Plaud
: How to use it, features, and the business problems it solves
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What is Plaud?
Plaud pairs AI voice recorders — the card-type Plaud Note and wearable Plaud NotePin — with a companion app to record meetings, sales calls, and phone conversations and turn them into transcripts in 112 languages, AI summaries, and mind maps. Devices start at JPY 27,500 (tax incl.) with 300 free transcription minutes per month, and PLAUD K.K., the Japanese subsidiary, provides support in Japanese.
Business problems it solves
About "Plaud"
What is Plaud?
Plaud is a service that records conversations with dedicated AI voice recorders and turns them into transcripts, summaries, and meeting minutes through its app. It is developed by Plaud Inc. of the United States (founded in 2021, based in San Francisco), and in Japan, PLAUD K.K., a Japanese subsidiary that began operations in April 2025, handles sales and support.
Unlike transcription tools that are software-only, Plaud starts with hardware built for recording. Its lineup specializes in capturing moments away from a PC — in-person sales meetings, ideas on the go, smartphone calls — with devices such as the 2.99mm-thin card-shaped Plaud Note that attaches to the back of your phone, and the 16.6g wearable Plaud NotePin that clips to your chest or wrist. Recordings sync to the app and flow into transcription in 112 languages, speaker identification, template-based summaries, mind map generation, and Ask Plaud, which lets you ask questions across your recordings.
(per official site)
(including Japanese)
(approx. 16K reviews)
(Starter plan)
The device records, the app thinks
Plaud is built in two layers: hardware that records and software that runs the AI. Because the devices focus solely on recording, batteries last long (the Plaud Note Pro records up to 50 hours continuously), while the heavy AI processing is handled by the app and the cloud.
Record
- Card-type Plaud Note / Note Pro
- Wearable NotePin / NotePin S
- Plaud Desktop for PC
Sync to app
- Transfer via Bluetooth / Wi-Fi
- 64GB onboard storage
AI does the finishing
- Transcription in 112 languages, speaker ID
- Template summaries and mind maps
Put it to work
- Ask Plaud queries across recordings
- Export and share
Online meetings are covered by Plaud Desktop, launched in January 2026. It detects Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams and records on your PC without sending a bot into the meeting.
How to use
- Install the app and create an account — Download the Plaud app for iOS / Android and register with your email address.
- Pair the device — Short-press the record button to power on; when the white light blinks, scan and connect from the app.
- Record — Press and hold the record button for one second; the device vibrates and starts recording. On the Plaud Note, a mode switch toggles between in-person and call recording (the Note Pro detects this automatically). Always obtain consent from the other party before recording.
- Run transcription — Select a synced audio file in the app and tap the transcribe button. The language is detected automatically and each speaker is labeled.
- Generate summaries and mind maps — Choose a template (meeting, sales call, interview, lecture, etc.) to create a summary. You can switch templates and regenerate afterward.
- Dig deeper with Ask Plaud — Ask questions like "What was decided?" or "Who owns the action items?" to pull out key points and to-dos. You can also search across multiple recordings.
Key features
01Recording devices (4 models)
All models include 64GB of storage and record standalone.
- Plaud Note — 2.99mm-thin card type. Attaches to the back of an iPhone with a MagSafe ring, and its Vibration Conduction Sensor (VCS) can record the other party's voice on phone calls. Up to 30 hours of continuous recording
- Plaud Note Pro — Higher-end model. Four MEMS microphones pick up audio up to 5m away and it auto-detects in-person vs. call modes. AMOLED display, up to 50 hours of continuous recording
- Plaud NotePin — 16.6g wearable. Wears four ways — necklace, wristband, clip, or pin — with up to 20 hours of continuous recording
- Plaud NotePin S — Higher-end NotePin released in January 2026. A short press of the button highlights the current remark
02Transcription and summaries
- 112 languages — Transcribes 112 languages including Japanese, with automatic speaker labels
- Summary templates — Generates summaries from templates for meetings, sales calls, medical consultations, lectures, and more. The official blog puts the template count at over 10,000
- Mind maps — Automatically diagrams the key points of a recording
- Ask Plaud — An AI feature for querying transcripts and summaries. Works both for digging into a single file and for searching across multiple files
03Security
- No training on your data — The official site states that recordings are never used to train AI models
- Third-party certifications — Certified for ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and SOC 2, and compliant with GDPR and HIPAA
Pricing
Plaud has a two-layer structure: devices (one-time purchase) and AI plans (subscription). All figures below are from the official Japanese site as of August 19, 2026, in JPY including tax.
Devices (one-time purchase)
| Model | Price (tax incl.) | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Plaud Note | JPY 27,500 | Card type, call recording (VCS), 30-hour recording |
| Plaud Note Pro | JPY 30,800 | Higher-end card type, 5m pickup, display, 50-hour recording |
| Plaud NotePin | JPY 27,500 | Wearable, 16.6g, 20-hour recording |
| Plaud NotePin S | JPY 28,600 | Higher-end wearable, highlight button |
AI plans (app subscription)
| Plan | Price (tax incl.) | Transcription | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | 300 min/month | Included for device users at no extra cost |
| Annual Pro Plan | JPY 16,800/year | 1,200 min/month | Equivalent to about JPY 1,400/month |
| Annual Unlimited Plan | JPY 40,000/year | Unlimited | For heavy users |
If you exceed your quota, you can also top up with transcription packages (600 minutes for JPY 2,000 / 3,000 minutes for JPY 10,000 / 6,000 minutes for JPY 15,000). For businesses, a team plan and a dedicated contact channel are available.
