Best Otter.ai Alternatives for 2026

Why explore Otter.ai alternatives?

Privacy, accuracy, and features

Otter.ai was one of the first AI transcription tools to go mainstream, and honestly, it's still decent. But in 2026, there are alternatives that handle privacy better, offer more features, or just feel more polished. Let's talk about why people are looking elsewhere.

The privacy concerns are real. Otter.ai uploads all your audio to their servers for processing. Every meeting, every conversation, every voice memo goes to the cloud. For sensitive business discussions or confidential client calls, that's a non-starter. Some alternatives process everything locally or give you control over data.

The free tier is generous (600 minutes/month), but the limitations add up fast. You can't export transcripts in most formats, advanced features are paywalled, and the 40-minute limit per conversation is annoying for long meetings. Once you upgrade, you're paying $8.33-16.99/month, which is competitive but not cheap.

Accuracy is pretty good but not perfect. Otter struggles with accents, technical jargon, and multiple speakers talking over each other. I've used it for about a year and probably spent 10-15 minutes per hour of audio cleaning up mistakes. That's not terrible, but some newer AI models do better.

The meeting assistant feature (Otter joining Zoom/Teams calls automatically) is convenient but also kind of awkward. Some people get weirded out when "Otter.ai's Notetaker" joins the call and announces itself. For client-facing meetings, it can feel unprofessional compared to tools that record more discreetly.

Integration with note-taking apps is limited. Otter has basic integrations with Notion, Slack, and Salesforce, but if you use Obsidian, Roam, or other tools, you're stuck copying and pasting transcripts. Some alternatives export Markdown or integrate directly with more apps.

The AI summaries are okay but generic. Otter generates bullet points of key takeaways, which is helpful, but the summaries often miss nuance or include obvious filler. Newer tools with GPT-4 or Claude integration produce much better, more actionable summaries.

Maybe you just want something faster. Otter's processing can take a minute or two after meetings end. Some alternatives transcribe in real-time with zero lag, which is honestly game-changing when you need notes immediately.

Or maybe you're tired of the mobile app, which works fine but isn't great for editing long transcripts on a small screen. Whatever your reason, you've got solid alternatives.

Granola

Best for privacy and local processing

Granola takes a completely different approach than Otter.ai. Instead of uploading audio to the cloud, Granola processes everything locally on your Mac. Your meeting audio never leaves your device. For privacy-conscious users or anyone dealing with confidential information, this is huge.

The workflow is smooth. Granola runs in the background during meetings (Zoom, Teams, Meet, or in-person conversations). It captures audio locally, transcribes it using on-device AI, and generates notes automatically. No bot joining your calls, no announcements, no awkward "Otter.ai is recording" moments.

The AI notes are genuinely useful. Instead of just transcribing verbatim like Otter, Granola generates structured meeting notes with action items, decisions, and key discussion points. It uses GPT-4 to understand context and pull out what actually matters. The notes feel like something a human would write, not just a transcript dump.

You can edit and enhance notes during the meeting with natural language. Type "add action item: follow up with Sarah about budget" and Granola incorporates it into the notes. This hybrid approach (AI + human input) produces better results than pure AI transcription.

Granola integrates with your note-taking workflow. Export to Notion, Obsidian, or any Markdown-based tool. The notes are yours to use however you want, not locked in a proprietary system like Otter's.

Pricing is competitive. Free tier covers basic features, paid plan is around $10-15/month (pricing varies). Comparable to Otter but with better privacy and more useful output.

Performance is excellent because everything runs locally. No upload time, no processing delay. Notes are ready seconds after your meeting ends. Otter makes you wait a minute or two while it uploads and processes.

Downsides: Mac-only right now (Windows version is planned but not available yet). Also, local processing requires a relatively modern Mac (M1 or later recommended). If you're on Windows or an older Mac, Granola isn't an option yet.

The transcription accuracy is very good but not quite as robust as Otter for challenging audio (heavy accents, lots of background noise). For most business meetings with decent audio quality, it's excellent.

Fireflies.ai

Best Otter.ai competitor

Fireflies.ai is probably Otter's most direct competitor. Similar features, similar pricing, but with better integrations and more robust team collaboration tools. If you like Otter but want more, Fireflies is worth trying.

