--- title: "AI Note Taker Without a Bot: Free Mac Options (2026) — Mumr" description: "Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, tl;dv and Read.ai default to a bot but now record without one on a Mac. Compared, with a free option that transcribes on your Mac." canonical: "https://mumr.app/ai-note-taker-without-bot" language: "en-GB" last-updated: "2026-10-09T17:59:00+01:00" source: "https://mumr.app — Markdown rendition of the HTML page at `canonical`" --- Comparison · Updated October 2026 # AI note takers without a bot: what works on a Mac in 2026 For years, an AI note taker meant a bot that joined the call as an extra participant. That has changed. On a Mac, almost every major note taker can now record from your own computer instead, so "no bot" on its own no longer narrows the field much. What still separates them is the default, what the free plan includes, and where your audio is turned into text. Last updated: 9 October 2026 · By Mumr Short version - **Bot by default, bot-free on request:** Otter, Fireflies, tl;dv and Read.ai. Each has a Mac desktop app that records without a bot. - **Your choice per meeting:** Fathom, whose bot-free mode is a Mac-only beta. - **Never a bot:** Granola and Mumr. - **Transcribed in the vendor's cloud:** all of the above except Mumr, which transcribes on your Mac, free, with no account and no minute cap. ## Why people want a note taker without a bot - **It is a participant you didn't invite.** A bot named after you appears in the list, and other people ask who it is — or remove it. - **Hosts and IT block them.** Some organisations keep bots out of their meetings by policy, so the bot never gets in. - **Meetings you don't host.** As a guest, the bot's arrival is the host's problem to explain, not yours. Bot-free capture avoids all three by recording the audio your Mac plays, plus your microphone. It needs the macOS screen-recording permission (that is what grants system audio), and macOS shows its own recording indicator while it runs. ## Bot-free note takers on a Mac, compared | Tool | By default | Without a bot on Mac | Where it transcribes | Free plan | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Otter | Bot joins from your calendar | Desktop app, "Botless Recording" | Otter's cloud | 300 min a month, 30 per conversation | | Fireflies | Bot | Desktop app (launched Nov 2025); free-plan access unclear | Fireflies' cloud | Transcription with limits; limited AI summaries | | Fathom | Your choice per meeting | Beta, Mac only | Fathom's cloud | Unlimited recordings and summaries | | tl;dv | Bot | Desktop app, audio only | tl;dv's cloud | Unlimited recordings; full AI notes for the first 10 meetings | | Read.ai | Bot | Desktop app, audio only, works on the free plan | Read.ai's cloud | 5 meetings a month | | Granola | No bot, ever | Always | Cloud providers (Deepgram, AssemblyAI) | AI notes, 30 days of history | | Mumr | No bot, ever | Always | On your Mac | Free — no account, no minute cap | Sources, all checked on 9 October 2026: Otter [botless recording](https://help.otter.ai/hc/en-us/articles/35973988280215) and [Basic plan](https://help.otter.ai/hc/en-us/articles/360047538094); Fireflies [desktop app](https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/6666374717-how-to-record-meetings-without-a-bot-on-the-fireflies-desktop-app) and [pricing](https://fireflies.ai/pricing); Fathom [pricing](https://www.fathom.ai/pricing) and [bot-free capture](https://help.fathom.video/en/articles/296576); tl;dv [bot-free recording](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/14433337-bot-free-recording) and [free plan](https://intercom.help/tldv/en/articles/8919450-what-are-the-limits-of-the-free-plan); Read.ai [desktop recording](https://support.read.ai/hc/en-us/articles/45911611006995) and [pricing](https://www.read.ai/pricing); Granola [security](https://www.granola.ai/security) and [pricing](https://www.granola.ai/pricing). Vendors change these often; if their page disagrees with this table, the vendor is right. Paid prices are tracked in [note-taker pricing, tracked](https://mumr.app/research/meeting-notes-app-pricing-mac). ## Bot-free is not the same as private Recording without a bot changes what appears in the meeting. It doesn't decide where the recording goes next. Every tool in the table except Mumr sends the audio to a cloud service to be transcribed — Granola, for example, passes audio to its transcription providers during the meeting and says it does not keep the recording afterwards. That can be perfectly acceptable. It is just a different promise from "it never left my Mac". Mumr's capture and transcription stay on your Mac. The summary is the one step that can leave it, and only if you point it at an AI account of your own; the default summary runs on the Mac too. ## Where Mumr fits — and where the others win **Mumr is the right pick if** you want a free note taker with no account and no minute cap, transcription that happens on your own machine, and the freedom to choose which AI writes the summary — or none. It works with any app that plays sound and with meetings in a room, and transcribes 25 European languages out of the box. **Another tool fits better if** you need Windows or a phone app, team workspaces and CRM integrations, or video of the call: Mumr records audio only, runs on macOS 15 or later, and its interface is in English. Granola's phone apps and Fathom's unlimited free cloud plan are genuine strengths, and the [Granola comparison](https://mumr.app/compare/granola-alternative) goes through that trade-off in detail. ## Bot-free still means telling people A bot at least announces itself. Without one, announcing is your job. Say that you are recording at the start and get a yes; in some places that is the law, everywhere it is manners. The [guide to recording a meeting on a Mac](https://mumr.app/record-meeting-mac) covers the US all-party-consent states. ## Take notes without a bot, free Mumr records the call's audio and your mic, transcribes on your Mac, and writes the summary. No bot, no account, no minute cap. [Get Mumr free](https://mumr.app/download) Free on the Mac App Store · macOS 15 or later ## FAQ ### Which AI note takers work without a bot? On a Mac, nearly all of them now. Otter, Fireflies, tl;dv and Read.ai send a bot by default but also have desktop apps that record without one; Fathom offers bot-free capture as a Mac beta; Granola and Mumr never use a bot. ### Is there a free AI note taker without a bot? Yes. Mumr is free with no account and no minute cap, and transcribes on your Mac. Fathom's free plan includes its bot-free Mac beta, Read.ai's desktop app works on its free plan of five meetings a month, and Granola's free plan keeps 30 days of history. ### Does bot-free mean nobody knows I am recording? No, and it shouldn't. Bot-free changes what appears in the participant list, not your duty to tell people. Say that you are recording at the start and get a yes. ### Do bot-free note takers still upload my audio? Most do: Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, tl;dv, Read.ai and Granola transcribe in their cloud even when they record without a bot. Mumr transcribes on your Mac; only a summary you choose to run on your own AI account leaves it.