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AI meeting assistants for client meetings, compared
Most AI meeting tools are note-takers: they join the meeting and send notes afterwards. A client meeting needs something else too: help with the question you have to answer now. Here is what each tool says about itself, Indian and international.
Short answer: for team notes after every meeting, the note-takers (Otter.ai, Fireflies, Read AI, Fathom, tl;dv, Acta.ai) are built for that. For help during a client meeting without anyone joining, Meeting Sarthi is a Windows app that shows live captions and a short reply from your own project, with captions and recaps free.
Every row below was read on each tool’s own pricing page on 12 November 2026, linked in the row. We build Meeting Sarthi. Where a page did not show a price or a feature, we say so instead of repeating a figure from somewhere else. Prices change; check the tool’s page before you pay.
Indian tools
| Tool | Price (as its own page shows it) | Free plan | Joins the meeting? | Help during the meeting | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting Sarthi | Captions and recaps free; live answers 30 free minutes per computer, then ₹299 for 30 days on 2 computers, paid once | Yes: live captions, recaps, notes, documents, Prepare and practice calls | Never: nobody is invited | Live captions, and a short reply from your own project | Windows app |
| Acta.ai (own page) | Pro ₹699 a month or ₹6,299 a year in India ($8 a month or $72 a year in the US) | 15 days | Optional: its desktop app records with or without a bot; its Chrome extension uses no bot | Not described on its pricing page (notes, action items and Ask Acta) | Desktop app, Chrome extension |
International tools
| Tool | Price (as its own page shows it) | Free plan | Joins the meeting? | Help during the meeting | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting Sarthi | Captions and recaps free; live answers 30 free minutes per computer, then ₹299 for 30 days on 2 computers, paid once | Yes: live captions, recaps, notes, documents, Prepare and practice calls | Never: nobody is invited | Live captions, and a short reply from your own project | Windows app |
| Otter.ai (own page) | Pro $16.99 per user a month, or $8.33 a month billed yearly; Business from $19.99 per user a month billed yearly | Basic: 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation | Yes: “joins Zoom, MS Teams, and Google Meet to automatically write and share notes” | Live transcription and live notes for Zoom and Google Meet; AI Chat in meetings | Web, through the meeting apps |
| Fireflies.ai (own page) | Price not shown on the pricing page we could read | Yes (Free plan named) | Its Notetaker bot joins; its Chrome extension records without the bot; a desktop app is listed | “Real-time notes & live transcriptions” listed; the plan is not stated | Web, Chrome extension, desktop app |
| Read AI (own page) | Pro $15 per user a month billed yearly, $19.75 monthly | Yes: 5 live notes, reports and transcripts a month, 1-hour meetings | Yes: “Add Read Assistant to any Zoom, Teams, or Meet meeting” | An in-meeting dashboard with transcription, summaries and meeting metrics | Web, through the meeting apps |
| Fathom (own page) | Premium $20 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly | Yes: unlimited recordings and transcriptions | Your choice: a bot, or bot-free capture (in beta; the page does not say it is available on Windows) | Not described as live on its pricing page | Not stated on its pricing page |
| tl;dv (own page) | Pro €29 per seat a month, or €18 a month billed yearly | Yes (€0 plan) | Not stated on the pricing page we could read | Not stated on the pricing page we could read | Not stated on the pricing page we could read |
| Cluely (own page) | Pro $19.99 a month; a $149.99 a month plan adds hiding from meeting screen sharing | Starter: limited AI responses and notes | Not stated on its pricing page | “Meeting AI that helps during the call” | Desktop app; Windows is not mentioned on its pricing page |
Two kinds of tool
Note-takers. Otter.ai, Fireflies, Read AI, Fathom, tl;dv and Acta.ai are built to record and transcribe the meeting and give everyone notes, summaries and action items. Several join the meeting as an extra attendee, and some now also offer a way to record without one. If your team wants shared notes from every meeting, with search across them and links into other tools, they do that well, and they work in a web browser.
Help during the meeting. Meeting Sarthi is built for the moment the client asks something and you have to answer. It shows live captions, which helps when an accent is hard to follow, and a short reply from your own project: the notes and documents you confirmed. It never invents dates, names or numbers. After the meeting it drafts a recap with the to-dos for you to confirm.
Where the others are ahead
- Team features. Shared workspaces, notes sent to everyone, and links into CRMs and other tools are the core of the note-takers. Meeting Sarthi is for one person in the meeting.
- Where they run. Most work in a web browser through the meeting apps. Meeting Sarthi is a Windows app (Windows 10 version 2004 or later, or Windows 11).
- No key to set up. Meeting Sarthi uses your own free Google Gemini key; the others include their AI in the plan.
Where Meeting Sarthi is different
- It never joins the meeting. Nothing is added to the meeting, so it works in whichever meeting app the client chose.
- Help while the meeting is on: a short reply from your own project, not only notes afterwards.
- Your work stays on your computer: projects, notes, documents and transcripts.
- Paid once, if at all. Captions and recaps are free. Live answers: 30 free minutes on every computer, then ₹299 for 30 days on 2 computers, never renewing.
How to choose
- If you need notes for your whole team after every meeting, start with a note-taker’s free plan.
- If you need help answering the client during the meeting, try Meeting Sarthi’s free captions and its 30 free minutes of live answers in a practice call.
- Check your workplace’s and your client’s rules on AI tools, and ask for consent where the law requires it to record or transcribe a meeting.
Questions people ask
Which AI meeting assistant does not join the meeting?
Meeting Sarthi never joins the meeting: it is a Windows app that runs beside it. Some note-takers also offer a way to record without joining, such as Fireflies' Chrome extension, Acta.ai's Chrome extension and Fathom's bot-free capture in beta, as their own pricing pages describe on 12 November 2026.
Which AI meeting assistant helps during the meeting, not only after?
Meeting Sarthi shows live captions and a short reply from your own project while the meeting is on. Some note-takers show live transcripts or an in-meeting dashboard; check each tool's page for what it offers during the meeting.
Is there an Indian AI meeting assistant?
Meeting Sarthi is made in India and priced in rupees: captions and recaps free, live answers ₹299 for 30 days after 30 free minutes. Acta.ai shows Indian pricing on its own page: Pro ₹699 a month or ₹6,299 a year.
What does Meeting Sarthi cost?
Live captions, recaps, notes, documents, Prepare and practice calls are free. Live answers are free for the first 30 minutes on each computer, then ₹299 for 30 days in India ($29.99 elsewhere) on 2 computers, paid once and never renewing.
Help during your client meetings, not only notes after
Meeting Sarthi shows live captions and a short reply from your own project, in any meeting app. Captions and recaps are free.