3. Local audio processing. Your meeting audio is processed on your device. It doesn't get uploaded to a cloud server. For industries with strict data handling requirements (legal, healthcare, finance) or for anyone who simply prefers keeping conversations private, this is a fundamentally different privacy model. Convo uses AES-256 encryption and is GDPR compliant and SOC 2 Type II certified.
4. Broader platform support. Convo works on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack Huddles, and Webex. Because it captures audio from your device rather than joining as a meeting participant, platform support is inherently more flexible.
5. Completely invisible operation. Beyond just "no bot"—Convo is entirely invisible to other participants. No notifications, no participant list entries, no consent pop-ups from a third-party tool joining. You're simply taking notes.
Where Convo Falls Short
No CRM integration. If your workflow depends on automatic meeting notes pushed to Salesforce or HubSpot after every call, Convo doesn't do this today. Fireflies has a clear advantage here for sales teams with CRM-centric workflows.
No meeting library search. Convo doesn't build a searchable archive across hundreds of past meetings the way Fireflies does. If you need to search "what did we discuss about pricing in that call three months ago," Fireflies and Otter are better suited.
No free tier. Convo offers a 7-day free trial, but there's no permanent free plan. Fireflies gives you 800 minutes per month for free. If budget is a hard constraint, that matters.
Desktop only. Convo is a Mac and Windows desktop application. If you need a fully web-based solution or mobile support, Fireflies is more accessible.
Fireflies: Best-in-Class Meeting Documentation
Fireflies.ai is one of the most established AI meeting assistants, with deep integrations and a strong feature set for teams—especially in sales.
Where Fireflies Wins
1. CRM integration is best-in-class. Fireflies automatically pushes meeting notes, action items, and call summaries to Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, and other CRMs. For sales teams where "call happened -> notes in CRM -> follow-up triggered" is the core workflow, this eliminates manual data entry entirely. I saved 10-15 minutes per call when I connected HubSpot.
2. Conversation analytics. Talk-to-listen ratios, sentiment analysis, topic tracking—Fireflies provides data that helps sales managers coach their teams. I found it genuinely useful to discover I was talking 82% of the time in discovery calls. That insight changed how I approached sales conversations.
Fireflies' dashboard — CRM integration and conversation analytics are its strongest features
3. Generous free tier. 800 minutes of free transcription per month is enough for most individuals to use Fireflies meaningfully without paying. This makes it low-risk to try and genuinely usable for light meeting loads.
4. Team collaboration. Shared meeting libraries, collaborative notes, team workspaces—Fireflies is built for teams sharing meeting intelligence. If multiple people need access to the same call recordings and notes, Fireflies handles this well.
5. Searchable meeting library. Like Otter, Fireflies builds a searchable archive of all your meetings. Search across conversations, filter by date or participant, and find specific moments. Valuable for account managers juggling many concurrent relationships.
Where Fireflies Falls Short
The bot joins every meeting. "Fireflies.ai Notetaker" appears as a visible participant. This is the architectural trade-off—Fireflies needs to join the meeting to capture audio server-side. I've had prospects change their tone when they noticed the recording bot. Read more in my full Fireflies review.
No real-time help. Fireflies records and analyzes after the fact. When you're struggling mid-call with a tough question, Fireflies captures the struggle faithfully—it doesn't help you through it.
Cloud processing raises privacy concerns. All audio is uploaded to Fireflies' servers for processing. This has led to a class-action BIPA lawsuit filed in December 2025 and bans by universities including Cornell, Oxford, and Cambridge.
Summaries are inconsistent. In my testing, AI-generated summaries were hit-or-miss. Sometimes they captured key points perfectly. Other times, they missed important context. Action items were particularly unreliable—Fireflies often misidentified who was responsible for what.
Head-to-Head: Feature Comparison
| Feature | Convo | Fireflies |
|---|
| Meeting transcription | Yes | Yes |
| AI summaries | Yes | Yes |
| Action items | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time coaching | Yes | No |
| Real-time suggestions | Yes | No |
| Bot-free (invisible) | Yes | No |
| Local audio processing | Yes | No |
| CRM integration | No | Yes |
| Conversation analytics | No | Yes |
| Team meeting library | Basic | Advanced |
| Search across meetings | Basic | Advanced |
| Video recording | No | Yes |
Neither tool wins across the board. Fireflies dominates on documentation, search, and CRM. Convo dominates on real-time help, privacy, and invisible operation. Your workflow determines which trade-offs matter.
Head-to-Head: Pricing
| Plan | Convo | Fireflies |
|---|
| Free | 7-day trial | 800 min/month |
| Starter / Pro | $14.99/month | $10/user/month |
| Pro / Business | $37.99/month | $19/user/month |
| Annual discount | Yes (prices above are annual) | Yes |
Fireflies is cheaper at the entry level ($10/user/month vs $14.99/month). But the comparison isn't apples-to-apples—you're paying for different capabilities. Fireflies' $10 gets you transcription and CRM automation. Convo's $14.99 gets you real-time coaching and local processing. See
Convo pricing and
Fireflies pricing for full details.
