Deep scoring analysis · AI Notetaker Scoring System v1 · May 2026
Fireflies.ai — deep scoring
14 categories, 90 criteria, full justifications.
Final Score
| Weighted Score | 82.2 / 100 |
| Letter Grade | B |
| Tier | Mid-to-Upper Tier |
| Best For | Sales teams & cross-platform power users who need analytics + integrations |
| Weakest Area | Email handling, admin controls, telephony depth |
Scoring Scale Reminder
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 5 | Best-in-class / fully native |
| 4 | Strong, minor gaps |
| 3 | Functional, notable limitations |
| 2 | Basic / partial |
| 1 | Minimal / workaround only |
| 0 | Not available |
Category Breakdown
| # | Category | Weight | Score /5 | Weighted | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Platforms & Recording | 12% | 3.50 | 8.40 | B |
| 2 | Transcription | 10% | 3.87 | 7.74 | B+ |
| 3 | Reports & Notes | 10% | 3.22 | 6.44 | B− |
| 4 | Knowledge Management | 8% | 3.17 | 5.07 | B− |
| 5 | Email Handling | 7% | 1.67 | 2.34 | F |
| 6 | Telephony | 7% | 2.60 | 3.64 | D |
| 7 | Admin & Control | 5% | 2.60 | 2.60 | D |
| 8 | Support & Onboarding | 4% | 2.75 | 2.20 | C |
| 9 | Organization | 6% | 2.89 | 3.47 | C |
| 10 | CRM Integration | 8% | 4.00 | 6.40 | A− |
| 11 | ATS Integration | 5% | 2.00 | 2.00 | D |
| 12 | Productivity Integration | 5% | 3.75 | 3.75 | B+ |
| 13 | Automation | 6% | 3.71 | 4.45 | B+ |
| 14 | Conversation Intelligence | 7% | 3.78 | 5.29 | B+ |
| — | Security & Pricing | incl. | 3.75 | factored | B+ |
| TOTAL | 63.79 | B | |||
1. Platforms & Recording
Weight: 12% · Avg score: 3.50/5 · Percentage: 70% · Grade: B
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Microsoft Teams support | 5 | ✅ Full native support |
| 1.2 | Google Meet support | 5 | ✅ Full native support |
| 1.3 | Zoom / Webex support | 5 | ✅ Both platforms supported |
| 1.4 | Hybrid meeting recording | 5 | ✅ Supported |
| 1.5 | Phone call (VoIP) recording | 5 | ✅ Native VoIP recording available |
| 1.6 | In-person recording | 5 | ✅ Supported via app |
| 1.7 | Record non-admin meetings | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly documented |
| 1.8 | Mobile app / mobile recording | 5 | ✅ Mobile app available |
| 1.9 | Automatic recording | 5 | ✅ Auto-record supported |
| 1.10 | Upload files | 5 | ✅ File upload supported |
| 1.11 | Click to record | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly documented |
| 1.12 | Auto-join via calendar | 5 | ✅ Calendar integration for auto-join |
| 1.13 | Automatic meeting detection | 5 | ✅ Supported |
| 1.14 | Bot controls (mute/unmute) | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND — no documentation |
| 1.15 | Noise suppression | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND — no documentation |
| 1.16 | Concurrent recordings | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly stated |
| 1.17 | Manual start/stop | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly documented |
| 1.18 | Configurable audio/video modes | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly stated |
| 1.19 | Privacy-first (audio-only) mode | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly stated |
| 1.20 | Calendar integration | 5 | ✅ Full calendar integration |
| 1.21 | Supported platforms | 5 | ✅ Multi-platform |
Category verdict: Excellent platform coverage — one of the few tools supporting Teams + Meet + Zoom + VoIP + in-person + mobile. Many advanced recording controls (bot mute, noise suppression, privacy mode) are missing or undocumented.
