Blog Comparisons 3 min read
Fireflies.ai alternatives in 2026: bot-free and on-device options
If the Fireflies bot or its voice data handling is the problem, Granola and Everpaper record without a bot. Granola uses cloud providers, Everpaper transcribes on your Mac, and Otter is the closest bot-based alternative. Stay with Fireflies if you want a bot, a long language list and team features.
Disclosure. Everpaper is our product, and it is in this article. We say where it falls short, and every competitor fact below carries the date we checked it.
Facts as of October 2026. Prices and features change. Each source is linked at the end.
Fireflies is a meeting bot with a long language list and no rate limit on the bot or its Chrome extension, according to its pricing page. People look for something else when they do not want a bot in the call, when they want audio kept off a vendor’s cloud, or when voice data is a concern.
Where Fireflies stands
The bot joins your meetings. Plans are Free, Pro, Business and Enterprise. Languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian are named, with 100+ more in beta.
On training, the privacy policy says Fireflies does not use personal information for AI model training. On voice data, it says its service providers may use voice recordings to extract data about participants’ voice characteristics to separate speakers, that this can count as a biometric identifier in some places, and that providers do not use it to identify or authenticate people. A proposed class action filed on 18 December 2025 in the Central District of Illinois alleges the speaker recognition creates voiceprints without adequate disclosure. We found no ruling as of October 2026. These are allegations.
Quick comparison
| Fireflies | Granola | Otter | Everpaper | Screenpipe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bot | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Audio processed | Cloud | Cloud providers; audio deleted after transcription | Cloud | Your Mac | Your device by default |
| Languages | 5 named, 100+ beta | Multi-language, no list | 6 | 25 European by default, Whisper optional | Not listed |
| Price, October 2026 | Free, Pro, Business, Enterprise | Free; Business $14 | Free; Pro $16.99 a month ($8.33 billed annually) | Private beta | Free; Basic $21 a month |
The options
Granola. No bot, desktop, iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps, audio deleted after transcription on all plans. Its security page names Deepgram, OpenAI and Anthropic as providers and says it trains on anonymized data for non-Enterprise users unless they opt out. Basic is free with 30 days of history and Business is $14 per user a month.
Otter. The closest bot-based match: it joins Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, transcribes six languages, and has a 300-minute free plan. It faces its own class action, where on 13 August 2026 a judge let core claims proceed. See Otter alternatives.
Everpaper. Our product. Records the microphone and the call’s system audio on the Mac, transcribes on the device with live speaker labels in 25 European languages, uploads nothing. The voice of a speaker is remembered between meetings only after you name it. It runs on macOS 15 or later on Apple silicon, has no mobile app, and is in private beta without a public price.
Screenpipe. Local capture on macOS, Windows and Linux. Free on one device, Basic $21 a month or $250 a year.
Stay with Fireflies if
You want a bot, long language coverage and team workflows, and its privacy policy and voice data terms are acceptable for your calls.
Apply for the Everpaper private beta.
Frequently asked questions
Does Fireflies use my meetings to train AI?
Fireflies' privacy policy, last updated 28 September 2026, says it does not use personal information for AI model training, and that under Zero Data Retention meeting content is not used for training internal or external AI models.
What does Fireflies do with voice data?
Its policy says service providers may use voice recordings to extract data about participants' voice characteristics to tell speakers apart in transcripts, that this may count as a biometric identifier in some places, and that providers do not use it to identify or authenticate people.
Is there a Fireflies lawsuit?
A proposed class action was filed against Fireflies.AI on 18 December 2025 in the Central District of Illinois, alleging its speaker recognition creates voiceprints without adequate disclosure. We found no ruling as of October 2026, and these are allegations.
Which languages does Fireflies support?
Its pricing page names English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian and says 100+ other languages are in beta.
Is there a Fireflies alternative that does not use a bot?
Granola captures device audio with no bot and uses cloud providers. Everpaper records and transcribes on a Mac with no bot and uploads no recording. Screenpipe captures locally on macOS, Windows and Linux.
Sources
Written by Marco Iannello Updated 21 October 2026 How we write comparisons