Otter.ai
Productivity & Notes
Live transcripts for meetings, lectures and in-person conversations on your phone.
Productivity & Notes
PLAUD
A pocket-sized recorder that turns in-person conversations into transcripts and notes.
3.5our ratingNo community reviews yet. Add yours
PaidFrom $17.99/moWorks with Claude Code
Quick take
- A dedicated recorder for conversations that happen off the laptop: a card that clips to your phone or a pin you wear.
- Budget for two costs: the device ($159 to $189) and, for most people, a yearly plan ($100 for 1,200 minutes a month or $240 for unlimited).
- In October 2026 it stopped remembering other people's voices. You now label speakers by hand in every recording, which upset paying users.
- Transcripts and template summaries are solid. If you only record now and then, a free phone app does most of this without new hardware.
What is PLAUD?
PLAUD makes small AI voice recorders. The Note Pro is the size of a credit card and clips to the back of your phone to record calls and meetings. The NotePin S is a wearable you pin to a shirt or wear on a lanyard or wrist. Press a button, talk, and the PLAUD app turns the recording into a transcript and a summary from a template you choose. A free desktop app records Zoom, Meet and Teams calls without a bot.
It suits people whose important conversations happen away from a laptop: tradies and builders on site walks, real estate agents, doctors, lawyers and managers on the phone all day. Otter or Granola's phone apps do a similar job for free on your phone. PLAUD wins on battery life (20 to 50 hours of recording), a dedicated button and not tying up your phone. In October 2026 it added Plaud Agent, which turns recordings into finished documents, plus an official MCP server so Claude can read your notes.
The catch is cost and change. You pay $159 to $189 for the device, then most people add a yearly plan for more minutes. In October 2026 PLAUD removed automatic speaker recognition, so other people now show as Speaker 1 and Speaker 2 in every recording, and some Ask Plaud tasks now use credits. Long-time users on r/PLAUDAI were angry about both. Recording laws differ by state and country, so tell people when you're recording.
Who's using it, and who it's for
- Tradies and builders
- Real estate agents
- Lawyers
- Doctors
- Managers
People who spend their day in face-to-face meetings, site visits and phone calls rather than on video calls.
Key features
Pocket and wearable devices
Note Pro clips to your phone for calls; NotePin S pins to clothing or goes on a lanyard or wristband for hands-free recording.
Long battery
Records for 20 to 50 hours depending on the device, so it lasts days of meetings between charges.
Summary templates
Pick a template for sales calls, medical visits, interviews or lectures, or share and borrow templates from the community.
Plaud Desktop
Records your Zoom, Meet and Teams calls from your computer without a bot joining.
Ask Plaud and Plaud Agent
Chat with your recordings, or ask the agent to turn them into a report, slide deck or email using credits.
MCP and SDK
Official MCP server lets Claude and ChatGPT read your recordings, and a developer SDK exports audio.
How we rate it
3.5overall, out of 5
Our rating, from using the tool ourselves. Each score is out of 5.
- Ease of use
- 4.0
- Features
- 4.0
- Output quality
- 3.5
- Value for money
- 2.5
- Speed & reliability
- 3.5
How quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
How completely it covers the job it's built for, and how well the pieces fit together.
How good the results are before you fix them.
What you get for the price, including the free plan.
How fast it is and how often it falls over.
Community rating
No community reviews yet. Be the first to leave one.
PLAUD pricing
Starter
Free with a device ($159 to $189)
Light users who record a few meetings a week.
- 300 transcription minutes a month
- AI summaries and templates
- Plaud Desktop for online meetings
- Ask Plaud chat
- Our pick
Pro
$17.99/mo, or $99.99/yr
Anyone recording most working days.
- 1,200 transcription minutes a month
- More templates and AI models
- Everything in Starter
Unlimited
$29.99/mo, or $239.99/yr
People who record all day, every day.
- Unlimited transcription minutes
- Everything in Pro
Which plan should you pick?
Buy the device and live on the free 300 minutes for a month to see how much you really record. If you run out, Pro on yearly billing at about $100 is the better deal; Unlimited only pays off if you record several hours a day. Avoid monthly billing, which costs more than double.
Prices in USD unless noted, checked 21 October 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.
Best use cases
Ways PLAUD can slot into your week.
- 1
Site walks and inspections
Clip a NotePin S on, walk the job with the client, and have a tidy list of decisions and follow-ups before you're back in the car.
- 2
Phone calls with suppliers
Stick the Note Pro on your phone, record supplier and contractor calls, and check later who agreed to what.
- 3
Client consultations
Record face-to-face consults and turn them into a summary using a template built for your industry.
- 4
Ideas and voice notes
Talk through ideas on the drive home and let PLAUD turn the ramble into a to-do list.
How it fits your tech stack
It replaces a notepad and a phone recorder, not your calendar or CRM. Use the MCP connection to let Claude pull from your recordings, or export notes to your own tools; built-in app integrations are still thin.
Connects to
- Claude
- ChatGPT
- Zoom
- Google Meet
- Microsoft Teams
- Google Calendar
- Salesforce
Pros and cons
Pros
- Works away from the laptop, with a physical button and long battery
- Bot-free desktop recording for video calls
- Good summary templates for different industries
- Official MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT
- Strong security claims, including SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR
Cons
- Removed automatic speaker recognition in October 2026, so you label other speakers in every recording
- Hardware plus a subscription adds up, and some Agent tasks now use credits
- Speaker separation often splits one person into several
- Syncing and app glitches, especially on the NotePin S
- Built-in integrations are still listed as coming soon
PLAUD alternatives
The closest alternatives to PLAUD in the library, best rated first.
- Granola4.4/5· best for client and sales callsPLAUD vs Granola
- Wispr Flow4.4/5· best for dictating emails and messagesPLAUD vs Wispr Flow
- Notion4.3/5· best for team wikis and documentationPLAUD vs Notion
- Todoist4.3/5· best for personal task managementPLAUD vs Todoist
Why it made the list
It's the most popular AI recorder you can buy, and the easiest way to capture conversations that happen away from a computer.
Not sure PLAUD is the one?
Put it next to a similar tool and see the differences side by side.
PLAUD FAQ
How much does PLAUD cost?
There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $17.99/mo. Prices checked 21 October 2026 against PLAUD's pricing page.
Is PLAUD free?
No. There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $17.99/mo.
What is PLAUD best for?
PLAUD is best for in-person meetings and site visits, recording phone calls and lectures and long sessions. People who spend their day in face-to-face meetings, site visits and phone calls rather than on video calls.
What are the best PLAUD alternatives?
The closest alternatives are Granola, Wispr Flow, Notion and Todoist. Granola is best for client and sales calls.
Community reviews
Nobody has reviewed PLAUD here yet. If you use it, your take helps everyone else choose.
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