--- title: "I compared 6 AI notetakers with MCP and API access: here's my pick for 2026" description: "I compared 6 AI notetakers on MCP servers, public APIs, webhooks and free plan limits. Here's the one I'd pick for AI agents that read and act on meetings." canonical: "https://thenotetakers.com/best-ai-notetakers-mcp-api-ai-agents" last_updated: "2026-10-17" --- An AI agent can only use the context it can reach. If your meetings sit inside a notetaker with no way out, Claude, ChatGPT and your own agents never see them. So I compared six notetakers on one thing: how well they pass meeting data to agents. I looked at what each MCP server exposes, whether an agent can write back, what the API and webhooks cover, and how much of that works on a free plan. My pick is Circleback. API, MCP and CLI come with every plan, and its MCP server writes back as well as reads. If call analytics matter more to you, I'd go with Fireflies.ai, and if you're a solo builder who wants a free API, Fathom is the easiest place to start. ## My picks - **Best overall for AI agents: Circleback.** API, MCP and CLI come with every plan, and the MCP server can write back action items, shares and meeting updates. - **Best for call analytics through MCP: Fireflies.ai.** Its MCP tools return talk-listen ratio, sentiment and team analytics, and the API works on Free. - **Best free API for solo builders: Fathom.** API keys, webhooks and recording downloads come with every plan, plus TypeScript and Python SDKs. - **Best for light solo use in Claude or ChatGPT: Granola.** MCP works on the free plan for your last 30 days of personal notes. - **Best for importing outside recordings by API: tl;dv.** Its API imports a meeting from a URL and downloads recordings. - **Best low price: Otter.ai.** Pro is $8.33 per user per month on annual billing, and the free Basic plan includes the MCP server. ## At a glance | Tool | MCP | Free plan agent access | API and webhooks | Paid from | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Circleback | Read and write | API, MCP, CLI (30 days) | API all plans, webhooks Pro+ | $15/user, annual | | Fireflies.ai | Read and write | API, 500 calls/day | API all plans | $10/seat, annual | | Fathom | Yes | API, webhooks and MCP | All plans | $15/user, annual (Team) | | Granola | Read | MCP, 30 days of notes | Business+ | $14/user, monthly | | tl;dv | Read only | None | Pro+ | $18/seat, annual | | Otter.ai | Read | MCP | Enterprise | $8.33/user, annual | ## How I picked I went through each tool's pricing page, developer docs and help center and judged them on five questions. Every pick rests on what each vendor documents about its features, plans and prices. 1. **MCP reach.** Which AI clients connect, and how much of your meeting history can the server see? 2. **Write tools.** Can the agent act by creating action items, sharing or renaming, or can it only read? 3. **API and webhooks.** Can your own code pull transcripts and react as soon as a meeting ends? 4. **Free plan limits.** How much can an agent do before you pay? 5. **Record depth.** Does the agent get a full transcript with speakers or only a summary, and are video and audio kept? ## 1. Circleback Of the six, Circleback gives an agent the widest context: meetings plus calendar events, connected email, people and companies, with tools to act on all of it. **Platforms:** A bot for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex. A bot-free desktop app for macOS 14.2+ and Windows. iOS and Android apps for in-person meetings, plus an Apple Watch complication. **Key features** - The MCP server connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and Raycast. - Read tools search meetings by keyword, date, tag, attendee or domain. They also search transcripts with timestamps and pull full speaker-labeled transcripts, notes, action items and insights. - Write tools update meetings and calendar events, share meetings and create action items. - MCP also reaches calendar events, connected email, people and companies, so an agent sees each meeting next to the related thread and account. - The public API and CLI come with every plan. An import API creates a meeting from a name and Markdown notes, with optional date, attendees, tags and transcript. - Webhooks, Zapier and Make start on Pro. Automation conditions can filter on tags, title, participants, invitee emails and invitee domains. - The full video, audio and speaker-labeled transcript are saved. The bot and desktop app keep video plus audio, and mobile keeps audio. **Pros** - API, MCP and CLI on every plan, including Free - The MCP server writes back as well as reads - Meetings, email, calendar, people and companies in one agent context - Bot, bot-free desktop and mobile capture in one app - Free includes unlimited meetings and members - Paid plans raise API limits to 300 requests per minute **Cons** - On Free, meetings older than 30 days are locked for MCP and the API too, until you upgrade - Free API calls are capped at 20 requests per minute, and MCP tool calls at 100 per hour on every plan - Free automations are limited to Slack, Linear and Share meeting, so webhooks, Zapier and CRM