Grain vs Fireflies.ai (2026)
A head-to-head on price, free access, and staying power. Both live and price-verified as of Jul 21, 2026.
The verdict, first
Grain
- if it starts cheaper, at $15/mo against $18/mo.
- if you lean toward the more recent build, from 2018.
- if it is built for SMB teams.
Fireflies.ai
- if a longer track record matters to you; it has run since 2016.
What each one is
Grain
What sets it apart conversation intelligence and coaching with bot-free recording and free viewers
Grain records and summarizes meetings and leans toward conversation intelligence for revenue teams, adding coaching, team-interaction insights, and CRM sync on higher tiers. It records without a bot and lets non-recording teammates join as free viewers. It fits customer-facing teams that want deal and coaching insight, not just a transcript.
Sources Grain pricing
Fireflies.ai
What sets it apart cross-platform capture with sentence-level search across your whole history
Fireflies records and transcribes meetings across Zoom, Meet, Teams, and other platforms, with transcription in a wide range of languages and search that can jump to a specific sentence and timestamp months later. It connects to CRMs and collaboration tools and layers on assistants such as AskFred. It fits teams that meet across several platforms and want one searchable, integrated record.
Sources Fireflies pricing
Side by side
| Metric | Grain | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| From $/mo | $15 | $18 |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Founded | 2018 | 2016 |
| Best for | SMB | solo & SMB & enterprise |
| Status | Live | Live |
ALL FIGURES = LOWEST PAID MONTHLY PLAN · STATUS & PRICE VERIFIED JUL 21, 2026
Where they differ
Price
Grain is the cheaper entry at $15/mo, versus $18/mo for Fireflies.ai. Both prices are the lowest paid monthly plan, verified Jul 21, 2026.
Free access
Both Grain and Fireflies.ai offer a permanent free tier - you can trial either at no cost. A permanent free tier lowers the risk of committing before you have validated the fit.
Track record
Fireflies.ai has been operating since 2016; Grain since 2018. For a tool you build a business process on, a longer survival record matters.
Questions of record
Grain or Fireflies.ai - which is better in 2026?
Is Grain cheaper than Fireflies.ai?
Does Grain or Fireflies.ai have a free tier?
Are Grain and Fireflies.ai still maintained?
Get an alert the moment a tool's status changes
A price hike, a sunset announcement, or a confirmed shutdown, each dated and sourced. We email you when it happens, not before. No predictions, no spam.