Otter.ai vs Fireflies 2026: Honest Comparison

Overview

Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai are the two most popular AI meeting assistants in 2026. Both join your meetings automatically, record audio, generate transcripts, and create AI summaries. However, they differ significantly in their approach. Otter.ai focuses on real-time transcription with live collaboration features, making it popular for in-person meetings and lectures. Fireflies.ai emphasizes post-meeting workflows with CRM integrations, task extraction, and team analytics that make it a better fit for sales and business teams.

With remote and hybrid work now the norm, choosing the right meeting assistant can save your team hours each week. Here is how these two leading tools compare.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Otter.ai	Fireflies.ai	Winner
Real-Time Transcription	Excellent, live captions	Good, slight delay	Otter.ai
Meeting Summary	AI-generated highlights	AI summary + action items	Fireflies.ai
Speaker Identification	Automatic, accurate	Automatic, accurate	Tie
CRM Integration	Basic (Salesforce)	Extensive (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive)	Fireflies.ai
Search & Recall	Keyword search	AI-powered topic search	Fireflies.ai
Platform Support	Zoom, Meet, Teams	Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex	Fireflies.ai
Mobile App	Full-featured iOS/Android	Basic mobile app	Otter.ai
Languages	English focused	60+ languages	Fireflies.ai

Pricing

Otter.ai offers a free plan with 300 minutes per month and 30-minute meeting limits. The Pro plan is $16.99/user/month with 1,200 minutes and priority support. The Business plan is $30/user/month with admin controls and compliance features. Fireflies.ai has a free plan with limited transcription credits. The Pro plan is $18/user/month with unlimited transcription and AI summaries. The Business plan is $29/user/month with conversation intelligence analytics and CRM integrations.

Pros and Cons

Otter.ai Pros

• Best real-time transcription for live meetings and lectures
• Excellent mobile app for in-person recording
• Clean interface with easy collaboration
• Good free plan with 300 minutes monthly

Otter.ai Cons

• Limited CRM and third-party integrations
• Primarily English-focused
• Post-meeting analysis is less detailed
• Business features are limited compared to Fireflies

Fireflies.ai Pros

• Extensive CRM integrations for sales teams
• AI-powered conversation intelligence analytics
• 60+ language support
• Better action item and task extraction

Fireflies.ai Cons

• Real-time transcription has slight delay
• Mobile app is less polished
• Free plan is more limited than Otter
• Can be overwhelming with too many features

Who Should Use Which?

Choose Otter.ai if you need real-time transcription for lectures, in-person meetings, or collaborative note-taking. Its mobile app and live captioning make it the top choice for educators, journalists, and teams that meet in person frequently.

Choose Fireflies.ai if you need meeting intelligence for sales, customer success, or team management. Its CRM integrations, analytics dashboard, and action item extraction make it essential for revenue-focused teams.

Verdict

Otter.ai is better for real-time transcription and personal use. Fireflies.ai is better for business teams that need meeting analytics and CRM workflows. For sales teams, Fireflies is the clear winner. For general meeting notes, both are excellent but Otter’s simpler interface gives it the edge.