BrassTranscripts vs Fireflies.ai: Honest Comparison
Fireflies.ai and BrassTranscripts solve different transcription problems. Fireflies joins your meetings automatically and integrates with your CRM. BrassTranscripts transcribes recordings you already have without requiring a subscription.
This comparison covers where each service excels, where each falls short, and which makes sense for different workflows.
Quick Navigation
- The Core Difference
- Pricing Comparison
- Feature Comparison Table
- When to Choose Fireflies.ai
- When to Choose BrassTranscripts
- Use Case Scenarios
- The Subscription vs Pay-Per-Use Decision
- FAQ
The Core Difference
Fireflies.ai: Meeting assistant that joins calls, records, transcribes, and integrates with business tools. Subscription-based with per-seat pricing.
BrassTranscripts: Upload-based transcription for existing audio/video files. Flat-rate pricing with no subscription required.
These aren't direct competitors—they serve different moments in the transcription workflow:
| Aspect | Fireflies.ai | BrassTranscripts |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Live meeting capture | Post-recording transcription |
| How It Works | Bot joins your meetings | Upload existing files |
| Pricing Model | Monthly subscription per seat | Pay-per-file, no subscription |
| Best For | Sales teams, recruiters, regular meetings | Podcasters, researchers, one-time projects |
Pricing Comparison
Fireflies.ai Pricing (January 2026)
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 800 min/seat |
| Pro | $18/seat | $10/seat | 8,000 min/seat |
| Business | $29/seat | $19/seat | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | $39/seat | $39/seat | Unlimited |
What's included by tier:
- Free: Unlimited transcription, limited AI summaries, basic search
- Pro: Unlimited AI summaries, download transcripts, action items
- Business: Video recording, multi-language, team analytics
- Enterprise: HIPAA compliance, SSO, custom data retention
BrassTranscripts Pricing
| Duration | Price | Per-Minute Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-15 minutes | $2.50 flat | $0.17-$2.50/min |
| 16-120 minutes | $6.00 flat | $0.05-$0.38/min |
What's included:
- Speaker identification (all files)
- 4 output formats (TXT, SRT, VTT, JSON)
- 99+ language support
- No subscription required
- No account required
Real Cost Scenarios
Scenario 1: Sales team of 5 people, 20 meetings/week
- Fireflies Pro (annual): $10 × 5 = $50/month ($600/year)
- BrassTranscripts: Would need to record meetings separately, then upload. Not the right tool for this use case.
Winner: Fireflies.ai—designed for this workflow.
Scenario 2: Podcast producer, 4 episodes/month (60 min each)
- Fireflies Pro: $10/month minimum, plus you'd need to "call yourself" to record
- BrassTranscripts: $6.00 × 4 = $24/month
Winner: BrassTranscripts—upload existing recordings, no subscription.
Scenario 3: Researcher, 15 interviews over 3 months (45 min average)
- Fireflies Pro: $10/month × 3 = $30, but designed for live meetings
- BrassTranscripts: $6.00 × 15 = $90 total, pay only when needed
Winner: BrassTranscripts—no monthly commitment for project-based work.
Scenario 4: Freelancer, occasional client calls (2-3/month)
- Fireflies Free: $0/month, 800 minutes storage limit
- BrassTranscripts: $6.00 × 3 = $18/month
Winner: Fireflies Free tier—if you need live meeting capture and stay under limits.
Feature Comparison Table
| Feature | Fireflies.ai | BrassTranscripts |
|---|---|---|
| Live meeting bot | ✅ Joins Zoom, Meet, Teams | ❌ Not available |
| Upload recordings | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Speaker identification | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (Pyannote 3.1) |
| AI summaries | ✅ Yes (limited on Free) | ❌ Not included |
| Action item extraction | ✅ Yes (Pro+) | ❌ Not included |
| CRM integration | ✅ Salesforce, HubSpot | ❌ Not available |
| Real-time transcription | ✅ Yes | ❌ Not available |
| Subtitle formats (SRT/VTT) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| JSON output | ❓ Limited | ✅ Full transcript data |
| Languages supported | ✅ Multi-language (Business+) | ✅ 99+ languages |
| HIPAA compliance | ✅ Enterprise only | ❌ Not HIPAA compliant |
| No account required | ❌ Account required | ✅ No account needed |
| No subscription | ❌ Subscription model | ✅ Pay per file |
| Mobile app | ✅ Yes | ❌ Web only |
When to Choose Fireflies.ai
Fireflies.ai makes sense when you need:
Live Meeting Capture
- Bot automatically joins scheduled meetings
- No manual recording required
- Works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and others
Sales and Recruiting Workflows
- CRM integrations push meeting notes to Salesforce, HubSpot
- Conversation intelligence tracks talk time, sentiment
- Action items automatically extracted
Team Collaboration
- Shared meeting library across organization
- Comments, highlights, and soundbites
- Team analytics and performance tracking
Regular Meeting Volume
- If you have 10+ meetings per week, subscription model makes economic sense
- Unlimited transcription on all paid plans
- Storage scales with plan tier
Enterprise Requirements
- HIPAA compliance available (Enterprise tier)
- SSO, SCIM provisioning
- Custom data retention policies
- Dedicated account management
When to Choose BrassTranscripts
BrassTranscripts makes sense when you need:
Existing Recording Transcription
- Already have audio/video files to transcribe
- Recordings from external sources (interviews, podcasts, lectures)
- Archive content that needs documentation
No Subscription Commitment
- Pay only when you have files to transcribe
- No monthly minimum or annual contract
- Project-based work with variable volume
Simple, Fast Workflow
- Upload file → Get transcript in 1-3 minutes
- No account creation required
- Download immediately in multiple formats
Budget-Conscious Projects
- Flat $6.00 for files up to 2 hours
- No per-seat pricing multiplication
- Predictable costs for planning
Multi-Format Output
- TXT for editing and analysis
- SRT/VTT for video subtitles
- JSON for programmatic processing
- All formats included, no upsell
Use Case Scenarios
Sales Team Daily Standups
Best Choice: Fireflies.ai
Sales teams need automatic meeting capture integrated with CRM. Fireflies' bot joins every call, extracts action items, and pushes notes to Salesforce. The subscription pays for itself through time saved on manual note-taking.
