The best Fireflies alternative for Mac in 2026

MeetKeep is the Fireflies alternative for people who don’t want a bot in the participant list. Fireflies joins calls by default, and its bot-free desktop capture requires Pro. MeetKeep never joins anything and transcribes on your Mac for $39 once. Credit where due: Fireflies’ policy states your content is never used for model training — but the audio still goes to the cloud.

Facts verified on 2026-08-26

Why people go looking for an alternative

A bot joins by defaultFred the notetaker appears in the participant list. Clients notice, and some meetings simply can’t have a visible recorder in them.

Bot-free capture is a paid upgradeRecording without the bot needs the desktop app on Pro or above — the thing you’re trying to avoid is behind the $120/year plan.

Audio still lives in the cloudTranscription, search and workflows all run on Fireflies’ servers. Its no-training commitment is genuinely firm — the trade-off is where the audio goes, not what happens to it there.

What changes when you switch

Full comparison: MeetKeep vs Fireflies →

Fireflies.ai

MeetKeep

Bot in the call

Joins by default

Never joins

Bot-free capture

Desktop app, Pro and above

The only mode — included

Where audio is transcribed

Fireflies’ cloud

On this Mac — works offline

Price

$120/year, and it keeps going

$39 one-time, updates included

Chinese meetings

Cloud engines

On-device zh + en models

Notes out

CRM & workflow integrations

Markdown, TXT, audio — plus MCP for agents

Where Fireflies still wins: notes wired into a CRM and team workflows (its home turf), phone apps and Windows, an unlimited-transcription free tier, and an explicit “never used for model training” commitment. If your notes live in a CRM, stay put.

Other Fireflies alternatives worth a look

GranolaNo bot either — transcription still happens in the cloud via Deepgram / AssemblyAI, $14/month.MeetKeep vs Granola →FathomThe most generous free tier of any cloud notetaker, with bot-free capture in beta on Mac.MeetKeep vs Fathom →MacWhisperAlso local and one-time. A transcription tool rather than a meeting library — no auto-record, no voiceprints.MeetKeep vs MacWhisper →

Questions people ask

Is there a Fireflies alternative without the bot?

Yes. MeetKeep records from your Mac’s audio, so nothing ever appears in the participant list — on Zoom, Teams, Meet or anywhere else. There is no bot mode to configure or upgrade away from.

Fireflies promises not to train on my data. Isn’t that enough?

It’s a genuinely strong commitment, and worth crediting. But it governs what happens to audio after it reaches their servers. MeetKeep removes the question: transcription runs on your Mac, so there is nothing on anyone’s servers to make promises about.

No bot. No upload. No subscription.

Download MeetKeep7-day full trial · no account, no card · $39 once · 14-day refund