Direct answer: for the same 30-person team, each person in 12 meetings a month at 45 minutes each (540 minutes per person per month), monthly billing gives about USD 420/month on Granola Business, USD 540/month on Fireflies Pro, and an Enterprise quote from Otter (Pro is capped at 5 billed users and Business at 25, so 30 users cannot buy either self-serve). On annual billing: Fireflies Pro is about USD 300/month, Granola Business about USD 420, and Otter still needs Enterprise. But Fireflies’ AI credits are a team pool that does not scale with seats: adding 1,000 credits at the annual rate is about USD 72/month, taking the total to about USD 372; adding 2,500 credits (about USD 160/month) takes it to about USD 460, above Granola. At five users the answer flips: annual Otter Pro is about USD 41.65/month, while monthly Granola Business is about USD 70. The point is not “who is cheapest” but seats, meeting minutes, AI usage and billing cycle.
This guide is for SMB admin, sales, IT and procurement teams standardising meeting notes, sales reviews, customer interviews and training records. Data cut-off: 3 November 2026; prices come from the official Otter, Fireflies and Granola pricing pages and help centres, in USD, excluding tax, with no FX conversion. The models are editorial calculations, not quotes; meeting length, participant count and AI feature usage must be replaced with your own data.
Check the seat cap before the unit price; check minutes, storage and AI allowance before “unlimited”; and calculate monthly and annual billing separately — changing any one assumption flips the ranking.
Seats, minutes and AI credits: how do the three billing models differ?
Otter bills seats plus monthly transcription minutes per person: Pro includes 1,200 minutes/person and Business is unlimited but capped at 25 seats. Fireflies bills seats plus storage and AI credits: transcription is unlimited, but Pro has 8,000 minutes/seat of storage and the 20/30/50 AI credits are a team pool. Granola bills seats plus history: Business has unlimited notes and no minutes or credits. All three record meetings, but they meter different things.
| Platform | Billing unit | How 30 users at 540 minutes/person/month are counted | Most common trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter | Seat + monthly minutes per person | Pro’s 1,200 minutes/person would fit, but Pro is capped at 5 seats; 30 users need Enterprise | Business is capped at 25 seats; minutes do not roll over; meeting and import minutes share a pool |
| Fireflies | Seat + storage + AI credits | Pro transcription is unlimited; 30 seats annual about USD 300; storage 8,000 minutes/seat | AI credits are a team pool and do not grow with seats; default-on AI features consume them |
| Granola | Seat + history | Business 30 seats about USD 420; no minutes or credits | No meeting bot; captures device audio; Basic keeps only 30 days of history |
Sources: Otter Pricing and Basic-plan limits help page, Fireflies Pricing and AI Credits help page, Granola Pricing (all accessed 3 November 2026). USD, excluding tax.
All three start with “per person”, but they diverge: Otter’s minutes are a hard cap, Fireflies’ transcription is unlimited while storage and AI features are capped, and Granola does not meter minutes at all, only history. A “USD X per user per month” without meeting minutes, AI usage and retention requirements is not comparable.
What are the official 2026 list prices?
Otter Basic is free with 300 minutes/user; Pro is USD 16.99/month (USD 8.33 annual) with 1,200 minutes/user; Business is USD 30/month (USD 19.99 annual) with unlimited meetings but at most 25 seats. Fireflies Pro is USD 18/seat/month (USD 10 annual), Business USD 29 (USD 19 annual), Enterprise USD 39 annual only. Granola Basic is free, Business USD 14/user/month, Enterprise USD 35.
| Platform | Plan | Monthly | Annual effective | Seats / usage | Key limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter | Basic | USD 0 | — | 300 minutes/user/month | 30 minutes/meeting; 3 lifetime imports; 5 workspace members |
| Otter | Pro | USD 16.99/user | USD 8.33/user | 1,200 minutes/user/month | 90 minutes/meeting; 10 imports/month; max 5 billed users |
| Otter | Business | USD 30/user | USD 19.99/user | Unlimited meetings/recordings | 4 hours/meeting; 3 concurrent; max 25 billed users |
| Otter | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Unlimited | SSO/SCIM, HIPAA add-on, API |
| Fireflies | Free | USD 0 | — | Unlimited transcription* | 400 minutes/team storage; 20 AI credits; 2 hours/meeting |
| Fireflies | Pro | USD 18/seat | USD 10/seat | Unlimited transcription; 8,000 minutes/seat storage | 20 AI credits team pool; 2 hours/meeting |
| Fireflies | Business | USD 29/seat | USD 19/seat | Unlimited transcription; unlimited storage | 30 AI credits team pool; 3 hours/meeting; team analytics |
| Fireflies | Enterprise | — | USD 39/seat annual only | Unlimited transcription; unlimited storage | 50 AI credits; 4 hours/meeting; SSO/SCIM, HIPAA |
| Granola | Basic | USD 0 | — | AI notes/chat | 30-day history; limited meeting history |
| Granola | Business | USD 14/user | No annual discount shown | Unlimited notes/history | Central billing, integrations, MCP, API |
| Granola | Enterprise | USD 35/user | No annual discount shown | Unlimited notes/history | SSO (50+ users), HIPAA, SCIM, audit API |
Sources: Otter Pricing, Fireflies Pricing, Granola Pricing (all accessed 3 November 2026). Otter’s 1,200 minutes is a shared monthly pool across meeting recordings and imported files, not 1,200 for each; Otter and Fireflies minutes/storage do not roll over; Fireflies’ “unlimited transcription” is still subject to the per-meeting cap, storage limit and API/bulk-upload rate limits; Granola shows no annual discount, so the list price is used.
