AI transcription tools comparison
Last updated: 9 October 2026
Public and verifiable comparison of AudioMap against several AI transcription tools, with data read on their official websites on 9 October 2026.
This page exists because when a potential user asks "how are you different from Fireflies / Otter / Granola?", the honest answer requires more nuance than the typical marketing chart.
The difference we care about is where the data physically resides during processing and which capture model each tool uses (a bot that joins the meeting or intentional capture).
Each competitor's data was read on their official pricing, privacy and security pages on 9 October 2026, and is listed with its source at /vs. A ? cell means it is not stated on their site, not that it does not exist. If you think something is wrong, write to privacidad@audiomap.ai and we'll fix it.
Legend
- ●Yes / available
- ○No / unavailable
- ◐Partial / conditional
- ?Not publicly verified
| Product | Model | Processing | Auto-join bot | Full EU option | Consent audit log | Local fallback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AudioMap | Audio-first (no bot) | Hetzner DE + AssemblyAI EU + Vertex EU | ○ | ● | ● | ● |
| Fireflies | Notetaker bot that joins the meeting | Servers in the US and other countries; own storage on Enterprise only | ● | ◐ | ? | ? |
| Otter | Joins Zoom, Teams and Meet | AWS in the US | ● | ? | ? | ? |
| Fathom | Bot or bot-free capture (beta, Mac only) | Hosted in the US | ◐ | ? | ? | ? |
| Granola | Captures device audio, no bot | US-hosted AWS | ○ | ? | ? | ? |
Why it matters where data is processed
If your meetings contain professional secrecy, health, tax or minors' data, the AEPD (April 2026 guidance) requires documented vendor due diligence, including where the data physically resides. A vendor that cites standard contractual clauses or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework may satisfy it, but the transfer analysis is done by your organisation.
AudioMap processes in Europe (dedicated Hetzner server in Germany, AssemblyAI EU, Vertex AI europe-west1 and Cloudflare R2 EU), documented at /legal/subprocessors.
Disclaimer
This comparison is not a recommendation against any product. Each product has its use case. If your meetings do not contain sensitive data, jurisdiction may not be relevant to you. If they do (professional secrecy, health data, tax data, minors), the AEPD published in April 2026 that vendor due diligence is mandatory and processing in the US without a documented Transfer Impact Assessment is regulatory risk.
Is AudioMap a fit for you?
If processing jurisdiction matters to your business (tax advisory, law firm, clinic, consultancy with European privacy-sensitive clients):
- Start free (first hour, no card).
- For DPA + joint audit: hello@audiomap.ai.
- AEPD compliance map: /legal/aepd-compliance.