Meetily vs Fireflies.ai: The Bot-Free Meeting Assistant Alternative
TL;DR:
- 💰 Both Fireflies and Meetily Pro cost $10/month, but take opposite approaches
- ☁️ Fireflies: cloud-based with visible bots, 90+ integrations, and mobile apps
- 🔒 Meetily Pro: local processing with invisible recording, auto-detect meetings, and complete privacy
- 🆓 Meetily also offers a free Community Edition
- ✅ Choose based on your priority: cloud integrations (Fireflies) or local privacy (Meetily)
Introduction: The Bot-Free Revolution
If you've used Fireflies.ai, you've experienced this:
That moment when your client sees the recording bot. The awkward pause. The "are we being recorded?" question. The scramble to explain your AI note-taking tool.
What if the bot simply didn't exist?
That's the promise of bot-free meeting transcription. Meetily captures your meetings invisibly—no bots, no announcements, no disruption—while giving you the same AI-powered transcription and summaries.
But there's a tradeoff: Fireflies is plug-and-play cloud convenience. Meetily requires local installation and processing. Which is right for you?
This comprehensive comparison answers that question.
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | Meetily | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free Community + $10/mo Pro + Custom Enterprise | $10-39/month (Pro to Enterprise) |
| Bot Visibility | ✗ Bot-free (invisible) | ✓ Visible bot joins |
| Auto Meeting Detection | ✓ Pro tier (hardware-level) | ✓ Calendar integration |
| Processing | 100% Local on device | Cloud-based |
| Data Storage | Local only (default) | Fireflies cloud |
| Privacy | No data leaves device | Uploaded to Fireflies servers |
| Platform | Desktop app (Win/Mac) | Web app + Mobile apps |
| Works Offline | ✓ Yes | ✗ Requires internet |
| Open Source | ✓ MIT License (8,100+ stars) | ✗ Proprietary |
| Multi-Language | ✓ 70+ languages | ✓ 69+ languages |
The Bottom Line:
- • Choose Fireflies if you want instant setup, mobile apps, and extensive integrations—and you're comfortable with cloud storage
- • Choose Meetily if you prioritize privacy, bot-free recording, local processing, or work in regulated industries (HIPAA, GDPR)
Privacy & Data Security: The #1 Differentiator
This is where the philosophical difference between the two tools becomes stark.
Fireflies.ai: Cloud-Based Processing
How it works:
- Fireflies bot joins your meeting
- Audio is streamed to Fireflies servers
- Transcription happens on Fireflies infrastructure (AWS)
- Transcript and audio are stored on Fireflies cloud
- You access via Fireflies web app
Privacy Concerns:
- Third-party processor: Your meeting data is handled by Fireflies
- HIPAA Compliance: Only available for Enterprise plan customers ($39/user/month) with signed BAA—not available for Free, Pro, or Business plans
- Cloud storage: Audio recordings and transcripts live on Fireflies servers
- US jurisdiction: Data subject to US laws (CLOUD Act, etc.)
- Data access: Fireflies employees have technical access to your data
Meetily: Local-First Privacy
How it works:
- You start recording on your device (Community Edition: manual start, Pro: automatic detection)
- Audio is captured from your system (never uploaded)
- Transcription happens on YOUR computer (Whisper or Parakeet engine)
- Transcript is saved to YOUR local storage
- Optional: Use local LLM (Ollama) for AI summaries—still no cloud
Privacy Benefits:
- Zero third parties: No data leaves your device (default configuration)
- No cloud uploads: Audio and transcripts never touch external servers
- GDPR compliant by design: Data sovereignty is guaranteed (it's on YOUR device)
- HIPAA compliant: No BAA needed because there's no third-party processor
- No data mining: Open-source code means no hidden telemetry
Who Wins?
- • Fireflies: If you trust cloud providers, want zero setup, and work in unregulated industries
- • Meetily: If you work in healthcare, legal, finance, government, or anywhere data sovereignty matters
Bot Visibility: Invisible Recording vs Visible Bots
Fireflies.ai: The Visible Bot
When you use Fireflies, it joins your meeting as a participant:
- Appears in participant list as "Fireflies Notetaker" or similar
- Shows video thumbnail (usually Fireflies logo)
- Announces "Fireflies has joined the meeting" (on some platforms)
- Can be seen by all participants
Meetily: Invisible Recording
Meetily captures your computer's system audio:
- No bot joins the meeting (other participants see only you)
- Invisible to all meeting participants
- No participant list entry, no video thumbnail
- Platform-agnostic (works with ANY meeting software)
The Tradeoff: Automation vs Invisibility
Fireflies offers automatic meeting joining: Schedule Fireflies to auto-join your calendar meetings without you clicking anything.