Free plan and trial
Even without a subscription, device owners get the free Starter plan with 300 minutes of transcription and summaries every month. One or two hour-long meetings a week fit within the free quota. Hardware also comes with a 30-day return guarantee and a one-year product warranty, with free shipping within Japan.
Japanese language support
- UI — The official Japanese site, app, and user guides are provided in Japanese
- Input/output — Transcription supports 112 languages including Japanese, with automatic language detection. You can also choose the output language for summaries
- Support — PLAUD K.K., the Japanese subsidiary (Shibuya Hikarie, Tokyo), handles sales and support in Japanese via email (support-jp@plaud.ai) and LINE (weekdays 10:00–19:00). Devices are carried at more than 280 physical stores in Japan, including major electronics retailers (official announcement, as of December 2024)
Reputation and track record
Figures published in official announcements and on the official site:
- Cumulative series shipments of 2.5 million units, available in more than 170 countries and regions (per official site)
- Approximately 80,000 users in Japan, with revenue up 21x year over year (as of December 2024, per the official announcement of the Japanese subsidiary)
- App Store rating of 4.9 (approx. 16K reviews) and 4.6 on review site G2 (per official site)
- Cumulative sales of the original Plaud Note exceed JPY 12 billion (announced at the Plaud Media Conference in April 2025)
The official site does not publish named individual testimonials, but as shown above, usage is documented through shipment figures and store ratings.
How Plaud differs from other AI meeting-notes tools
Most AI meeting-notes tools are software built around online meetings; Plaud fundamentally differs in that it has dedicated recording hardware. It can capture conversations that happen beyond a PC microphone — in-person sales meetings, on-site interviews, smartphone calls — precisely because of the device.
| Product | Form | Best at |
|---|---|---|
| Plaud | Dedicated device + app | In-person meetings and sales calls, phone calls, memos on the go |
| Notta | Web / app (SaaS) | General transcription of online meetings and audio files |
| Granola | Mac app | Bot-free online meeting notes |
| Fathom | Meeting-app integration | Recording and summarizing Zoom and similar calls |
| Fireflies.ai | Meeting bot | Online meeting records with CRM integration |
If your work centers on online meetings, software like Notta or Granola is enough; for recording and analyzing sales calls, Fathom or Fireflies.ai will do. For salespeople, executives, and clinicians who spend their days in face-to-face or phone conversations — or anywhere you would rather not bring a laptop into the room — Plaud's device-based recording has the edge. And if what you want is voice input that turns speech into text you are about to write, Wispr Flow is a different kind of answer.
FAQ
Q. Can I use just the app without buying a device? Plaud is designed to be used with its devices, and the Starter plan (300 free minutes per month) is provided to device users. For online meetings, Plaud Desktop — which records meeting audio on your PC without a bot — has been available since January 2026.
Q. Can it record iPhone calls? Attach the Plaud Note to the back of an iPhone with the MagSafe ring, and the Vibration Conduction Sensor (VCS) picks up and records the other party's voice on calls. No special app-side setup is required. Obtain the other party's consent and follow local laws when recording.
Q. Are my recordings used to train AI? The official site states that recordings are never used to train AI models. Plaud is certified for ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and SOC 2, and complies with GDPR and HIPAA.
Q. How far does the free tier go? The Starter plan includes 300 minutes of transcription and summaries per month for free. Beyond that, you can subscribe to the Annual Pro Plan (1,200 min/month) or buy transcription packages (from 600 minutes for JPY 2,000).
Q. Can I return it if it isn't for me? Purchases from the official Japanese site come with a 30-day return guarantee, plus a one-year product warranty. See the warranty and returns page on the official site for details.
Q. Is Japanese transcription accurate? Japanese is among the 112 supported languages, with speaker identification and custom terminology support. The Japanese subsidiary provides support in Japanese, so questions about accuracy and usage can be handled entirely in Japanese.
Company
The developer is Plaud Inc. of the United States (founded November 2021, incorporated in Delaware, based in San Francisco). Its predecessor Nicebuild LLC was consolidated in April 2025, and the CEO is Nathan Xu. The company has raised funding from investors including Carbide Ventures. With affiliates in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, it develops its hardware and software in-house as one product.
In Japan, PLAUD K.K. (Shibuya Hikarie 33F, Shibuya, Tokyo) began operations on April 1, 2025, handling domestic sales, customer support, and business development. The legal disclosures under the Specified Commercial Transactions Act and the terms of service are published on the official Japanese site.
The information on this page is based on what was published on the official website as of August 2026. Features and pricing are subject to change; please check the official website for the latest information.
