Comparison · Fireflies.ai
Fireflies.ai vs Tessa: what changes if you switch
Fireflies.ai is an AI notetaker that joins your meetings, transcribes them and makes them searchable. Tessa takes notes too, but she is built to run the day-to-day of a company: email, Slack, tasks and follow-ups.
A meeting library does not send the follow-up
Having every meeting recorded and transcribed is useful: you can go back to what a client said or find when a topic came up. But in a small company the pain is rarely finding a sentence. It is that what was agreed never gets done.
The proposal that was promised and never sent, the client who went quiet and nobody chased, the task that was said out loud and written down by no one. If you are weighing Fireflies alternatives, it is worth asking which part of that problem you want to solve.
How it works with Tessa
- 1
Connect Google and Slack
Create your company in Tessera and invite the team. Each person connects their Google account and Slack in one click, nothing to install.
- 2
Look at the inbox Tessa builds for you
Within minutes you have the tasks hidden in your email and Slack, prioritised and with a reply drafted. It shows you the real scope before you even get to meetings.
- 3
Let her join your meetings
On Google Meet, Tessa joins as a visible note-taker, writes the minutes and assigns the tasks. Zoom and Teams are in beta, so try them on internal meetings first.
- 4
Compare for a few weeks
If you already use Fireflies.ai, keep it while you trial Tessa. Count how many follow-ups and tasks actually get done with each.
What you get
- Every meeting ends in owned tasksTessa pulls out the commitments, assigns each to a person with a date and sends the recap by Slack and email.
- Follow-ups that do not rely on memoryShe reminds each owner of what they promised and drafts the follow-up email when a client goes quiet.
- Sales without setting up a CRMA pipeline that builds itself from your email and meetings, flags deals going cold and suggests the next step.
- A briefing before every callTen minutes before: who is coming, what you last talked about and what is still open with them.
- Nothing leaves without your OKAnything going to clients or external people waits for your approval, and almost everything can be undone.
What Fireflies.ai is
Fireflies.ai is an AI meeting assistant: it joins your video calls, records and transcribes them, and writes summaries. Its strength is turning meetings into a searchable archive, connected to other work tools such as CRMs and task managers.
It is popular with teams that spend much of their time on calls, like sales or customer success, and want to keep and analyse what is said in them.
Information about Fireflies.ai is based on its public website as of October 2026; it may change.
How Tessa is different
Fireflies.ai starts from the meeting. Tessa starts from your whole working day: meetings are one source among email, Slack and, in beta, WhatsApp Business. So what she does with the notes is not file them, but turn them into tasks, reminders and replies.
Tessa also covers ground that has nothing to do with meetings: routines written in plain language, a company wiki that fills itself with decisions and processes, and, in beta, invoices with Holded and bank reconciliation.
- Minutes with tasks per owner and a recap sent to attendees.
- An inbox of tasks from email and Slack, with replies in your tone.
- Automatic follow-ups and reminders of commitments.
- Data stored encrypted in the EU, and approval for anything going outside.
When to choose Fireflies.ai
If your priority is a complete archive of meetings that you can search and connect to many tools, Fireflies.ai fits very well. It is also a good option if your team lives on calls and already has the rest of the workflow (email, tasks, CRM) sorted.
If your company uses many different video platforms, bear in mind that only Google Meet is fully tested in Tessa; Zoom and Teams are still in beta.
When to choose Tessa
Tessa makes more sense if what slips through is not the words of the meeting but what comes after: follow-ups, tasks and emails left unanswered. She fits small companies and startups on Google Workspace and Slack that want one assistant for the whole team.
And if working in Spanish, with data stored in the EU and no individual metrics on people, matters to you, you will notice the difference from day one.
| Fireflies.ai | Tessa | |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Recording, transcribing and searching meetings | AI assistant for the whole company |
| Meeting notes | ✓ | ✓ Meet; Zoom and Teams in beta |
| Tasks and replies from email | Not its focus | ✓ |
| Slack as a source of tasks | Not its focus | ✓ |
| Client follow-ups | Check its website | ✓ With the email drafted |
| Spanish-first | Check languages on its website | ✓ |
| Data stored in the EU (Tessa) | Check its data policy | ✓ |
What Tessa reads for each person stays private, your data is stored in the EU and nothing goes out without your approval.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Fireflies.ai alternative for a small team?
It depends on the job. For a meeting archive, there are several similar tools. If you want meetings, email and Slack to end in tasks and follow-ups, with data stored in the EU, Tessa is built for that.
Does Tessa record meetings?
Tessa joins the meeting to take notes and write the minutes. Meeting recordings are included in the Business plan.
Does Tessa connect to my CRM like Fireflies?
Tessa has her own sales pipeline that builds itself from your email and meetings. If you use HubSpot or Pipedrive, you can connect them in beta to see their deals on each client’s page.
What about attendees from outside the company?
The recap goes straight to attendees from your company. External attendees only get it once you approve.
Can I try Tessa without leaving Fireflies.ai?
Yes. Use both during the 14-day trial of the Team or Business plan and decide afterwards. If you do not continue, you move to the Free plan without losing anything.
Keep reading
- FeaturesTessa takes the notes, assigns the work and sends the recapTessa takes notes in your meetings, writes the minutes, assigns each action item to its owner and sends the recap to attendees. Try 14 days free.
- FeaturesA sales pipeline that builds itselfTessa builds your pipeline from your email and meetings, flags deals going cold and drafts the next follow-up for you. Try it free for 14 days.
- FeaturesIf they go quiet, Tessa remembers for youTell Tessa “follow up if they don't reply in 3 days” and she'll have the reminder drafted in the same thread, ready to send. Start for free.
- CompareOtter.ai vs Tessa: an Otter alternative that follows throughOtter.ai transcribes meetings. Tessa takes notes too, then handles the email, Slack and follow-ups that come after. Compare them and try Tessa free.
- Comparetl;dv vs Tessa: record the meeting, or do what was agreedtl;dv records meetings and marks key moments. Tessa takes notes, assigns tasks and follows up across your email and Slack. Compare and try Tessa free.
- CompareRead.ai vs Tessa: two ways to think about meetingsRead.ai summarises meetings and adds analytics on each call. Tessa turns meetings, email and Slack into tasks, with no individual metrics. Try it free.
What does your team look like?
Same AI for both. Where you start is what changes.
Startups
5 to 30 people
Grow without losing the thread
Tasks from email and Slack, follow-ups, sales and investors, without everything landing on the founders.
Companies
30 to 250 people
What gets decided gets done
Minutes and tasks from every meeting, commitments that get followed up and a pulse per team, without watching anyone.
Connect Google and Slack and see what Tessa finds in your inbox before your next meeting.
Start freeFree plan for teams of up to 3 people. Anything that leaves the company waits for your approval.