Fireflies alternative
A Fireflies alternative that gives your own AI ears in the meeting
Parrot Scribe listens on your Mac, with no bot in the call. With Pro, it hands the live transcript to the AI app you already use. Your AI answers while the meeting is still running, with your context and your prompts.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Parrot Scribe | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|
| Your own AI app hears the meeting live | Yes Pro. Ask Claude, Codex, or Cursor to listen; it reads the local transcript as people speak. | Its cloud MCP documents a snapshot of a meeting in progress. Live help on screen comes from Fireflies’ own Live Assist. |
| Records without a meeting bot | Yes Microphone and system audio on your Mac. | Yes Desktop app or Chrome extension. Otherwise the Fireflies.ai Notetaker joins as a participant. |
| Keeps the recording with no bot in the call | Yes Play back, split, and export WAV. | No Bot-free capture saves no audio or video file. Recordings need the Notetaker. |
| Speaker names with no bot in the call | Yes Optional. Voice profiles you save name people in later sessions. | No Bot-free capture shows Speaker 1, Speaker 2. |
| On-device transcription | Yes | No Fireflies cloud. |
| Transcripts stored on your Mac | Yes Encrypted local library. | No Fireflies cloud, in the US by default. |
| AI built into the app | No Your own AI app reads the library through MCP and writes the notes. Pro. | Yes Summaries, AskFred, and Live Assist suggestions during the call. |
| MCP | Yes Local. Live transcript during the call, plus past sessions. Pro. No app has access until you connect it. | Yes Cloud, over OAuth. Rate limits vary by plan. |
| Shared team workspace | No | Yes |
| Account required | No Free personal use needs no account or license key. | Yes |
| Runs beyond the Mac | No Apple Silicon, macOS 15+. | Yes Web, Windows, iOS, Android, and a Chrome extension. |
| Price | Free personal. Pro $9.99/month, $59.99/year, or $199 lifetime. Up to 5 devices. | Free plan. Pro $10 and Business $19 per seat per month, billed annually. Enterprise on annual billing. |
Choose Parrot Scribe if
You want the AI app you already use, such as Claude, Codex, or Cursor, to hear the call as it happens and give the answer, while transcription and the encrypted library stay on your Mac.
Choose Fireflies if
You want the AI inside the notetaker: summaries written in the Fireflies cloud, shared with your team, on Windows, the web, or a phone as well as the Mac.
Current prices
Parrot Scribe: Free personal use; Pro Monthly $9.99/month excl. VAT; Pro Annual $59.99/year excl. VAT; Pro Lifetime $199 one-time; up to 5 devices. Fireflies, checked 2026-11-01: Free $0; Pro $10 per seat per month billed annually or $18 monthly; Business $19 per seat per month billed annually or $29 monthly; Enterprise billed annually only.
FAQ
Why use Parrot Scribe instead of Fireflies?
Choose Fireflies when you want a notetaker that writes summaries with its own AI and shares them with your team. Choose Parrot Scribe when you want the AI app you already use, such as Claude, Codex, or Cursor, to hear the meeting as it happens and answer with your context, prompts, and tools, while transcription runs on your Mac.
Does either app join the call as a bot?
Parrot Scribe never joins. It captures your microphone and the Mac’s system audio, so nothing appears in the participant list. Fireflies can record without a bot through its desktop app or Chrome extension, but that mode saves no audio or video file and labels people as Speaker 1 and Speaker 2. For the recording and speaker names, the Fireflies.ai Notetaker joins the call as a visible participant.
Can my own AI follow the meeting live?
With Parrot Scribe Pro, yes. Ask your agent to listen, and it reads the transcript from the local MCP server as people speak, so it can answer questions, flag contradictions, or draft a follow-up before the call ends. Fireflies offers Live Assist inside its own app, and its MCP documents a snapshot of a meeting in progress.
Does Parrot Scribe write meeting notes like Fireflies?
Not by itself, and that is the design. Parrot Scribe is the ears: it builds the transcript, live and in a searchable library. The AI app you connect with Pro writes the notes, with the model and prompts you choose.
What does each product cost?
Fireflies has a Free plan, then Pro at $10 per seat per month billed annually ($18 monthly), Business at $19 per seat per month billed annually ($29 monthly), and Enterprise on annual billing. Parrot Scribe is free for personal use, then Pro Monthly at $9.99/month excl. VAT, Pro Annual at $59.99/year excl. VAT, or Pro Lifetime at $199 one-time, on up to 5 devices.