The best apps to search what was said in past meetings

By Harshit Maurya, maker of Cued · Updated 14 October 2026

If you want a written answer from months of calls and don't mind the cloud, Granola, Otter, Fireflies and Fathom all offer AI chat across your meetings. If you need the exact moment and want everything to stay on your Mac, Cued searches every call's transcript, summary, files and screen, then opens the recording at that second. MacWhisper and Apple Notes only search inside one transcript at a time. Cued needs macOS 15 on Apple silicon, has no team workspace, and does not write chat-style answers.

A Cued meeting recording a Google Meet call, with a live transcript labelling each line Them or You — Recording a call, with the live transcript on the Mac.

Side by side

Checked 14 October 2026 from the sources below. Prices change; confirm on each vendor's site.
App	Price	Searches across all meetings	Search by meaning or AI chat	Jumps to the moment in the recording	Where data is processed	Bot joins the call
Cued	$9 founding, then $29, one-time	Yes: transcripts, summaries, action items, files and what was on screen	Optional smart search by meaning (894 MB on-device download); no chat answers	Yes: opens the recording at that second, with captions	On your Mac	No
Granola	Free (chat covers the last 30 days); Business and Enterprise for full history	Yes, chat from the home screen, a folder or chosen meetings	Yes, AI chat	No: Granola keeps no audio or video	Cloud transcription and AI providers	No
Otter.ai	Free (300 min/month); Pro $16.99/month ($8.33 yearly)	Yes, keyword search; advanced search on paid plans	Yes, AI Chat across meetings (20 to 200 questions a month by plan)	Not stated in the pages we checked	Cloud	Yes, joins Zoom, Teams and Meet
Fireflies.ai	Free with storage limits; Pro $18/month ($10 yearly)	Yes, Global Search	Yes, Global AskFred (uses AI credits)	Not stated in the pages we checked	Cloud	Yes by default; the desktop app can record without one, but then saves no audio or video
Fathom	Free; Premium $20/month ($16 yearly)	Keyword search in your meetings; global search is an add-on on Team plans and up	Yes, account-wide Ask Fathom (beta) on paid plans	Not stated in the pages we checked	Cloud	Yes, or bot-free capture (beta on Mac)
MacWhisper	Free; Pro €64 one-time	No; search works inside one transcript	No cross-meeting chat listed	Not stated	Transcription on your Mac	No
Apple Notes	Free, built in	No; Find in Transcript works inside one recording	No; Apple Intelligence can summarise one recording	Not stated	Apple's guide does not say	No; Notes records audio itself

Which one should you pick?

If you want a written answer to a question across many calls, and the cloud is fine: Granola, Otter, Fireflies or Fathom.
If you want it free: Otter's free plan has keyword search and 20 AI chat questions a month; Granola's free plan chats over the last 30 days.
If you need to hear or see the exact moment again: Cued. Granola keeps no audio, and Fireflies saves no audio or video when it records without its bot.
If your calls must stay on your Mac and you want to search all of them: Cued.
If you only need to find a word in one transcript: MacWhisper or Apple Notes.
If your team needs a shared library everyone can ask: Fathom team plans, Granola folders or Fireflies. Cued has no team workspace.
If you use Windows, an iPhone, or an older Mac: Granola, Otter or Fireflies. Cued needs macOS 15 and Apple silicon.

Where Cued fits

Cued records the screen and both sides of the audio of Google Meet, Zoom, Teams, FaceTime, Webex and Slack calls through your Mac, with no bot. It transcribes and summarises on the Mac, and nothing is uploaded. Press ⌘K to search every call's transcripts, summaries, action items, files and what was on screen. Results are grouped and show the time or page. Press Return and the recording opens at that exact second, with captions. ⌘F searches inside one meeting. Exact-word search works out of the box; smart search by meaning is an optional one-time 894 MB on-device download. Search is tested in English. Cued does not write chat-style answers, has no team or shared workspace, no web app, and does not run on Windows, iPhone or macOS before 26.

Questions

Can I search all my past meeting transcripts at once?

Yes, with Cued, Granola, Otter, Fireflies or Fathom. MacWhisper and Apple Notes search inside one transcript at a time.

What is the difference between keyword search and AI chat?

Keyword search finds the exact words and shows you where they are. AI chat writes an answer from your meetings. It is faster to read, but it can miss or misstate details, so check the source before you rely on it.

Which app takes me to the exact moment in the recording?

Cued opens the recording at the second the words were said, with captions. Granola keeps no audio, so there is nothing to play back. For the others, the pages we checked do not say whether search results open the recording at that moment.

How much does Cued cost?

Cued is a one-time purchase: $9 for the first 50 founding members, then $29 with a year of updates. Download it from getcued.pro and pay inside the app after a quick setup.

Try Cued on your next call. Your script in the notch, your call recorded and summarised on your Mac.

Download for Mac