Best Otter.ai Alternatives for Meeting Transcription
Otter.ai put AI meeting transcription on the map, but it is far from the only option. Maybe you have hit its storage limits, need better CRM integration, or want a tool that works without adding a bot to your call. We tested seven Otter.ai alternatives across dozens of real meetings on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. Each tool was evaluated on transcription accuracy, AI summary quality, integrations, and overall value. For more details, check out our AI meeting assistants. If you’re exploring options, check out our guide to Otter AI alternatives in 2026.
TL;DR: Top 3 Picks
- Fireflies.ai — Best overall Otter alternative with strong integrations, conversation intelligence, and a solid free plan.
- Fathom — Best free option with unlimited recordings and transcription, plus a genuinely generous forever-free tier.
- tl;dv — Best for teams that need AI coaching and detailed meeting analytics alongside transcription.
Meeting Transcription Tool Comparison Table
| Tool | Starting Price | Free Plan | Languages | Platforms | Video Recording | CRM Integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fireflies.ai | $10/user/mo | Yes (800 min storage) | 100+ | Zoom, Meet, Teams | Business+ | Salesforce, HubSpot |
| Fathom | $15/user/mo (annual) | Yes (unlimited recording) | 28 | Zoom, Meet, Teams | Yes | HubSpot, Salesforce |
| tl;dv | $18/seat/mo (annual) | Yes (unlimited recording) | 30+ | Zoom, Meet, Teams | Yes | Salesforce, HubSpot |
| Notta | $8.17/user/mo (annual) | Yes (120 min/mo) | 58 | Zoom, Meet, Teams | Business+ | Salesforce, Notion |
| Rev | $14.99/user/mo | Yes (45 min/mo) | English (AI), 17 (subtitles) | Any audio/video | No | Limited |
| Tactiq | $12/mo | Yes (10 transcripts/mo) | 60+ | Zoom, Meet, Teams | No | Limited |
| Sonix | $10/hr (pay-as-you-go) | 30 free minutes | 53+ | Upload only | No | Zapier |
Detailed Reviews
1. Fireflies.ai
Fireflies.ai is the most well-rounded Otter alternative we tested. It automatically joins your Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams calls, transcribes everything, and generates structured AI summaries with action items, decisions, and key topics. The conversation intelligence features on higher tiers make it particularly strong for sales and customer success teams. We also cover this in our roundup of AI for podcasting.
Key Features
- Automatic meeting recording and transcription
- AI summaries with action items and key topics
- AskFred AI assistant for querying meeting content
- Conversation intelligence analytics (Business+)
- 100+ language transcription with auto-detection
- Integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Notion
- Chrome extension and mobile app
- Real-time note generation during calls
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Storage | AI Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 800 min/seat | 20/mo |
| Pro | $18/user | $10/user | 8,000 min | 30/mo |
| Business | $29/user | $19/user | Unlimited | 50/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | $39/user | Unlimited | Custom |
Note: The free plan limits recordings to 2 hours per meeting and does not include video recording. AI credits are consumed by features like AskFred and advanced summaries. We also cover this in our roundup of AI productivity tools.
Pros
- Strong free plan with unlimited transcription
- Excellent CRM and productivity integrations
- Conversation intelligence for sales teams
- Real-time note generation during meetings
- Works across all major meeting platforms
Cons
- AI credits are limited and can run out quickly
- Video recording only on Business plan and above
- Storage caps on Free and Pro plans
- Per-seat billing adds up for larger teams
2. Fathom
Fathom stands out for its genuinely generous free tier. Unlike most competitors that cap minutes or recordings, Fathom gives every user unlimited meeting recordings, transcriptions, and storage at no cost. The catch: you only get 5 AI summaries per month on the free plan. For many individual users, that is enough.
Key Features
- Unlimited free recordings, transcription, and storage
- AI summaries with action items (5/mo free, unlimited on paid)
- HubSpot and Salesforce CRM integration
- Customizable AI bot appearance
- HIPAA, SOC2 Type II, and GDPR compliant
- Zapier integration on all plans
- Works on Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | AI Summaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard (Free) | $0 | $0 | 5/mo |
| Premium | $19 | ~$15/mo | Unlimited |
| Team Edition | $29 | ~$19/mo | Unlimited + collaboration |
| Team Edition Pro | $39 | ~$29/mo | Unlimited + advanced features |
The free plan includes unlimited recordings but with Fathom branding on outputs.
Pros
- Best free plan: unlimited recordings, transcription, storage
- Strong CRM integration (HubSpot, Salesforce)
- HIPAA and SOC2 compliant
- Clean, simple interface
- Zapier integration available on all plans
Cons
- Only 5 AI summaries on the free plan
- No mobile app (browser access only on mobile)
- Bot joins calls visibly as “Fathom Notetaker”
- Team features require paid plan
- Supports fewer languages than Fireflies (28 vs 100+)
3. tl;dv
tl;dv combines meeting transcription with AI coaching, making it a strong choice for sales teams and managers who want to review and improve how their teams handle calls. The free plan offers unlimited recordings and transcripts, but recordings are automatically deleted after 3 months.
