Krisp vs Otter.ai for Meetings 2026: Noise Cancellation vs Transcription

Krisp and Otter.ai both improve meetings, but they solve different problems. Krisp eliminates background noise from your audio in real-time. Otter.ai transcribes and summarizes your meetings with AI. Some teams need both; most should start with one. This comparison helps you decide which addresses your biggest meeting pain point.

Krisp vs Otter.ai: Quick Comparison

Feature	Krisp	Otter.ai
Primary Function	AI noise cancellation	AI meeting transcription
Starting Price	Free / $8/month Pro	Free / $16.99/month Pro
Noise Cancellation	Yes (best-in-class)	No
Transcription	Yes (added feature)	Yes (core feature)
Meeting Summary	Yes (AI notes)	Yes (OtterPilot)
Speaker ID	Yes	Yes
Works With	Any audio app (system-level)	Zoom, Meet, Teams
Recording	Yes	Yes
Action Items	Yes (AI-extracted)	Yes (AI-extracted)
Platform	Mac, Windows	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android

Core Strengths

Krisp: Noise Cancellation

Krisp’s noise cancellation is its defining feature. It removes background noise from both your microphone (outgoing) and your speaker (incoming) in real-time. Dogs barking, construction noise, cafe chatter, keyboard typing — Krisp eliminates them all without affecting voice quality.

The noise cancellation works at the system level, meaning it works with every audio application: Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Slack, Discord, phone calls, and any other app that uses your microphone. This universal compatibility is a significant advantage over platform-specific solutions.

For remote workers in noisy environments — home offices with family, coworking spaces, coffee shops, or areas with construction — Krisp transforms meeting quality.

Otter.ai: Transcription and Intelligence

Otter.ai’s core strength is turning spoken words into searchable, shareable text. Real-time transcription displays during meetings, allowing participants to follow along, highlight key points, and add comments. Post-meeting, OtterPilot generates summaries with action items.

Otter’s value grows over time as your meeting library accumulates. You can search across all past meetings for specific topics, decisions, or action items. This institutional memory is valuable for teams that need to reference past discussions.

Transcription Comparison

Both tools now offer transcription, but with different levels of maturity.

Otter.ai transcription is the core product, refined over years. Accuracy is 90-95% for clear English audio with good speaker identification. Custom vocabulary, real-time editing, and collaborative features make it the more complete transcription solution.

Krisp transcription was added more recently. It provides meeting transcripts and AI-generated summaries. The transcription quality is good but not as refined as Otter’s, particularly for speaker identification in multi-person meetings and handling of domain-specific terminology.

Meeting Intelligence

Krisp Meeting Intelligence

Krisp provides: meeting transcription, AI-generated summaries, action item extraction, and talk-time analytics. The analytics show how much each participant spoke, which is useful for meeting facilitation and ensuring balanced participation.

Otter.ai Meeting Intelligence

Otter provides: real-time transcription, AI summaries (OtterPilot), action item extraction, keyword highlights, and meeting search. The AI Chat feature lets you ask questions about any past meeting, and the integration with Slack and email enables automated sharing of meeting notes.

Otter’s meeting intelligence is more comprehensive and better integrated into team workflows.

Pricing Breakdown

Krisp Pricing (2026)

• Free: 60 minutes/day noise cancellation, limited transcription
• Pro: $8/month — unlimited noise cancellation, transcription, AI notes
• Business: $15/user/month — team admin, analytics, centralized billing
• Enterprise: Custom pricing — SSO, advanced security

Otter.ai Pricing (2026)

• Free: 300 minutes/month, 30 minutes per conversation
• Pro: $16.99/month — 1,200 minutes, 90-minute conversations
• Business: $30/user/month — 6,000 minutes, admin controls
• Enterprise: Custom pricing — unlimited minutes, SSO

Krisp Pro is significantly cheaper ($8 vs $16.99/month). If you primarily need noise cancellation with basic transcription, Krisp offers better value. If you primarily need comprehensive transcription and meeting intelligence, Otter justifies its premium.

Use Case Recommendations

You Need Krisp If:

• You work from noisy environments (home, cafe, coworking space)
• Background noise has been a complaint from meeting participants
• You use many different audio apps beyond just Zoom/Meet/Teams
• You want noise cancellation first, transcription as a bonus

You Need Otter.ai If:

• You attend many meetings and struggle to capture everything discussed
• Your team needs searchable meeting archives
• You want AI-generated action items and summaries
• You need to share meeting notes with absent colleagues

Verdict

Choose Krisp if noise is your primary meeting problem. No other tool matches Krisp’s noise cancellation quality. The added transcription features make it a dual-purpose tool at a lower price point than Otter.

Choose Otter.ai if meeting documentation is your primary need. Otter’s transcription depth, search capabilities, and team features are purpose-built for organizations that need to capture and act on meeting content.

For teams where both noise and documentation matter, using both tools together is a valid approach — Krisp handles audio quality while Otter handles transcription.

See also: best AI writing tools and ChatGPT vs Claude.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Krisp affect audio quality?

Krisp removes noise without noticeably degrading voice quality. In rare cases with very aggressive noise cancellation, some voice frequencies may be slightly affected, but the result is always clearer than the noisy original.

Can I use Krisp and Otter together?

Yes. Krisp processes audio at the system level (cleaning noise), and Otter connects to your meeting platform (transcribing). They operate on different layers and do not conflict. The combination gives you clean audio and accurate transcription.

Does Otter work for non-English meetings?

Otter primarily supports English. Other languages have limited support with lower accuracy. For non-English meetings, consider alternatives like Notta or Fireflies.ai which offer broader language support.

Is Krisp safe for confidential meetings?

Krisp processes audio locally on your device. Audio data does not leave your computer for noise cancellation. Transcription may use cloud processing depending on your plan. For highly confidential meetings, verify Krisp’s current data processing documentation.