member is an additional monthly charge. Convo's [Professional plan](https://www.itsconvo.com/pricing) is a flat rate — real-time help, follow-ups, memory, and unlimited AI included. | Team Size | Fireflies Business (annual) | Fireflies Business (monthly) | Convo Professional | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 person | $19/mo | $29/mo | $22.49/mo | | 3 people | $57/mo | $87/mo | $22.49/mo | | 5 people | $95/mo | $145/mo | $22.49/mo | | 10 people | $190/mo | $290/mo | $22.49/mo | All Fireflies prices above exclude credit overages. If your team exceeds the monthly AI credit allocation, extra credits cost ~$0.10 each. Convo has no per-seat charges and no credit limits. Use the [meeting cost calculator](https://www.itsconvo.com/tools/meeting-cost-calculator) to see what your meetings actually cost. For a full breakdown, see the [Fireflies.ai pricing guide](https://www.itsconvo.com/pricing/fireflies-ai). ## [05] Feature by Feature / Full Comparison | Feature | Convo | Fireflies.ai | | --- | --- | --- | | Real-time help & suggestions | | | | Pre-meeting briefings | | | | Meeting transcription | | | | AI summaries | | Credit-limited | | Action item extraction | | Credit-limited | | Follow-up email drafting | | | | Context memory across meetings | | | | Bot-free recording | | | | Local audio processing | | | | Conversation analytics | | Business+ | | Role-specific intelligence | | | | Video recording | | Business+ | | Slack Huddles support | | | | EU data residency | Local by default | Enterprise only | EXPLORE [Fireflies.ai Review 2026 Full breakdown of Fireflies' features, pricing, and limitations. Read more](https://www.itsconvo.com/blog/fireflies-ai-review) [Convo vs Fireflies.ai Side-by-side comparison from the team that built Convo. Read more](https://www.itsconvo.com/blog/convo-vs-fireflies) [Otter.ai Alternative How Convo compares to Otter for meeting transcription. Read more](https://www.itsconvo.com/alternatives/otter-ai) [MeetGeek Alternative MeetGeek vs Convo for meeting recording and transcription. Read more](https://www.itsconvo.com/alternatives/meetgeek) FAQ ## Common questions about switching from Fireflies **How is Convo different from Fireflies.ai?** Fireflies is a transcription tool that records via a bot, transcribes, and lets you search the transcript afterward. AI features like summaries and AskFred are limited by a monthly credit system. Convo is a meeting assistant that helps before, during, and after. You get real-time suggestions during calls, pre-meeting briefings, follow-up emails drafted in 30 seconds, and context memory across conversations. Audio is captured locally on your device with no credit limits. **Does Fireflies.ai add a bot to my meetings?** Yes. Fireflies joins every meeting as a visible participant called 'Fireflies.ai Notetaker' followed by your name. All other participants see it and receive a notification. Multiple universities including Cornell and Oxford have blocked the bot entirely. Convo captures system audio directly from your device — no bot joins, no one is notified. **What are Fireflies AI credits and how do they work?** Fireflies gates its AI features behind a credit system. Every time you generate a summary, extract action items, or ask AskFred a question, it deducts credits from your monthly allocation. The free plan includes 20 credits per month. Pro includes 30. Once depleted, AI features stop working until your next billing cycle — or you buy extra credits at roughly $0.10 each. Convo has no credit system. All AI features work without limits on every plan. **Is my data safe with Fireflies.ai?** Fireflies uploads all meeting audio to US-based cloud servers for processing. Its Speaker Recognition feature generates biometric voiceprints from meeting participants, including people who never created an account. A [class-action lawsuit filed in December 2025](https://natlawreview.com/article/lawsuit-alleges-firefliesai-corp-illegally-collects-biometric-data-virtual-meetings) under Illinois BIPA alleges this data is collected without written consent. EU data residency is only available on Enterprise plans. Convo captures audio locally with AES-256 encryption and never generates biometric data. **Can Convo help me during a live call, not just after?** Yes — this is the biggest difference. Convo provides [real-time suggested responses](https://www.itsconvo.com/features), objection handling, talking points, and an Ask AI feature (Cmd+Enter) during the call. Fireflies has no real-time capabilities at all. It records via a bot and provides analysis only after the meeting ends. **Is Convo's transcription as accurate as Fireflies?** Comparable. Both use state-of-the-art speech recognition. Fireflies user reviews on G2 note accuracy drops with accents, overlapping speakers, and technical jargon. Speaker identification is particularly unreliable when participants don't identify themselves — and the voiceprint system meant to fix this is the basis of the BIPA lawsuit. Convo uses AssemblyAI for transcription with similar accuracy levels and doesn't generate biometric data to identify speakers. **Can I use Convo for sales calls?** Yes. Convo has [role-specific intelligence for sales teams](https://www.itsconvo.com/sales) — real-time objection handling during prospect calls, talk-to-listen ratio tracking, and follow-up emails that reference specific discussion points. Fireflies markets to sales teams too, but it can't help you during the call and the recording bot is visible to your prospects. Convo also supports [recruiting](https://www.itsconvo.com/recruiting) and [customer success](https://www.itsconvo.com/customer-success) workflows. **How much does Fireflies.ai cost for a team?** Fireflies charges per seat. Business plan is $19/seat/month (annual) or $29/seat/month (monthly). A 5-person team pays $95–$145/month depending on billing cycle, plus potential credit overages. Convo's [Professional plan](https://www.itsconvo.com/pricing) is $52.49/month flat — real-time help, follow-up automation, context memory, and unlimited AI included. No per-seat charges. **What is the best Fireflies.ai alternative in 2026?** Convo is the strongest Fireflies alternative for professionals who need more than transcription. It provides real-time help during calls, automated follow-ups, context memory, and local audio processing — without a bot, credit limits, or per-seat pricing. Other alternatives include [Otter.ai](https://www.itsconvo.com/alternatives/otter-ai), [Fathom](https://www.itsconvo.com/blog/fathom-alternatives), and [Granola](https://www.itsconvo.com/alternatives/granola), though these also have bot or feature limitations. **Is there a bot-free Fireflies alternative that also helps during the call?** Yes, and that is the gap most bot-free tools leave open. Alternatives like [Granola](https://www.itsconvo.com/alternatives/granola) and Jamie drop the meeting bot but are still notetakers that only summarize after the call. Convo captures audio locally with no bot and helps you live: [suggested responses, objection handling, and the next question to ask](https://www.itsconvo.com/features) while you are still on the call, then drafts the follow-up after. Bot-free without giving up the real-time help. **Does Fireflies.ai have a desktop app?** No. Fireflies is a web-based tool that captures meetings through its bot joining your calls. There's no native desktop application. Convo is built as a [native macOS app](https://www.itsconvo.com/features/macos) with deep system integration, local audio capture, and Apple Silicon optimization. Convo also supports Windows. **How do I switch from Fireflies to Convo?** Download Convo for Mac or Windows — takes under two minutes. Then cancel your Fireflies subscription and revoke calendar access so the bot stops auto-joining meetings. Convo captures audio automatically when you join any call. No calendar permissions required to start. READY TO SWITCH ## Stop counting AI credits. Start getting help in your meetings. Real-time help, automated follow-ups, and context that compounds. No bot. No credit limits. Audio stays on your device. [Get Started](https://www.itsconvo.com/convo-setup.dmg) ## 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)