Polar Notes and Tana are both AI meeting assistants for recording, transcription, and summaries, compared here on pricing, features, and workflow fit. Polar Notes: AI note taker for students that turns lectures, audio, slides, PDFs, and videos into notes and study packs. Tana: AI workspace with a bot-less meeting notetaker that transcribes and summarizes meetings directly into a connected knowledge base. They overlap on ai-meeting-assistants, so the right pick depends on team size, budget, and which meeting workflows you automate.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
For ai-meeting-assistants workflows, shortlist Polar Notes when turning recorded lectures into summarized notes and flashcards matters most, and Tana when transcribing and summarizing meetings without a bot in the call matters most. Both record across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams; trial each on real meetings before committing.
AI note taker for students that turns lectures, audio, slides, PDFs, and videos into notes and study packs.
AI workspace with a bot-less meeting notetaker that transcribes and summarizes meetings directly into a connected knowledge base.
Polar Notes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Tana is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Polar Notes | Tana |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Record or upload lectures, paste YouTube links, and import slides or PDFs | Bot-less meeting capture using computer system audio |
| Standout feature | Automatic audio transcription and AI-generated summarized notes with headings | Transcription and AI summaries for online and in-person meetings |
| Team usage | Study pack generation including study guides, flashcards, and quiz questions | Action items pushed directly to task boards in the workspace |
| Integrations | Export to Google Docs and PDF with organized study sets | Links meeting notes to relevant people and projects |
| Languages & capture | Offline access on iOS with notes stored locally by default | Automatic meeting detection on Mac |
| Best-fit workflow | Multilingual transcription for international students and teachers | 60+ language support with automatic detection |
Polar Notes
Choose Polar Notes if you need turning recorded lectures into summarized notes and flashcards — strengths include turns multiple source types into exam-ready study material.
Tana
Choose Tana if you need transcribing and summarizing meetings without a bot in the call — strengths include captures meetings without adding a bot to the call.
Polar Notes
Tana
It depends on your workflow. Polar Notes is strong for turning recorded lectures into summarized notes and flashcards, while Tana is strong for transcribing and summarizing meetings without a bot in the call. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Polar Notes is a free tier with paid upgrades and Tana is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary and the budget is justified.