Fireflies.aiFree plan
Paid from
$18 a month
View plans and limitsUpdated 4 September 2026 · Independent comparison
Fireflies.ai vs Read AI:
which should you use?
Fireflies.ai and Read AI, side by side. Find the one that fits what you need to do.
Find your best fitThe 30-second answer
Fireflies.ai records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel.
Read AI summarises meetings, email and messages together, so the follow-up lands in one place rather than three.
Pricing, simplified
Start free. Upgrade when you need more.
Read AIFree plan
Paid from
$19.75 a month
View plans and limitsThe 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.
| Category | Fireflies.ai | Read AI | Better fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it's built for | 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. | Summarises meetings, email and messages together, so the follow-up lands in one place rather than three. | Tie |
| Free plan | Yes. 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 | Yes. Free forever plan, no card required: 5 meeting transcripts a month, unlimited enterprise search, summaries across meetings, email and messaging, a personalised meeting coach, Topic Readouts, more than 20 languages and apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS | Tie |
| Cheapest way to pay | $18 a month. | $19.75 a month. | Fireflies.ai |
| What the paid tiers cost |
|
| Tie |
| What to watch out for | 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. | Reaches across a lot of surfaces at once, which is the point and also the thing to check against your own data rules. The free plan stops at five meeting transcripts a month, and the compliance features sit in Enterprise+, which takes a minimum of five licences and so starts near $150 a month. | Tie |
| Made by | Fireflies.ai — San Francisco, US. | Read AI — Seattle, US. | Tie |
Fireflies.ai is ahead on 1 of the 6 rows compared — cheapest way to pay — and it is not about how well it does the job. On fitness for the work, it and Read AI are level. Treat this as a tiebreaker, not a recommendation.
Fireflies.ai
Records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel.
✓ Records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel.
✓ You want the cheaper paid plan, $18 against $19.75
✓ 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
Summarises meetings, email and messages together, so the follow-up lands in one place rather than three.
Read AI is the better answer when the job is what it was built for rather than what the pick above does broadly.
✓ Summarises meetings, email and messages together, so the follow-up lands in one place rather than three.
✓ Free forever plan, no card required: 5 meeting transcripts a month, unlimited enterprise search, summaries across meetings, email and messaging, a personalised meeting coach, Topic Readouts, more than 20 languages and apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS
✓ It is aimed at working professionals
✓ Paid plans start at $19.75 a month
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.
| Row | Favours | Weight | Where it came from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest way to pay | Fireflies.ai | Everything else | From each vendor’s own pricing page. Dates and pages are listed below. |
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
Read AI. Read by hand off read.ai on 4 September 2026. It is not on the monthly re-check, so confirm there before paying. read.ai/plans-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 fitRead AI
Not a good fitBest choice: Neither
02
Search, Research & Academics
Web research, deep research, books, academic papers, citations, news, fact-checking.
Fireflies.ai
Not a good fitRead AI
Not a good fitBest choice: Neither
03
Writing, Communication & Language
Emails, reports, essays, editing, summarizing, translation, presentations.
Fireflies.ai
Not a good fitRead AI
Not a good fitBest choice: Neither
04
Coding, Data & Technical Work
Programming, debugging, data analysis, spreadsheets, math, engineering, technical research.
Fireflies.ai
Bad fitRead AI
Bad fitBest choice: Neither
05
Business, Finance & Professional Work
Business strategy, investing, market research, legal, sales, HR, accounting, consulting.
Fireflies.ai
Good fitRead AI
Good fitBest choice: Tie
06
Image & Design
Image generation, photo editing, logos, graphics, product design, advertising creatives.
Fireflies.ai
Bad fitRead AI
Bad fitBest choice: Neither
07
Video
Video generation and editing, clipping, subtitles, avatars, animation and motion capture.
Fireflies.ai
Bad fitRead AI
Bad fitBest choice: Neither
08
Audio, Voice & Music
Voice generation, transcription, music, dubbing, sound cleanup and podcast production.
Fireflies.ai
Bad fitRead AI
Bad fitBest choice: Neither
09
Marketing & Content Creation
Social media, SEO, advertising, copywriting, content ideas, scripts, brand development.
Fireflies.ai
Not a good fitRead AI
Not a good fitBest choice: Neither
10
Productivity, Automation & Personal Life
AI agents, workflows, scheduling, meetings, organization, shopping, travel, personal finance.
Fireflies.ai
Not a good fitRead AI
Not a good fitBest choice: Neither
Records, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel.
San Francisco, USRecords, transcribes and searches meetings, then pushes the summary into a CRM or a channel.
You want the cheaper paid plan, $18 against $19.75
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
Summarises meetings, email and messages together, so the follow-up lands in one place rather than three.
Seattle, USSummarises meetings, email and messages together, so the follow-up lands in one place rather than three.
Free forever plan, no card required: 5 meeting transcripts a month, unlimited enterprise search, summaries across meetings, email and messaging, a personalised meeting coach, Topic Readouts, more than 20 languages and apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS
It is aimed at working professionals
Paid plans start at $19.75 a month
Pricing, simplified
The plans people actually compare, read from each vendor’s own page.
PricingSimple, up-to-date plan overview.
Fireflies.aiby Fireflies.ai
Read AIby Read AIFree version
Fireflies.ai
Yes — Free plan availableFree forever plan: unlimited transcription
Read AI
Yes — Free plan availableFree forever plan, no card required: 5 meeting transcripts a month, unlimited enterprise
Individual plans
Fireflies.ai
Pro
$18 / month$10 / month (annual)
Read AI
Pro
$19.75 / month$15 / month (annual)
Business plans
Fireflies.ai
From $29 / user / monthFrom $19 / user / month (annual)
Read AINot sold to teams
Enterprise
Fireflies.ai
From $39 / user / month
Read AI
From $29.75 / user / monthFrom $22.50 / user / month (annual)Enterprise+
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
Evenly matched
Close call. Both cover business, finance & professional work at the same level; both have a free plan you can start on; Fireflies.ai is cheaper to start paying for, $18 against $19.75.
6 rows compared
Frequently asked questions
Is Fireflies.ai or Read AI better?
Fireflies.ai is ahead on 1 of the 6 rows compared — cheapest way to pay — and it is not about how well it does the job. On fitness for the work, it and Read AI are level. Treat this as a tiebreaker, not a recommendation. both have a free plan you can start on; Fireflies.ai is cheaper to start paying for, $18 against $19.75. 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. Read AI: Summarises meetings, email and messages together, so the follow-up lands in one place rather than three.
Is Fireflies.ai or Read AI cheaper?
Fireflies.ai — paid plans start at $18 a month against $19.75 a month.
Do Fireflies.ai and Read AI 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. Read AI: Free forever plan, no card required: 5 meeting transcripts a month, unlimited enterprise search, summaries across meetings, email and messaging, a personalised meeting coach, Topic Readouts, more than 20 languages and apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.
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. Read AI: Reaches across a lot of surfaces at once, which is the point and also the thing to check against your own data rules. The free plan stops at five meeting transcripts a month, and the compliance features sit in Enterprise+, which takes a minimum of five licences and so starts near $150 a month.
Read more
Fireflies.ai
What it is for, who makes it, what it costs and what to use instead.
Read AI
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.