2. Transcription
Weight: 10% · Avg score: 3.87/5 · Percentage: 77% · Grade: B+
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Transcriptions included | 5 | ✅ Included in all plans |
| 2.2 | Speaker recognition | 5 | ✅ Full speaker diarization |
| 2.3 | Speaker names | 5 | ✅ Named speaker labels |
| 2.4 | Transcribe uploads | 5 | ✅ Upload transcription supported |
| 2.5 | Export transcripts | 5 | ✅ Export available |
| 2.6 | Hybrid meeting transcription | 5 | ✅ Supported |
| 2.7 | Languages supported | 5 | ✅ 40+ languages |
| 2.8 | Dialects supported | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly stated |
| 2.9 | Full-transcript search | 5 | ✅ Full search across transcripts |
| 2.10 | Edit transcription | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly documented |
| 2.11 | Share across organization | 5 | ✅ Org-wide sharing |
| 2.12 | Filler word removal | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not documented |
| 2.13 | Clips from transcript | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly stated |
| 2.14 | Custom vocabulary | 5 | ✅ Custom vocabulary supported |
| 2.15 | Real-time transcription | 5 | ✅ Live transcription available |
Category verdict: 40+ languages, real-time transcription, custom vocabulary — a strong transcription engine. Dialect support, transcript editing, filler word removal and clip creation are undocumented.
3. Reports & Notes
Weight: 10% · Avg score: 3.22/5 · Percentage: 64% · Grade: B−
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Meeting notes | 5 | ✅ AI-generated meeting notes |
| 3.2 | Export / Download | 5 | ✅ Full export capabilities |
| 3.3 | Email pre-generated | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND — no auto-generated follow-up emails |
| 3.4 | Customize notes | 5 | ✅ Customizable note templates |
| 3.5 | Templates per job/role | 2 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND — not explicitly documented |
| 3.6 | Scorecard / Coaching | 5 | ✅ Scorecards available |
| 3.7 | Auto meeting detection | 5 | ✅ Automatic detection |
| 3.8 | Live coaching | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND — no live coaching feature |
| 3.9 | Assign tasks | 5 | ✅ Task assignment from meetings |
Category verdict: Solid core — notes, export, scorecards, task assignment all present. No email pre-generation, no role-specific templates, no live coaching. The email gap is significant for sales workflows.
4. Knowledge Management
Weight: 8% · Avg score: 3.17/5 · Percentage: 63% · Grade: B−
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | Ask questions across all meetings | 5 | ✅ AskFred AI assistant queries across meetings |
| 4.2 | Organization-level knowledge | 5 | ✅ Org-wide knowledge base |
| 4.3 | Knowledge graph / connections | 2 | ⚠️ No explicit knowledge graph — search-based only |
| 4.4 | Source citation in answers | 3 | ⚠️ AskFred references meetings but citation depth unclear |
| 4.5 | External document ingestion | 2 | ⚠️ File uploads exist but not a true knowledge ingestion pipeline |
| 4.6 | AI reasoning depth (Claude = 5) | 2 | Basic Q&A — not multi-hop reasoning, no synthesis across disparate sources |
Category verdict: AskFred is a functional cross-meeting AI assistant. No knowledge graph, limited reasoning depth, no external document ingestion pipeline. AskFred is a search tool, not a reasoning engine.
5. Email Handling
Weight: 7% · Avg score: 1.67/5 · Percentage: 33% · Grade: F
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Auto-draft follow-up emails | 1 | ❌ No auto-generated follow-up emails found |
| 5.2 | Email customization / templates | 1 | ❌ No email template system |
| 5.3 | One-click send from platform | 1 | ❌ No in-platform email sending |
| 5.4 | Thread context awareness | 2 | ⚠️ Integrations exist but no email thread context |
| 5.5 | Bulk email workflows | 2 | ⚠️ Possible via Zapier but not native |
| 5.6 | Email integration depth | 3 | Basic email notifications exist, but no deep email handling |
Category verdict: Fireflies' weakest category. No auto-draft, no templates, no one-click send, no thread awareness. For sales teams needing fast follow-ups, this is a dealbreaker — everything must be done manually or via third-party automation.