What does a 30-person team pay per month?
Monthly billing: Granola USD 420, Fireflies USD 540, Otter Enterprise. Annual: Fireflies USD 300, Granola USD 420, Otter Enterprise. Fireflies’ AI credits at 1,000 credits annual add about USD 72/month for a total of about USD 372; at 2,500 credits (about USD 160/month) the total is about USD 460, above Granola.
Write the assumptions down first, or the comparison cannot be reproduced:
- 30 users, each in 12 meetings a month at 45 minutes = 540 minutes/user/month.
- Meeting transcription plus AI notes only; no API, no extra storage pack, excluding tax.
- Otter at Pro/Business annual pricing; Fireflies at Pro annual; Granola at the Business list price.
- AI credits use Fireflies’ official 1,000/2,500 annual tiers; actual usage is charged dynamically per query.
| Platform / plan | 30-user monthly fee | Does 540 minutes/user fit? | Key constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter Pro | Cannot buy (max 5 seats) | 1,200 minutes fits | Seat cap blocks it first |
| Otter Business | Cannot buy (max 25 seats) | Unlimited meetings | 30 users need an Enterprise quote |
| Fireflies Pro (annual) | 300 | Unlimited transcription; storage 540×12=6,480 < 8,000/seat | AI credits team pool is extra |
| Fireflies Pro (monthly) | 540 | Same | Same |
| Granola Business | 420 | Unlimited notes/history | No bot; device audio |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. Otter’s 30-user Business fee extrapolates to about USD 599.70/month, but the self-serve tier is capped at 25 seats and cannot be bought; the table says “cannot buy” instead of quoting an unavailable price. Fireflies storage assumes 540 minutes/month × 12 months; Granola shows no annual discount.
Unpack the formulas: Fireflies annual 30×10=USD 300, monthly 30×18=USD 540; Granola 30×14=USD 420; Otter Pro has the lowest per-seat price, but the 5/25 seat caps force a 30-person team into Enterprise. The most overlooked issue is not the unit price but whether you can actually buy that price at your seat count.
Do seat caps change the ranking at 5, 25, 30 or 50 users?
Yes. At 5 users annual, Otter Pro is lowest at USD 41.65; at 5 users monthly, Granola is lowest at USD 70. At 25 users annual, Fireflies is lowest at USD 250; monthly, Granola at USD 350. At 30 users annual, Fireflies is USD 300 and monthly Granola USD 420, while Otter needs Enterprise. At 50 users annual, Fireflies is USD 500; monthly Granola is USD 700.
| Team size | Otter (monthly/annual) | Fireflies Pro (monthly/annual) | Granola Business (monthly) | Lowest (monthly/annual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 84.95 / 41.65 (Pro) | 90 / 50 | 70 | Granola / Otter |
| 25 | 750 / 499.75 (Business) | 450 / 250 | 350 | Granola / Fireflies |
| 30 | Enterprise / Enterprise | 540 / 300 | 420 | Granola / Fireflies |
| 50 | Enterprise / Enterprise | 900 / 500 | 700 | Granola / Fireflies |
USD/month, excluding tax, Fireflies AI credits add-ons and Otter Enterprise quotes. Otter Pro is capped at 5 billed users and Business at 25; Fireflies and Granola publish no self-serve seat cap. Granola has no annual discount, so monthly equals the annual list.
