AI-powered note taking solutions can help students produce effective notes in less time. In this blog, let’s explore and compare Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai vs Jamworks, as automated note taking tools.
Whether for meetings, online learning, lectures, or seminars, there’s a wide range of AI tools to choose from. But, which is the best tool for you? It can be overwhelming to pick the right automated note taker, especially when most are designed as meeting tools.
To help you find the right tool, we’ll compare three AI-powered automated note taking solutions with a focus on their benefits and drawbacks for students.
Otter.ai
Best for simple & generic automated notes and summaries
Otter.ai is an AI-driven automated note taking tool that records audio and converts speech into text. Alongside real-time transcription and live captioning, Otter.ai offers summary generation, keyword extraction, and speaker recognition.
Best Features of Otter.ai For Students
- Automated note taking: For in-person and online lectures or meetings, students can see spoken content transcribed on-screen in real-time. In remote sessions, Otter can capture and insert lecture slides into the notes.
- AI summaries: Students can recap their lecture content using AI-generated summaries both during and after the session. Keywords can be useful for identifying important themes and organising content.
- Accessible notes: Live captioning, real-time transcription, speaker labels, and AI summaries can all be powerful tools for ensuring every student can extract value from their lectures, meetings, or seminars.
Pricing
Free Basic
- 300 minutes of live transcription per month
- 30 minutes per conversation
- Only 3 pre-recorded audio or video file uploads
Pro
- Per month: $16.99 billed monthly, $10 billed annually
- 1200 minutes of live transcription per month
- 90 minutes per conversation
- 10 pre-recorded audio or video file uploads per month
Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai vs Jamworks
Otter.ai is a competent tool for taking simple automatic notes. However, when compared to other note takers, it has its limitations. Students can only capture audio recordings which may lack essential context for effective learning. In contrast, both Jamworks and Fireflies.ai offer audio and video recordings.
In terms of AI, Otter.ai offers less intelligent features in comparison to Fireflies.ai and Jamworks. Fireflies.ai is known for powerful AI search and categorisation features. While Jamworks includes student-focused AI tools for note taking, revision, and learning. However, Otter.ai might be more suitable for students when compared to Fireflies.ai.
Otter.ai offers real-time automated note taking and live captioning for both in-person and remote sessions. While Fireflies.ai is limited to video conferencing platforms, which can reduce the accessibility of in-person sessions for students. Yet, Jamworks offers both the powerful AI features of Fireflies and the accessibility-friendly notetaking features of Otter.ai, all while being a tool specifically designed for students.
Jamworks
Best for accessible AI-powered notes, intelligent revision tools, and personalised learning support
Jamworks is a powerful AI note taking tool that records lectures and generates interactive study materials from your notes. As a note taker designed for students, Jamworks is an all-in-one tool for note taking, revision, personalised learning support, and inclusive education.
Best Features of Jamworks for Students
- Lecture recordings with AI: Students can record in-person and online lectures with Jamworks. Using the latest AI, each recording is organised into key highlights and topics automatically, creating a seamless note taking experience.
- Comprehensive multimedia notes: Each highlight can be viewed as an AI-generated summary, audio chapter, video snippet, or verbatim transcript. Students can also view entire transcripts with speaker labels, AI-generated key points, and add their own notes, files, and images.
- Interactive AI study materials: Students can review, revise, and explore their learning materials further with AI-powered flashcard quizzes and JamAI, the intelligent chatbot for personalised learning support 24/7.
- Assistive note taking and learning: Jamworks ensures an accessible learning experience for all with dedicated features for those with who identify as disabled or neurodivergent. From live captioning and customisable reading features to screen-reader compatibility and user-specific profiles, Jamworks was designed with inclusivity in mind.
Pricing
Expert
- £9.99 per month
- 15 hours of recording with AI-powered highlights, summaries, and unlimited transcription.
Pro
- £14.99 per month
- Unlimited recordings with additional AI-driven study features, including flashcard quizzes, key points, and unlimited JamAI prompts.
If you’re a student in the UK who is eligible for DSA, Jamworks is a DSA-approved tool for assistive note taking. Jamworks also offers significant discounts for institutions that purchase bulk licensing.
Jamworks vs Fireflies.ai vs Otter.ai
Unlike Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai, Jamworks is an automated note taking tool designed for students. The former note taking tools can be useful for students looking for transcribed notes and summaries. However, they are designed with meetings in mind and are often tools for business and sales professionals. Some of Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai’s’ key features might not be useful for students or provide a less intuitive experience.
Jamworks builds upon the accessibility features of Otter.ai, while also offering the option to capture video content. In terms of assistive technology, Jamworks provides a broader range of features for students with diverse needs. While Fireflies.ai is limited to remote recordings, Jamworks can be used for both in-person and remote sessions on a wide variety of platforms.
