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Updated 4 September 2026 · Independent comparison

Fireflies.ai vs Qwen:
which should you use?

Fireflies.ai and Qwen, side by side. Find the one that fits what you need to do.

Find your best fit

The 30-second answer

Fireflies.ai records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel. Qwen a capable general model you can run on your own machines, which is the usual answer when the documents cannot leave the building.

Pricing, simplified

Start free. Upgrade when you need more.

2 of 2 have a free plan 0 of 2 prices re-read automatically · how we know No paid placement

The 30-second comparison

If you only read one section, make it this one. Rows where both sides say the same thing are left out — the point is where they differ. Where each row came from is listed underneath.

Fireflies.ai and Qwen side by side, with the better fit for each row.
CategoryFireflies.aiQwenBetter fit
What it's built forRecords, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel. Useful when the record of a call matters more than the call.A capable general model you can run on your own machines, which is the usual answer when the documents cannot leave the building.Tie
Free planYes. Free forever plan: unlimited transcription, though the page marks that with an asterisk, plus limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage for the whole team and 20 AI credits, across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and others in more than 100 languagesYes. Free to use, weights downloadableTie
Cheapest way to pay$18 a month.No paid tier — it is free.Qwen
What the paid tiers cost
  • One person, from $18/month
  • Per seat, from $29/month
  • Enterprise, from $39/month
No paid tier — it is free.Tie
What to watch out forRecording colleagues and customers has consent rules that vary by country and state. Settle that before switching it on across a team. The free plan holds 400 minutes of storage for the whole team, not per person, and Pro buys storage and features rather than AI credits — it carries the same 20 a month as the free tier.Self-hosting is the point and also the work: somebody has to run it, update it and keep it available.Tie
Who it is usually forworking professionalsGeneral use.Tie
Runs on your own machineHosted service only — your material goes to their servers.Can be run on your own machine, so the material never leaves it.Qwen
Made byFireflies.ai — San Francisco, US.Alibaba Qwen — Hangzhou, CN.Tie

Qwen is ahead on 2 of the 8 rows compared, 1 of them about how well it does the job itself. It is a single row of daylight, so read Fireflies.ai’s column before deciding.

Overall pick

Qwen

A capable general model you can run on your own machines, which is the usual answer when the documents cannot leave the building.

✓ A capable general model you can run on your own machines, which is the usual answer when the documents cannot leave the building. ✓ You would rather not take on a subscription at all ✓ The material cannot leave your own machine ✓ Free to use, weights downloadable
Choose Fireflies.ai instead if…

Records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel.

Fireflies.ai is the better answer when the job is what it was built for rather than what the pick above does broadly.

✓ Records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel. ✓ You are among working professionals ✓ Useful when the record of a call matters more than the call. ✓ Free forever plan: unlimited transcription, though the page marks that with an asterisk, plus limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage for the whole team and 20 AI credits, across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and others in more than 100 languages

How we know

Every row that separated these two, and where it came from. Nothing here is a hands-on test — if a line rests on a vendor’s own pricing page, it says so and links it.

The 2 rows that decided this page, with the source for each.
RowFavoursWeightWhere it came from
Cheapest way to payQwenEverything elseFrom each vendor’s own pricing page. Dates and pages are listed below.
Runs on your own machineQwenHow well it does the jobFrom this site’s own catalogue record for each product — compiled by hand, not imported. How a product gets listed

The prices

Fireflies.ai. Read by hand off fireflies.ai on 4 September 2026. It is not on the monthly re-check, so confirm there before paying. fireflies.ai/pricing

Qwen. Read by hand off chat.qwen.ai on 4 September 2026. It is not on the monthly re-check, so confirm there before paying. chat.qwen.ai/pricing

The ratings

The category these two share. Business, Finance & Professional Work — both are listed there in the catalogue, and the fit recorded against each listing is a judgement made here, by hand.

The nine-category grid below. Derived from what each product is listed for, by one script, once per build — so the same pair always reads the same. It is a derivation, not a review.

What this is not

Neither product was run side by side to produce this page. Nobody was paid to appear on it and nothing here is ranked by commission.

To put the same question to both and read the answers yourself, run them side by side — that is a live test, and this is not.

Choose based on what you’re doing

All ten categories, including the ones where neither of these is the answer. These ratings are derived from what each product is listed for, not from running it — a rating here is a reading of the record, and the record is linked.

01

General-Purpose AI Assistants

Questions, brainstorming, explanations, everyday tasks, decision-making, general advice.

Fireflies.ai
Not a good fit
Qwen
Good fit
Best choice: Qwen
02

Search, Research & Academics

Web research, deep research, books, academic papers, citations, news, fact-checking.

Fireflies.ai
Not a good fit
Qwen
Limited fit
Best choice: Qwen
03

Writing, Communication & Language

Emails, reports, essays, editing, summarizing, translation, presentations.

