Record a Google Meet Call and Get the Transcript
Most people who go looking for a Google Meet recorder extension hit the same wall first. The Record button isn’t there.
Meet’s own recorder only works on paid Google Workspace editions such as Business Standard and Business Plus, Workspace Individual, and Google One plans with 2 TB or more, and even on those accounts only the host, or someone the host's meeting settings allow can start it. A free Gmail account gets no button. Neither does a guest in someone else’s meeting. (Google lists the eligible accounts on its Meet recording help page.)
ScreenApp is a Chrome extension that records tab, screen, mic and camera. It records the Meet tab from your own browser, so it works on any account, and no bot appears in the attendee list. That also means Meet won’t announce the recording for you, so tell people before you start.
Afterwards you read the transcript instead of replaying the call. Or you ask it something (“what date did we agree for the launch?”), find the line, and click it: clicking a moment in the transcript jumps the player to that point in the recording. That beats scrubbing through 50 minutes of video.
The Call, With Everyone's Audio
It records the screen, window, browser tab, microphone and camera, with system audio. Video is up to 4K, depending on the computer.
A Transcript With Speakers
The whole call as text, with speaker identification, in 100+ languages.
AI Notes
A summary of what was discussed, with action items with an owner and deadline, and decisions listed separately.
Questions Instead of Replaying
Use AI chat with any recording to find the line you need, then click it to jump there in the video.
The free plan covers 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each, with AI chat. Downloading the original recording needs a paid plan (Paid plans only).
If you would rather have a bot join the call automatically from your calendar, ScreenApp also has a meeting bot for Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams: see the Google Meet bot or the AI meeting assistant for that option.
Meet’s Own Recorder or an Extension?
| Google Meet’s recorder | ScreenApp extension | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Only paid Google Workspace editions such as Business Standard and Business Plus, Workspace Individual, and Google One plans with 2 TB or more | Anyone in the call using Chrome or another Chromium browser |
| Who starts it | Only the host, or someone the host's meeting settings allow | You, from your own browser |
| Do participants get told | Yes: everyone in the call gets a notification when a recording starts or stops | No, you tell them yourself |
| Where the file goes | To the organizer's Google Drive | Your ScreenApp library |
| Length | Stops after 8 hours | Free plan: 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each |
| AI notes | Gemini notes, on Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard or Enterprise Plus only | Transcript and AI notes on every recording |
Sources, checked 2026-11-10: Google Meet recording help, ScreenApp pricing, Google Workspace Gemini notes guide
If you host the meeting on a paid Workspace plan and only need the video, use Meet’s recorder. It’s already there, and everyone gets the notice automatically.
The extension is for the other cases: you’re a guest, you’re on a free Gmail account, or you want a transcript and notes you can search instead of a video file sitting in someone else’s Drive.
How to Record a Google Meet Call With Audio
- Install the extension. Add ScreenApp from the Chrome Web Store. It also runs in Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera and other Chromium browsers. You can start a recording without an account, but saving and transcribing it needs the free one (no card).
- Pick the Meet tab. Join the call, click the extension icon and choose the Meet tab. In Chrome’s sharing dialog, leave tab audio switched on.
- Turn on your microphone. The tab audio carries everyone else, the microphone carries you. Add the camera if you want your own face in the video.
- Stop when the call ends. The transcript and AI notes show up in your meeting library a few minutes later.
Get Everyone's Voice on the Recording
Choose the Meet Tab
In Chrome's sharing dialog.
Keep Tab Audio On
It carries everyone else.
Turn On Your Mic
It carries you.
Skip tab audio and the recording has your voice and silence from everyone else. There's no fixing that afterwards.
It works the same on a laptop as on a desktop, on Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux, anywhere Chrome runs.
Plan around the free limit before an important call: the free plan covers 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each, and a 60-minute weekly meeting is over that. Try it on a short call first.