Both Fireflies.ai and Jamworks are powerful AI tools that are packed with intelligent features, especially when compared to Otter.ai. However, the AI-powered search and categorisation features of Fireflies.ai are better suited for business professionals and their teams. In contrast, Jamworks uses AI to create a safe, wall-guarded AI experience for students with summaries, quizzes, and personalised AI tutor chatbots.
Fireflies.ai
Best for remote meetings and seminars, AI-powered search, and simple note taking
Fireflies.ai is an intelligent note taking tool that integrates with video conferencing platforms, such as Teams, Zoom, Google Meets, and more. Alongside real-time transcription and video capture, Fireflies.ai also generates powerful insights by analysing and summarising audio conversation.
Best Features of Fireflies.ai for Students
- Automatic lecture recordings: Students can schedule Fireflies.ai to join virtual sessions to record and capture their notes. Alternatively, there is an option to upload audio and video files for transcription.
- AI-powered review and search: Fireflies.ai can produce intelligent summaries, action items, outlines, and key points for easy content review. Using AI filters, students can find categories of information, and view keywords.
- Shareable soundbites and integrations: Students can share snippets from their online sessions with others by creating soundbites. Fireflies.ai also offers a number of integrations with note taking and communication tools like Slack and Notion.
- Analyse conversations: Fireflies.ai offers the potential to track metrics such as speaker time, or identify particular topics of discussion.
Pricing
Free
- Limited transcription credits and 800 minutes of storage
Pro
- Per month: $18 billed monthly, $10 billed annually
- Unlimited transcription credits and 8000 minutes of storage
Fireflies.ai vs Jamworks vs Otter.ai
In contrast to Otter.ai and Jamworks, Fireflies.ai can only record remote sessions, unless students upload files for transcription later. Yet, for some students, like postgraduates or researchers, this note taking tool could be useful for managing a meeting-heavy schedule.
Fireflies.ai has some incredibly intelligent functionality. Students can review, search, and analyse recordings, however, these work better for meetings. For example, the list of action items can populate with unrelated lecture content.
For longer lectures, seeing the thread of summaries, key points, and outlines, can become quite lengthy to read through too. However, these features could be useful to students during project meetings for group work or virtual seminars.
Both Jamworks and Fireflies.ai are powerful AI tools, yet each serves different purposes. Jamworks is better suited to students, allowing content to be broken down into key topics and highlights, alongside AI-generated summaries, transcripts, and key points.
In terms of usability, Fireflies.ai is built to be an intelligent meeting assistant and might not be intuitive for students to use. As a simple tool, Otter.ai offers an easier-to-navigate interface than Fireflies.ai, while Jamworks was built with students in mind, making it more intuitive to use. Fireflies.ai also offers limited accessibility features when compared to Jamworks and Otter.ai.
Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai vs Jamworks: Overview
For students looking for a comprehensive note taking and learning tool, Jamworks is an ideal option. Jamworks combines the powerful AI capabilities of Fireflies.ai and simple, accessible note taking features of Otter.ai, into one platform.
Otter.ai is a good AI note taking alternative for students interested in transcripts and summaries. Students with meeting-heavy schedules, group work, or virtual seminars might prefer Fireflies.ai’s intelligent functionality.
Here’s a brief overview of the features for each platform:
Jamworks
- Lecture recordings with automated AI highlights and key topics
- Multimedia notes with transcripts, key points, AI summaries, audio chapters, and video snippets
- Take notes live and upload files or images to keep everything organised
- Records audio and video content both in-person and online
- Generates interactive study materials such as flashcard quizzes
- Offers safe, wall-guarded AI tutor chatbots trained on lecture recordings only
- Shareable highlights for collaborative learning
- Dedicated accessibility customisation features that go beyond live captioning
Otter.ai
- Real-time automated simple notes with lecture capture in virtual sessions
- Audio recordings of in-person and online sessions
- AI-generated summaries with key takeaways
- Shareable transcripts and automated meeting summaries
- Schedule otter.ai to join virtual sessions
- Live captioning for accessible and inclusive learning
- Highlight, comment, and add images to notes
- Preview keywords for each transcript
Fireflies.ai
- Automatic recordings for virtual meetings
- Integrates with wide variety of video conferencing platforms
- Captures audio and video content
- Generates real-time transcripts
- Produces AI-powered summaries, outlines, action items, and key points
- Offers intelligent analysis features for conversations
- Shareable soundbites
- AI-powered filters and search
If you would like to view a free interactive Jamworks demo, click here.
To get a personalised quote for Jamworks at your educational institution, click here.
To purchase a student account of Jamworks click here.