Two conclusions: monthly and annual billing have different winners — Granola has no annual discount, while Otter and Fireflies save 33–51% annually, so Granola is cheapest monthly for small teams and Otter/Fireflies are cheaper annually. Second, Otter’s seat cap is a hard constraint — a 30-person team cannot multiply Business at USD 19.99 by 30; it needs Enterprise. If a vendor quotes a per-seat price, ask “how many people can this tier actually hold?”
Minutes, meeting length and storage: which “unlimited” has limits?
Otter Pro includes 1,200 minutes/user/month and 90 minutes/meeting; Business is unlimited with 4 hours/meeting. Fireflies transcription is unlimited, but meetings are capped at 2/3/4 hours and Pro stores 8,000 minutes/seat. Granola has no minute cap, but Basic keeps only 30 days of history. Longer meetings and longer retention push teams from Pro to Business.
| Platform / plan | Monthly transcription allowance | Per-meeting cap | Storage / history | When exceeded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter Basic | 300 minutes/user | 30 minutes | 25 most recent conversations | Cannot record/import until next month |
| Otter Pro | 1,200 minutes/user (meetings + imports shared) | 90 minutes | Unlimited storage/history | No rollover; overage handling per product prompt |
| Otter Business | Unlimited meetings/recordings | 4 hours | Unlimited storage/history | 3 concurrent; imports 6,000 minutes/user |
| Fireflies Free | Unlimited transcription* | 2 hours | 400 minutes/team | Storage-full behaviour per product docs |
| Fireflies Pro | Unlimited transcription* | 2 hours | 8,000 minutes/seat | Storage full: Business or cleanup |
| Fireflies Business | Unlimited transcription* | 3 hours | Unlimited storage | API rate limits separate |
| Fireflies Enterprise | Unlimited transcription* | 4 hours | Unlimited storage | API 60/min/seat, up to 2,400/min |
| Granola Basic | No minute cap | Device audio, no bot | 30-day history | History expires |
| Granola Business | No minute cap | Device audio, no bot | Unlimited history | — |
Sources: Otter Pricing and Basic-plan limits help page, Fireflies Pricing, Granola Pricing (all accessed 3 November 2026). Otter’s unlimited storage applies to Pro and above; Fireflies’ “unlimited transcription” is still subject to the per-meeting cap, storage limit and API/bulk-upload rate limits; Granola does not send a bot and captures device audio.
At 540 minutes/user/month, all three Pro/Business tiers fit. If meeting time doubles to 1,200 minutes/user/month, Otter Pro is exactly full with no headroom, Fireflies Pro’s 8,000-minute storage fills in about 6.7 months, and Granola still has no minute cap. That is when “unlimited transcription” and “8,000-minute storage” diverge: Fireflies’ bottleneck is retention, not transcription. Fireflies’ page does not say whether the 8,000-minute storage resets monthly; this article treats it as cumulative — confirm before signing.
Do AI credits eat Fireflies’ price advantage?
Fireflies’ 20/30/50 AI credits are a team pool, not per user per month, and do not grow with seats. Daily Digest and Meeting Prep are on by default and consume credits. When they run out, Fireflies auto-subscribes to the lowest tier at USD 5/50 credits; 1,000 credits annual is USD 72/month, 2,500 credits is USD 160/month. For 30 users on annual Pro, the base is USD 300; 1,000 credits takes it to about USD 372, 2,500 to about USD 460 — above Granola’s USD 420.
| Item | Otter | Fireflies | Granola |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI allowance | AI Chat 50 queries/user/month (Pro), 200/user (Business) | 20/30/50 AI credits, team pool, one-time | AI notes/chat; Business unlimited history |
| Default consumption | Per query; stops when the quota is used | Daily Digest and Meeting Prep are on by default and consume credits; Tasks is free | No published query cap |
| Top-up | No separate add-on listed; check in-product | USD 5/50, 20/200, 90/1,000, 200/2,500 (monthly; annual 20% lower) | No credits concept |
| Auto-charge risk | Low (quota-based) | Auto-subscribes to USD 5/50 credits when exhausted; auto-upgrade can be paused | None |
Sources: Fireflies “AI Credits Pricing and Overview” (accessed 3 November 2026; last updated about 17 days ago), Otter Pricing, Granola Pricing. Fireflies charges credits dynamically per query and does not publish the credits per query; the amounts are official top-up tiers, not usage estimates.
Breaking out the 30-user annual case: Fireflies Pro base USD 300; if the team needs 1,000 AI credits a month at the annual rate of USD 72, the total is 372, still below Granola’s 420; at 2,500 credits and USD 160, the total is 460, above Granola. The break-even sits between 1,000 and 2,500 credits and depends on how often the team uses AskFred, AI Skills and sales assist. “Unlimited transcription” does not mean “unlimited AI” — this is Fireflies’ most underestimated line.