Accuracy depends on the audio: a clear microphone or a clean tab feed works well, while several people talking over each other or a poor connection leaves gaps. See how we measure accuracy.
Questions to Ask After the Call
Once the transcript is ready, ask the recording instead of scrolling through it. Click a question to open ScreenApp with it ready to ask.
Each answer points back to the moment in the recording, so you can check it before you pass it on.
What It Can and Cannot Do
Good at
- Recording as a guest or on a free Gmail account
- Calls with no bot in the attendee list
- Screen shares and presentations in the call
- A transcript you can search and question later
Not built for
- Phones: Chrome on a phone doesn't run extensions, so use the iOS and Android apps
- Joining calls for you: that's the meeting bot
- Announcing the recording: Meet won't, so you tell people
- Downloading the video file on the free plan
Google Meet Recording Extension vs Other Apps
| Feature | ScreenApp | Otter.ai | Fireflies.ai | Fathom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Records without a bot | Chrome extension that records tab, screen, mic and camera | desktop app records without a bot joining the call | Chrome extension recording without the Fireflies bot | Choice of bot recording or bot-free capture on Mac (beta) |
| Free plan | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation | 400 min storage, 20 AI credits/month | Unlimited recordings and transcriptions |
| Action items | action items with an owner and deadline, and decisions listed separately | Included, automatically assigned | Included | Included |
| Video quality | up to 4K, depending on the computer | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Paid plan | $19/month annual | $8.33/month annual | $19/month annual | $16/month annual |
Sources, checked 2026-10-14: ScreenApp Chrome extension, ScreenApp desktop apps, ScreenApp pricing, Otter meeting assistant, Fireflies pricing, Fathom pricing, Otter pricing, Fireflies free plan guide, Otter home page, Fireflies home page, Fathom home page
- vs Otter.ai: Otter’s bot-free option is a desktop app, not a Chrome extension; ScreenApp’s is a Chrome extension that records tab, screen, mic and camera. Otter’s free plan caps you at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation.
- vs Fireflies.ai: Fireflies also offers a bot-free Chrome extension for Google Meet. Its free plan gives 400 minutes of storage and 20 AI credits a month, and Business is $19 a month billed annually.
- vs Fathom: Fathom now works with Google Meet and offers a bot-free capture option in beta alongside its bot. Its free plan is Unlimited recordings and transcriptions, and its paid plan is $16 a month billed annually.
Who Uses a Google Meet Recording Extension
Mostly people sitting in meetings they don’t run.
Sales and account teams often join on the client’s Google Meet link. There they’re guests, so Meet won’t let them record. They record from their own browser, then pull the decisions and next steps from the transcript instead of typing while the client talks.
Schools are the other big one. On Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals and Education Standard, teachers, staff and students can't record the meetings they organize. A teacher who wants the lesson on record for absent students needs a tool like this, and students search the transcript before an exam instead of rewatching the class.
Remote teams record planning calls for colleagues in other time zones, who read the summary the next morning.
Recruiters record interviews (with the candidate’s agreement) and send the transcript to the hiring manager instead of booking a second conversation.
Podcasters who interview guests over Meet record at up to 4K, depending on the computer and take quotes from the transcript for the show notes.
For AI notes on top of the recording, the Google Meet note taker uses this same extension, and Google Meet Ask AI answers questions about any recorded call. To summarize a Meet recording you already have, use the Google Meet AI summary.
What Each Plan Does Here
Record Your Next Call
No card needed. Record a Meet call from Chrome and read the transcript and AI notes. The free plan covers 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each and 10 AI chats a month.
Record Every Meeting
For weekly calls and meetings longer than the free limit. Pro has 50 transcriptions and 50 AI chats a month, and it lets you download the original recording.
7 Days to Try Pro
Pro is $19 a month billed annually, with 50 transcriptions and 50 AI chats a month. Use every Pro feature for 7 days and confirm it does what you need before the first payment. The trial is for annual plans only. Trial terms: Card required. See the plans and terms.
