Cue vs Fireflies.ai: Meeting Bot or Bot-Free Capture?
Fireflies.ai and Cue both turn meetings into notes and action items, and both can record without a bot in some situations, but they start from opposite ends. Fireflies positions itself as an AI assistant for meetings: its notetaker joins calls when invited or by auto-record settings, and the notes feed a large set of connected tools. Cue is a desktop voice agent where meeting capture is one entry point: you start a recorder on your own desktop, nothing joins the participant list, and the notes become context for the next task. This page compares the two from Fireflies’ official pages and Cue’s published facts.
You start the recorder, see a progressive transcript, review structured notes and action items, then use them with what is on screen to prepare the follow-up.
Its homepage describes a notetaker that joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls, summaries and action items after every meeting, AskFred, AI Skills, CRM auto-fill, MCP connections and 240+ connected tools.
Pick the job you need now
These are entry points into the same Cue product, account, download, and pricing.
Start from the task on screen
Speak a request and use the current desktop context to prepare work you can review.
Explore Voice Agent workflows →Turn speech into text
Choose your desktop and start with the field where you are already typing.
Capture notes without a bot
Start the desktop capture when you choose, see a progressive transcript, then review structured notes.
Explore meeting notes →Side-by-side workflow comparison
Swipe the table to compare Cue and Fireflies.ai →
| Workflow | Cue | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Desktop voice agent. Meeting capture, voice typing in supported apps, and follow-up tasks you review. | An AI assistant for meetings. Its homepage FAQ states it joins your meetings, generates transcripts and summaries, and connects to tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Outlook and Slack. |
| Meeting capture | A desktop recorder you start. Nothing joins the participant list. Cue can recognize meeting context and offer the recorder, but recording begins only after you choose Start. | Its homepage FAQ states the notetaker only joins meetings when invited or based on auto-record settings. Its pricing page also lists recording through a Chrome extension without the Fireflies bot, and its knowledge base describes a desktop app that records meetings with or without a bot on Mac and Windows. |
| Where it records | Mac and Windows desktop capture; check the meeting notes page for the audio paths your meeting app needs. | Its pricing page lists Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and 10+ other platforms, mobile apps for Android and iOS, a desktop app, and uploads of MP3, MP4, WAV and M4A files; its homepage adds dialers such as Aircall and RingCentral and an API for audio files. |
| Meeting result | A progressive transcript during longer meetings, then structured notes and action items after you stop. | Its homepage states detailed notes, action items and customized summaries after every meeting, with key topics and task detection listed on the pricing page. Its pricing FAQ states English is the primary language, with Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and 100+ other languages in beta. |
| After the meeting | Notes plus current screen context can help prepare follow-up work in a supported app for you to review. | Its homepage names AskFred, 200+ AI Skills, CRM auto-fill with HubSpot and Salesforce as examples, MCP connections to Claude, ChatGPT and other AI tools, and 240+ connected tools. Its pricing FAQ states app and CRM integrations are on the premium tiers. |
| Voice typing | Focus an editable field in a supported app, use the Dictation shortcut shown in your installed version (Option by default on macOS, Right Alt on Windows), speak, then check the inserted text before continuing. | Its knowledge base lists Fireflies Talk for dictation on desktop, iPhone and Android. Plan conditions for it are not stated on the pages checked. |
| Recording notice | You start and stop the recorder yourself. Confirm participants’ consent and your organization’s rules before recording. | Its homepage states that participants can always see when a meeting is being recorded. |
| Security statements | Read Cue’s privacy policy and terms for current data handling. Cue publishes no third-party certification. | Its homepage states SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, FERPA and GDPR compliance, ISO 42001 certification, that customer data is not used to train AI models, and that a BAA or DSA is available on Enterprise with Private Storage. Vendor statements, not independently verified. |
| Current platforms | macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later. | Web app, mobile apps for Android and iOS, a desktop app for Mac and Windows, and a Chrome extension, according to its pricing page and knowledge base. Its pricing FAQ states sign-in is only possible through Google or Outlook authentication. |
| Starting plan | Cue is free to start. Cue Plus is $19.99/month. | Its homepage states a free plan with transcription, summaries and search and no credit card to start. Its knowledge base lists storage of 400 minutes per user on Free, 8,000 on Pro, and unlimited team-wide on Business and Enterprise. Paid prices were not shown in the pages as fetched, and paid plans are stated to be charged per seat. Verify current terms. |
| Best fit | You want meeting capture from your own desktop, nothing joining the call, and notes that lead into the next piece of work. | You want a meeting record that flows into a CRM, task tools and AI assistants across a team, with the notetaker handling attendance. |
What Fireflies.ai does well
Fireflies.ai is built around the meeting record and what happens to it afterward. Its homepage describes a notetaker that joins calls when invited or by auto-record settings, detailed notes, action items and customized summaries after every meeting, and a long tail of follow-on work: AskFred for questions about past meetings, 200+ AI Skills, CRM auto-fill with HubSpot and Salesforce named as examples, MCP connections to Claude, ChatGPT and other AI tools, and 240+ connected tools. Capture is not limited to the bot: the pricing page lists Chrome-extension recording without the Fireflies bot, the knowledge base describes a desktop app that records with or without a bot on Mac and Windows, and there are mobile apps, dialer integrations and file upload. The homepage also states SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, FERPA and GDPR compliance, ISO 42001 certification, and that customer data is not used to train AI models, with a free plan to start. For a team that wants every meeting to land in its systems automatically, that is a coherent and mature offer.
