5 Best AI Meeting Notes Tools in 2026: Notta vs Otter vs Fireflies vs Granola vs Tinrec

Right before the meeting ends, your boss asks: "Who said that discount floor with the client last week?"

You open a folder with 6 unnamed recordings, the longest one 58 minutes. You know the answer is in there, but you don't know which minute.

That's the moment many people start searching "notta inc": they want to confirm which country this company—often mentioned in meeting notes tool lists—is from, who its parent company is, and how it compares to the other tools they have.

This article first clarifies Notta's corporate structure, then puts it side by side with Tinrec across 5 dimensions, and finally tells you which one to choose for which situation.

What Exactly Is Notta Inc.?

Bottom line: what you see as "Notta" actually involves two corporate levels.

The service is provided by the Japanese entity Notta株式会社, established on May 25, 2022, corporate number T5010001226919, searchable on the Japanese National Tax Agency website. Its parent is the overseas group NOTTA INC., with the group holding company registered in the Cayman Islands.

The representative director is Ryan Zhang (張岩), a serial entrepreneur from China. The company's stated vision is "会話から無限大の価値を発見"—discover infinite value from conversations.

On funding: in May 2025, Nikkei reported that Notta raised approximately 990 million yen in a Series A+ round through third-party allotment, with subscribers including Mizuho Leaguer Investment Limited Partnership and GSR Ventures. In July 2025, another report described it as a "Japanese AI Unicorn," mentioning $6.3 million in funding and the Notta Memo product preparing to challenge Otter.ai.

Note a data discrepancy: PitchBook lists Notta as founded in 2020, headquartered in Tokyo, with 11 employees; the Japanese entity was registered in 2022. They refer to different scopes (group vs. Japanese entity), so don't be surprised if the years don't match.

Also, Notta has stated its system is HIPAA certified—this is a company claim, and you should confirm the actual compliance scope directly with the official source.

What Products Does Notta Offer Now?

There are two lines: software and hardware.

The software is the familiar Notta transcription service: real-time recording, audio file upload to text, meeting notes, AI summaries, real-time translation, and team plans.

The hardware is Notta Memo, launched in 2025, a dedicated AI voice recorder for recording and transcription. Official specs list a weight of 28 grams, up to 30 hours of continuous recording, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity with a dedicated mobile app to send recordings for transcription and summarization.

Pricing, per the official website currently:

• Free: 120 minutes per month, max 3 minutes per item
• Pro: annual billing equivalent to about USD 8.17/month, 1,800 minutes per month
• Business: annual billing equivalent to about USD 16.67/seat/month, unlimited transcription, role permissions, and usage reports

Prices and benefits may change; check the official Notta pricing page before ordering.

Notta vs Tinrec Quick Overview

Item	Notta	Tinrec
One-line positioning	Multilingual transcription and meeting notes service, plus recording hardware	AI meeting notes and team collaboration tool
Online meeting capture	Meeting bot, desktop app, or audio upload	Desktop app captures system audio directly, no bot needed
Audio retention	Usually retained (depending on plan)	Retained; team plan also has audio recycle bin
Team governance	Business plan offers role permissions and usage reports	Roles and seats separated, plus audit logs, usage analytics, audio recycle bin
Entry barrier	Free 120 minutes per month	Free version offers basic quota

Let's break it down across 5 dimensions.

Dimension 1: How Are Meetings "Recorded"?

Notta takes a more varied approach: you can upload existing audio files, record in person with the mobile app, or handle online meetings via a meeting bot or desktop app. The advantage is many entry points; the downside is that "bot joins meeting" can be awkward in some client situations—the other side sees an unfamiliar participant name.

Tinrec takes a different path. The desktop version directly captures the computer's system audio, so for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex and similar meetings, no extra bot needs to be invited. The catch is you must actively open Tinrec to start recording; it's not a tool that automatically joins all calendar meetings.

→ This dimension: both can get the job done, but if you often care about external perception in client meetings, Tinrec's "no bot" proposition is clearer.

Dimension 2: After Transcription, What Do You Get?

Notta's core is turning voice into text, then growing AI summaries and translation on top. For those who need "a transcript plus a summary," that's enough.

Tinrec goes a few steps further at this layer: beyond the transcript, it produces chapters, key points, action items, and mind maps; you can do AI Q&A around a single meeting or across meetings, and use an Agent for post-processing to generate reports, tables, and documents, then export to Notion, Google Docs, OneNote, Dropbox, and other tools.

→ This dimension: if you want "quick transcript," it's a tie; if you want "post-meeting deliverables ready to hand off," Tinrec offers broader post-processing.

Dimension 3: When the Team Uses It Together, Who Can See and Who Can Edit?

This is where many teams stumble. They buy a "team plan" only to find several people sharing one account, with messy data ownership.

Notta's Business plan offers role permissions and usage reports, which is a necessary baseline for multi-user scenarios.

Tinrec's team plan separates "roles" and "seats": roles determine who can manage the team, members, audit, and team settings; seats determine whether a member can record, upload, edit, import/export. Active members without a seat can still view, play, and read team data, but cannot perform resource-consuming operations.

There's also team hotwords (maintain professional terminology to improve recognition), usage analytics, audit logs (queryable and exportable), audio recycle bin, and a resource handover mechanism when members leave.

Note: Tinrec currently shares at the team level, not a file-level granular permission system; it should not be understood as "admins can set independent access scopes for each file."

→ This dimension: both do role management, but Tinrec adds a layer with seat separation, audit, and resource handover.

