Y Combinator-backed meeting notes app Circleback has launched a free subscription plan amid growing competition. Competitors in the market include Wispr, Calendly, Granola, Read AI and Fireflies.
The free plan allows an unlimited number of meetings to be transcribed; however, users can access only the past 30 days of history. The plan also includes meeting recording, mobile and Apple Watch apps, AI-powered queries of transcripts, and integrations with Linear and Slack. Subscriptions for users who want all integrations, unlimited meeting history, and API and MCP access start at $15 per month with annual billing. The company’s previous plans started at $20.83, and there was no free option.
Founded by Ali Haghani and Kevin Jacyna in 2023, Circleback raised $2.5 million in 2024. The company says it has been profitable since then and generates more than $1 million in annual recurring revenue per employee with its eight-person team; this corresponds to approximately $8 million ARR.
Haghani said that the limited trial period led to user churn. The company said it does not allocate a budget to Google Ads or Meta Ads and will treat the free plan as a marketing expense. Circleback is not currently seeking investment, but it will be open to raising funds if it reaches a point where financing could solve a problem.
Why it matters
The launch of the free tier shows that competition in meeting note-taking tools is driven not only by features and integrations, but also by the cost for users to try the product. For Circleback, this change aims to reduce user churn caused by the limited trial period and to treat people who use the product as a marketing channel instead of spending on paid advertising. Although users will have access to unlimited meeting transcriptions, the 30-day history limit may steer teams that need regular archiving and long-term use toward paid plans; therefore, which users the free option will convert into long-term customers remains an open question. The company’s statement that it is profitable and generates high recurring revenue with its small team indicates that this move is being positioned as a change in its growth strategy rather than a financing necessity.