The market for meeting note-takers has become increasingly crowded: in recent weeks, dictation app Wispr rolled out its own note-taking feature, and Calendly added a similar tool to its product suite. Dedicated meeting-note startups such as Granola, Read AI and Fireflies have also raised substantial funding.
Against this backdrop, Y Combinator-backed Circleback introduced a free subscription tier to let more users try its product. The new free plan allows unlimited meeting transcriptions, but users can only access their meeting history for the last 30 days. Granola introduced a similar limited-history free tier a few months earlier.
Features included in the free plan:
- recording meetings and generating transcripts
- mobile apps and Apple Watch support
- AI-powered querying of transcripts
- integrations with Linear and Slack
For customers who want all integrations, unlimited meeting history, and full API and MCP access, paid subscriptions start at $14 per month when billed annually. Before this change, Circleback did not offer a free tier and its plans started at $20.83 per month.
Company background and financials
Circleback was founded in 2023 by Ali Haghani and Kevin Jacyna. The company raised $2.5 million in 2024. According to Circleback, it has been profitable since that raise and is generating run-rate revenue of over $1 million per employee with a team of eight, which roughly translates to an annualized run-rate of about $8 million.
Rationale and growth strategy
Haghani said the previously limited trial period caused a high drop-off rate, which prompted the introduction of a free plan. “If we just open the gates and allow more people to use the product, that’s gonna bring Circleback in front of more people. Then we’re very good at making the product good and monetizing those users,” he said.
The company also says it does not spend on Google Ads or Meta Ads, and expects the free tier to function as a marketing expense. Despite investor interest, Haghani indicated Circleback is not immediately seeking more funding because it does not currently see bottlenecks in its growth path. He added that the startup would consider fundraising the moment it determines capital would solve a problem it faces.
Why this matters
Introducing a free tier underscores how intense competition has become in the meeting-note space: removing barriers to trial is a straightforward tactic to accelerate user acquisition when competing against better-funded and larger rivals such as Wispr, Calendly, Granola, Read AI and Fireflies.
