Otter.ai review

Otter is the most complete pick for people who record live: a lecture on a phone, a team call on Zoom, or a client interview over Google Meet. Its assistant joins Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet, writes notes, labels speakers by name and produces a summary with action items, and the mobile apps transcribe in real time while you record. Otter's pricing page lists 300 monthly transcription minutes on the free Basic plan and 1,200 on Pro, with synchronized word highlighting during playback and editable time codes, which helps when you need to check a quote against the audio. The limits are real, though. Basic allows only 3 lifetime file imports and 30 minutes per conversation, and Pro allows 10 imports a month, so people with a backlog of recorded interviews will run out fast. Otter also transcribes six languages, which is narrow next to Happy Scribe or TurboScribe. For live English capture with good sharing, it is still the easiest place to start.

Who it is for

Students and small teams who want live transcripts of lectures and meetings on phone, web and desktop.

Price

Free Basic plan with 300 monthly minutes; Pro from $8.33 per user per month billed annually or $16.99 monthly.

Pro $8.33 user/month Buy now
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Live transcription in the Otter app on iOS, Android and the web
• Joins Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet to write and share notes automatically
• Speaker identification by name and automated summaries with action items
• Custom vocabulary for names, jargon and acronyms
• AI transcription in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free Basic plan includes 300 monthly transcription minutes
• Strength: Pro adds 1,200 minutes and up to 90 minutes per meeting
• Strength: Synchronized word highlighting during playback makes checking quotes quick
• Weakness: Free plan allows only 3 lifetime audio or video file imports
• Weakness: Pro caps imports at 10 files a month
• Weakness: Six transcription languages, far fewer than most rivals here

Key facts

• Free plan: Yes, 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation
• Pro minutes: 1,200 per user per month
• Languages: 6
• Max length per conversation: 90 minutes on Pro, 4 hours on Business
• Apps: Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome

Where it ranks

Otter.ai is No. 1 in our Best Transcription Software verdict.