Cue starts from your own desktop. You start the recorder when you decide to, nothing joins the participant list, a progressive transcript appears during longer meetings, and structured notes with action items are prepared after you stop. The notes are then context, not a destination: with what is on your screen, Cue can help prepare the follow-up you were going to write anyway, in a supported app, for you to review before sending. The same app handles voice typing in supported apps and Agent requests from selected text, and the same account runs on Mac and Windows. Cue publishes no compliance certification and makes no claim about Fireflies’ accuracy figure or its integrations beyond what its pages state. If the meeting archive and its connections are the asset, Fireflies is the direct tool. If the meeting is one input into desktop work you finish yourself, Cue is built for that shape.
Official Fireflies.ai sources
Fireflies.ai details above were checked on November 7, 2026. Features, plans and platform availability can change, so verify the current source before deciding.
- Fireflies.ai homepage — Positioning as an AI assistant for meetings, the FAQ statements that the notetaker joins meetings when invited or by auto-record settings, mobile and desktop capture, uploads and dialers, notes and action items, AskFred and AI Skills, MCP and 240+ connected tools, the free plan statement, the recording notice, and the SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, FERPA, GDPR and ISO 42001 statements.
- Fireflies.ai pricing page — The Free, Pro, Business and Enterprise tiers, the platform, Chrome-extension, mobile and desktop app rows, per-seat billing, Google or Outlook sign-in, and the language FAQ. Paid prices were not present in the page text as fetched.
- Fireflies Knowledge Base home — The desktop app category stating recording with or without a bot on Mac and Windows, and Fireflies Talk dictation on desktop, iPhone and Android.
- Learn about storage, and rate limits (Fireflies Knowledge Base) — Storage per user of 400 minutes on Free, 8,000 on Pro and unlimited team-wide on Business and Enterprise, and the note that storage is total minutes stored, not per month.
Frequently asked questions
Does Fireflies.ai need a bot to join the meeting?
Not always, according to its own pages. Fireflies’ homepage FAQ states that the notetaker joins your meetings and only joins when invited or based on auto-record settings. Its pricing page also lists recording through a Chrome extension without the Fireflies bot, its knowledge base describes a desktop app that records meetings with or without a bot on Mac and Windows, and there are mobile apps and file upload. Which plans include each capture path is not stated on the pages checked, so verify current terms. Cue always records from your own desktop with nothing joining the participant list.
Can Cue record meetings without a bot joining the call?
Yes. Cue uses a desktop recorder that you start, and nothing joins the participant list. Cue can recognize meeting context and offer the recorder, but recording begins only after you choose Start. During longer meetings Cue shows a progressive transcript, and after you stop it prepares structured notes and action items. Cue runs on macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later. Confirm participants’ consent and your organization’s rules before recording.
Does Fireflies.ai have a free plan?
Its homepage states that Fireflies has a free plan that includes transcription, summaries and search, that paid plans unlock AI Skills, Voice Agents and advanced features, and that no credit card is required to start. Its knowledge base lists storage of 400 minutes per user on Free and 8,000 minutes on Pro, with unlimited team-wide storage on Business and Enterprise. Paid prices were not shown in the pages as fetched, and the pricing FAQ states paid plans are charged per seat. Check Fireflies’ current pricing page for the numbers.
Is Cue free?
Cue is free to start. Cue Plus is $19.99/month. Cue runs on macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later, and the same account covers desktop meeting capture, voice typing in supported apps and Agent requests. Check Fireflies’ current official pricing page separately because competitor plans can change.
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Capture a meeting from your own desktop, or keep going into the task that comes after it.
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For Cue, use a reviewed excerpt to build an action table from meeting notes. Then follow the after-meeting learning path to prepare an update and a follow-up draft. This is a Cue exercise, not a head-to-head benchmark or evidence that one product is better.