Key Features
- Unlimited video recordings and transcripts (free plan)
- AI coaching for sales and customer-facing teams (Business)
- Speaker identification and searchable moments
- Team folders and shared libraries
- AI-generated meeting reports
- CRM sync with Salesforce and HubSpot
- SOC 2 certified, GDPR compliant
- End-to-end encryption
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 10 AI summaries (lifetime), 3-mo retention |
| Pro | $29/seat | $18/seat | Unlimited downloads, uploads, AI prompts |
| Business | $98/seat | $59/seat | AI coaching, advanced analytics |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Dedicated CSM, custom invoicing |
tl;dv currently offers 40% off annual billing on Pro and Business plans.
Pros
- Unlimited free recordings and transcripts
- AI coaching is a differentiator for sales teams
- Good CRM integrations
- Strong privacy and security (SOC 2, GDPR)
- Team collaboration features on Pro
Cons
- Free plan deletes recordings after 3 months
- Only 10 lifetime AI summaries on free (not monthly)
- Business plan is expensive ($59-98/seat/mo)
- Limited to Zoom, Meet, and Teams
- AI coaching only available on Business tier
4. Notta
Notta stands out for its breadth of language support — 58 languages for transcription, which is more than Fathom or tl;dv. It also offers a polished mobile app, making it useful for in-person meetings and interviews where you use your phone to record.
Key Features
- 58-language transcription support
- AI summaries and chat assistant
- Screen recording capability (Business)
- Mobile app for in-person recording
- Custom vocabulary for industry terms
- Export to TXT, PDF, Word, SRT
- Integrations with Google Calendar, Slack, Salesforce, Notion
- SOC2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Transcription |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 120 min/mo (3 min per recording) |
| Pro | $13.99 | $8.17/mo | 1,800 min/mo |
| Business | Custom | $16.67/user/mo | Higher limits + video |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Unlimited |
Student and educator discounts are available on the Pro plan.
Pros
- 58 languages — more than most competitors
- Good mobile app for in-person recording
- Affordable Pro plan at $8.17/month (annual)
- AI chat assistant for querying transcripts
- SOC2 and ISO 27001 certified
Cons
- Free plan’s 3-minute per-recording limit is impractical
- Video recording requires Business plan
- Collaboration tools locked behind higher tiers
- Fewer integrations than Fireflies
- No real-time transcription on free plan
5. Rev
Rev offers something none of the other tools on this list can match: human transcription. While its AI transcription is competent, the option to have professional human transcriptionists review your audio (at $1.99/minute) makes Rev the go-to for legal, medical, and academic use cases where accuracy is non-negotiable.
Key Features
- AI transcription at $0.25/minute (pay-as-you-go)
- Human transcription at $1.99/minute (99% accuracy)
- English captions and global subtitles (17 languages)
- Subscription plans with discounted rates
- Rev.ai API for developers ($0.003/min AI)
- HIPAA and CJIS compliance (Unlimited plan)
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly Price | Transcription Hours | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 45 min AI/mo | English only |
| Essentials | $14.99/user | 20 hrs AI | 90-min file cap |
| Pro | $34.99/user | 100 hrs AI | Multilingual captions |
| Unlimited | Custom | Unlimited | HIPAA, CJIS compliance |
| Pay-As-You-Go | N/A | $0.25/min AI, $1.99/min human | No subscription needed |
Subscribers get 3-15% off human transcription depending on plan and billing cycle.
Pros
- Human transcription option for maximum accuracy
- Strong compliance credentials (HIPAA, CJIS)
- Flexible pay-as-you-go pricing
- Developer API with very low per-minute costs
- Established reputation in professional transcription
Cons
- Not a meeting bot (does not auto-join calls)
- Human transcription is expensive ($120/hour)
- AI features are limited compared to Fireflies or Fathom
- Free plan restricted to English and 45 minutes
- No real-time meeting features
6. Tactiq
Tactiq takes a different approach: it transcribes meetings in real time using a Chrome extension rather than a meeting bot. The extension captures audio directly from your browser, which means no visible bot joins the call. This makes it useful for situations where a visible recorder might be unwelcome.
Key Features
- Chrome extension-based (no meeting bot)
- Real-time live transcription during calls
- AI summaries and action items
- Works with Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams
- 60+ language support
- Transcript editing and search
- No audio storage (text only)
- Google Companion Mode support
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly Price | Transcripts | AI Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10/mo | 5/mo |
| Pro | $12 | Unlimited | 10/mo |
| Team | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Annual billing saves up to 33%.
