Otter.ai helps users capture and review conversations without much setup. Students, journalists, and small teams use it for clear transcripts of lectures, interviews, and meetings.
The tool makes note-taking easier, but doesn’t go far when it comes to automation or advanced integrations.
In this review, we’ll cover:
- What is Otter.ai?
- How it works across live and uploaded meetings
- Pricing tiers and feature limits
- Pros and cons of the tool
- User feedback from different sources
- A comparison between Otter and its alternatives
- Is Otter worth it?
Let’s first look at a TL;DR of this review.
TL;DR: Otter.ai review (2025)
Otter.ai is best for live transcription and searchable meeting notes. It’s popular with students, journalists, and small teams who need accurate transcripts without a steep learning curve. However, it falls short on automation and deeper integrations.
It’s for users who want transcripts of lectures, interviews, or internal meetings. Otter starts free, with 300 mins/month. Paid plans start at $16.99/month, billed monthly.
What is Otter.ai?
Otter.ai is a voice transcription and meeting assistant tool that converts spoken conversations into written, searchable text. Users rely on it to capture meeting discussions, generate summaries, and facilitate revisiting key decisions or action points later.
The tool’s strength is live transcription. During a meeting, Otter can display real-time captions, tag speakers, and highlight important phrases automatically. Later, you can search the transcript by keyword, jump to specific time-stamped sections, or export it as a text file.
Otter is popular among students, solo professionals, and small teams that need quick and affordable access to meeting notes without having a complex automation stack.
Integrations include:
- Zoom: Otter can auto-join meetings and transcribe audio in real time
- Google Meet and Microsoft Teams: Through browser extensions
- Calendar sync: Connects to Google or Outlook to auto-launch recordings
These integrations help Otter fit into most people’s workflows, but they’re limited to capturing content and not acting on it. That becomes a key difference as teams grow and workflows get more complex.
Next, let’s see how Otter handles the meeting workflow from start to finish.
How Otter works for meetings and transcription
Otter works for meetings and transcription by capturing spoken content and turning it into searchable text. The workflow is simple, which is part of why it’s so widely used.
Here’s what a typical usage flow looks like:
- Start a meeting or upload a file: You can either have Otter auto-join a Zoom or Google Meet session, or upload an audio file (MP3, WAV, M4A). There's no need to press record manually. Calendar sync can handle that.
- Live transcription kicks in: As people speak, Otter adds time stamps, identifies speakers, and highlights key moments. You’ll see text appear live, similar to captions.
- Review and export after the meeting: Once the meeting ends, it generates a full transcript. You can search, edit, tag highlights, or export it as text or PDF.
Key difference:
- Live capture works best if you want transcripts in real time and plan to share them right after a meeting.
- File uploads are better when you're transcribing webinars, podcast recordings, or interviews after the fact.
Does Otter AI record video?
No, Otter captures only audio and overlays it with synced text. There’s no screen or camera recording like you’d get with tools such as Loom or Fireflies. But for teams who just want a record of what was said and not how it was said, Otter does the job.
Let’s walk through how the pricing breaks down across Otter’s different plans.
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Otter.ai price details
Otter offers four plans, called Free, Pro, Business, and Enterprise. It separates its plans based on transcription limits, collaboration features, and export tools.
Here’s how the plans stack up:
The Otter AI price tiers are mostly affordable, especially for solo users. The Pro plan unlocks better editing and export features, while Business is aimed at small teams that need shared folders or admin controls.
Here’s what’s missing from the free plan:
- No team collaboration
- No custom vocabulary or branded summaries
- Meeting length capped at 30 minutes
- No ability to assign team roles or manage shared access
For a lot of individual users, the free plan is enough. But as soon as your meetings get longer or you need better search/editing tools, you’ll need to upgrade.
Next, we’ll look at where Otter stands out and where it falls short.