Dimension 4: Are Audio Files Kept? Can Deleted Ones Be Recovered?

This question is often overlooked but hurts most when something goes wrong.

Notta generally retains your audio files and transcriptions (depending on plan), which is standard for most transcription services.

Tinrec, besides retaining audio, adds an audio recycle bin in the team plan; accidentally deleted audio can be restored before permanent cleanup begins, currently with a 30-day retention period. Note that TODOs are currently not covered by the team recycle bin.

→ This dimension: Tinrec adds a recycle bin layer, offering more tolerance for "accidental deletion."

Dimension 5: How Is Pricing Calculated?

Notta's calculation is intuitive: Free 120 minutes per month (max 3 minutes per item), Pro 1,800 minutes per month, Business takes the "unlimited transcription plus management features" route.

Tinrec's team plan currently states: first eligible team trial 7 days, 1 free seat, 300 minutes team shared import quota; monthly USD 29.80/paid seat/month, annual USD 199/paid seat/year (equivalent to about USD 16.58/month), each paid seat provides 2,000 minutes team shared import quota per month. Real-time recording under an active team plan and active seat is currently not deducted by minute; file and web imports consume team shared minutes.

→ This dimension: if you mostly upload existing audio files in large volumes, Notta Business's "unlimited transcription" is easier to calculate; if your meetings are mainly real-time recording, Tinrec's no-minute-deduction for real-time recording makes billing simpler.

Other Tools Worth Considering

Otter.ai is a mature AI meeting assistant, strong in English business meetings, with a free plan of 300 minutes per month. If your team meets mainly in English, it remains a reasonable option.

Fireflies.ai excels in meeting automation and extensive integrations, with plans from Free to Enterprise, suitable for teams that have tied sales processes into their toolchain. Note that its "unlimited transcription" is still subject to storage and AI Credit rules; don't interpret it as all capabilities being completely unlimited.

Granola takes a bot-free approach, using desktop system audio for real-time transcription, combined with your handwritten notes for enhancement. Note that it does not support uploading pre-recorded audio files and does not save meeting audio.

What Unique Advantages Does Each Have?

On Tinrec's side:

• No need to invite a meeting bot; desktop app captures system audio directly, so client meetings won't have an unfamiliar participant.
• After transcription, you can keep working: summaries, chapters, action items, AI Q&A, then use Agent to generate reports and tables, exporting to your existing workflow.
• Team data belongs to the team; when members change, it can be handed over and won't disappear with personal accounts.
• Team plan real-time recording is currently not deducted by minute, so frequent meeting-goers don't have to count quota while recording.

On Notta's side:

• Broad language and translation coverage, plus a free plan of 120 minutes per month, making it a great entry point.
• Has Notta Memo, a dedicated 28-gram hardware device with official specs of up to 30 hours continuous recording, suitable for scenarios where you really need to "pull it out and record anytime."

Conclusion: Which Should You Choose?

• If your meeting counterparts are external clients and you don't want a bot in the room → Tinrec (desktop app captures system audio)
• If you want more than a transcript—post-meeting minutes, action items, reports → Tinrec (chapters, action items, AI Q&A, Agent post-processing)
• If multiple team members share usage and need role separation, seat separation, usage and activity logs → Tinrec (roles and seats separated, usage analytics, audit logs, audio recycle bin)
• If you mostly upload existing audio files in large volumes and need to control costs → Notta Business's "unlimited transcription" is more cost-effective
• If you need a standalone device to wear and record anytime → Notta Memo
• If you only occasionally organize a recording, less than 2 hours a month → start with Notta Free or Tinrec Free to test the waters

In one sentence: Notta does "voice to text" very completely and extends to hardware; Tinrec focuses on "what you want to do with the content after the meeting." Neither is comprehensively stronger; they solve problems at different stages.

FAQ

Q1: Are NOTTA INC. and Notta株式会社 the same thing? Not exactly. Notta株式会社 is the Japanese entity established on May 25, 2022, responsible for services and support in the Japanese market; NOTTA INC. is the overseas group parent, with the group holding company registered in the Cayman Islands. The external brand is uniformly Notta, but the legal entities are two levels.

Q2: Which country is Notta's service from? The service is operated by the Japanese entity Notta株式会社, with an overseas group parent. Founder Ryan Zhang is from China, and the team has a multinational background. For data processing and compliance details, check the official documentation directly.

Q3: Is Notta's free version enough? Free version: 120 minutes per month, max 3 minutes per item. If you only have one or two short meetings a week, it can last a while; but a 45-minute meeting will exceed the per-item limit, so long-term use will require a paid plan.

Q4: Does Tinrec need a meeting bot to join? No. Tinrec's desktop app directly captures computer system audio to handle Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex and other meetings. Note that it does not automatically join all your calendar meetings; you need to start recording yourself.

Q5: Can transcription accuracy be guaranteed for these tools? It's not advisable to view it as a fixed number. Actual performance is affected by recording quality, background noise, accents, overlapping speakers, and technical terminology. For important content, replay the recording against the transcript timestamps to confirm.

Q6: What should I note before recording? Different regions have different notification and consent requirements for recording; before a meeting, it's best to confirm local regulations and obtain participant consent when necessary.

References

• Notta - Wikipedia
• Notta株式会社｜スピーダ スタートアップ情報リサーチ
• Nottaはどこの国のサービス?運営会社やCEOの出身地を紹介
• Notta 2026 Company Profile: Valuation, Funding & Investors | PitchBook
• 会社概要 | Notta自動文字起こし