The transcription accuracy is comparable to Otter, maybe slightly better for technical conversations. I've tested both side-by-side on sales calls and engineering meetings, and Fireflies handled industry jargon a bit more accurately. Not a huge difference, but noticeable.

The AI summaries are more detailed than Otter's. Fireflies generates multiple summary types: overview, action items, questions asked, key metrics mentioned, and even sentiment analysis. Otter gives you bullet points; Fireflies gives you actual insights.

Integrations are where Fireflies shines. Native connections to Slack, Notion, Asana, Salesforce, HubSpot, and 50+ other tools. The two-way sync works well: meeting notes automatically push to your CRM or project management tool without manual export.

The searchability is excellent. You can search across all your meeting transcripts for specific keywords, topics, or speakers. Need to find every time a client mentioned "pricing" over the last three months? Fireflies finds it in seconds. Otter has search too, but Fireflies' filters and boolean operators are more powerful.

Team features are robust. Share meeting notes with specific teammates, create highlight reels of important moments, comment on transcripts collaboratively. If you're using meeting notes as a team resource (sales coaching, onboarding, documentation), Fireflies handles this better than Otter.

Pricing is similar to Otter: free tier with limitations, Pro plan at $10/seat/month, Business plan at $19/seat/month. For teams, Fireflies often works out cheaper because the collaboration features reduce the need for additional tools.

Downsides: Like Otter, everything uploads to the cloud. If privacy is a concern, Fireflies has the same issues. Also, the Fireflies bot joining calls can feel intrusive, especially for external meetings. Some clients have asked me to remove it.

The mobile app is functional but not great for serious editing. It's fine for reviewing notes, but if you need to clean up transcripts on your phone, the experience is clunky.

Fathom

Best free Zoom transcription

Fathom focuses specifically on Zoom meetings with a free tier that's actually useful. If you primarily use Zoom and don't need transcription for other platforms, Fathom is a solid pick that won't cost you anything.

The free plan is generous: unlimited recording and transcription for Zoom. No per-meeting limits, no monthly minute caps, just free. Otter limits you to 600 minutes/month on the free tier, so if you're in lots of meetings, Fathom saves you from paying.

The AI summaries are concise and useful. Fathom generates highlights, action items, and key decisions automatically. The summaries feel more focused than Otter's: less fluff, more actionable content. Perfect for busy people who just want the TL;DR of their meetings.

The interface is clean and fast. Notes load instantly, transcripts are easy to read and search, and the highlighting feature (mark important moments during meetings) works smoothly. Otter's interface feels more cluttered by comparison.

Fathom integrates with CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot, Close) and project tools (Notion, Slack, Asana). The integrations are less extensive than Fireflies but cover the essentials for most teams.

The recording doesn't require a bot in most cases. Fathom can record directly from Zoom without an additional participant joining. This makes it way less awkward for client meetings. Otter always announces itself, which some people find off-putting.

Downsides: Zoom-only for free. If you use Google Meet, Teams, or other platforms, you'll need the paid plan ($19/month). That's more expensive than Otter. So Fathom only makes sense if Zoom is your primary meeting tool.

Also, like Otter and Fireflies, everything uploads to Fathom's servers. No local processing option like Granola.

The transcript editing interface is basic. You can correct mistakes, but bulk editing or formatting options are limited compared to Otter's more mature editing tools.

tl;dv

Best for video highlights

tl;dv is designed for recording and sharing meeting highlights, not just transcription. If you need to create video clips of important meeting moments (for training, sales reviews, or documentation), tl;dv handles this better than Otter.

The transcription is accurate and supports 30+ languages. Otter also supports multiple languages, but tl;dv's translation features are more robust. You can transcribe a meeting in Spanish and translate to English automatically, which is handy for international teams.

The killer feature is timestamped highlights. During or after meetings, you mark important moments, and tl;dv creates clips with transcripts. Share these clips with teammates who missed the meeting. Way more useful than forwarding a 60-minute transcript and saying "read this."

The AI summaries are solid: key topics, action items, and decisions. Similar quality to Otter, maybe slightly better at identifying action items specifically. The summaries include timestamps, so you can jump directly to relevant parts of the recording.

Integrations with Slack, Notion, Google Docs, and CRMs work well. Meeting notes automatically sync to your workspace without manual export. tl;dv also integrates with video platforms (YouTube, Vimeo), so you can publish meeting highlights externally if needed.

