Limitless AI Alternatives Without Recording.

Jarvis (getjarvis.eu) records nothing in the background — it is a screen-aware desktop AI assistant you open on demand.

How we put this list together: Jarvis is our product — this site is getjarvis.eu — so treat the #1 spot as an editorial opinion with an obvious interest, and check the sourced facts yourself. Every price and tier name on this page was checked in July 2026 against the vendors' own public pricing pages (granola.ai/pricing, otter.ai/pricing, fireflies.ai/pricing, plaud.ai/pages/plaud-ai-plan-pricing, bee.computer). Limitless AI itself was acquired by Meta (deal closed ~December 5, 2025) and the Limitless/Rewind service was shut down entirely across the EU, UK, Brazil, China, Israel, South Korea, and Turkey as of December 19, 2025, per TechCrunch and Neowin reporting, corroborated at techcrunch.com and neowin.net. Where a vendor does not publish something — the AI/LLM model behind Granola's, Otter.ai's, Fireflies.ai's, or Plaud's own transcription, or Bee's exact subscription price and non-US availability — we say so rather than quoting a number. Each named limitation is drawn from the same vendor pages, not from third-party reviews.

1. Jarvis — An on-demand, screen-aware desktop assistant, not an ambient life-logger. Press Cmd+/ on macOS or Ctrl+/ on Windows and a floating bar screenshots the active window, answers questions about it, and acts in your apps through 30+ OAuth connectors (Gmail, Slack, Notion, Linear, GitHub, Figma, Microsoft 365). Inference runs on cloud frontier models (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) routed through Jarvis's GDPR-aligned backend, with persistent memory across sessions — there is no always-on audio or ambient capture by design. Pricing: Free: $0 — 40 requests/week. Pro: $16/month ($144/year billed annually). Unlimited: $32/month. Checked July 2026. Platforms: macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows 10+, Linux. Known limitation: Cloud-only inference — Jarvis needs an internet connection and has no offline mode, and because it deliberately ships no always-on audio or ambient capture it cannot replicate Limitless's continuous life-logging. Pick Jarvis if: you want one shortcut that makes AI screen-aware across email, docs, code, and dashboards on demand — not a continuously-recording wearable — with EU data residency and a real free tier. 2. Bee (Bee Pioneer) — A wrist-worn AI wearable (the "Bee Pioneer") that continuously listens to ambient conversation and turns it into summaries, suggested tasks, pattern insights, and reminders — the most direct ambient-capture, always-on competitor to Limitless's original pendant concept. Bee was acquired by Amazon (deal reported ~September 2025), folding it into Amazon's AI/wearables push. Pricing: Hardware: Bee Pioneer Edition listed at $49.99 on the vendor site at the time of this check (a limited-time discount banner was showing). Bee's subscription price is not disclosed on its own product page — third-party reporting cites a monthly figure, but it isn't vendor-confirmed, so it isn't quoted here. Checked July 2026. Platforms: Wristband/clip hardware with an iOS app for the Bee Pioneer model and noted companion Apple Watch support; Android support isn't confirmed, and the product page states shipping is limited to the United States. Known limitation: Bee is now owned by Amazon and, per its own product page, currently ships only to the United States with iOS-first support — not a like-for-like EU-available substitute, and its roadmap under Amazon's ownership is unconfirmed. Pick Bee (Bee Pioneer) if: you want the always-on, hands-free ambient-capture concept Limitless is known for, are US-based, and are comfortable with a product now under Amazon's ownership. 3. Plaud Note — A credit-card-sized hardware AI voice recorder (magnetically attaches to a phone or stands alone) that records and transcribes conversations, meetings, and calls, then generates AI summaries via the companion Plaud app — the closest hardware analog to Limitless's discontinued Pendant. Pricing: Device: Plaud Note $159, including a magnetic case and a bundled Starter allotment of 300 transcription minutes/month. Pro: $17.99/month billed monthly, or $8.33/month billed annually (1,200 min/month). Unlimited: $29.99/month billed monthly, or $19.99/month billed annually (up to 24 hrs/day). Team: $28/seat/month monthly, or $20/seat/month annually as a launch offer through August 31, 2026. Checked July 2026. Platforms: Standalone hardware device (magnetic phone attachment or handheld) paired with iOS/Android companion apps — not a pure-software product. Known limitation: The $159 hardware cost is on top of a subscription — the bundled Starter tier only covers 300 minutes/month, so recording more than a handful of hours a month needs the $18-30/month Pro/Unlimited plan or a one-time minute pack. Pick Plaud Note if: you specifically want dedicated always-with-you recording hardware, not just a phone or laptop app, as the direct physical replacement for a Limitless-style wearable. 4. Granola — A desktop notepad app that generates AI meeting notes from your computer's audio rather than sending a bot into the call, layering AI-cleaned notes on a template you type into live during the meeting. Ships native apps for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Apple Watch, with iOS handling phone-call recording, with an API/MCP integration and connectors (Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Attio) on paid tiers. Pricing: Basic: $0/user/month, limited meeting-note history. Business: $14/user/month — unlimited history, advanced AI models, third-party integrations, MCP integration, API access. Enterprise: $35/user/month — adds SSO, org-wide auto-deletion, admin controls. Checked July 2026. Platforms: Native desktop app for Mac and Windows; iOS app for phone-call recording; no Android app and no browser/web app as of this check. Known limitation: It's a meeting-time notetaker, not an always-on ambient recorder — it only captures audio while the Granola desktop client is actively running on the device where the call plays, so it can't replicate Limitless's continuous, all-day passive capture. Pick Granola if: you want the closest software-only, no-hardware substitute for a specific use case (meeting notes) rather than Limitless's always-on ambient life-logging. 5. Otter.ai — An AI meeting agent that transcribes and summarizes calls, with both calendar-based bot auto-join and bot-free direct recording. Integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, ships web/desktop/mobile apps, and exposes an MCP server for ChatGPT/Claude access. Pricing: Basic: $0, 300 monthly transcription minutes, 3 lifetime file imports. Pro: $16.99/user/month billed monthly, or $8.33/user/month billed annually. Business: $30/user/month billed monthly, or $19.99/user/month billed annually. Enterprise: custom, sales-quoted. Checked July 2026. Platforms: Web app, native desktop (Mac/Windows), mobile (iOS/Android), browser extension; bot or bot-free capture for Zoom/Meet/Teams. Known limitation: Otter is meeting-scoped, not ambient — it records defined calls it's invited into or that its extension is running for, not the continuous background audio of daily life that a Limitless-style pendant captured. Pick Otter.ai if: you want the most established, calendar-integrated meeting transcription tool with a real (if capped) free tier. 6. Fireflies.ai — An AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarizes conversations captured via a bot (email/calendar auto-join), Chrome extension, mobile app, desktop app, or dialer/API integration, layering conversation-intelligence features (talk-time, sentiment, team analytics) on top of transcripts. Pricing: Free: $0, 400 min/team storage. Pro: $10/seat/month billed annually (regular $18/month billed monthly), 8,000 min/seat storage. Business: $19/seat/month billed annually (regular $29/month), unlimited storage. Enterprise: $39/seat/month, annual billing only. Checked July 2026. Platforms: Web, desktop app, Chrome extension, mobile (iOS/Android); bot joins Zoom/Teams/Meet, plus dialer and API integrations. Known limitation: Fireflies only captures scheduled calls it's invited into, with no ambient/all-day recording mode, and the cheaper per-seat prices require annual billing — the monthly rate costs meaningfully more. Pick Fireflies.ai if: you want conversation-intelligence analytics (talk-time, sentiment, team scorecards) bundled with meeting transcription.

