Tool profile
Otter.ai: what it is, what it costs, where it breaks
Otter.ai is an AI meeting assistant made by Otter.ai, Inc. that transcribes calls and in-person conversations in real time, then produces summaries, action items and a searchable archive. It can join Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams meetings as a guest, or record from its own web and mobile apps.
What to know first
Otter is the long-established name in this category, and its plan structure is the thing to understand before buying. Usage is counted in minutes per month and in minutes per conversation, and both limits rise sharply between Basic, Pro and Business. Transcription covers six languages. An annual Pro seat is cheap, but a free account will cut off a conversation after 30 minutes, so long calls need a paid tier.
Otter.ai at a glance
| Maker | Otter.ai, Inc., United States |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | $8.33 per user per month, billed annually |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Meeting Assistants in 2026, rank 3 of 9 |
| Website | otter.ai |
Who Otter.ai is best for
English-language knowledge workers
Live captions, speaker labels and a searchable archive work well for people who spend the day in English-language calls and want to read along while they talk.
Students and educators
Pro offers a student discount with a .edu address, and recorded lectures can be imported as files, within a monthly cap of imported minutes.
Small sales teams on HubSpot or Salesforce
Pro lists Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier connections, so call notes can land in the CRM without negotiating an enterprise contract first.
Otter.ai plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Free | 300 monthly transcription minutes, 30 minutes per conversation, three lifetime file imports, and the 25 most recent conversations kept. |
| Pro | $16.99 per user per month, or $8.33 billed annually | 1,200 monthly minutes, 90 minutes per conversation, 10 imports a month, unlimited history, and Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier integrations. |
| Business | $30 per user per month, or $19.99 billed annually | Unlimited meeting transcription, four hours per conversation, unlimited imports, three concurrent meetings, usage analytics and activity logs. |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Business features plus SSO, SCIM, domain capture, an API with webhooks, a HIPAA add-on and custom data retention. |
Prices as of October 2026; vendors change plans often, so confirm on the vendor's pricing page.
What Otter.ai does
- Live transcript with speaker labels
- Text appears while the meeting is running, with speaker identification and playback synced to the words. Custom vocabulary starts at five terms on Basic and grows to hundreds on paid tiers for names and jargon.
- Notetaker that joins as a guest
- Connect a Google or Microsoft calendar and a bot named after the user can auto-join events with a Zoom, Meet or Teams link. An optional email can tell invitees beforehand that recording is planned.
- AI Chat over your archive
- You can ask questions of one conversation or across many, with query allowances per month that rise from 20 on Basic to 200 on Business. An MCP server is listed for connecting assistants.
- Imports and exports
- Audio and video files can be uploaded for transcription, within monthly import caps. Advanced search and export arrive on Pro, which matters if you plan to move the archive elsewhere later.
- Admin and workflow controls
- Business adds custom AI workflows, activity logs and usage analytics, and Enterprise adds provisioning and an API. Meeting templates for common formats such as one-on-ones and sales calls begin on Pro.
How Otter.ai handles your data
Otter's security page says it de-identifies user data with a proprietary, automatic method before using it to train its models, without manual human review, and that customer data is not used to train its AI vendors' models. Deleted conversations sit in Trash for 30 days and are then removed. Otter reports a SOC 2 Type 2 audit, bases its policies on ISO 27001 without claiming that certification, and encrypts data with AES-256 on AWS. The page does not name a hosting region, and it places responsibility for consent on the user.
Where Otter.ai falls short in practice
- Per-conversation caps bite on the free tier. Basic stops transcribing a conversation at 30 minutes and Pro at 90. A long workshop or a two-hour board call needs Business, which allows four hours, so the entry price can understate the real tier.
- Six transcription languages. AI transcription is listed for English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Teams with Dutch, Portuguese, Arabic or Hindi speakers will find tools such as Fireflies or Avoma list far more.
- Bot visibility and consent exposure. The Notetaker appears as a guest and cannot join anonymously, which suits transparent internal calls but is awkward with clients. A consolidated U.S. class action over recording consent was reported as pending, so check default notification settings.
Works with
Alternatives to Otter.ai
Otter.ai: common questions
How many free minutes does Otter give you each month?
Otter's Basic plan includes 300 transcription minutes per user each month, drawn from a shared pool, with a 30-minute cap per conversation and three lifetime audio or video imports. Only the 25 most recent conversations stay in the account. Those limits are from Otter's pricing page as of October 2026.
Does Otter record meetings without telling participants?
Otter says it starts recording only when a user or participant presses record or invites it, and its Notetaker joins as a visible guest. A setting can email calendar guests before the meeting. Otter also tells users to follow local law and request consent, so the legal duty stays with you.
Which languages does Otter transcribe?
Otter lists English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese for AI transcription on all plans as of October 2026. That is far narrower than Fireflies, which says 100 or more, or Avoma, which lists 70 or more. Check recent changes on the pricing page before relying on a specific language.
Does Otter use my meetings to train its AI?
Otter's security page says it de-identifies user data with an automatic process before training its models, and that customer data is not used to train the models of its AI service providers. Imported Google Workspace documents are excluded from Otter's training. The page does not describe an opt-out switch, so ask Otter in writing.
Is Otter's Business plan worth it over Pro?
Business is worth it when conversations run past 90 minutes or the team needs unlimited meeting transcription. It allows four hours per conversation, unlimited imports and three concurrent meetings, and lists $19.99 per user monthly on annual billing. For short calls with under 1,200 minutes a month, Pro is usually enough.