Scriben vs ZoomMate

It works inside Zoom. Most conversations are not in Zoom.

Zoom AI Companion — now branded ZoomMate — summarises what happens in your Zoom meetings, and if you already pay for Zoom you already have some of it. Scriben is for the conversations that never become a Zoom meeting: the table, the ward round, the corridor, the car.

Shop Scriben See the comparison

A professional conversation captured with Scriben in the room

What it actually is: An add-onInside Zoom Workplace; A penIts own hardware, syncs to iOS
Where it reaches: ZoomAnd limited use elsewhere; Any roomNo meeting required at all
What has to be running: A deviceSigned in, with the app or the call open; NothingNo phone, no app, no network
Writes on paper: NoIt is software; YesA real 0.6mm ballpoint

Start here

What ZoomMate does better.

If your calendar is Zoom meetings and your company already pays for Zoom, ZoomMate is the cheapest AI notes you will ever buy, because you have largely bought it already. It is built into the product, there is nothing to install, and no one has to approve a new vendor. That is a real advantage and no pen competes with it.

Beyond the recording

Capture is only the first step.

Scriben combines purpose-built hardware, durable memory and agents that can move approved work through the tools you already use.

Scriben writing while it captures — **Capture**A real pen in the room.

Scriben private memory workspace — **Memory**Context carries forward.

Scriben agent results — **Agents**Approved work gets done.

Scriben integrations — **9,000+ apps**Deep connections and broad reach.

Where each one works

The same week, on both.

Not a feature list. The actual situations a working week is made of, and what happens in each.

A Zoom meeting you host: ✓; ✓
More than three summarised meetings a month at no cost: Paid; ✓
A meeting on Teams, Meet or a phone call: Limited; ✓
A conversation across a table, no meeting at all: —; ✓
A site visit, a ward round, a walk: —; ✓
Somewhere with no signal: —; ✓
Writing on paper while it captures: —; ✓

Zoom AI Companion is now presented as ZoomMate. Its free tier lists meeting summaries for three hosted meetings a month and AI note-taking for three uses a month, including on third-party meeting platforms; the full agentic suite is a paid subscription that includes AI credits. Checked on 15 September 2026 on zoom.com. Prices and packaging change — check theirs before you decide.

Sources

Where these figures come from.

ZoomMate figures checked on 15 September 2026 on zoom.com: the free tier lists meeting summaries for three hosted meetings a month and AI note-taking for three uses a month, including on third-party meeting platforms; the full suite, with agents and workflows, is a paid subscription that includes AI credits. Zoom has moved the AI Companion branding to ZoomMate. There are no cost bars on this page on purpose — ZoomMate is bundled into a Zoom subscription you may already pay for, so charting it against a $129 pen would compare two different purchases and flatter us. Prices and packaging change — check theirs before you decide.

Questions

The ones people actually ask.

Is Zoom AI Companion free?

Partly. Zoom now brands it ZoomMate. The free tier lists meeting summaries for three hosted meetings a month and AI note-taking for three uses a month; the full suite, with agents and workflows, is a paid subscription that includes AI credits. Checked on 15 September 2026 on zoom.com.

What is the difference between Zoom AI Companion and ZoomMate?

They are the same lineage. Zoom has moved the AI Companion branding to ZoomMate, which is what its product pages now describe. If you are searching for AI Companion, ZoomMate is what you will find.

Does Scriben work with Zoom?

It does not join Zoom meetings and does not need to. The pen captures the room it is in, including a call you take on speaker, and syncs afterwards. Nobody on the call sees a notetaker join.

Why would I need a pen if I already pay for Zoom?

For every conversation that never becomes a Zoom meeting. The client across the table, the site visit, the five minutes in the corridor where the decision actually got made. ZoomMate cannot reach any of those.

Which should I use?

Both, honestly. If your company pays for Zoom, use ZoomMate for Zoom meetings — you already have it. Buy Scriben for the conversations that happen away from a screen, which is where a meeting assistant has never been able to help.

Also worth comparing

The other three.

Anyone choosing between two of these is usually choosing between several. Every page uses the same rules and dates its sources.

Scriben vs OtterMetered minutes, billed per seat, every month. Scriben vs FirefliesA notetaker that joins the call and everyone sees. Scriben vs FathomFree for calls; its paid tiers need two seats.

Honestly