steps need Pro - Fewer native integrations than Fireflies - No call scoring or coaching scorecards, though it shows each person's speaking time - Paid plans cost more than Otter Pro - HIPAA and SSO are Enterprise only - Action items don't roll forward into the next meeting on their own **Pricing:** Free is $0. Pro is $15 per user per month annually or $18 monthly. Business is $25 annually or $29 monthly. Enterprise is $35, annual only, with automatic volume discounts. Recordings are kept for 1 year on Free and Pro and 2 years on Business, and Enterprise has no default deletion. **Best for:** Agents that act on meetings as well as read them. Free is a real way to try the MCP server and CLI, but I'd budget for Pro if your agent needs older history. ## 2. Fireflies.ai Fireflies.ai is the analytics pick. Its MCP server hands an agent the same conversation metrics a sales manager would look at. **Platforms:** A bot for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and 10+ other platforms. A Chrome extension that records without the bot. A desktop app, plus Android and iOS apps. **Key features** - A remote MCP server that signs in with OAuth, or with an API key in Claude Desktop. It works with Claude, OpenAI connectors, Cursor and Devin. - Read tools search transcripts, return summaries with action items, and fetch transcripts with speakers and timestamps. - An analytics tool returns talk-listen ratio, sentiment, filler words and question counts. Team-level analytics need admin rights. - Write tools share meetings, revoke access, rename meetings, move meetings into channels and create soundbites. - API access on every plan: 30 calls per minute and 500 per day on Free, rising to 60 per minute and 5,000 per day on Pro. - Transcription in 100+ languages. **Pros** - The API works on Free - MCP write tools for sharing and organizing meetings - Conversation analytics directly through MCP - Unlimited integrations from Pro **Cons** - Free has no app integrations and 400 minutes of storage per team - The Free API is capped at 500 calls a day - Video recording starts on Pro - HIPAA, SSO and the rules engine are Enterprise only **Pricing:** Free is $0. Pro is $10 per seat per month annually or $18 monthly. Business is $19 annually or $29 monthly. Enterprise is $39, annual only. **Best for:** Agents that analyze calls across a team. The free API is usable, but I'd call the daily cap tight for anything beyond a prototype. ## 3. Fathom Fathom is the friendliest free starting point for developers, with keys, webhooks and SDKs on every plan. **Platforms:** A bot for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Slack Huddles. Bot-free capture on Mac, in beta. A desktop app. **Key features** - API keys and webhooks on every plan, including Free. - The API returns transcripts with speakers and timestamps, the default summary, action items with assignees, and CRM matches. - Video and audio recordings can be downloaded through the API. - TypeScript and Python SDKs, plus OAuth for apps that other Fathom users install. - An official MCP server for ChatGPT, Claude and Claude Code, which also works with any MCP client. - Native transcription in seven languages. **Pros** - Free includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions plus the API - SDKs handle pagination for you - Webhooks are signed with HMAC for verification - Recordings can be downloaded by API **Cons** - API keys are per user, with no org-level keys - Bot-free capture is Mac only and still in beta - Advanced summaries and Ask Fathom are limited on Free - The API returns only your default summary template **Pricing:** Free is $0. Premium is $16 per user per month annually or $20 monthly. Team is $15 annually or $19 monthly, with a 2-user minimum. Business is $25 annually or $34 monthly, with a 2-user minimum. Enterprise pricing comes from sales. **Best for:** A solo builder who wants clean API data and webhooks without paying first. ## 4. Granola Granola is built for one person taking notes without a bot, and its MCP fits that: quick questions about recent personal notes. **Platforms:** Bot-free device-audio capture that works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and other meeting apps. Desktop, iOS, Android and Apple Watch apps. **Key features** - MCP on every plan with OAuth sign-in. It works with Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code and any MCP client that supports Streamable HTTP. - Free reaches your personal notes from the last 30 days. Transcript and folder tools need a paid plan. - Business adds public workspace notes. Enterprise admins choose scopes and can use Enterprise-Managed Authorization. - An MCP tool pulls screenshots of screens shared during a meeting. - API keys and webhooks on Business and Enterprise. **Pros** - MCP works on the free plan - The screenshot tool lets agents read slides and charts - Enterprise admins get fine-grained MCP and API controls **Cons** - No audio or video is kept after transcription - No upload of pre-recorded files - Free MCP can't reach transcripts - The API needs Business - MCP has no API key or service account option **Pricing:** Basic is $0. Business