How to Transcribe a Zoom Meeting on iPhone for Free

Transcribing a Zoom meeting for free on iPhone: use Zoom’s built-in AI Companion transcription (free for Zoom licensed accounts), or record the meeting audio and transcribe on-device with Nemos or Apple Voice Memos (iOS 18+).

Method 1: Zoom AI Companion (Built-In, Free for Licensed Accounts)

Zoom’s AI Companion provides meeting transcription included with Zoom One, Pro, Business, and Education accounts (not on the free plan). During a meeting: tap Record or AI Companion button > transcription starts automatically. After the meeting: Zoom sends a summary and full transcript to your email and Zoom web portal.

Limitation: requires Zoom host to enable AI Companion for the meeting. Free Zoom accounts (40-minute limit) do not include AI Companion transcription.

Method 2: Record and Transcribe On-Device (Free, Private)

For meetings where you control the recording:

Record the meeting audio using your iPhone’s microphone during a call, or use built-in screen recording with audio (Control Center > Screen Recording with microphone enabled).

Then transcribe: open Nemos > share the audio file > Nemos transcribes using Apple Foundation Models on-device. No audio reaches any server. Full transcript searchable.

Or: Apple Voice Memos (iOS 18, iPhone 15 Pro+) transcribes on-device for free with no app needed.

Method 3: Otter.ai Free Tier (300 Minutes/Month)

Otter.ai free plan includes 300 transcription minutes/month. OtterPilot (the Zoom bot) requires Otter Pro. For basic recording + transcription: use the Otter app on iPhone to record locally or use the import feature for recorded .m4a files.

Privacy Note

Zoom’s AI Companion processes audio on Zoom’s servers. Nemos and Apple Voice Memos process on-device. For sensitive meetings (medical, legal, HR), on-device transcription eliminates cloud exposure.

Zoom's Built-In Transcription

Zoom has native transcription (available on Pro plan and above) that runs automatically during meetings. The transcript appears in the meeting chat after the call and in your Zoom portal. No third-party apps required.

For free Zoom users: Otter.ai offers a bot that joins meetings and transcribes. Fireflies.ai similarly. Both have free tiers with usage limits.

iPhone-side capture: if you're in a Zoom meeting on iPhone and want to capture key moments without a full transcript, Nemos quick capture is faster. Tap the Nemos lock screen widget during the meeting, speak a 10-second voice note capturing the decision or insight. This is more targeted than a full meeting transcript and immediately searchable.

Post-meeting: voice-capture commitments and action items in Nemos before closing the Zoom app. These become your meeting output without needing to process a full transcript.