The free tier is generous: 20 recordings/month and unlimited transcription minutes. Otter limits you to 600 minutes total, so if you're in lots of short meetings, tl;dv's structure works better. Paid plans start at $18/user/month.

Downsides: The focus on video means the interface is built around watching/sharing clips. If you just want text transcripts without video, Otter or Fireflies are simpler. tl;dv feels like overkill for audio-only workflows.

Also, tl;dv uploads video recordings to their servers, which takes up more bandwidth and storage than audio-only tools. Privacy considerations are similar to Otter: everything lives in the cloud.

MeetGeek

Best for team insights

MeetGeek is another Otter competitor with strong team collaboration features and good AI summaries. It's less well-known than Fireflies or Otter but offers solid value, especially for teams.

The transcription accuracy is on par with Otter. I've tested it with sales calls, product demos, and team standups, and the error rate is comparable. Handles multiple speakers well, though like all AI transcription, it struggles with heavy accents or poor audio quality.

The AI summaries are detailed and customizable. You can create custom summary templates based on meeting type (sales calls, 1-on-1s, interviews). This is more flexible than Otter's one-size-fits-all summaries. For recurring meeting types, this customization saves time.

Team collaboration features are excellent. Share meeting notes with specific teammates, create meeting collections (e.g., all customer feedback meetings), and search across your team's entire meeting library. If you're building a knowledge base from meetings, MeetGeek handles this well.

The meeting insights dashboard is unique. MeetGeek analyzes trends across meetings: talk time ratio, sentiment, topics discussed, and meeting frequency. For managers, this data helps identify patterns and improve meeting culture. Otter doesn't have equivalent analytics.

Integrations cover the basics: Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Salesforce. Not as extensive as Fireflies, but the important ones are there.

Pricing is competitive: free tier with 5 hours/month, paid plans starting at $15/user/month. Cheaper than Otter's highest tier, more expensive than Otter's entry tier. The value depends on whether you use the team features.

Downsides: Another cloud-based tool with the same privacy trade-offs as Otter. Everything uploads to MeetGeek's servers. Also, the interface feels a bit busy. Lots of features and analytics, which is powerful but can be overwhelming if you just want simple transcripts.

The mobile experience is weak. You can review notes, but editing and searching on mobile is clunky. Desktop/laptop is the intended use case.

Avoma

Best for sales teams

Avoma is built specifically for revenue teams (sales, customer success). If you're using meeting transcription primarily for deals, client calls, or customer interactions, Avoma offers features that Otter doesn't.

The transcription and AI notes are solid, comparable to Otter. But where Avoma shines is the CRM integration and deal intelligence features. Avoma automatically extracts deal details (competitors mentioned, budget discussed, decision timeline) and syncs them to Salesforce or HubSpot. Otter just gives you a transcript; Avoma gives you CRM-ready data.

The conversation intelligence is powerful for sales coaching. Avoma tracks talk-to-listen ratios, question counts, monologue lengths, and other metrics that indicate sales effectiveness. Managers can review calls, identify coaching opportunities, and create highlight reels of best practices. For sales teams, this is way more valuable than basic transcription.

The meeting scheduling and agenda features are convenient. Avoma handles scheduling links, agenda creation, and automated follow-ups: the entire meeting lifecycle. Otter only handles the recording/transcription part.

Snippets and playlists let you create highlight reels from multiple meetings. Build a compilation of customer objections, feature requests, or competitive mentions across dozens of calls. For product teams or sales enablement, this is incredibly useful.

Pricing reflects the enterprise focus: Starter plan is $19/user/month, Business plan is $49/user/month, Enterprise is custom pricing. That's significantly more expensive than Otter. Only worth it if you're actively using the revenue-focused features.

Downsides: Overkill if you're not in sales or customer-facing roles. Engineers, product managers, or internal teams don't need deal intelligence or conversation analytics. Otter is simpler and cheaper for non-revenue use cases.

The learning curve is steeper. Avoma has lots of features, and it takes time to set up CRM integrations, custom trackers, and reporting. Otter is plug-and-play by comparison.

Like all cloud tools, privacy is a consideration. Everything uploads to Avoma's servers, which might be an issue for sensitive customer conversations.

Choosing the right meeting transcription tool

Picking the right meeting transcription tool depends on what you actually need and what bothers you about Otter.ai.

