How to Transcribe a Zoom Meeting for Free (3 Methods, No Paid Plan)

You can transcribe a Zoom meeting without paying Zoom. Zoom’s cloud audio transcript is a paid feature. The three free paths are: save Zoom’s in-meeting transcript if your account shows the control, let Fathom Free join and send a summary, or record on the computer (included on Zoom’s Basic plan) and transcribe that file with Otter or tl;dv.

Steps and limits below come from Zoom’s help center, read October 24, 2026, and from the notetaker pricing pages we checked October 16, 2026. We did not score accuracy. Tell the other people in the meeting before you record or let a bot join. Consent rules vary, and this is not legal advice.

The three methods

Method	What you pay	What you get	Where it breaks
1. Zoom’s meeting transcript	$0 if the control is available	A live panel, saved as a .TXT on your computer	Cloud audio transcripts still require a paid Zoom plan. The in-meeting control must be enabled
2. Fathom Free	$0	Unlimited recordings, transcripts, instant summaries, clips, and search. A bot joins	Some clients will not accept a bot
3. Record on this computer, then Otter or tl;dv	$0 within the free caps	A local video plus a transcript	Otter Free is 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation. tl;dv Free limits AI notes

Figure (three-path diagram, not a product screenshot). Alt: Path one stays inside Zoom and saves a text file if Transcript is in the More menu. Path two invites Fathom and keeps the notes in Fathom. Path three records to the computer, then uploads the audio to Otter or tl;dv. A paid Zoom cloud transcript is shown as a separate path you do not need for these three.

The paid comparison of these notetakers is Otter vs Fireflies vs Fathom vs Granola. A wider free-plan list, including Meet and Teams, is the best free AI note takers in 2026.

Method 1: Zoom’s meeting transcript, saved as text

Zoom documents two different transcript features. They are easy to mix up.

Cloud audio transcription produces a VTT file next to a cloud recording. Zoom’s requirements are a Pro, Business, Education, or Enterprise account, cloud recording enabled, and audio transcription enabled. Basic (free) accounts do not get cloud recording. This is the feature people mean when they say “Zoom transcription is paid.” It is paid. Skip it for this article.

Meeting transcripts are the in-meeting panel. Zoom’s help article says the host starts it from More, then Transcript. Participants can request it, and the host can decline. With the panel open, Save transcript writes a .TXT file to the device. Zoom lists these folders:

• Windows: C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Zoom
• Mac: /Users/[Username]/Documents/Zoom
• Linux: home/[Username]/Documents/Zoom

The requirements on that article are: meeting transcript enabled, and a current Zoom desktop app (Windows, macOS, or Linux) or mobile app. The article does not say “Pro or higher.” It also does not promise the control on every Basic account. Admins can withhold features. If More does not show Transcript, this method is unavailable on that account, and you use method 2 or 3.

What you get is a text file of the words spoken while transcription was on. It is not Fathom’s summary, and it is not a searchable archive across meetings. It is the right method when you only need the words and you do not want another account.

Method 2: Fathom Free, if a bot may join

Fathom joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. The free plan includes unlimited recordings, transcripts, instant summaries, clips, and search. Premium, which adds advanced summaries and AI action items, is $16/month billed annually or $20 monthly. You do not need Premium to get a transcript.

Use Fathom when you want the notes waiting after the call, across more than one meeting, at no charge. Tell people the bot is in the participant list. If a client will not allow that, use method 3 or Granola, which transcribes computer audio without a bot. Granola Basic is free with 30 days of note history. Business is $14/user/month.

Fathom is part of Superhuman. The free recording limit is the reason it is method 2 and not an afterthought.

Method 3: Record on the computer, then transcribe the file

Zoom’s computer recording is available to free and paid subscribers, on the desktop app for Windows, macOS, or Linux. It is not supported on the iOS or Android Zoom apps. Start the meeting as the host, click Record, and choose Record on this Computer if a menu appears. Participants see a recording indicator, and dial-in callers hear a notice unless the host has turned that notice off. When the meeting ends, Zoom converts the file and opens the folder.

Computer recordings do not include Zoom’s audio transcription. That limitation is why this is a two-step method. They also capture the meeting as you were viewing it, and they do not record reactions.

Then put the audio somewhere that will transcribe it for free:

• Otter Basic includes 300 transcription minutes per user per month and 30 minutes per conversation. A two-hour workshop does not fit the per-conversation cap. A 25-minute standup does. Otter can also join live, which spends the same minute pool.
• tl;dv Free includes unlimited recordings and transcription, with AI notes capped (10 AI-note meetings on the free plan in our October 16 check) and a cap on Ask AI queries (10). The paid price we saw was displayed in a local currency, so this article does not quote a USD upgrade. The free transcription allotment is the part that matters here.
• Fireflies has a free plan and a bot. The pricing page we used listed paid prices and did not state a free minute cap. Confirm that cap before you rely on it for a long meeting. Pro is $10/user/month billed annually if you later need a paid seat.

Pick one notetaker. Running Fathom and Otter and tl;dv on the same call is how you end up with three bots and three partial notes.

Which method to use

Situation	Method
You are the host, Transcript is in the More menu, and a text file is enough	1
You want a summary and a library, and a bot is acceptable	2
Nobody will accept a bot, and you are on a computer	3, or Granola if you want notes without uploading a file to Otter
You are on a phone only	Method 3’s local recording is desktop-only. Use method 1 if Transcript appears, or method 2
The meeting is longer than 30 minutes and you want Otter	Otter Free will cut the conversation off at 30 minutes. Use Fathom or tl;dv for the long file
You already pay for Zoom Pro	You can turn on cloud audio transcription. You still might prefer Fathom if you want the summary. Paying Zoom does not obligate you to use Zoom’s transcript

Before you hit record

• Say that you are recording or transcribing, in the invite or at the start.
• Do not upload a confidential call to a consumer notetaker if your company forbids it. The free plans here are consumer and team products, not a signed enterprise agreement.
• Check names and numbers in the transcript before you paste action items into an email. Every one of these tools will mis-hear a proper noun.
• If the notes then have to move into another app, that handoff is an automation problem. See Zapier vs Make vs n8n.

FAQ

Does Zoom Free include transcription?

Zoom’s cloud audio transcript does not. It requires a paid plan with cloud recording. The separate in-meeting Transcript control can save a .TXT file, and Zoom’s article on that control does not list a paid plan in the requirements. If the button is missing, use Fathom or a local recording.

What is the best unlimited free Zoom transcript?

Fathom Free documents unlimited recordings and transcripts. tl;dv Free documents unlimited recordings and transcription, with a tight cap on AI notes. Otter Free is 300 minutes and 30 minutes per conversation. “Unlimited” is Fathom’s published claim.

Can I transcribe without a bot joining?

Yes. Save Zoom’s transcript from the panel if it is available, or record to the computer and upload the file afterward, or use Granola, which takes computer audio and does not add a participant. You still need to tell people they are being recorded.

Last verified

October 24, 2026 for Zoom’s computer-recording, cloud-transcription, and meeting-transcript help articles. October 16, 2026 for Fathom, Otter, tl;dv, Granola, and Fireflies plan limits.

Sources: Starting a computer recording, Using audio transcription for cloud recordings, Using Meeting transcripts, Fathom pricing, Otter pricing, tl;dv.

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