CraftNote and Read AI solve different problems. CraftNote (we build it, so weigh that accordingly) stays bot-free by default and keeps things simple: transcript, summary, action items, across every device. Read AI's core mechanism is still a bot that joins your scheduled Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call, but as of 2026 it also ships a free standalone mobile app for in-person capture, which narrows a gap that older comparisons (including CraftNote's own past copy) overstated. Read AI's real differentiator remains meeting analytics: engagement, sentiment, coaching. Verified against Read AI's own pricing page and mobile app page as of 2026-08-25.
Overview
CraftNote
CraftNote is a bot-free AI note-taker for iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and the web. It records meetings and calls, in person or online, straight from your device with no bot joining the call, and produces a transcript, summary and action items with speaker labels, in 100+ languages. Free plan gives 10 uploads/imports and 2 hours of recording every week.
Read AI
Read AI is an AI meeting assistant whose main mechanism is a bot that joins your Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams calls. Beyond notes, it focuses on meeting analytics, engagement, sentiment, participation, a 'Meeting Coach' that tracks talking speed and filler words, plus a free companion mobile app (iOS 17.5+ / Android 12+) for in-person recording, up to 4 hours per session, that runs separately from the bot-join flow. Pricing: Free (5 meetings/month, 1-hour cap, 20+ languages), Pro $19.75/month ($15/month billed annually), Enterprise $29.75/month ($22.50/month annually), and Enterprise+ $39.75/month ($29.75/month annually, 5+ licenses required, adds HIPAA compliance and SAML/SCIM).
Feature Comparison
| Feature | CraftNote | Read AI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recording approach (video calls) | Bot-free by default. Records from your own device for every online call. | A bot joins your scheduled Zoom, Meet or Teams call, the primary and most-used capture method for video meetings. | ✓ |
| In-person / mobile capture | Built in from the start, on every plan including free, record in-person conversations straight from the same app you use for everything else. | Read AI now ships a separate, free mobile app (iOS 17.5+/Android 12+) specifically for in-person and IRL capture, up to 4 hours per session, a real 2026 addition that older comparisons don't reflect. It runs alongside, not instead of, the bot-join method. | ― |
| Meeting analytics and engagement | Focuses on notes rather than analytics; no engagement or sentiment scoring. | A core strength: engagement, sentiment, participation and topic analytics, plus a Meeting Coach and 'For You Insights' on paid tiers. | ✓ |
| Free tier | 10 uploads/imports and 2 hours of recording every week, ongoing, in 100+ languages. | 5 meetings/month, capped at 1 hour each, in 20+ languages. | ✓ |
| Paid pricing (entry tier) | Pro is $9.99/month, or $8.33/month billed yearly ($99.99/year). | Pro is $19.75/month, or $15/month billed annually, roughly double CraftNote's entry price at the monthly rate. | ✓ |
| Languages | 100+ languages with automatic detection, on every plan. | 16-20+ languages across tiers, per Read AI's own pricing and mobile pages. | ✓ |
| Automation / digital assistant | Delivers notes and action items; no scheduling or email agent. | Offers a 'digital twin' concept for scheduling and follow-ups, layered on top of meeting data. | ✓ |
| Integrations | MCP integrations (Linear, Claude, ChatGPT and more) on the Team plan. | Premium tier integrations: Notion, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Confluence, Zapier, webhooks. | ✓ |
| Top-tier compliance | GDPR-compliant; audio auto-deleted after 60 days. No SOC 2 or HIPAA claim as of 2026-08-25. | Enterprise+ ($39.75/month, 5+ licenses) adds HIPAA compliance, SAML SSO and SCIM provisioning, a genuine edge for regulated teams that need it. | ✓ |
| No-bot privacy in the room | Nothing is added to the call for online meetings, there's no visible third participant. | A bot is present and visible in scheduled video calls, even though the newer mobile app avoids this for in-person capture. | ✓ |
Who Should Pick Which?
Choose CraftNote if…
People who want bot-free capture as the default for every meeting type, a cheaper paid tier, and broader language coverage, without paying for meeting-analytics features they won't use.
Choose Read AI if…
Teams that live in scheduled video calls and want more than notes: engagement and sentiment analytics, coaching, premium CRM/PM integrations, and, at the Enterprise+ tier, HIPAA compliance. Its 2026 mobile app also makes it a reasonable pick if you occasionally need in-person capture too.