Head-to-Head: Privacy and Security
| Aspect | Convo | Fireflies |
|---|
| Audio processing | Local (your device) | Cloud (Fireflies servers) |
| Bot joins meeting | No | Yes |
| SOC 2 Type II | Yes | Yes |
| GDPR compliant | Yes | Yes |
| AES-256 encryption | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA compliant | By architecture | Enterprise plan |
| Consent model | Local capture (like notes) | Third-party bot (requires disclosure) |
| BIPA lawsuits | None | Yes (December 2025) |
The architectural difference: local processing vs cloud upload determines your privacy model
This is where the architectural difference matters most. Both tools hold the same security certifications, but they handle your audio in fundamentally different ways. Convo's local processing sidesteps many of the consent and compliance issues that cloud-based recording tools face.
For anyone in healthcare, legal, finance, or operating in the 12 states requiring all-party recording consent—the architecture matters more than the certifications.
Head-to-Head: Platform Support
| Platform | Convo | Fireflies |
|---|
| Zoom | Yes | Yes |
| Google Meet | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Teams | Yes | Yes |
| Slack Huddles | Yes | Limited |
| Webex | Yes | Limited |
| Phone calls | No | No |
| Mobile | No | Yes (web) |
Convo's local audio capture gives it an edge on less-common platforms like Slack Huddles and Webex. Fireflies' web-based approach gives it an edge on mobile.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Fireflies if:
- CRM automation is critical. If your workflow is "meeting -> notes in Salesforce -> follow-up email," Fireflies does this automatically and well. Convo doesn't.
- You need conversation analytics. Talk ratios, sentiment, topic tracking—Fireflies provides coaching data that's genuinely useful for sales managers.
- Budget is tight. The 800 minutes/month free tier is generous and genuinely usable for individuals with light meeting loads.
- You need a searchable meeting archive. If "search across every meeting I've ever had" is a core need, Fireflies and Otter have stronger search.
- Visible recording is acceptable. In some contexts—internal meetings, sales calls with recording disclosures—the bot simply isn't an issue.
Choose Convo if:
- You need help during meetings, not just after. Real-time coaching, response suggestions, and context reminders while you're actively talking.
- Privacy matters. Local processing, no cloud uploads, no bot in the meeting. Critical for legal, healthcare, financial, or any sensitive conversations.
- Visible bots are a problem. Client-facing calls, relationship-building, executive meetings—situations where "Fireflies Notetaker" changes the dynamic.
- You work across many platforms. Convo's local capture works uniformly with Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack, and Webex.
- You want to perform better, not just document more. The distinction between a documentation tool and a performance tool is the core difference.
Use Both if:
You're in high-stakes sales and want the best of both worlds: Convo for real-time help during the call, Fireflies for automatic CRM updates and team analytics after. They're not mutually exclusive—they solve different problems and can run alongside each other without conflict.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Convo better than Fireflies?
It depends on what you need. Convo is better for real-time meeting help, privacy, and invisible operation. Fireflies is better for CRM automation, conversation analytics, and searchable meeting archives. They solve fundamentally different problems—choose based on your actual workflow, not feature count.
Does Fireflies join meetings as a bot?
Yes. "Fireflies.ai Notetaker" joins as a visible meeting participant. All attendees see it in the participant list and are notified that recording is active. This is how Fireflies captures audio—it's a fundamental part of its cloud-based architecture. See our full Fireflies review for details on how this affects real conversations.
Is Convo free?
Convo offers a 7-day free trial with full functionality. After that, plans start at $14.99/month (Starter, billed annually) or $37.99/month (Pro, billed annually). There is no permanent free tier. See current pricing.
Which is more private—Convo or Fireflies?
Convo processes audio locally on your device without uploading to cloud servers, and no bot joins the meeting. Fireflies uploads all audio to its cloud servers and joins meetings as a visible participant. Both hold SOC 2 Type II and GDPR certifications, but the architectural difference—local vs cloud processing—is significant for privacy-sensitive work. A class-action lawsuit was filed against Fireflies in December 2025 over biometric data collection.
Can I use both Convo and Fireflies together?
Yes. Some users run Convo for real-time coaching during calls and Fireflies for automatic CRM updates and analytics after. They don't conflict—Convo operates locally on your device while Fireflies joins as a meeting participant. If your team needs both real-time performance help and post-call documentation, using both is a viable option.
What platforms do Convo and Fireflies support?
Convo works on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack Huddles, and Webex on Mac and Windows. Fireflies works on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams with limited Slack and Webex support. Fireflies also has a web app for mobile access.
Which is cheaper—Convo or Fireflies?
Fireflies starts at $10/user/month (Pro) vs Convo's $14.99/month (Starter) on annual billing. Fireflies also has a free tier with 800 minutes/month, while Convo offers a 7-day free trial. However, the tools offer different capabilities—Fireflies' price gets you transcription and CRM sync, while Convo's price gets you real-time coaching and local processing. Compare based on value, not just cost.
Do I need a meeting assistant at all?
If you run fewer than 5 meetings per week and your conversations are routine, probably not. But if you're in sales, consulting, recruiting, or any role with frequent high-stakes conversations—and you've ever frozen on a tough question or wished you had better recall—the right tool pays for itself in the first week. The question is whether you need help during meetings (Convo) or after them (Fireflies). For a broader comparison, see our AI meeting assistant guide.