Podcast Episode Production
Best Choice: BrassTranscripts
Podcasters record in their preferred DAW (Audacity, Logic, Descript), then upload finished episodes for transcription. No need for a meeting bot. The $6.00 flat rate for 60+ minute episodes beats subscription pricing for monthly episode counts under 10.
Academic Research Interviews
Best Choice: BrassTranscripts
Researchers conduct interviews over months, with variable frequency. Project-based transcription without monthly fees fits academic budgets. The 30-word preview before payment helps verify quality before committing.
Recurring Client Meetings
Best Choice: Fireflies.ai (if 5+ weekly) or BrassTranscripts (if occasional)
High-volume client meetings benefit from Fireflies' automation. But freelancers with 2-3 client calls monthly may find upload-based transcription more economical—record with Zoom, upload the recording, pay per file.
Webinar Repurposing
Best Choice: BrassTranscripts
Marketing teams repurposing recorded webinars into blog posts and social content need transcripts of existing recordings. Upload the webinar recording, get speaker-labeled transcripts, use AI prompts for content transformation.
Legal Depositions
Best Choice: Neither (use legal-specific service)
Both services lack the legal-specific features courts require: certified transcripts, strict chain of custody, court reporter certification. For legal work, use dedicated legal transcription services.
The Subscription vs Pay-Per-Use Decision
The fundamental question: How predictable is your transcription volume?
Choose Subscription (Fireflies) If:
- ✅ You have consistent weekly meeting volume
- ✅ You need live meeting capture without manual recording
- ✅ Team collaboration features add value
- ✅ CRM integration saves manual data entry
- ✅ You'll use the service every month
Choose Pay-Per-Use (BrassTranscripts) If:
- ✅ Your transcription needs vary month to month
- ✅ You already have recordings to transcribe
- ✅ You want to avoid recurring charges
- ✅ Project-based work with defined start/end
- ✅ You value simplicity over features
The Math That Matters
Break-even point for BrassTranscripts vs Fireflies Pro ($10/month):
- $10 ÷ $6.00 = 1.67 files
- If you transcribe 2+ files per month consistently, Fireflies Pro offers better value
- If you transcribe 1 file or less on average, pay-per-use saves money
But this ignores the real question: Do you need live meeting capture?
If yes → Fireflies (or similar meeting assistant) If no → Upload-based services like BrassTranscripts
Honest Assessment
What Fireflies Does Better
- Live meeting automation: No competition from upload-based services
- Business integrations: CRM, project management, collaboration tools
- Team features: Analytics, shared libraries, permissions
- Enterprise compliance: HIPAA, SOC 2, custom retention
What BrassTranscripts Does Better
- Simplicity: Upload → Transcribe → Download. No complexity.
- Pricing transparency: Two tiers, no hidden costs, no per-seat multiplication
- No commitment: Pay when you need it, skip months when you don't
- Format flexibility: All 4 output formats included on every file
What Neither Does Well
- Real-time collaborative editing: Both provide transcripts, not editing environments
- Human review option: Both are AI-only (for human transcription, see Rev or GoTranscript)
- Legal certification: Neither provides court-certified transcripts
FAQ
Can I use both services together?
Yes. Some workflows benefit from Fireflies for live meetings and BrassTranscripts for archive recordings or external content. There's no conflict—they solve different problems.
Does Fireflies work if I record meetings myself?
Yes, Fireflies accepts uploaded recordings. But their pricing model assumes you're using the live meeting bot. If you're only uploading recordings, pay-per-file services may be more economical.
Is one more accurate than the other?
Both use advanced AI models. BrassTranscripts uses WhisperX large-v3 with Pyannote 3.1 speaker diarization. Fireflies uses proprietary models. Real-world accuracy depends more on audio quality than the service. Clear audio with minimal background noise produces good results on both platforms.
What about data privacy?
Fireflies stores recordings and transcripts in the cloud with retention policies varying by plan. BrassTranscripts deletes audio within 24 hours and transcripts within 48 hours. For sensitive content, review each service's privacy policy and consider your compliance requirements.
Can Fireflies transcribe podcast recordings?
Technically yes, but it's not designed for that workflow. You'd upload the recording, which bypasses Fireflies' main value proposition (live meeting capture). For podcast transcription, upload-based services provide simpler workflows.
Ready to try upload-based transcription? Upload your first file and see the 30-word preview before payment. No account required, no subscription commitment.
Related Comparisons:
- BrassTranscripts vs Otter.ai — Similar subscription vs pay-per-use analysis
- AI vs Human Transcription — When to choose each approach