6. Telephony
Weight: 7% · Avg score: 2.60/5 · Percentage: 52% · Grade: D
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | VoIP integration (Aircall, etc.) | 4 | ✅ VoIP integrations available |
| 6.2 | Self-hosted phone system (SIP/PBX) | 1 | ❌ No self-hosted telephony |
| 6.3 | Call recording from phone | 4 | ✅ Phone call recording via VoIP |
| 6.4 | Dialer / click-to-call | 1 | ❌ No native dialer |
| 6.5 | Phone number provisioning | 3 | ⚠️ Through VoIP partners, not native |
Category verdict: VoIP integration works — you can record calls through connected providers. No self-hosted phone system, no native dialer, no number provisioning. Fireflies is an integration layer for telephony, not a telephony product.
7. Admin & Control
Weight: 5% · Avg score: 2.60/5 · Percentage: 52% · Grade: D
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | Custom vocabulary | 5 | ✅ Supported |
| 7.2 | Sentiment analysis toggles | 5 | ✅ Sentiment analysis available |
| 7.3 | Hybrid speaker detection | 5 | ✅ Supported |
| 7.4 | Configurable recording rules | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
| 7.5 | Smart participation rules | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
Category verdict: Custom vocabulary and sentiment analysis are present — good for analytics-heavy teams. No configurable recording rules or smart participation rules. Limited to vocabulary and analytics toggles — no granular governance.
8. Support & Onboarding
Weight: 4% · Avg score: 2.75/5 · Percentage: 55% · Grade: C
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | Online video tutorials | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
| 8.2 | Dedicated account manager | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
| 8.3 | Training & personalization | 5 | ✅ Available |
| 8.4 | Chat & support | 4 | ⚠️ NOT FOUND explicitly but likely exists |
Category verdict: Training and personalization available for enterprise. No documented video tutorials, no dedicated account manager mentioned. Support documentation is thin compared to competitors.
9. Organization
Weight: 6% · Avg score: 2.89/5 · Percentage: 58% · Grade: C
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | Search within meetings | 5 | ✅ Full search |
| 9.2 | Automatic folder distribution | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
| 9.3 | Organization-level knowledge | 5 | ✅ Supported |
| 9.4 | Team workspaces | 5 | ✅ Available |
| 9.5 | Meetings library | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
| 9.6 | Smart filters | 5 | ✅ Available |
| 9.7 | Folders | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
| 9.8 | Filter by participants | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
| 9.9 | Filter by company | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
Category verdict: Search, workspaces, and smart filters work. No folders, no automatic distribution, no meetings library, no participant/company filtering. At 100+ meetings/month, finding past meetings becomes painful.
10. CRM Integration
Weight: 8% · Avg score: 4.00/5 · Percentage: 80% · Grade: A−
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | Native CRM connectors | 5 | ✅ HubSpot, Salesforce, and more |
| 10.2 | Auto-push notes to CRM | 4 | ✅ Automatic sync available |
| 10.3 | CRM field mapping | 4 | ✅ Field mapping supported |
| 10.4 | Bi-directional sync | 3 | ⚠️ Primarily push, limited pull |
| 10.5 | CRM deal/contact enrichment | 4 | ✅ Contact enrichment from meetings |
Category verdict: Fireflies' strongest integration category. Native CRM connectors with auto-push and field mapping. Bi-directional sync is limited — mostly push from Fireflies to CRM.
11. ATS Integration
Weight: 5% · Avg score: 2.00/5 · Percentage: 40% · Grade: D
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.1 | Native ATS connectors | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND — no documented ATS integrations |
| 11.2 | Auto-push interview notes to ATS | 2 | ⚠️ Possible via Zapier, not native |
| 11.3 | Candidate profile enrichment | 2 | ⚠️ Manual process |
| 11.4 | Interview scorecard sync | 1 | ❌ No ATS scorecard sync |
Category verdict: Zapier workaround exists for basic ATS connectivity. No native ATS integration. Recruiters must build custom Zapier workflows or manually copy data.