If privacy is your main concern

Granola. It's the only tool that processes everything locally. Your audio never leaves your device. For confidential business discussions or regulated industries, this is the only real option.

If you want the best free option

Fathom for Zoom meetings (unlimited recording on free tier). Otter if you need multi-platform support (600 minutes/month is decent). tl;dv if you're in lots of short meetings (20 recordings/month).

If you need team collaboration

Fireflies or MeetGeek. Both have strong features for sharing, searching, and analyzing meetings across teams. Otter's collaboration features are more basic.

If you're a sales team

Avoma. The conversation intelligence and CRM integration justify the higher price for revenue teams. Otter doesn't offer equivalent sales-focused features.

If you want video highlights

tl;dv. Create and share timestamped clips of important meeting moments. Otter only does text transcription.

If you want the closest Otter replacement

Fireflies. Similar features, similar pricing, but with better integrations and more detailed AI summaries.

If you're on a tight budget

Otter's free tier (600 minutes/month) or Fathom (unlimited Zoom). Both cover basic needs without paying.

Bottom line: Otter.ai is fine, but there are better options depending on your priorities. Privacy-focused users should look at Granola. Teams need Fireflies or MeetGeek. Sales teams need Avoma. Most people can probably find a better fit than Otter.

Migrating from Otter.ai

Switching from Otter to another transcription tool is pretty straightforward since most of your value comes from new meetings, not historical data.

Export your important transcripts first

Go through your Otter library and export any transcripts you want to keep. Most plans let you export as text, SRT, or PDF. Save these somewhere safe (Google Drive, Notion, local storage) before canceling Otter.

You probably don't need to migrate old meetings

Unlike note-taking apps where historical data matters, most meeting transcripts lose value after a few weeks. Ask yourself: when was the last time you referenced a meeting transcript from 3 months ago? If the answer is "rarely," don't stress about migrating old content.

Test your new tool with low-stakes meetings

Run Otter and your new tool in parallel for a week. Compare accuracy, usability, and whether the AI summaries are actually useful. Pick a few internal meetings (not client calls) for testing so mistakes don't matter.

Update your meeting invites

If you have Otter automatically joining scheduled meetings, disable that and set up your new tool instead. Most tools integrate with calendar apps to auto-join, but you need to configure it.

Train your team

If your team relies on meeting transcripts, let them know you're switching tools. Show them where to find notes in the new system. The #1 complaint during tool switches is "I can't find anything" because people don't know the new workflow.

Consider privacy settings carefully

If you're switching to Granola for privacy reasons, make sure you're actually using local processing and not uploading data to other tools inadvertently. Review your integrations and export settings.

Cancel Otter when ready

Once you're comfortable with the new tool and have exported anything important, cancel your Otter subscription. You can usually keep access until the end of your billing cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Granola better than Otter.ai?

For privacy, absolutely. Granola processes everything locally, so your meeting audio never leaves your device. Otter uploads everything to their servers. Granola's AI notes are also more useful than Otter's basic transcripts. But Granola is Mac-only, so if you're on Windows, it's not an option.

What's the best free Otter.ai alternative?

Fathom if you only use Zoom (unlimited recording on free tier). Otter's own free tier is decent too (600 minutes/month). tl;dv offers 20 recordings/month with unlimited transcription, which works well for teams with lots of short meetings.

Which alternative has the best accuracy?

They're all pretty close. Fireflies and Otter are comparable. Granola is very good but can struggle with challenging audio. For sales calls and business meetings with decent audio quality, accuracy differences are minimal. Test a few options with your actual meeting types.

Do any alternatives work offline?

Granola processes locally, so it works without uploading to the cloud, but you still need internet for some features. All other alternatives (Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, tl;dv, MeetGeek, Avoma) require internet since they upload audio for processing.

Which tool is best for sales teams?

Avoma. It's built specifically for revenue teams with conversation intelligence, CRM integration, and deal tracking. Otter is generic transcription; Avoma is sales-focused. The price is higher, but for sales teams, the ROI is there.

Can I switch from Otter without losing data?

You'll lose access to transcripts in Otter once you cancel, so export anything important first. Most people don't need historical transcripts, but if you do, download them before switching. New meetings in your new tool work fine.

Which alternative is easiest to use?

Fathom has the simplest interface. Otter is also straightforward. Granola is easy once you understand the hybrid note-taking workflow. Avoma and MeetGeek have steeper learning curves because they have more features.