If you’re running a remote B2B sales team and tired of clunky meetings, scattered notes, and “what did we agree on again?” moments, you’re in the right place. There’s no shortage of GTM (go-to-market) tools promising to fix remote sales, but most are either bloated, too basic, or try to do everything except actually help close deals. This is a no-nonsense look at how Vowel stacks up as a B2B GTM software tool, especially compared to bigger names like Gong, Zoom, and Chorus. I’ll break down where it shines, where it falls short, and who should just skip it. If you want the truth, not the hype, keep reading.
What’s Vowel, Anyway? And Do Remote Sales Teams Really Need It?
Vowel is a meeting platform built for modern, remote teams—think Zoom, but with built-in agendas, searchable transcripts, and collaborative notes. It tries to be the single place for every sales call, demo, or pipeline review, with records you can actually find later. The pitch: better meetings, smarter follow-up, less tool-switching.
But do you really need a dedicated tool for remote meetings and sales calls? If your team is drowning in missed details, can’t remember who said what, or spends more time wrangling calendar invites and notes than selling—maybe, yeah.
Core Features of Vowel (And Which Ones Actually Matter)
Let’s cut to it. Here’s what Vowel brings to the table, and what’s fluff:
- Live transcription: Every meeting is transcribed in real time. Useful for catching what you missed or pulling out action items. Not always 100% accurate (no tool is), but good enough.
- Searchable meeting history: All your sales calls are archived and searchable. That’s a big step up from Zoom’s black hole of MP4 files.
- Shared agendas and notes: Start meetings with a prepped agenda, take notes collaboratively, and assign follow-ups right in the platform.
- Instant recordings: No waiting for videos to process—recordings are ready as soon as the meeting ends.
- Integrations: Google Calendar, Slack, and some CRMs. But not as deep as you’d get with bigger platforms.
- AI-powered summaries and highlights: Automatically pulls out key moments and action items. Decent, but don’t expect it to catch every nuance.
What’s actually useful for remote sales? - The searchable history and live transcripts are the stars. Sales teams forget things, deals die from dropped balls, and this genuinely helps. - Shared notes mean less scrambling after a call to remember who owns next steps. - The AI highlights are okay for prepping follow-up emails, but you’ll still want to double-check them.
Stuff you can probably ignore: - Fancy backgrounds and emoji reactions. These are nice to have, but won’t move your pipeline.
How Does Vowel Compare to Gong, Zoom, and Chorus?
Here’s where the rubber meets the road. Let’s stack Vowel up against the usual suspects.
1. Vowel vs. Gong
- Gong is the sales call heavyweight. It records, transcribes, analyzes, and even tries to coach your reps with AI.
- Pros for Gong: Unmatched analytics, deal tracking, and pipeline insights. If you want to know which rep talks too much, or which deals are actually at risk, Gong is king.
- Cons for Gong: Expensive, can be overkill for small teams, steep learning curve.
- Vowel’s angle: Lighter, way less intimidating, and a lot cheaper. Doesn’t do deep sales analytics, but nails the basics—recording, transcripts, searchable notes.
- Who should pick Vowel? SMBs or startups that just want better meetings and records, not full-on sales analytics.
2. Vowel vs. Zoom
- Zoom is the default. Everyone’s got it, and it works.
- Pros for Zoom: Reliable video calls, easy for prospects to join, cheap/free.
- Cons for Zoom: Zero sales context. Meeting notes end up in someone’s notebook or in Notion, transcripts are a pain, and good luck finding that critical demo from last quarter.
- Vowel’s angle: One platform for meetings and sales records, no hunting for links or files. Built for teams who actually need to remember what happened.
- Who should pick Vowel? Remote sales teams who keep losing track of what happened on calls.
3. Vowel vs. Chorus
- Chorus is like Gong’s little sibling—records and analyzes sales calls, with a focus on coaching.
- Pros for Chorus: Great for onboarding new reps, spotting deal risks, and understanding call patterns.
- Cons for Chorus: Still pretty pricey, and some teams find the analytics distracting.
- Vowel’s angle: No coaching or analytics—just solid meeting records and collaboration tools.
- Who should pick Vowel? Teams who don’t need AI coaching, just a clean record of calls and decisions.
4. Vowel vs. Fireflies, Avoma, and the “AI Notetakers”
- These tools join any call (Zoom, Meet, Teams), record and transcribe, and try to summarize.
- Pros: Flexible, works with your existing tools, pretty cheap.
- Cons: Privacy flags (some clients hate the recording bot), and they’re just bolt-ons—your team still has to organize records and notes somewhere else.
- Vowel’s angle: All-in-one platform, no bots joining calls, tighter workflow for teams who want calls, notes, and follow-ups in one place.
Real-World Pros and Cons for Remote Sales Teams
What works: - Centralized meeting history: No more “who has the notes?” moments. - Quick search: Find that one promise you made to a client, fast. - Lightweight setup: You don’t need an admin to manage it.
What doesn’t: - Limited CRM integrations: Won’t replace your Salesforce or HubSpot workflows. - Transcription accuracy: Good, but not perfect—especially with accents or noisy calls. - Mobile experience: Usable, but not as slick as desktop. Not ideal for on-the-go reps. - Some prospects still want Zoom: You may still need to offer a Zoom link for certain clients (Vowel does have guest access, but it’s not as universal).
Pro tips: - Use the shared agenda for every client call; it keeps everyone focused and saves you from “what’s the goal here?” moments. - Assign follow-ups before the call ends—Vowel makes this easy, but you have to build the habit. - Double-check the AI summaries before sending out recaps. They’re helpful, but not infallible.
Pricing and Setup: What’s the Real Cost?
- Vowel: Has a free tier (handy for small teams) and paid plans starting around $16/user/month. No weird fees, no required onboarding costs.
- Time to value: You’ll be up and running in a couple of hours, not days.
- Gong/Chorus: Think hundreds per user per year, plus lengthy onboarding.
- Zoom: Basically free, but you’ll need another tool for notes, transcripts, and follow-ups.
If you’re a lean team, Vowel’s pricing is refreshingly straightforward. It’s not the cheapest, but you’re paying for convenience and sanity.
When to Use Vowel—and When to Skip It
Use Vowel if: - Your remote sales team keeps losing track of calls, notes, or follow-ups. - You want everything in one place—agendas, transcripts, recordings—without switching tabs. - You’re not ready (or don’t need) full-blown sales analytics.
Skip Vowel if: - You need deep integrations with your CRM or sales stack. - You’re obsessed with call analytics and coaching—go Gong or Chorus. - Your clients refuse to join anything but Zoom.
The Bottom Line: Keep It Simple, Ship Fast
Vowel isn’t a silver bullet, but it nails the basics for remote B2B sales teams. If you want less chaos, clearer follow-ups, and searchable meeting records, it’s a solid pick. Don’t let tool fatigue slow you down—set up what you need, see if it works for your team, and don’t be afraid to swap it out if it doesn’t stick. Sales is hard enough; your software should make it easier, not more complicated. Test, tweak, and focus on what actually helps close deals.