Both turn speech into text. They're built for opposite moments: one for the record after the meeting, one for the interpreter during it.
Search for transcription tools and Fireflies.ai shows up beside Otter, Fathom, and a dozen others. They share a pattern: a bot joins your meeting, records it, and sends you a summary. That's a good product for many teams. It's also exactly what many interpreters can't use. The right question isn't which tool has better AI; it's whether you need a record afterward or support in the moment. Here's how the two compare, and where Fireflies is simply the better fit.
Fireflies.ai is a meeting assistant. As of this writing it is typically connected to your calendar, joins scheduled calls, records and transcribes them, and produces searchable transcripts and summaries your team can review later. Check its current site for exact features, languages, and plans.
Unicaption is a real-time captioning and translation copilot for interpreters and anyone who needs live captions. It listens through your microphone or your computer's system or tab audio, shows captions as people speak, and displays translation side by side in 60+ languages. Nothing joins the call.
| Fireflies.ai | Unicaption | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Record, transcribe, and summarize meetings | Live captions and translation while the session happens |
| Joins the call | Typically as a participant bot (check current options) | No. Runs on your own device |
| Timing | Value arrives after or alongside the meeting | Text appears as people speak |
| Live translation | Check current features | Side by side, 60+ languages |
| Custom terms | Check current features | Custom dictionary plus medical, legal, and government terms |
| What's kept | Recordings and transcripts, by design | Nothing: audio never stored, transcripts deleted at session end |
| Best for | Teams that want searchable meeting notes | Interpreters and anyone who needs live support |
See also live captions without host permission and Unicaption vs Otter.ai.
Fireflies.ai is built to record and summarize meetings, which suits team notes but conflicts with the confidentiality norms of most interpreting work, since it keeps recordings and typically joins as a bot. Interpreters usually want live support with nothing retained. Unicaption runs on your own device, joins nothing, and deletes transcripts when the session ends.
Only for a different job. Unicaption provides live captions and translation during a session and deliberately keeps nothing afterward. If you need a searchable archive of meetings and summaries, Fireflies or a similar notetaker is the better fit.
A captioning tool that runs on your own device instead of joining the call. Unicaption captions microphone or system audio with side-by-side translation in 60+ languages, so no participant appears in the meeting and the host doesn't need to change a setting.
Captions and translation on your own screen. 30 free minutes every week.
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