# Fireflies vs Read AI

The clearest difference is monetization model: Read AI at free against Fireflies's freemium. Read AI also leads on review sentiment (69% vs 54%). Fireflies's advantage is ratings volume (5.5K vs 1.1K) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Fireflies against 4.9 for Read AI. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fireflies has 5.5K ratings behind it against 1.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 54% of Fireflies's written reviews are positive against 69% of Read AI's.

Fireflies ships an update every 2 weeks, Read AI every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 14, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Fireflies | Read AI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (5.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fireflies-ai-note-taker/id6463164203/reviews) | **[4.9 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/read-ai-transcripts-and-notes/id6575345796/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **5.5K** | 1.1K |
| Positive reviews | 54.1% of reviews | **69.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 117 MB | 39 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.4** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Fireflies.ai](https://appshunter.io/developer/1704029304) | [Read AI](https://appshunter.io/developer/1759245450) |

## What reviewers say

### Fireflies

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fireflies-ai-note-taker/id6463164203)

This AI-powered tool automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes your voice conversations and meetings. It allows you to search through transcripts, extract key information like action items, and collaborate with your team by sharing soundbites and insights. Analyze meeting performance to improve various business processes.

**Highlights:** Automatic meeting recording and transcription, AI-powered search for key topics and action items, Meeting summarization in minutes, Integration with video conferencing and collaboration apps, Conversation intelligence for performance analysis, Create and share meeting soundbites

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent transcription and summary quality
- 👍 User-friendly and pleasant to use
- 💡 Great AI-powered features
- 🚀 Efficient for meeting notes and task management
- 👍 Helpful customer service

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent recording and transcription reliability
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with calendar access
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy performance
- 🔒 Forced login with Google/Microsoft accounts
- 🐛 Lost recordings and corrupted files

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes during live recordings
- Recordings disappearing after upload
- Inability to log in from iPhone
- Transcription failures for some meetings

**Requested features**

- On-device settings for audio controls
- Automatic meeting title generation
- Improved summarization of key contributions
- Standalone login option without calendar access


### Read AI

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/read-ai-transcripts-and-notes/id6575345796)

This app acts as an AI notetaker, transcribing and summarizing in-person conversations and meetings in real-time. It identifies speakers, generates reports, and integrates with popular communication platforms for easy sharing and organization.

**Highlights:** Real-time transcription and summaries, Speaker identification, Built for in-person meetings, Easy sharing to multiple platforms, Syncs notes across devices, Meeting reminders

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Productivity booster
- 👍 Great app
- 👍 Useful features
- 👍 Convenient mobile access
- 👍 Helpful for in-person meetings

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Privacy concerns
- 🐛 Buggy with playback and other functions
- 🐛 App loading issues

**Reported bugs**

- Uploading issues causing lost recordings

**Requested features**

- Chromecast and AirPlay support
- Full-screen video playback
- Cloud sync for transcripts and summaries
- Better mobile support and file format compatibility


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Fireflies free?

Fireflies is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Read AI free?

Read AI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Fireflies or Read AI?

Read AI is rated higher. Fireflies averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5.5K ratings, while Read AI averages 4.9 from 1.1K ratings.

### Do Fireflies or Read AI have ads?

Neither Fireflies nor Read AI shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Fireflies or Read AI?

Fireflies ships an update every 2 weeks, and Read AI every 3 weeks. Most recently, Fireflies was updated on November 14, 2026 and Read AI on November 14, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*