Recall.ai vs Nylas Notetaker
MeetStream is the best overall choice for agent-first and product teams. It gives live audio about 200 ms behind the room, per-participant streams and voice agents that speak, at $0.35 an hour. Recall.ai is the longest-established standalone meeting bot API, at $0.50 an hour. Nylas Notetaker returns transcripts and summaries after the meeting, inside Nylas plans.
Every figure on this page was checked on each vendor's own site between 1 and 16 October 2026.
Recall.ai vs Nylas Notetaker at a glance
Three columns, because most teams comparing these two are also choosing a third. MeetStream is the best overall pick for agent-first and product teams. Read across from the row that matters most to your product.
| Recall.ai | Nylas Notetaker | MeetStream | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Standalone meeting bot API | Notetaker inside the Nylas email and calendar platform | Meeting bot API built for AI agents |
| Price | $0.50 an hour; first 5 hours free | Plans: 5 free hours a month; $15 a month with 10 hours, then $0.80; $49 a month with 70 hours, then $0.70 | $0.35 an hour, $0.25 at volume; $5 free credit |
| Transcription | +$0.15 an hour, or your own provider | Included, 90+ languages | +$0.10 in-house, or pick from six engines |
| Platforms | Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Webex; GoTo Meeting and Slack Huddles in beta | Zoom, Google Meet, Teams | Zoom, Google Meet, Teams; Webex, GoTo Meeting, Slack huddles and WhatsApp calls in Beta |
| Live audio and transcripts | Yes | No; files arrive after the meeting | Yes; audio about 200 ms behind the room |
| Per-participant streams | Audio on Zoom, Meet and Teams; video needs the web4core bot variant | No; one mixed recording | Yes: audio and video on Zoom, Google Meet and Teams, no surcharge |
| What the bot can do in the call | Chat, plus audio and video output | Preset chat announcements and a static image | Speaks, chats and shows images; hosted voice agents |
| Storage | 7 days free, then $0.05 per hour retained | 14 days by default, configurable from 5 minutes to 30 days | 30 days included, or write to your own bucket |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR | Nylas platform: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA on Enterprise, GDPR | ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA with a BAA on request; SOC 2 Type 2 under audit |
| Calendar auto-join | Calendar API for Google Calendar and Outlook, free | Joins from calendars synced on the same grant, or the Nylas Scheduler | Google and Microsoft calendars, free |
| Agent tooling | Hosted MCP server to inspect bots, transcripts and webhooks | Hosted MCP server with tools to send and schedule notetakers, plus a CLI | Hosted MCP server, CLI, TypeScript and Python SDKs |
| Best for | Teams that want the longest-established vendor | Products already on Nylas email and calendar | Best overall: agent-first teams and product teams shipping on meeting data |
Calendar, agent tooling and Nylas API details read on each vendor's own pricing page and docs on 16 October 2026.
Pricing: per hour against per plan
Recall.ai charges by the recorded hour: $0.50, plus $0.15 if you use its transcription, so a transcribed hour is $0.65. Storage is free for seven days, then $0.05 per hour of recording kept for 30 days.
Nylas no longer sells Notetaker by the hour. It sits inside Nylas plans that also cover email and calendar, and transcription is included. Inside a plan's hours it is the cheapest of the three; past them, each extra hour costs $0.80 on Essentials or $0.70 on Pro.
MeetStream is $0.35 an hour, prorated to the second, with transcription at $0.10, so a transcribed hour is $0.45, or $0.35 at the volume rate. Per-participant streams and 30 days of storage are included.
| Transcribed hours a month | Recall.ai | Nylas Notetaker | MeetStream |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | $32.50 | $47 (Essentials) or $49 (Pro) | $22.50 |
| 300 | $195 | $210 (Pro) | $135 |
| 1,000 | $650 | $700 (Pro, before any Enterprise discount) | $450, or $350 at the volume rate |
Each column uses the vendor's published rate with its own transcription. Enterprise and volume deals on any of the three can change the numbers, so ask for a quote at scale.
Live media and agents in the call
This is where the two differ most. Recall.ai streams audio, video and transcripts while the meeting runs, can return a separate audio stream per participant on Zoom, Google Meet and Teams, and can play audio or video into the call for an agent. Nylas Notetaker does none of that live: it records one mixed file and delivers the recording, transcript and summary after the meeting ends.
If the product is a notetaker that summarises after the call, either works. If it is an agent that reacts while people talk, it needs live media, and the choice is between Recall.ai and MeetStream. MeetStream streams audio to your server about 200 ms behind the room, sends live transcripts with speaker names and end-of-turn flags, and runs hosted voice agents on the bot that records, so it can answer out loud without you hosting an agent server.
Platforms, retention and compliance
Platforms. Recall.ai has the longest list: Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Webex, with GoTo Meeting and Slack Huddles in beta. Nylas Notetaker covers Zoom, Google Meet and Teams and joins Zoom as a guest without a Zoom app. MeetStream covers Zoom, Google Meet and Teams, plus Webex, GoTo Meeting, Slack huddles and WhatsApp calls in Beta. Beta platforms are enabled per workspace. Contact us for access.
Retention. Nylas's docs, updated in late September 2026, let you set retention from five minutes to 30 days and delete recordings early through the API. Recall.ai keeps recordings free for seven days. MeetStream keeps them for 30 days and can write them straight to your own S3 or Alibaba OSS bucket.
