Fireflies.ai

Free Tier Ratings

Last Reviewed: 2026-07-14

Fireflies is a transcription tool, not a content generator.

Fireflies does not generate images.

Fireflies is a transcription tool, not a research assistant.

Fireflies is a transcription tool, not a content generator.

Fireflies is a transcription tool, not a writing assistant.

Fireflies is a transcription tool, not a communications tool.

Can transcribe board meetings. Storage limits may cause data loss. Free tier storage was reduced to 400 minutes shared per team as of mid-2026, down from 800 minutes/seat.

Core function works but AI credits are limited and consumed per summary generation.

Fireflies transcribes in 100+ languages but does not translate.

No training on content. Third-party vendors have zero-retention. Storage is now a shared team pool of only 400 minutes, tighter than before.

Fireflies does not perform data analysis beyond meeting analytics.

Core function. No training on content. Zero-retention with vendors. BIPA lawsuit risk for meetings with Illinois participants — now three pending cases as of mid-2026. Free tier storage cut to 400 minutes shared team-wide.

No content training

Does not train on meeting content. All third-party vendors (OpenAI, Assembly.ai ASR) operate under zero-day retention agreements and cannot use data for training. Confirmed in March 6, 2026 updated Privacy Policy and DPA; no newer policy version found as of July 2026.

Not needed

Training is off by default for all tiers. No opt-out required for AI training. Opt-out available for targeted advertising and marketing emails via privacy choices link in footer.

Never

Fireflies internal team cannot access user meeting data by default. Explicit user permission required for support requests. No human review of meeting content.

User

Users control which meetings are recorded and can remove Fireflies bot at any time. Users can delete individual meetings immediately.

Not available

HIPAA BAA not available on Free tier. Upgrade to Enterprise for HIPAA compliance.

12 months minimum

Data saved for at least 12 months by default. Users can delete individual meetings immediately. Account deletion purges all data within 30 days. Voice/biometric data deleted within 3 years of last interaction per Illinois BIPA requirements. Note: Free tier storage capacity itself was reduced from 800 minutes/seat to 400 minutes shared per team as of mid-2026.

SOC 2 Type II

SOC 2 Type II certified (2025/2026 report available). GDPR compliant. 256-bit AES encryption at rest, TLS 1.2+ in transit. GCP infrastructure with AWS VPC database. Penetration Test Report updated to 2026 (previously 2025) available via Trust Center.

10% off all paid plans

Nonprofits (NGOs) and educational institutions (students). Email [email protected] from your organization's domain email to request a discounted invoice before payment, or request a refund after upgrading via Settings > Billing

Zero-day retention with all vendors

Fireflies has BAAs with OpenAI and all transcription vendors (including Assembly.ai) requiring immediate data deletion after processing. This is stronger than most competitors and was reaffirmed in the March 6, 2026 DPA update, which remains the most current version as of July 2026.

Recording modes for compliance

Enterprise tier can choose Transcript + Summary only mode that automatically deletes audio after processing. Useful for organizations that cannot store voice recordings. (Note: the Business tier does not include this mode — it is Enterprise-only.)

Bot joins your meetings

Unlike native transcription, Fireflies sends a visible bot to join calls. This may concern external stakeholders or interviewees. Pre-meeting consent emails are configurable. The bot's presence does not guarantee legal consent in all-party consent states.

Free tier storage cut in 2026 — even more of a trap

As of mid-2026, the Free tier's storage allowance was reduced from 800 minutes per seat to just 400 minutes shared across the entire team. Transcription itself remains unlimited, but stored history fills up faster than ever for any team with more than one active user. Many users report being pushed to upgrade within weeks. The Free tier is impractical for organizations with regular meeting schedules and now even less generous than it was in early 2026.

HIPAA and FERPA require Enterprise

Healthcare nonprofits must use Enterprise tier to get a signed BAA. Educational nonprofits handling student records under FERPA also need Enterprise with private storage and a signed DSA. No workaround at lower tiers.

BIPA lawsuit risk — now three pending cases

A December 2025 class-action lawsuit (Cruz v. Fireflies.AI Corp.) alleged illegal biometric voiceprint collection without written consent under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act. Two additional, nearly identical BIPA suits followed in 2026: Fricker v. Fireflies.AI Corp. (filed March 10, 2026) and Martinez v. Fireflies.AI Corp. (filed March 30, 2026), which were consolidated on April 21, 2026 before the Northern District of Illinois with Werman Salas P.C. as interim lead class counsel. All three cases target the same conduct — Fireflies' Speaker Recognition feature generating voiceprints from meeting participants, including non-account-holders, without written notice or consent. As of mid-2026 none of the cases have been resolved and no court has ruled the practice illegal, but the growing litigation wave (mirroring similar suits against Otter.ai) signals real and rising legal exposure. Organizations operating in Illinois or other all-party consent states (CA, FL, MD, MA, MI, MT, NH, PA, WA, DE, CT) should consult legal counsel before deploying Fireflies.