Otter.ai pros and cons
Otter is good at transcription but also has limits. Below is a breakdown of where it performs well and where teams tend to get frustrated:
Pros
- Reliable in quiet environments: Otter AI transcription is accurate in one-on-one conversations, interviews, or classrooms where background noise is minimal.
- Simple UI and search: The interface is clean and designed for fast navigation. You can jump between timestamps, search by keyword, and scan highlights easily.
- Speaker identification and summaries: Otter automatically detects speakers after some training and generates basic summaries to help you skim long transcripts faster.
- Budget-friendly for individuals: With a generous free plan and a $16.99 Pro tier, Otter makes transcription accessible without a major investment.
Cons
- Falls short in real-world meetings: In larger calls with cross-talk, Otter often misidentifies speakers or misses context. This makes editing essential, and sometimes frustrating.
- Editing experience isn’t smooth: While you can correct mistakes in the transcript, the editor lacks bulk tools or suggestions. For long meetings, cleanup is tedious.
- No video or screen recording: If you’re expecting a full recap, including what was shown on screen, Otter won’t deliver. It’s strictly audio + text.
- Zero post-meeting automation: Otter doesn’t send follow-ups, push notes to a CRM, or assign tasks. It’s passive by design. That’s not ideal for teams that want automation.
These Otter AI pros and cons align closely with what users say on platforms like Reddit, PCMag, and CNET. Let’s explore some of those user perspectives next.
Otter app reviews by users
User reviews across Reddit, tech blogs, and product comparisons paint a consistent picture. Otter is helpful, but limited. Here’s what they say:
Product managers and solo founders on Reddit often mention Otter’s accuracy in clean audio environments, but flag issues in group calls. They say it’s decent for personal note-taking, but in messy team meetings, it misses stuff or tags the wrong speaker.
Other users say that the transcript’s useful, but they still have to write their follow-ups as it doesn’t do anything beyond meeting transcripts.
Tech blogs
- Tech blogs highlight Otter’s strength in capturing real-time conversation but call out its rough edges when it comes to export quality and sharing with teams.
- One article calls Otter a solid pick for voice transcription and praises the ease of use. But it notes the absence of deeper integrations and follow-through.
Let’s explore how it stacks up against one of those tools next.
Otter.ai vs Lindy: Which works better for teams?
For individuals, Otter might be enough. But once teams start scaling or need more than just a transcript, Lindy makes more sense. Here’s how the two tools compare in real-world use cases:
Where Otter holds up
- Low-cost entry: Otter’s free and Pro plans make it easy for solo users or small teams to get started without budget approval.
- Passive meeting documentation: It’s great if all you need is a searchable transcript to refer back to after calls without follow-ups or automation.
- Familiar and widely used: Otter’s been around for a while. For teams already using it casually, there’s no learning curve.
Where Lindy leads
- Post-meeting workflows: Lindy can transcribe meetings and automatically draft follow-up emails, push updates to a CRM, or assign tasks in your project management tool from what was discussed in the call.
- Custom agents: You can build agents for sales, recruiting, or customer success, each tuned to handle specific workflows from your meetings.
- Better editing and action UI: You can review suggested actions and approve or tweak them in one place instead of just reading a transcript.
- CRM + tool integrations: Lindy connects with tools like Salesforce, Notion, and Gmail.
If your team’s workflow ends at notes, Otter is fine. But if your workflow starts with meetings and you need a tool to turn those meeting insights into follow-ups, deals, or hiring, Lindy gives you more control.
Next, we’ll break down who Otter is still right for, and where it falls short in 2025.
Is Otter.ai worth it in 2025?
Otter.ai is worth it in 2025 if you only need basic transcription and searchable notes. It’s easy to use, and the free plan covers most basic transcription needs, especially for freelancers, students, or internal teams that don’t rely on automation.
But for sales, ops, and customer support teams, it usually falls short. Otter can’t assign tasks, update systems, or draft emails. It records conversations, but you still have to do all the actual work afterward.