Why people switch: Limitless was acquired by Meta and shut down across the EU; You want opt-in capture, not always-on; You want app actions, not just recall; You care about EU data residency; You don't want to wear or carry hardware.

Pick a competitor instead if: You want the closest ambient-capture wearable — Bee is the most direct successor to Limitless's always-on concept — a wrist-worn device with continuous ambient audio capture. It's US-only and now Amazon-owned, and its subscription price isn't vendor-confirmed, but it's the closest match to what Limitless was. You want dedicated recording hardware you control — Plaud Note ($159 device, Pro from $8.33/month annual) is a standalone recorder rather than a wearable — closer to a deliberate recording tool than an always-on life-logger. You want meeting notes without a bot or hardware — Granola (free Basic tier, $14/user/month Business) captures computer audio during calls with no bot and no device purchase — the closest software-only substitute if meetings are the actual job. You want established, calendar-integrated meeting transcription — Otter.ai (free 300 min/month, Pro from $8.33/user/month annual) or Fireflies.ai (free tier, Pro from $10/seat/month annual) are the more mature picks if what you need is bot-based meeting transcription with wide integrations, not screen-aware or ambient capture.

What is the best Limitless AI alternative in 2026? Jarvis for on-demand, screen-aware help across your apps; Bee if you want the closest surviving ambient-wearable concept (US-only, Amazon-owned); Plaud Note for dedicated recording hardware; Granola, Otter.ai, or Fireflies.ai if what you actually need is meeting transcription.

What happened to Limitless AI? Limitless AI (formerly Rewind) was acquired by Meta in a deal that closed around December 5, 2025, per TechCrunch and Neowin. Meta discontinued new Pendant sales and shut the Limitless/Rewind service down entirely in the EU, UK, Brazil, China, Israel, South Korea, and Turkey as of December 19, 2025; existing customers in other regions kept a free Unlimited plan with support through 2026.

Is there a Limitless AI alternative that still works in the EU? Yes — none of the tools on this page were affected by the EU shutdown, since none of them are Limitless. Jarvis is explicitly GDPR-aligned; Granola, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Plaud Note, and Bee don't state an EU data residency region on the pages we reviewed, so check directly if that matters to you.

Is there a free Limitless AI alternative? Yes — Jarvis (40 requests/week), Granola (Basic, limited history), Otter.ai (300 minutes/month), and Fireflies.ai (400 min/team storage) all have free tiers. Bee and Plaud Note require buying hardware first.

Does Jarvis capture audio continuously like Limitless did? No — Jarvis deliberately has no always-on audio or ambient capture. It screenshots the active window only when you press Cmd+/ or Ctrl+/, with persistent memory across sessions for what you've actually asked about or saved.

Which Limitless alternatives need hardware? Bee (wrist-worn wearable, $49.99) and Plaud Note ($159 recorder) both require buying a physical device. Jarvis, Granola, Otter.ai, and Fireflies.ai are software-only.

Alternatives · Limitless AI alternatives · Last updated July 28, 2026