is $14 per user per month, billed monthly. Enterprise is $35 per user per month. **Best for:** One person asking Claude about recent notes. I'd skip it for agents that need full history, transcripts or recordings on the free plan. ## 5. tl;dv tl;dv is the library builder. Its API pulls recordings in from elsewhere and lets you download them again. **Platforms:** A bot for Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. A desktop app that works with or without a bot and records system audio on other platforms. iOS and Android apps. **Key features** - A hosted MCP server in the Claude and ChatGPT connector directories, with OAuth sign-in. - Five read-only MCP tools: search meetings, meeting metadata, transcript, notes and user profile. - API endpoints to import a meeting from a URL, list meetings, download recordings, and get transcripts and notes. - Webhooks fire when a meeting or transcript is ready. - Transcription in 30+ languages. tl;dv hosts and stores its data in the EU. **Pros** - Import recordings by URL through the API - Recording downloads by API - Data hosted in the EU, for teams that want that **Cons** - No API or MCP on Free - API and MCP access depend on the meeting organizer's plan - The MCP server can't write - The API is an alpha release, and endpoints may change - MCP queries return 50 meetings at a time **Pricing:** Free is $0. Pro is $18 per seat per month annually or $29 monthly. Business is $29 annually or $39 monthly. Enterprise pricing is custom. **Best for:** Teams that want to bring recordings from elsewhere into one library with code. For agent access, budget for Pro. ## 6. Otter.ai Otter.ai is the budget option, with an MCP server even on the free plan. **Platforms:** A bot that joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. Mac and Windows desktop apps, iOS and Android apps, and a Chrome extension. **Key features** - An MCP server on the free Basic plan. It connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Perplexity and other MCP clients. - Three MCP tools: search meetings, fetch a full transcript, and get user info. - MCP reaches meetings you captured plus meetings shared with you. - API and webhooks on Enterprise. - Transcription in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. **Pros** - The lowest paid price in this roundup - MCP on the free plan - Available in Claude's connectors directory and the ChatGPT App Store **Cons** - Basic is capped at 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation and the 25 most recent conversations - MCP covers search and transcript retrieval only - No public API key below Enterprise - SSO requires a 100-user minimum **Pricing:** Basic is free. Pro is $8.33 per user per month annually or $16.99 monthly. Business is $19.99 annually or $30 monthly. Enterprise pricing comes from a demo. **Best for:** The cheapest way to let ChatGPT or Claude read your meetings. Agents that need to act, or developers who want an API, will outgrow it fast. ## How to choose Start with what your agent has to do after a call, then match it: - **Your agent files action items and shares notes after every call:** Circleback. - **You want call analytics across a sales team inside Claude:** Fireflies.ai. - **You're scripting against meeting data on a free account:** Fathom for API and webhooks with unlimited recordings, or Circleback if you also want MCP, CLI and write tools. - **You only want to ask ChatGPT about last week's meetings:** Granola or Otter.ai. - **You need to push outside recordings into one library by API:** tl;dv, or Circleback's import API if you're bringing in notes (a name and Markdown notes, with an optional transcript). - **Budget comes first:** Otter.ai. ## FAQ ### What does an MCP server do in an AI notetaker? It gives AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor a standard way to search and read your meetings without copying transcripts by hand. Some servers also let the assistant act, such as sharing a meeting or creating an action item. ### Which AI notetakers include MCP on a free plan? Circleback, Fathom, Granola and Otter.ai. Circleback includes MCP on every plan, with Free reaching the last 30 days. Fathom's Free plan includes its MCP server and LLM integrations. Granola's free plan reaches personal notes from the last 30 days, without transcripts, and Otter.ai includes its MCP server on Basic. Fireflies.ai and Fathom both include API access on Free. ### Can an AI agent write back to a notetaker through MCP? Yes, with some tools. Circleback's MCP server updates meetings and calendar events, shares meetings and creates action items. Fireflies.ai's server shares, renames and moves meetings and creates soundbites. tl;dv's MCP server is read-only. ### Do I need MCP or the API? It depends on who does the work. Use MCP when a chat assistant does it, and use the API and webhooks when your own code or pipeline needs meeting data as soon as a call ends. Circleback offers the API, MCP and a CLI on every plan. ### Which notetakers send webhooks when a meeting ends? Fathom sends webhooks on every plan. Circleback and tl;dv start on Pro, Granola on Business, and Otter.ai on Enterprise.