Fireflies.ai vs Sembly.ai

Both scored against the same 13 criteria, from the same hands-on testing. Here is where each one actually wins.

Last updated August 2026 · 28 tools ranked

Fireflies.ai rates higher overall, 3.7 out of 5 against Sembly.ai's 3.3, across our 13 weighted criteria. Fireflies.ai leads on transcription accuracy, ai analysis quality, real-time / live capability. Sembly.ai still wins on recording consent & compliance.

Fireflies.ai

#7 of 28

AI meeting assistant with CRM integration and conversation intelligence

3.7
Pricing
Free tier available; paid from $10/mo
Platforms
Web, Chrome extension, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
Read the full Fireflies.ai review →

Sembly.ai

#25 of 28

Agentic AI meeting platform for client-ready deliverables

3.3
Pricing
No free tier; from $17/mo
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension
Read the full Sembly.ai review →

All 13 Criteria, Side by Side

Criterion Weight Fireflies.ai Sembly.ai Winner
Privacy & Data Security High 3 3 Tie
Transcription Accuracy High 5 4 Fireflies.ai
AI Analysis Quality High 5 4 Fireflies.ai
Recording Consent & Compliance Med 2 3 Sembly.ai
Data Retention & Training Transparency Med 3 3 Tie
Real-Time / Live Capability Med 4 3 Fireflies.ai
Recording Method Med 3 3 Tie
Ease of Use Med 4 4 Tie
Platform Support Med 4 3 Fireflies.ai
Offline Capability Med 1 1 Tie
Integration Ecosystem Med 5 4 Fireflies.ai
Knowledge Connection Low 5 4 Fireflies.ai
Pricing & Value Low 4 3 Fireflies.ai
Overall (weighted) 3.7 3.3 Fireflies.ai

Overall is a weighted average, not a mean: high-weight criteria count triple and low-weight criteria count once. See the formula.

Choose Fireflies.ai if…

  • Transcription Accuracy matters to you. Fireflies.ai scores 5/5 here against 4/5.
  • AI Analysis Quality matters to you. Fireflies.ai scores 5/5 here against 4/5.
  • Real-Time / Live Capability matters to you. Fireflies.ai scores 4/5 here against 3/5.
  • Platform Support matters to you. Fireflies.ai scores 4/5 here against 3/5.

Best for sales teams who need deep CRM integration and conversation analytics, now with real-time meeting features layered on top.

Choose Sembly.ai if…

  • Recording Consent & Compliance matters to you. Sembly.ai scores 3/5 here against 2/5.

Semblian 2.0 turned Sembly into a credible agentic platform for professional-services teams that need client-ready deliverables, not just meeting notes.

Fireflies.ai at a glance

Strengths

  • +Excellent CRM integrations
  • +Strong conversation analytics
  • +Good search across meetings
  • +Real-time features now built in (live notes, voice-activated web search)

Limitations

  • Cloud-only processing
  • Bot joins calls visibly
  • Advanced AI features metered by a credit system on top of seat pricing
  • Can be expensive at scale

Sembly.ai at a glance

Strengths

  • +Agentic document generation (proposals, project plans, status reports)
  • +Cross-meeting AI chat across your entire history
  • +40+ integrations including Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, and Asana
  • +Mobile apps that record in-person conversations

Limitations

  • Cloud processing only
  • Bot-based recording
  • Speaker recognition wobbles on large calls
  • No custom vocabulary support

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Fireflies.ai or Sembly.ai better? +
Fireflies.ai scores higher overall — 3.7 out of 5 against Sembly.ai's 3.3 — on our 13-criteria weighted scoring. That is a 0.4-point gap, so it is a real but not overwhelming difference. Fireflies.ai is the better default choice; Sembly.ai is the better choice if you specifically need recording consent & compliance.
How much do Fireflies.ai and Sembly.ai cost? +
Fireflies.ai: Free tier available; paid from $10/mo. Sembly.ai: No free tier; from $17/mo. On our pricing and value criterion, which weighs cost against what you get for it, Fireflies.ai scores 4/5 and Sembly.ai scores 3/5.
Which platforms do Fireflies.ai and Sembly.ai support? +
Fireflies.ai runs on Web, Chrome extension, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android. Sembly.ai runs on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension. Fireflies.ai scores higher on platform coverage.
Which is better for privacy, Fireflies.ai or Sembly.ai? +
On privacy and data security Fireflies.ai scores 3/5 and Sembly.ai scores 3/5. Two related criteria matter as much: recording consent and compliance (Fireflies.ai 2/5, Sembly.ai 3/5) and data retention and training transparency (Fireflies.ai 3/5, Sembly.ai 3/5). Tools that train on customer data by default or record without clear all-party consent score low on those two regardless of their encryption claims.