Apps & Consumer
Circleback adds a free tier as meeting note-taker competition heats up
Y Combinator-backed Circleback is launching a free tier letting users transcribe unlimited meetings, capped at 30 days of history, as rivals crowd the market.
The meeting note-taker market has gotten crowded fast. In recent weeks, dictation app Wispr launched its own note-taker and scheduling app, and Calendly added a similar tool to its stack, while dedicated note-takers Granola, Read AI, and Fireflies have raised millions of dollars in funding.
Likely in response to that intensifying competition, Y Combinator-backed Circleback is introducing a free subscription tier so users can try the product. The new plan lets users transcribe an unlimited number of meetings, though they can only access their history for the last 30 days — a structure Granola added to its own free tier a few months ago. The free plan also includes recording, mobile and Apple Watch apps, AI-powered transcript queries, and integrations with Linear and Slack. Customers who want every integration, unlimited meeting history, and full API and MCP access can subscribe to paid plans starting at $15 per month, paid annually. Before this change, Circleback had no free tier at all, and its paid plans started at $20.83 per month.
Founded in 2023 by Ali Haghani and Kevin Jacyna, Circleback raised $2.5 million in 2024. The company says it has been profitable since then, clocking annual recurring revenue of over $1 million per employee across a team of eight — roughly $8 million in ARR.
Haghani said the previous limited trial period caused a big drop-off in users, prompting the free-tier launch. “If we just open the gates and allow more people to use the product, that’s gonna bring Circleback in front of more people,” he said. “Then we’re very good at making the product good and monetizing those users.” The company says it doesn’t spend on Google or Meta ads, and will treat the free tier as its marketing expense instead. Haghani said Circleback isn’t looking to raise funds despite investor interest, since it hasn’t hit any growth bottlenecks — though he said the company would consider fundraising the moment money could solve a real problem.
Why it matters
Circleback’s bet that a generous free tier can outcompete better-funded rivals tests whether product quality and monetization can substitute for the marketing budgets of venture-backed competitors.