For such teams, Otter can be a tool they use before switching to something more capable once the workflows grow. That’s where tools like Lindy start to make more sense. They organize your meetings into follow-ups and action items, not just searchable notes.
In short:
- Otter is still worth it for basic transcription.
- But it’s no longer enough for teams that want their tools to document their meetings and trigger automation to move work forward.
Final verdict
Otter.ai delivers quick, reliable transcripts that are easy to search, review, and share. It’s ideal for solo professionals, students, or anyone who just needs a record of what was said.
But that’s also its ceiling. Teams want more capabilities from their tools. They want transcripts that lead to action, integrations that reduce busywork, and AI that listens to their meetings and follows through.
If all you need is transcription, Otter still works. However, scaling teams often outgrow it once they need automation.
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Try Lindy to automate post-meeting tasks across sales, CRM, and support
Lindy is an AI automation platform that can join your meetings, record transcripts, turn them into actionable tasks, and complete them. It’s a strong alternative to Otter that lets you build your own AI agents for loads of tasks.
You’ll find plenty of pre-built templates and loads of integrations to choose from.
Lindy helps automate your workflows with features like:
- AI Meeting Note Taker: Lindy joins meetings from Google Calendar. It records the conversation, creates transcripts, and writes structured notes in Google Docs. After the meeting, Lindy can send Slack or email summaries with action items and can even trigger follow-up workflows across apps like HubSpot and Gmail.
- Sales Coach: Lindy can provide custom coaching feedback, breaking down conversations using the MEDDPICC framework to identify key deal factors like decision criteria, objections, and pain points.
- Update CRM fields without manual entry: Instead of just logging a transcript, you can set up Lindy to update CRM fields and fill in missing data in Salesforce and HubSpot without manual input.
- Send follow-up emails and keep everyone in sync: Lindy agents can send follow-up emails, schedule meetings, and keep everyone in the loop by triggering notifications in Slack with a Slackbot.
- Lead enrichment: You can configure Lindy to use a prospecting API (People Data Labs) to research prospects and to provide sales teams with richer insights before outreach.
- Automated sales outreach: Lindy can run multi-touch email campaigns, follow up on leads, and write follow-up replies using open rates, clicks, and prior messages.
- Cost-effective: Automate up to 400 monthly tasks with Lindy’s free version. The paid version lets you automate up to 5,000 tasks per month, which is a more affordable price per automation compared to many other platforms.
Try Lindy free and automate up to 400 tasks with your first workflow.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is Otter AI transcription?
Otter AI’s transcription is quite accurate in quiet, one-on-one settings. But the quality drops in group calls or when there’s background noise, cross-talk, or unclear audio.
How much does Otter.ai cost?
Otter’s Pro plan costs $16.99/user/month, and the Business plan costs $30/user/month, both billed monthly. It also offers a free plan with 300 monthly minutes. Enterprise pricing is custom.
What’s included in the free plan?
The Otter AI free plan includes:
- 300 transcription minutes/month
- 30-minute cap per file
- Searchable transcripts and basic sharing
- No team collaboration, no advanced exports
Can you share Otter AI meeting notes with a team?
Yes, you can share Otter AI meeting notes with your team if you’re on the Business or Enterprise plan. These tiers unlock shared folders, admin controls, and collaborative editing.
How does Otter compare to Lindy?
Otter joins your meetings and transcribes the audio into searchable notes. Lindy does that and related tasks like CRM sync and task delegation across your tech stack.
Is Otter good for remote meetings or hybrid teams?
Yes, Otter is good for remote meetings or hybrid teams if you want to document your meetings. But if your team needs to coordinate actions post-call, Otter’s lack of automation can be a bummer.
Can Otter automatically take action on meeting notes?
No, Otter cannot automatically take action on meeting notes. It cannot trigger follow-ups, integrate with task tools, or update CRMs.
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