Features
How Parley compares with the alternatives
This table compares six products people ask us about: four software notetakers and two hardware recorders. We are the only one here that can turn speech into text on your own phone or computer, once you download the speech model. The two recorders last longer on a charge and pick up a room better. We have no iPhone app yet, and we are behind on integrations and certification.
Two things we want to be clear about. Speech turns into text on your phone or computer only after you download the speech model. Without it, and in any browser, your audio goes to us and then to our transcription provider. Every product in this table writes the AI summary in the cloud, ours included.
| Parley | Otter.ai | Fathom | Granola | Jamie | Plaud | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A bot joins your call | Never | Yes by default. Some modes work without a bot | Your choice per meeting | No | No | No, a recorder you carry | No, a recorder you carry |
| Where speech becomes text | On your Android phone or your computer, once you download the speech model. Without it, and in a browser, it happens in the cloud | Cloud, on every path | Cloud, on every path | Cloud. They tried on-device, then dropped it | Cloud, in Frankfurt | Cloud, after it syncs | Cloud, on every path |
| Where the AI writes the summary | Cloud, every platform | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud |
| Who keeps the recording | You do, on your device or your own Drive (opt-in). We keep none | Kept in Otter's cloud | Kept forever, with no limit | Keeps no audio at all | Deleted after transcription | On the device, plus their cloud | On the device; cloud copy only with sync on |
| A meeting with no video call at all | What the phone app is for | Yes, phone and desktop | Not today. iOS app announced | Yes, on mobile | Yes | Yes, that is the product | Yes, that is the product |
| Records with no connection | Yes on Android. The write-up waits until you are back online | Records, but transcribes only after upload | No offline option documented | No, cloud transcription | No, cloud transcription | Yes, transcribes after sync | Yes, transcribes after upload |
| Voice matching, and where it keeps the voiceprint | On the phone, opt-in, never uploaded | Yes, profiles stored in the account | Yes, but not for people in the same room | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented | Speaker labels; voiceprint location not documented |
| Trains AI on your content | No | Yes by default, de-identified | Yes by default, opt-out | Yes by default, opt-out | No | Not documented | Not by default. You can opt in |
| Devices | Android, Windows and Mac apps, plus a web app. iPhone on the way | Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | Mac and Windows. iOS announced | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | The device, plus iOS, Android and web apps | The device, plus iOS, Android and web apps |
| What the free plan gives you | 200 minutes of AI notes a month, free phone recording | 300 minutes a month, 30 per meeting | Unlimited recording, 5 advanced summaries | Unlimited notes, last 30 days visible | More generous than ours | Unlimited write-ups, visible 30 days | 300 transcription minutes a month |
| Entry price | From EUR 4.87 a month paid yearly, EUR 6.49 monthly, not per seat | $8.33 billed annually, per seat | $16 billed annually, per seat | $14, per seat, monthly only | Per seat, see their pricing | €109 device, Pro from $16.59 a month | €189 device, plans from free |
| How long one recording can be | Unlimited on the phone, 2 h in a browser | 30 min free, up to 4 h on Business | No published limit | No published limit | Per-plan limits | Limited by storage. Days of audio per charge | 30 hours per charge. Transcription has a monthly limit |
| Integrations | Gmail, Google Calendar, Teams and Outlook. A short list | More than two dozen, plus MCP | CRMs, Slack, Notion, MCP, API | CRMs and MCP, mostly paid tiers | Ahead of us | Not documented | Not documented |
| Published certification, and where your data stays | No certification published. Our servers and our AI provider both run in the EU | SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, HIPAA. US hosted | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR. US hosted | SOC 2 Type 2. Not HIPAA. US hosted | EU hosted, ahead of us here | Encryption claims, no certification published | ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR; EU option. Ahead of us |
| Templates and write-up styles | 20 styles across 4 kinds of conversation | Meeting templates on paid plans | Template library. The free plan limits the advanced ones | Pre-built and fully custom templates | Not documented | Not documented | Advertises a large template library |
| Beyond meeting notes | Mind maps, a journal, tasks, Ask Parley | Otter AI Chat | None | None | None | None | None |
| To use it on a computer | Our Mac or Windows app, or a browser with nothing to install | A browser, or their Mac or Windows app | Their Mac or Windows app | Their Mac or Windows app | Their Mac or Windows app | A browser, but the recording comes from the device | A browser, but the recording comes from the device |
Checked against each product's own public pages: Otter, Fathom, Granola and Jamie on 25 August 2026, Pocket and Plaud on 28 August 2026. Prices are list prices on those dates.
About this comparison
Parley is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Otter.ai, Fathom, Granola, Jamie, Pocket or Plaud. Each name is a trademark of its owner. We use it only to name the product we compare. Every detail comes from those companies' own public pages on the dates given above. We summarised each one in good faith and shortened it on purpose for this table. Products change. Write to us if anything here is out of date and we will correct it.
Record your next meeting
Parley is free on Android and needs no card. Your phone records the room, and you get 200 minutes of AI notes a month.