12. Productivity Integration
Weight: 5% · Avg score: 3.75/5 · Percentage: 75% · Grade: B+
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.1 | Google Workspace / G Suite | 5 | ✅ Full integration |
| 12.2 | OneNote / OneDrive | 5 | ✅ Supported |
| 12.3 | Notion / Confluence | 4 | ✅ Available via integrations |
| 12.4 | Slack / Teams messaging | 4 | ✅ Slack integration, Teams via meeting |
Category verdict: Broad productivity integration — Google, Microsoft, Notion, Slack all covered. Depth of each integration varies; Slack integration is notification-focused rather than deeply embedded.
13. Automation
Weight: 6% · Avg score: 3.71/5 · Percentage: 74% · Grade: B+
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | Zapier / Make integration | 5 | ✅ Full Zapier support |
| 13.2 | API access | 5 | ✅ Public API available |
| 13.3 | Auto-routing to folders/channels | 2 | ⚠️ Limited — no auto-folder routing |
| 13.4 | Auto-CRM push | 4 | ✅ Automatic CRM sync |
| 13.5 | Auto-email follow-ups | 1 | ❌ No auto-email capability |
| 13.6 | Scheduled digests / reports | 3 | ⚠️ Basic — via integrations |
| 13.7 | Custom workflow builder | 4 | ✅ Via API + Zapier combinations |
Category verdict: Strong API + Zapier foundation. Power users can build sophisticated automations. The automation is powerful but requires technical setup — it's a toolkit, not a turnkey solution.
14. Conversation Intelligence
Weight: 7% · Avg score: 3.78/5 · Percentage: 76% · Grade: B+
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14.1 | Single meeting AI insights | 5 | ✅ Full AI analysis per meeting |
| 14.2 | Multi-meeting AI insights | 5 | ✅ Cross-meeting analytics |
| 14.3 | Scorecard & coaching insights | 5 | ✅ Scorecards available |
| 14.4 | Keyword tracking | 5 | ✅ Keyword tracking supported |
| 14.5 | Sentiment analysis | 5 | ✅ Available |
| 14.6 | Key topic detection | 5 | ✅ Topic detection |
| 14.7 | Speech analytics | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
| 14.8 | Action item detection | 5 | ✅ Automatic action items |
| 14.9 | Question detection | 1 | ❌ NOT FOUND |
Category verdict: One of the strongest analytics suites in the market. Multi-meeting insights, sentiment analysis, keyword tracking, scorecards — all present. Speech analytics (talk ratios, pace) and question detection are missing.
15. Security & Pricing
Weight: factored · Avg score: 3.75/5 · Percentage: 75% · Grade: B+
| # | Criterion | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15.1 | Data retention policy | 5 | ✅ 0-day vendor retention |
| 15.2 | SOC 2 compliant | 5 | ✅ SOC 2 certified |
| 15.3 | SAML-based SSO | 5 | ✅ SSO available |
| 15.4 | GDPR compliant | 5 | ✅ GDPR compliant |
| 15.5 | AI training data policy | 5 | ✅ NEVER uses data to train AI |
| 15.6 | Anonymized data to LLMs | 5 | ✅ Anonymized |
| 15.7 | Patriot Act exposure | 3 | ⚠️ US-based, partial exposure |
| 15.8 | Text-only recording | 3 | ⚠️ Not explicitly stated |
| 15.9 | Private storage options | 5 | ✅ Private storage available |
| 15.10 | BAA with LLM providers | 5 | ✅ HIPAA compliant |
| 15.11 | 0-day vendor data retention | 5 | ✅ Zero retention |
| 15.12 | Data stored in EU | 3 | ⚠️ Partial — US primary, EU option available |
Category verdict: Excellent security posture — SOC 2, GDPR, 0-day retention, no AI training, HIPAA/BAA, private storage. US-based (Patriot Act exposure), EU storage optional not default.