Enterprise price is fixed at $39/seat

Enterprise pricing remains $39/user/month on annual billing as of July 2026 — no longer 'contact for custom pricing.' Volume discounts may still be negotiated for large deployments (third-party reports cite 15-30% off for 20+ seat annual contracts). The fixed list price makes budgeting easier for nonprofits.

EU AI Act non-compliance

Fireflies uses sentiment analysis, which is restricted under the EU AI Act. This may affect European nonprofits or those subject to EU privacy law. Fireflies is an American company and has not indicated plans to modify this feature for EU compliance.

Expansion beyond transcription: Voice Agents, Slack and Email assistants

In 2026 Fireflies expanded from post-meeting transcription into outbound/inbound call automation (Voice Agents that can conduct screening interviews, check-ins, and surveys on an organization's behalf) plus a live Slack Assistant and a beta Email Assistant for Gmail/Outlook inbox triage and draft replies. These features increase the amount and sensitivity of organizational data flowing through Fireflies and should be evaluated separately from core meeting transcription before enabling for nonprofit use, particularly around consent and data handling for automated outbound calls.

2026-04-21

The two 2026 BIPA class actions against Fireflies — Fricker v. Fireflies.AI Corp. (filed March 10, 2026) and Martinez v. Fireflies.AI Corp. (filed March 30, 2026) — were consolidated before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, with Fricker designated the lead case and Werman Salas P.C. appointed interim lead class counsel. Both allege BIPA violations nearly identical to the earlier Cruz case: capturing meeting participants' voiceprints without written notice, consent, or a published retention policy.

2026-03-30

Martinez v. Fireflies.AI Corp. filed in N.D. Illinois, alleging BIPA §§15(a), 15(b), and 15(d) violations — a third biometric-privacy class action against Fireflies.

2026-03-10

Fricker v. Fireflies.AI Corp. (Case No. 1:26-cv-02675) filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging BIPA §15(a) (no publicly available biometric retention/destruction policy) and §15(b) (no written notice/consent before capturing voiceprints) violations.

2026-03-06

Major policy update: Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and Data Processing Addendum (DPA) all revised. Key additions: stronger DPA protections for Business and Enterprise customers (Fireflies as Processor, no cross-customer data combining, no advertising use of Customer Personal Data), Data Privacy Framework self-certification for EU-US transfers, FERPA compliance formalized, voice/biometric data deletion schedules added per Illinois BIPA requirements. This remains the most current policy version as of July 2026 — no newer revision found.

2026-03

Fireflies announced expansion beyond meeting transcription: AI Voice Agents (for outbound/inbound calls such as screening interviews, check-ins, and surveys), a live Slack Assistant (thread/channel summarization, Q&A), and a beta Email Assistant for Gmail/Outlook (auto-labeling, draft replies, follow-ups). Exact vendor announcement date not specified; coverage of a Fireflies product webinar dates to March 19, 2026.

2026-01-08

FERPA compliance documentation published for Enterprise tier. Requires private storage and signed Data Sharing Agreement (DSA). Enterprise customers can now complete FERPA compliance via Security Checklist in Team Settings.

2025-12-18

Class-action lawsuit filed (Cruz v. Fireflies.AI Corp.) alleging illegal collection and storage of biometric voiceprint data without written consent under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Affects non-consenting meeting participants recorded by Fireflies bots. Two more BIPA suits followed in 2026 (see above).

2025-12-01

Live Assist and Desktop App launched. Live Assist provides real-time AI coaching, suggestions, and answers during meetings. Expands Fireflies from post-meeting transcription to real-time meeting intelligence.

2025-06-18

Privacy policy updated. Continued commitment to zero-day retention with vendors.

For organizations with 5+ staff

Business tier at $19/user/month (10% nonprofit discount available via direct request) provides unlimited storage and custom retention. Enterprise at $39/user/month is needed for HIPAA, FERPA, SSO, private storage, and SCIM. Three pending BIPA lawsuits (Cruz, Fricker, Martinez — the latter two consolidated in April 2026) represent an active and growing legal risk — ensure all meeting participants are informed of recording regardless of tier.

For organizations with fewer than 5 staff

Pro tier at $10/user/month (annual, 10% nonprofit discount available) is reasonable for small teams. Strong privacy practices including zero-day vendor retention. The Free tier's storage was cut to just 400 minutes shared across the whole team in 2026 (down from 800 minutes/seat), making it impractical for anything beyond light evaluation. Not on TechSoup or Goodstack — discount requires emailing [email protected] directly.

For health data or vulnerable populations

Enterprise tier required for HIPAA BAA and FERPA compliance. No exceptions at lower tiers. Educational nonprofits handling student records also need Enterprise for FERPA (with private storage and DSA). The now-three pending BIPA lawsuits highlight additional and growing risk when recording participants who have not personally consented — consult legal counsel for any client-facing recording in Illinois or all-party consent states.