Which option fits which scenario?
Up to five users annual: Otter Pro; monthly: Granola Business. 25 users annual: Fireflies Pro; monthly: Granola. 30+ users annual: Fireflies Pro (watch AI credits); monthly: Granola. For SSO/HIPAA: Granola Enterprise, Fireflies Enterprise or Otter Enterprise. For a meeting bot and recording playback: Otter or Fireflies; Granola is device audio.
| Scenario | First choice | Why | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 5 users, annual | Otter Pro | USD 41.65/month with 1,200 minutes/user | Max 5 billed users — exactly at the cap |
| Up to 5 users, monthly | Granola Business | USD 70/month, no minute cap | No bot; device audio |
| 25 users, annual | Fireflies Pro | USD 250/month, unlimited transcription | AI credits team pool; 8,000 minutes/seat storage |
| 25 users, monthly | Granola Business | USD 350/month, unlimited history | No annual discount |
| 30–50 users, annual | Fireflies Pro | No published seat cap, USD 300–500/month | AI credits can lift the total |
| SSO/HIPAA required | Granola Enterprise / Fireflies Enterprise / Otter Enterprise | Compliance lives in Enterprise | Granola SSO requires 50+ users |
| Meeting bot/recording playback | Otter / Fireflies | Join Zoom/Meet/Teams | Granola does not send a bot |
“First choice” is an editorial judgement, not a vendor recommendation; the final decision depends on the meeting platform, recording compliance, data boundary, AI usage and existing CRM/document tools.
What should procurement and acceptance specify?
At least eight things: seat definition and cap, monthly versus annual price, monthly minutes and per-meeting cap, storage/history retention, AI feature allowance and overage/auto-renewal, bot versus device audio, SSO/HIPAA/data region, and the POC’s real meeting minutes and AI usage.
| Acceptance item | Ask the vendor | Evidence to obtain |
|---|---|---|
| Seats | Who counts as a billed user? Do guests/reviewers count? What is the tier’s maximum? | Plan comparison plus written seat definition |
| Billing cycle | What is the monthly/annual difference? Can seats be added or removed mid-term? | Quote plus contract terms |
| Minutes | Are meeting and import minutes shared? Do they roll over? Does exceeding stop service or allow top-up? | Help-centre terms plus POC invoice |
| Meeting/storage | Maximum meeting length? Is storage cumulative or monthly? What happens when full? | Product docs plus storage screenshot |
| AI features | Which features are on by default and consume credits? How many credits per query? Is auto-renewal on? | AI credits help page plus invoice |
| Recording method | Bot or device audio? Does it cover external and in-person meetings? | Demo plus compatibility list |
| Compliance | SSO, HIPAA, data region, recording notice/consent, deletion mechanism? | DPA, security page, consent template |
| POC | Two weeks, five real users, ten meetings: record minutes, AI queries, storage and human cleanup time. | POC log plus reconciliation |
This is a procurement checklist, not any vendor’s contract terms; prices and features are governed by the official quote and contract at signing.
FAQ
What does a 30-person team pay per month?
Monthly: Granola Business about USD 420, Fireflies Pro about USD 540, and Otter needs an Enterprise quote because Business is capped at 25 seats. Annual: Fireflies Pro about USD 300, Granola about USD 420, and Otter still needs Enterprise. Fireflies AI credits at 1,000 take the annual total to about USD 372; at 2,500 to about USD 460.
Why does monthly versus annual change the answer?
Because the discounts differ. Otter saves about 51% annually (Pro USD 8.33 vs 16.99), Fireflies about 44% (Pro USD 10 vs 18), and Granola shows no annual discount (Business USD 14 at list). So at five users monthly, Granola is lowest at USD 70; annually, Otter is lowest at USD 41.65. At 25/30 users annual, Fireflies is lowest; monthly, Granola is lowest.
Why can’t a 30-person team just buy Otter Business?
Otter’s plan comparison says Pro is capped at 5 billed users and Business at 25; 30 users exceed the self-serve cap and require an Enterprise quote. Do not treat USD 19.99 × 30 = 599.70 as a purchasable price — that tier cannot hold 30 seats.
Is Fireflies’ unlimited transcription really unlimited?
Transcription itself is not metered, but there are boundaries: meetings are capped at 2/3/4 hours (Pro/Business/Enterprise), Pro stores 8,000 minutes/seat and Free stores 400 minutes/team; API, dialers and bulk uploads have rate limits. What happens when storage fills (auto-cleanup or stop) depends on the product docs — confirm before signing.
What are AI credits, and why only 20/30/50 for the team?