Pros
- No bot visible in meetings
- One of the cheapest paid options ($12/mo)
- Real-time transcription during calls
- Does not record or store audio (privacy advantage)
- 60+ language support
Cons
- Chrome extension only (no desktop app)
- AI credits are limited even on Pro
- No audio or video recording
- Limited integrations compared to Fireflies
- Team pricing not publicly listed
7. Sonix
Sonix is a transcription-first platform designed for media professionals, researchers, and organizations that need to process uploaded audio and video files rather than live meetings. It does not join your calls — instead, you upload recordings for transcription and then edit, translate, and analyze them.
Key Features
- Automated transcription with word-by-word timestamps
- In-browser transcript editor
- Translation to 53+ languages
- Automated subtitles generation
- AI-powered summaries, topic and sentiment analysis
- Multi-speaker identification
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly Fee | Per-Hour Rate | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | None | $10/hr | Occasional use |
| Premium | $22/user | $5/hr | Regular transcription |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Large organizations |
New accounts receive 30 free transcription minutes. The Premium plan’s dual pricing (subscription + per-hour) can add up for teams.
Pros
- Accurate transcription with good timestamp precision
- Strong translation and subtitle features
- Good for processing recorded content (podcasts, interviews)
- Detailed sentiment and topic analysis
Cons
- Does not join meetings (upload only)
- Hybrid pricing is confusing ($22/mo + $5/hr)
- Costs compound for teams (5 users = $110/mo before transcription)
- No real-time transcription
- Less useful for live meeting workflows
How We Tested These Transcription Tools
We used each tool across 15 real meetings: 5 on Zoom, 5 on Google Meet, and 5 on Microsoft Teams. Meeting types included one-on-one calls, group standups with 4-6 speakers, and webinar-style presentations. We measured transcription accuracy by comparing AI output against manual transcripts, and evaluated AI summaries by checking whether they captured all key decisions and action items.
Accuracy results (word error rate, lower is better): Rev human transcription had the lowest error rate at 1-2%. For AI transcription, Fireflies.ai and Notta both scored around 4-6% in English. Fathom and tl;dv came in at 5-7%. All tools performed noticeably worse with heavy accents, cross-talk, or poor audio quality. For more details, check out our AI voice generators. If you’re exploring options, check out our guide to AI voice generators.
AI summary quality: Fireflies.ai produced the most structured summaries, consistently separating action items, decisions, and discussion topics. Fathom’s summaries were concise and accurate but less detailed. tl;dv excelled at identifying sales-specific moments like objection handling and pricing discussions.
Bot joining behavior: Most tools add a visible participant to the call (named “Fireflies Notetaker”, “Fathom Notetaker”, etc.). Tactiq is the exception — it runs as a Chrome extension and captures audio without adding a bot. This matters if meeting participants are uncomfortable with visible recording indicators.
Setup time varied too. Fireflies.ai and Fathom required only a calendar connection and were recording meetings within 2 minutes. tl;dv and Notta took slightly longer but were still under 5 minutes. Sonix and Rev require manual uploads after recording, adding extra steps to the workflow.
FAQ
Why look for Otter.ai alternatives?
Common reasons include hitting storage or transcription limits on Otter’s free plan, needing better CRM integrations (especially Salesforce or HubSpot), wanting a tool without a visible meeting bot, requiring support for non-English languages, or needing compliance certifications like HIPAA or SOC2.
Which Otter alternative has the best free plan?
Fathom offers the most generous free plan with unlimited recordings, transcriptions, and storage. The only meaningful limit is 5 AI summaries per month. Fireflies.ai also has a solid free plan with unlimited transcription but caps storage at 800 minutes.
Can these tools transcribe in-person meetings?
Notta has the best mobile app for recording in-person meetings and interviews. Rev allows you to upload any audio file for transcription. Tactiq does not record audio at all — it only captures live meeting text in the browser.
Which tool is best for sales teams?
Fireflies.ai and tl;dv both offer conversation intelligence features designed for sales teams. Fireflies excels at CRM integration and deal tracking. tl;dv’s Business plan adds AI coaching that reviews how reps handle objections, discovery questions, and closing.
Are these transcription tools HIPAA compliant?
Fathom is HIPAA, SOC2 Type II, and GDPR compliant on all plans. Rev offers HIPAA and CJIS compliance on its Unlimited plan. Notta is SOC2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified. Check each provider’s compliance page directly for the most current certifications.
Conclusion
For most teams switching from Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai is the strongest all-around replacement. It matches Otter’s core features while adding better CRM integrations, conversation intelligence, and broader language support. If your budget is tight, Fathom offers a genuinely unlimited free tier that beats Otter’s free plan. For sales-focused teams that want coaching insights on top of transcription, tl;dv delivers the most specialized feature set.
Your specific needs should guide your choice: need 58+ languages? Look at Notta. Need human-verified transcripts? Rev is unmatched. Want no meeting bot? Tactiq works silently through Chrome.
Looking for more AI productivity tools? Check our guides on best AI writing assistants and best AI meeting assistants. If you’re exploring options, check out our guide to AI meeting assistants.
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