BrightHire vs Fireflies.ai (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Fireflies.ai: it is first in our ranking of AI meeting note takers, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 1.8.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Fireflies.ai grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Fireflies.ai
Meeting notetaker that records, transcribes and summarizes calls
Which one is for you
Pick BrightHire if
- Fits if you run a recruiting team on Greenhouse, Lever or Ashby and want interview notes written for you
- Works for companies that need to review how interviewers score people
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price before you talk to anyone, as every product is quoted after a demo
- Not for you if you want notes for general team meetings, because it is built for hiring interviews
- Watch out: pricing varies by company size, applicant volume and interview volume, so costs can move
- Watch out: candidates are told they are recorded and can opt out
- Too light for a solo user, as the listing shows no self-serve plan
Pick Fireflies.ai if
- Fits if your team wants every call transcribed and searchable in one place
- Works for sales or recruiting calls that need logging to a CRM or applicant tracker
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, since 400 minutes of storage is shared by the whole team and there are no downloads or video
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $18 a seat for Pro against $10 on the yearly plan
- Not for you if you lean on AI Skills and soundbites, as plans include a one-time credit allowance and packs start at $5 a month
- Watch out: every teammate added counts as a paid seat, and team analytics need Business at $19
- Watch out: the Business trial needs a card, and SSO, SCIM and HIPAA are Enterprise only at $39 a seat yearly
How we grade them
| 1.8GPABrightHireWeak | 3.2GPAFireflies.aiVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published, so the cost is only known after a demo and is set by company size, applicant volume or interview volume. | CPro is $10 a seat a month billed yearly, which is exactly the middle of this category, and $18 if you pay monthly. Conversation analytics need Business at $19, and every teammate you add counts as another paid seat. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is named. Every product is a demo request. | CTranscription is unlimited, but storage is 400 minutes for the whole team. AI summaries are limited too, and you can't download a transcript or record video. Dictation with Fireflies Talk is included free. |
| Features | CInterview notes, interviewer insights, an AI interviewer, application review and fraud signals. It does that hiring job in full, and it is a smaller job than a general note-taker. | ATwo things here its rivals don't do: notes come either from a bot in the call or from your computer's own audio with nothing showing in the meeting, and an MCP server hands your meeting history to Claude or ChatGPT. The rest is the full job, plus AskFred over old calls and free dictation into any app. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It has to be wired to your applicant tracking system and interview tools. | A4.8 from about 5,200 App Store ratings, the top band. Connect your calendar and the notetaker joins your meetings without being asked. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, Workday, Zoom, Teams, Meet and Slack. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and a Chrome extension, connecting to Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Asana and dialers like Aircall, with an MCP server that opens your meetings to Claude and ChatGPT. |
| Best for | interview notes for recruiting teams | teams that want every call searchable |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BrightHire and Fireflies.ai. How we grade
Where they differ
- BrightHire also covers applicant tracking.
- Fireflies.ai also covers dictation and chat assistant.
At a glance
| BrightHire | Fireflies.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $10 per seat / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | Unlimited transcription, limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team and 20 AI credits. Transcript downloads and video recording need a paid plan. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of the Business plan, once per account; a credit or debit card is required. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | BrightHire, Inc. | Fireflies.ai Corp. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | fireflies.ai |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BrightHire
- No prices are published; every product is quoted after a demo request.
- It is built for hiring interviews, not for general team meetings.
- Interview Intelligence is priced by company size, Inbound by applicant volume and Screen by interview volume.
- Candidates are notified about recording and can opt out.
Fireflies.ai
- The Free plan stores 400 minutes per team, limits AI summaries and does not include transcript downloads or video recording.
- AI Skills, custom summary sections and soundbites draw on AI credits; plans include only a one-time allowance and extra packs start at $5 a month.
- Conversation intelligence starts on Business. SSO, SCIM and HIPAA compliance are Enterprise only, and Enterprise is billed annually.
- Every teammate added to a workspace counts as a paid seat on paid plans.
Key features
BrightHire
- AI interview notes
- Live interviews get AI notes and scorecards that can be filled into the applicant tracking system with one click.
- Interviewer insights
- Interviewer quality trends and coaching show how interviews are run across teams and roles.
- AI interviewer
- BrightHire Screen runs structured first-round screening interviews that candidates can take at any hour, scored against your rubric.
- Application review
- BrightHire Inbound checks applications against a rubric drafted from the job description and syncs actions to the ATS.
- Fraud signals
- Flags potential fraud on applications and, with candidate consent, in interviews; the site says it is never a hiring decision.
- Access and compliance controls
- The vendor states SOC 2 Type II certification, GDPR and CCPA compliance, role-based access and custom data retention.
Fireflies.ai
- Notetaker bot or bot-free capture
- Invite the Fireflies notetaker to a call or let it auto-join meetings on your calendar. The desktop app can instead take notes from device audio with no bot in the meeting.
- Transcripts and AI summaries
- Every plan includes unlimited transcription, and paid plans add unlimited AI summaries with an overview, notes and action items. Fireflies lists support for 100+ languages.
- AskFred and Live Assist
- AskFred is an AI assistant for questions about meeting content. In the desktop app, a floating Live Assist pane shows notes, the transcript and AskFred during the call.
- Fireflies Talk dictation
- Hold a key and speak to dictate text into any app from the desktop app. Fireflies says this is free and unlimited on every plan, including Free.
- Conversation intelligence
- Business and Enterprise add analytics on team and individual conversations. Free and Pro do not include them.
- Integrations and MCP server
- Connects to CRMs, project tools, applicant tracking systems and dialers such as Aircall and RingCentral. An MCP server exposes meeting data to assistants like Claude and ChatGPT.
Plans
BrightHire
Pricing could not be confirmed. See brighthire.com.
Fireflies.ai
Free$0
Unlimited transcription and limited AI summaries, with 400 minutes of storage per team and 20 AI credits.
Pro$10
per seat / month, billed annually ($18 billed monthly)
Unlimited AI summaries, 8,000 minutes of storage per seat, video recording, and transcript and recording downloads.
Business$19
per seat / month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
Unlimited storage plus team and individual conversation intelligence.
Enterprise$39
per seat / month, billed annually only
Adds SSO and SCIM, HIPAA and FERPA compliance, with volume discounts as the team grows.
Ways to pay less
BrightHire
No public discounts listed.
Fireflies.ai
- Annual discount
Save up to 44% with annual billing
Fireflies' pricing page says annual billing saves up to 44%: Pro is $10 instead of $18 per seat a month, and Business is $19 instead of $29.
- Education
10% off paid plans for students
Fireflies' help center lists a 10% discount on Pro, Business or Enterprise for students, on monthly or yearly plans. It is claimed by emailing support from a school address.
- Nonprofit
10% off paid plans for NGOs and nonprofits
The same help article lists a 10% discount on Pro, Business or Enterprise for NGOs and non-profit organizations, requested by emailing support from the organization's email domain.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BrightHire or Fireflies.ai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, BrightHire has no price we could confirm, and Fireflies.ai starts at $10 per seat / month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, BrightHire or Fireflies.ai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Fireflies.ai has a free plan. BrightHire does not.
Which platforms do BrightHire and Fireflies.ai run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Fireflies.ai lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.