Fireflies AI credits cover AI features beyond transcription: AskFred, AI Skills, custom summary sections, sales assist, Voice Agents and more; transcription is not charged in credits. Plan credits are one-time, team-pooled and do not increase with seats; when exhausted, Fireflies auto-subscribes to the lowest tier at USD 5/50 credits. Daily Digest and Meeting Prep are on by default and consume credits; Tasks is free, and templates and summary reprocessing do not consume credits.
Why does Granola have no minute limit?
Granola does not send a bot into the meeting; it captures device audio and charges per seat. Business includes unlimited notes and history, so there is no “transcription minute” meter. The trade-off is that it does not join Zoom/Meet/Teams as a bot or provide bot-based recording playback; confirm the scenario fits before choosing it.
What if meetings exceed 90 minutes or 2 hours?
Otter Pro caps a meeting at 90 minutes and Business at 4 hours; Fireflies Pro is 2 hours, Business 3 hours and Enterprise 4 hours; Granola has no per-meeting minute cap (device audio). If long meetings are common, Otter Pro/Fireflies Pro will truncate or require an upgrade — make “longest meeting” a hard requirement.
How should SSO/HIPAA buyers choose?
Otter Enterprise offers SSO/SCIM, a HIPAA add-on and API; Fireflies Enterprise offers SSO/SCIM, audit logs, HIPAA and private storage; Granola Enterprise offers SSO (50+ users), HIPAA, SCIM and an audit API. Compliance lives in Enterprise on all three; do not use Pro/Business pricing to model a compliance purchase.
Research method and limitations
This article separates “official facts” from “editorial modelling”: plan prices, seat caps, minutes/storage and AI credit rules come from official pricing pages or help centres; the 30-user/540-minute bill, the 5/25/30/50 comparison and the AI credit add-on are arithmetic on one set of assumptions, not a vendor quote.
Six limitations: (1) only public list prices are compared, without enterprise discounts, annual commitments or education/non-profit discounts; (2) monthly and annual pricing are mixed, Granola shows no annual discount, and Otter/Fireflies use annual prices, so the signed price may differ; (3) only platform fees are counted, not human cleanup, migration, training or recording compliance; (4) Fireflies AI credits are charged dynamically per query, so a precise “cost per meeting” cannot be derived; (5) Otter Enterprise has no public price, so 30+ users has no like-for-like number; (6) meeting minutes, AI usage and retention are assumptions that can differ several-fold. Treat this as a unit-alignment template and replace the assumptions with a two-week POC.
Sources and basis
- Otter, Pricing: otter.ai/pricing. Basic free 300 minutes/user, 30 minutes/meeting, 3 lifetime imports; Pro USD 16.99/month or 8.33 annual, 1,200 minutes/user, 90 minutes/meeting, 10 imports/month, max 5 billed users; Business USD 30/19.99, unlimited meetings, 4 hours/meeting, 3 concurrent, max 25 billed users; Enterprise custom; AI Chat 20/50/200/200 queries/user/month. Accessed 3 November 2026.
- Otter, Basic-plan limits: help.otter.ai. Exceeding 300 minutes/month blocks recording or import until the next cycle; deleted conversations still count; a single meeting is capped at 30 minutes and only the first 30 minutes are accessible.
- Fireflies, Pricing: fireflies.ai/pricing. Free unlimited transcription*, 400 minutes/team storage, 20 AI credits, 2 hours/meeting; Pro USD 18/10, 8,000 minutes/seat storage, 20 AI credits, 2 hours; Business USD 29/19, unlimited storage, 30 AI credits, 3 hours; Enterprise USD 39 annual only, 50 AI credits, 4 hours, SSO/SCIM/HIPAA. Accessed 3 November 2026.
- Fireflies, AI Credits: guide.fireflies.ai. Transcription is not charged in AI credits; plan credits are one-time, team-pooled and do not grow with seats; 20/30/50; top-ups USD 5/50, 20/200, 90/1,000, 200/2,500, 375/5,000, 450/7,500, 600/10,000 (monthly, annual 20% lower); auto-subscribe at USD 5/50; Daily Digest/Meeting Prep on by default and consume credits, Tasks is free.
- Granola, Pricing: granola.ai/pricing. Basic free with 30-day history; Business USD 14/user/month with unlimited notes/history, integrations, MCP and API; Enterprise USD 35/user/month with SSO (50+ users), HIPAA, SCIM and audit API; device audio, no bot. Accessed 3 November 2026.
Data cut-off 3 November 2026; prices are public list prices excluding tax; all models are editorial calculations. This is not procurement, legal or financial advice.