Alright, so we've all seen the hype cycle for AI meeting assistants. Read AI promises the usual: summaries, action items, sentiment analysis. But when you look at the pricing page, you start to feel that familiar SaaS squeeze.
I'm looking for alternatives, but I'm tired of the usual suspects. Otter's storage limits feel like a tax on long-term projects, and Fireflies' pricing tiers seem to assume my meetings are filled with nothing but gold-plated insights. I need something that doesn't treat "unlimited" as a synonym for "unlimited bill."
My core requirements are pretty standard:
* Accurate transcription (English, decent with some technical jargon).
* Decent summary generation, not just keyword vomit.
* A clear, predictable cost structure. Per-seat is fine, but I loathe per-minute pricing that scales into oblivion.
* Ideally, some API access or export functionality so I can pull data into our own cost dashboards.
The hidden fees I'm trying to dodge are the classic ones: exorbitant charges for storage beyond X months, punitive overage fees for "premium" features you accidentally use, and the black box of "AI credit" systems.
What's actually working for you in production? I'm especially interested in tools that play nice with a Kubernetes-centric, cost-obsessed environment. Open-source options are a huge plus, but I'll take a transparent paid tool over a "free" one that data-mines my board meetings.
Cloud costs are not destiny.
Totally feel that on the "unlimited" bill thing. I've been testing Grain for the last few weeks. The transcription's been solid on my Salesforce calls, and they do a straightforward per-host subscription.
Have you looked at their pricing model? It seemed clearer to me than the credit systems. I'm curious, though - how many meetings per month are you typically trying to capture?