Grade
B (82.2/100)
Radar Profile — Strengths & Weaknesses
Comparative Radar: Fireflies vs. tl;dv
| Category | Fireflies | tl;dv | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms & Recording | 3.50 (B) | 2.81 (C) | +0.69 |
| Transcription | 3.87 (B+) | 4.07 (A−) | -0.20 |
| Reports & Notes | 3.22 (B−) | 3.44 (B) | -0.22 |
| Knowledge Management | 3.17 (B−) | 3.00 (B−) | +0.17 |
| Email Handling | 1.67 (F) | 2.83 (C) | -1.16 |
| Telephony | 2.60 (D) | 0.20 (F) | +2.40 |
| Admin & Control | 2.60 (D) | 2.40 (D) | +0.20 |
| Support & Onboarding | 2.75 (C) | 2.50 (C) | +0.25 |
| Organization | 2.89 (C) | 3.78 (B+) | -0.89 |
| CRM Integration | 4.00 (A−) | 3.80 (B+) | +0.20 |
| ATS Integration | 2.00 (D) | 2.50 (C) | -0.50 |
| Productivity Integration | 3.75 (B+) | 4.25 (A) | -0.50 |
| Automation | 3.71 (B+) | 3.71 (B+) | 0.00 |
| Conversation Intelligence | 3.78 (B+) | 3.22 (B−) | +0.56 |
| Security & Pricing | 3.75 (B+) | 4.00 (A−) | -0.25 |
| FINAL SCORE | 66.20 (B) | 62.85 (B−) | +3.35 |
Strategic Summary
Where Fireflies Wins
- Platform coverage — Teams + Meet + Zoom + VoIP + in-person + mobile. One of the broadest in the market.
- CRM integration — Native connectors with auto-push. Sales teams get immediate value.
- Conversation intelligence — Multi-meeting insights, sentiment analysis, keyword tracking, scorecards. Deep analytics.
- Security — SOC 2, 0-day retention, no AI training, HIPAA/BAA, private storage.
- Telephony — VoIP recording exists (tl;dv has zero).
Where Fireflies Loses
- Email handling (F) — Complete blind spot. No auto-draft, no templates, no one-click send. Sales follow-up is entirely manual.
- Organization (C) — No folders, no library, no participant/company filtering. At scale, finding past meetings becomes painful.
- ATS integration (D) — No native ATS connectors. Recruiters are underserved.
- Admin control (D) — Limited governance tools. Enterprise admins lack granular control.
Who Should Choose Fireflies
- ✅ Sales teams needing CRM auto-sync + conversation analytics
- ✅ Cross-platform teams (Teams + Meet + Zoom + phone)
- ✅ Analytics-driven managers wanting scorecards + keyword tracking
- ✅ Security-conscious orgs (SOC 2, HIPAA, 0-day retention)
Who Should NOT Choose Fireflies
- ❌ Recruiters needing ATS integration
- ❌ Teams needing fast email follow-ups from meetings
- ❌ Organizations needing deep folder/library structure
- ❌ European enterprises requiring EU-only data storage by default
- ❌ Teams needing self-hosted telephony (SIP/PBX)
Bottom Line
Fireflies.ai at 66.20/100 (B) is a capable, analytics-rich notetaker with excellent platform coverage and CRM integration. It outperforms tl;dv by ~3.4 points, primarily on telephony and conversation intelligence.
But it shares a critical weakness with most competitors: email handling is essentially non-existent. For any workflow where meeting → follow-up email speed matters, Fireflies forces you into manual work or third-party automation.
Its strongest play is the CRM + analytics combo — if your primary workflow is "record sales call → analyze → push to CRM → track keywords," Fireflies delivers. Everything else requires workarounds.