Fireflies.ai
Not a good fit
Qwen
Good fit
Best choice: Qwen
04

Coding, Data & Technical Work

Programming, debugging, data analysis, spreadsheets, math, engineering, technical research.

Fireflies.ai
Bad fit
Qwen
Limited fit
Best choice: Qwen
05

Business, Finance & Professional Work

Business strategy, investing, market research, legal, sales, HR, accounting, consulting.

Fireflies.ai
Good fit
Qwen
Limited fit
Best choice: Fireflies.ai
06

Image & Design

Image generation, photo editing, logos, graphics, product design, advertising creatives.

Fireflies.ai
Bad fit
Qwen
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
07

Video

Video generation and editing, clipping, subtitles, avatars, animation and motion capture.

Fireflies.ai
Bad fit
Qwen
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
08

Audio, Voice & Music

Voice generation, transcription, music, dubbing, sound cleanup and podcast production.

Fireflies.ai
Bad fit
Qwen
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
09

Marketing & Content Creation

Social media, SEO, advertising, copywriting, content ideas, scripts, brand development.

Fireflies.ai
Not a good fit
Qwen
Limited fit
Best choice: Qwen
10

Productivity, Automation & Personal Life

AI agents, workflows, scheduling, meetings, organization, shopping, travel, personal finance.

Fireflies.ai
Not a good fit
Qwen
Limited fit
Best choice: Qwen
Pick Fireflies.ai if

Records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel.

San Francisco, US
Records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel.
You are among working professionals
Useful when the record of a call matters more than the call.
Free forever plan: unlimited transcription, though the page marks that with an asterisk, plus limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage for the whole team and 20 AI credits, across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and others in more than 100 languages
Pick Qwen if

A capable general model you can run on your own machines, which is the usual answer when the documents cannot leave the building.

by Alibaba Qwen
A capable general model you can run on your own machines, which is the usual answer when the documents cannot leave the building.
You would rather not take on a subscription at all
The material cannot leave your own machine
Free to use, weights downloadable

Pricing, simplified

The plans people actually compare, read from each vendor’s own page.

PricingSimple, up-to-date plan overview.
Fireflies.aiby Fireflies.ai
Qwenby Alibaba Qwen
Free version
Fireflies.ai
Yes — Free plan availableFree forever plan: unlimited transcription
Qwen
Yes — Free plan availableFree to use, weights downloadable
Individual plans
Fireflies.ai
Pro $18 / month$10 / month (annual)
QwenFree plan only
Business plans
Fireflies.ai
From $29 / user / monthFrom $19 / user / month (annual)
QwenNot sold to teams
Enterprise
Fireflies.ai
From $39 / user / month
QwenNot published
View full details
Fireflies.aiView Fireflies.ai pricing
QwenView Qwen pricing
Interactive

Tell us what you use AI for

Pick your main job and the verdict below changes to match. Every answer is on the page already, so this works as a reader, not a lookup.

The verdict for that job
Qwen
Close call. Both cover business, finance & professional work at the same level; both have a free plan you can start on.
8 rows compared

Frequently asked questions

Is Fireflies.ai or Qwen better?

Qwen is ahead on 2 of the 8 rows compared, 1 of them about how well it does the job itself. It is a single row of daylight, so read Fireflies.ai’s column before deciding. both have a free plan you can start on. Fireflies.ai: Records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel. Useful when the record of a call matters more than the call. Qwen: A capable general model you can run on your own machines, which is the usual answer when the documents cannot leave the building.

Is Fireflies.ai or Qwen cheaper?

Only one of the two publishes a ladder we have verified, so a like-for-like comparison is not possible yet.

Do Fireflies.ai and Qwen both have free plans?

Yes. Fireflies.ai: Free forever plan: unlimited transcription, though the page marks that with an asterisk, plus limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage for the whole team and 20 AI credits, across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and others in more than 100 languages. Qwen: Free to use, weights downloadable.

What should I watch out for?

Fireflies.ai: Recording colleagues and customers has consent rules that vary by country and state. Settle that before switching it on across a team. The free plan holds 400 minutes of storage for the whole team, not per person, and Pro buys storage and features rather than AI credits — it carries the same 20 a month as the free tier. Qwen: Self-hosting is the point and also the work: somebody has to run it, update it and keep it available.

Read more

Fireflies.ai

What it is for, who makes it, what it costs and what to use instead.

Qwen

What it is for, who makes it, what it costs and what to use instead.

Best AI for Business

Business strategy, investing, market research, legal, sales, HR, accounting, consulting.

How we compare AI tools
Every row is generated from the same record the rest of the site is built on, so this page cannot drift from what we say elsewhere. We separate winner, tie and depends rather than forcing each category into a ranking, and we drop rows where both sides say the same thing. A pick is only called an overall pick when it leads on rows about how well the tool does the job; a lead that rests on price or audience alone is labelled as one. Nothing here is a hands-on test — how we know lists the source and date behind every deciding row.