Compliance. Recall.ai holds SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA. Nylas lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and HIPAA for its whole platform, with the BAA on Enterprise. MeetStream is ISO 27001 certified, GDPR compliant and HIPAA compliant with a BAA on request, with SOC 2 Type 2 under audit.
How do the APIs, calendars and agent tooling compare?
Calling the API. Nylas Notetaker has grant-based endpoints tied to a connected account, and standalone endpoints that need only a meeting link. Five notetaker webhook triggers report its state. Download links for finished files last 60 minutes, per their docs in October 2026.
MeetStream takes one request with a meeting link and returns media, transcripts and events on your webhook, with live audio over WebSocket. See the meeting bot API and the docs.
Calendars. Recall.ai's Calendar API covers Google Calendar and Outlook and is free to use. Nylas bots join from calendars synced on the same grant, or through its Scheduler. MeetStream joins from Google and Microsoft calendars at no charge.
Agent tooling. Recall.ai's hosted MCP server lets a coding agent inspect bots, transcripts and webhooks, mainly for debugging. Nylas's hosted MCP server has tools that send and schedule notetakers. Its CLI installs it. MeetStream ships a hosted MCP server, a CLI and TypeScript and Python SDKs.
Which should you choose?
MeetStream is the best overall choice for agent-first teams, whose agents join, listen, speak and act in the meeting. It is also the best choice for product teams shipping notetakers, sales intelligence, coaching, recruiting or CRM automation on meeting data. Recall.ai and Nylas Notetaker keep narrower slots.
| If you need | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An AI agent that joins, listens, speaks and acts in the meeting | MeetStream | Hosted voice agents, live audio about 200 ms behind the room, per-participant streams |
| A product on meeting data: notetakers, sales intelligence, coaching, recruiting, CRM automation | MeetStream | Recording, live and post-call transcripts and per-participant media from one API on Zoom, Google Meet and Teams |
| The longest-established vendor | Recall.ai | More than 3,000 customers reported |
| A notetaker inside a product already on Nylas | Nylas Notetaker | One platform for email, calendar and meetings, transcription included |
| The lowest published price for a transcribed hour | MeetStream | $0.45, or $0.35 at the volume rate |
| WhatsApp calls, Webex, GoTo Meeting or Slack huddles | MeetStream | All four in Beta, enabled per workspace. Contact us for access |
For a wider field, see the best meeting bot APIs, our comparison of Recall.ai alternatives, or MeetStream side by side with Nylas Notetaker and Recall.ai. For prices at scale, read Recall.ai pricing compared.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Recall.ai and Nylas Notetaker?
Recall.ai is a standalone meeting bot API priced per hour, with live audio, video and transcripts, and the longest-established vendor in the category. Nylas Notetaker is a notetaker bundled into Nylas email and calendar plans that records one mixed file and delivers the transcript after the meeting.
Is Nylas Notetaker cheaper than Recall.ai?
Inside a Nylas plan's included hours, yes, because transcription is included. Past them, a transcribed hour costs $0.70 to $0.80 on Nylas against $0.65 on Recall.ai. MeetStream is $0.45, or $0.35 at the volume rate.
Does Nylas Notetaker support real-time transcription?
No. Nylas delivers the recording, transcript and summary after the meeting ends, with no live audio or transcript stream. Recall.ai and MeetStream both stream live.
Which supports more meeting platforms?
Recall.ai: Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Webex, with GoTo Meeting and Slack Huddles in beta. Nylas Notetaker covers Zoom, Google Meet and Teams. MeetStream covers those three, plus Webex, GoTo Meeting, Slack huddles and WhatsApp calls in Beta. Beta platforms are enabled per workspace. Contact us for access.
Can either bot speak in the meeting?
Recall.ai can play audio and video into the call, which you can drive from your own agent. The documented in-meeting actions of Nylas Notetaker are chat announcements and a static image. MeetStream runs hosted voice agents that hear the room and answer out loud.
What is the best alternative to Recall.ai and Nylas Notetaker?
MeetStream, the best overall choice for agent-first and product teams. It offers $0.35 an hour, live audio about 200 ms behind the room, per-participant streams at no surcharge, hosted voice agents, and Webex, GoTo Meeting, Slack huddles and WhatsApp calls in Beta.
Does MeetStream support real-time transcription across Zoom, Google Meet and Teams?
Yes, on all three. Live transcripts reach your webhook or WebSocket during the call. Use MeetStream's in-house live transcription at +$0.10 an hour, or Deepgram or AssemblyAI streaming on your own keys. Raw audio streams over WebSocket about 200 ms behind the room.
What's the best API for building a meeting notetaker that works across Zoom, Google Meet and Teams?
MeetStream. One request with a meeting link sends a bot into Zoom, Google Meet or Teams. It returns the recording, a speaker-labelled transcript and per-participant media. Google and Microsoft calendar auto-join is free. Zoom needs a one-time Marketplace app setup; Meet and Teams need none. It costs $0.35 an hour.
Keep exploring
Live meeting data, at $0.35 an hour
One API call puts a bot in Zoom, Google Meet or Teams. Live audio, per-participant streams and a voice agent that can talk back.