Meetily offers two options:
- • Pro: Automatically detects and records meetings (similar automation to Fireflies, but invisible)
- • Community Edition: Manual start/stop recording (use keyboard shortcuts for convenience)
Pricing: Free vs $10-39/Month
Fireflies.ai Pricing (2025)
Free Plan:
- 800 minutes/month (~13 hours)
- 2-hour max per meeting
- Limited storage
- No integrations
Pro Plan ($10/month):
- 8,000 minutes/month
- Unlimited transcription
- Integrations (Slack, Notion, etc.)
- Advanced search
Enterprise ($39/month):
- HIPAA compliance + BAA
- SSO/SAML
- Dedicated support
- Custom retention policies
Meetily Pricing
Free (Open Source):
- $0 forever
- Unlimited transcription minutes
- Unlimited meetings
- Core features
- No credit card required
Pro ($10/month):
- Auto-detect meetings
- Calendar integration
- Speaker identification
- Chat with meetings
- Advanced export options
Enterprise (Custom):
- Self-hosted infrastructure
- White-glove deployment
- 24/7 priority support
- Custom compliance frameworks
Cost Comparison (1 Year, Annual Billing):
- • 1 user: Fireflies Pro $120/year = Meetily Pro $120/year
- • 5 users: Fireflies $600/year = Meetily $600/year
- • 10 users: Fireflies $1,200/year = Meetily $1,200/year
Same price, but Meetily Pro keeps everything local and bot-free!
Real-World Scenarios
Scenario 1: Healthcare Practice
Dr. Smith runs a 10-physician medical practice. They conduct 500+ patient consultations per month via telehealth.
With Fireflies:
- ❌ Bot joining patient calls creates discomfort
- ❌ HIPAA requires Enterprise plan ($39/user/month) + BAA
- ❌ PHI uploaded to third-party cloud
- ❌ Cost: $4,680/year
With Meetily:
- ✓ Bot-free recording (patients don't see a bot)
- ✓ No BAA needed (no third-party processor)
- ✓ 100% local processing (PHI never leaves devices)
- ✓ Cost: Free tier available, Pro for advanced features
Winner: Meetily
Scenario 2: Remote Sales Team
Acme Corp has 50 sales reps conducting 3,000+ client calls per month.
With Fireflies:
- ✓ Automatic CRM integration (Salesforce)
- ✓ Conversation intelligence for coaching
- ✓ Manager dashboard
- ✓ Easy onboarding
- ❌ Cost: $11,400/year (50 reps × $19/month)
With Meetily:
- ✓ Bot-free recording (better client experience)
- ✓ Cost: Custom pricing for enterprise
- ❌ No CRM integration (manual export)
- ❌ No conversation intelligence metrics
- ❌ No team analytics dashboard
Winner: Fireflies (sales-specific features)
Scenario 3: Solo Consultant
Jane is a management consultant conducting 20-30 client meetings per month.
With Fireflies:
- ✓ Automatic meeting summaries
- ✓ Mobile app access
- ❌ Cost: $120/year
- ❌ Visible bot may concern clients
- ❌ Client data on third-party servers
With Meetily:
- ✓ Cost: $0 (Community) or $120/year (Pro)
- ✓ Bot-free (professional, discreet)
- ✓ Client data stays local
- ✓ Auto meeting detection (Pro tier)
- ❌ No mobile app
Winner: Depends on priorities (mobile vs privacy)
Migration Guide: Switching from Fireflies to Meetily
If you're considering switching, here's how to migrate smoothly:
Step 1: Try Meetily Pro Free Trial
- Visit meetily.ai/downloads
- Download Meetily Pro (Community Edition also available for free)
- Request a trial license through the downloads page
- Test Meetily with your actual meetings
Step 2: Export Your Data from Fireflies
- Log into Fireflies web dashboard
- Navigate to each conversation
- Click "Export" → Choose format (TXT, PDF, or DOCX)
- Download all transcripts (note: no bulk export for free users)
Step 3: Configure Meetily
- Select transcription engine (Whisper or Parakeet)
- Configure audio sources (microphone and system audio)
- Choose storage location for transcripts
- Optional: Set up AI summarization (Ollama, Claude, or GPT)
Hybrid Approach
Some users keep both:
- • Fireflies for team meetings (leverage integrations, sharing)
- • Meetily for sensitive client meetings (privacy, bot-free)
Ready to Experience Bot-Free Meeting Transcription?
Meetily Pro ($10/month):
- ✅ Auto-detect meetings
- ✅ Calendar integration
- ✅ Better AI models
- ✅ Speaker identification
- ✅ Advanced export options
Community Edition (Free Forever):
- ✅ Full transcription features
- ✅ Open source (MIT license)
- ✅ Unlimited meetings
- ✅ Bot-free recording
- ✅ Complete privacy
Need enterprise deployment with custom compliance frameworks?
