Plaud review (2026): is the free plan enough?
AI voice recorder devices with an app for transcripts and summaries
Black Friday: is there a Plaud sale?
Plaud report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for pocket voice recorders with transcription plans
Plaud sells voice recorders and an app, web and desktop transcription service with templated summaries, and its desktop app records online meetings without a bot. The free plan is 300 minutes a month, but the recorder is a separate purchase and many integrations are still in preview.
Who Plaud is for
- Fits if you record in-person talks and calls on a recorder
- Works for people who want a bot-free way to capture online meetings on a computer
Who Plaud is not for
- Pricey if you add the recorder: $189 for the Note Pro, on top of the plan
- Tight if you talk a lot: Starter is 300 minutes a month, Pro 1,200
- Watch out: many integrations are labelled preview, and Plaud One is shown as pre-order
- Watch out: the Team offer of $20 a user a month for the first year ends November 30, 2026, then $25
Why Plaud gets a 2.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for money$8.33 a month on Pro, billed yearly, for 1,200 minutes, at the cheaper end of the category. Monthly it's $17.99, and the recorder is a separate buy, from $189 for Note Pro.
- BFree plan and trialStarter is free with 300 transcription minutes a month and 112+ languages. That covers light use.
- BFeaturesRecorder devices, transcription, 10,000+ summary templates, bot-free desktop capture, search and folders. Connectors such as Notion, Slack and Salesforce are in preview.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. You buy and pair a recorder, or use the apps, and choose templates.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Zapier, Notion, Slack and MCP, though those connectors are marked preview.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Plaud's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/plaud#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/plaud.svg" alt="Plaud: 2.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Plaud stands among AI meeting note takers
Plaud's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 51 of the 68 other AI meeting note takers we grade, and level with 6.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 60 of 68) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $8.33 a month, against a middle price of $11.99 for the category: 15 of the 62 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 8 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 69 AI meeting note takers we grade, cut by the letter each got. Plaud’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 60 of 68, level with 8
- BFree plan and trialAbove 58 of 68, level with 9
- BFeaturesAbove 27 of 68, level with 33
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 68, level with 36
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 9 of 68, level with 37
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 63 AI meeting note takers. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Plaud, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Plaud you would be making a bot that joins your calls and turns the talk into notes. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 51 of the 68 other AI meeting note takers we grade. It costs $99.96 a year.
What you could make
- Templates: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- A bot that joins your calls and turns the talk into notes.
- Speech turned into text you can trust.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
- It plugs into other products, Google Calendar, Zapier and Notion among them.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Plaud’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Plaud?
Plaud sells pocket and wearable voice recorders, and a mobile app, web app and desktop app that transcribe recordings and write summaries from templates. The desktop app captures online meetings without a bot. Transcription is sold as a monthly plan that is separate from the hardware.
Worth knowing
- The devices are separate purchases; the Note Pro page lists $189, and the plans are for transcription minutes.
- Pro is capped at 1,200 minutes a month; Unlimited runs up to 24 hours a day.
- A Team launch offer of $20 per user a month for the first year, then $25, ends November 30, 2026.
- Many integrations are labeled preview, and Plaud One is shown as pre-order.
Key features
- Recorder devices
- Plaud Note, Note Pro, NotePin and NotePin S capture in-person talks and calls; the Note Pro page lists it at $189.
- Transcription in 112+ languages
- Recordings, imported audio and desktop captures are transcribed, with a monthly minute allowance on each plan.
- Summaries from templates
- Choose from 10,000+ summary templates or build custom ones; the vendor says summaries are traceable to the transcript.
- Bot-free desktop capture
- Plaud Desktop records online meetings without a meeting bot and can detect when a meeting starts.
- Searchable knowledge base
- Timeline view, nested folders, merged recordings and search by keyword, name or topic.
- Connectors in preview
- Google Calendar, Zapier, MCP, Notion, Slack, Linear and Salesforce connections are all marked as preview.
Plaud pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Plaud has a free plan, and paid plans start at $8.33 per month on Pro, billed annually ($17.99 billed monthly).
- Starts at
- $8.33 per month on Pro, billed annually ($17.99 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- Starter plan: 300 transcription minutes a month, 112+ languages, summary templates, Plaud Desktop and export and sharing.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | 300 transcription minutes a month; all plans include 112+ languages and 10,000+ summary templates. |
| Pro | $8.33per month, billed annually ($17.99 billed monthly) | 1,200 transcription minutes a month for one user. |
| Unlimited | $20.00per month, billed annually ($29.99 billed monthly) | Unlimited transcription minutes, up to 24 hours a day, for one user. |
| Team | $25per user / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly) | Everything in Unlimited plus shared team files, centralized billing, seat and device management and priority support. |
Read from plaud.ai on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Plaud before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountSave up to 54% with annual billing
Plaud's pricing page shows Pro at $8.33 a month annually against $17.99 monthly, and Unlimited at $20.00 against $29.99.
Stated on plaud.ai - Education10% off for students, educators and healthcare
Plaud lists 10% off for students and grads, educators, healthcare workers, military and first responders.
Stated on plaud.ai - Other savingsTeam launch offer: $20 per user for the first year
Annual Team seats are $20 per user a month for the first year, then $25. The page says the offer ends November 30, 2026.
Stated on plaud.ai
Works with
Plaud alternatives
- Plaud vs Bee
Free plan · from $11.99/mo
- Plaud vs Otter.ai
Free plan · from $8.33/mo
- Plaud vs TwinMind
Free plan · from $11.99/mo
- Plaud vs Notta
Free plan · from $8.17/mo
- Plaud vs Jamie
Free plan · from €21/mo
Common questions
Does Plaud have a Linux app?
No Linux app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Plaud is listed for Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
Is Plaud open source?
Plaud is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.