Contact Enterprise Sales →About the Author
Written by the Meetily team. We built Meetily after seeing too many professionals struggle with visible bots disrupting client meetings and cloud-based tools that couldn't meet privacy requirements. Our mission: deliver AI-powered meeting intelligence without compromising discretion or data security.
Join 8,100+ developers who trust Meetily for bot-free, privacy-first meeting transcription.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Meetily and Fireflies.ai?
The main difference is bot visibility and data processing location. Fireflies joins meetings as a visible bot ('Fireflies Notetaker'), uploads audio to cloud servers for processing, and stores transcripts in the cloud. Meetily is bot-free (invisible to participants), processes everything locally on your device, and stores data only on your computer. Both cost $10/month for paid plans, but Meetily also offers a free open-source Community Edition.
Can Meetily auto-join my calendar meetings like Fireflies?
Yes! Meetily Pro includes automatic meeting detection and calendar integration. The app uses hardware-level audio detection to automatically prompt you to start recording when a meeting begins. The Community Edition requires manual start/stop via the user interface or keyboard shortcuts.
Does Meetily have a mobile app like Fireflies?
No, Meetily is currently desktop-only (Windows and macOS). Mobile apps are planned for future release. If you need mobile access now, Fireflies is the better choice. However, Meetily's desktop app offers superior privacy with local processing and bot-free recording.
Is Meetily's transcription as accurate as Fireflies?
Yes, Meetily delivers excellent transcription accuracy across 70+ languages using state-of-the-art AI models (Whisper and Parakeet engines). Both tools use advanced AI for transcription, and in real-world use, the quality is virtually identical. The key difference: Meetily processes everything locally on your device, while Fireflies uploads to the cloud.
How does Meetily record meetings without a bot?
Meetily captures system-level audio directly from your computer. When you join a meeting with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, or any other platform, Meetily records the audio output from your system and microphone input. This happens entirely on your device without joining as a meeting participant, so other attendees never see a bot. All recording, transcription, and AI processing happens locally with no cloud upload required.
Can I use Meetily for team collaboration like Fireflies?
Yes, but it depends on the tier. The Individual tier (free and open source) is local-only. For team collaboration, Meetily offers Organizations and Enterprise plans with centralized data management, admin dashboards, and shared transcript access across the team—while still maintaining local processing and privacy-first architecture.
Does Meetily integrate with CRM tools like Salesforce or HubSpot?
Meetily supports integrations through its API and export capabilities. You can export transcripts and sync them to CRM systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive via webhooks or custom integrations. However, Fireflies offers more native integrations out-of-the-box (90+ apps). Since Meetily is open-source, you can build custom integrations for your specific workflow.
What are the cost differences between Meetily and Fireflies?
Both Fireflies Pro and Meetily Pro cost approximately $10/month ($120/year with annual billing). However, Meetily also offers a completely free Community Edition (open source, unlimited features) and custom pricing for Organizations/Enterprise deployments. Fireflies requires a subscription for all users, with pricing ranging from $10-39/month depending on the plan. For teams of 20+ users, Meetily's ROI is typically achieved within 3-6 months.
Is Meetily HIPAA and GDPR compliant like Fireflies?
Yes, and Meetily's compliance is stronger. Fireflies requires an Enterprise plan ($39/month) with a signed BAA for HIPAA compliance, and GDPR compliance depends on third-party cloud processors. Meetily is compliant by design: no BAA needed for HIPAA (no third-party processor), data never leaves your device ensuring GDPR data sovereignty, and the open-source code allows security audits. This makes Meetily ideal for healthcare, legal, finance, and government use cases.
Can I record Discord, Slack huddles, or non-standard meeting platforms?
Yes! Meetily captures system audio, so it works with any platform that outputs audio through your computer: Discord, Slack huddles, WhatsApp calls, phone calls routed through desktop, podcasts, webinars, and even in-person meetings where audio is routed through your computer. Fireflies only works with integrated platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex.
Does Meetily work offline?
Yes, Meetily can work completely offline. Once installed, the transcription models run locally on your device without requiring internet connectivity. AI summaries can also run offline if you use local AI models like Llama or Mistral through Ollama. Fireflies requires internet access for all functionality since all processing happens in the cloud.
How do I switch from Fireflies to Meetily?
Switching is straightforward: 1) Export your transcripts from Fireflies (TXT, PDF, or DOCX format), 2) Download and install Meetily from https://meetily.ai/downloads, 3) Configure your audio sources and choose a transcription engine (Whisper or Parakeet), 4) Join your next meeting and start recording. Many users run both tools initially—using Fireflies for team meetings (leveraging integrations) and Meetily for sensitive client meetings (privacy and bot-free).
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