Side by side
| PICK | PRICE OR LIMIT | VERDICT | NEED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Free: unlimited recordings and transcriptions | Start here | More than 300 free minutes a month |
| Fireflies.ai | Pro USD 10 per seat a month billed annually; 100+ languages | Best for international teams | Calls in many languages |
| Granola | Basic USD 0; Business USD 14 per user a month | Best if guests dislike bots | No bot in the meeting |
| TurboScribe | Unlimited USD 10 a month billed yearly; files up to 10 hours | Stop counting imports | A backlog of recorded files |
| MacWhisper | Free version; Pro EUR 65 one-time personal licence | Best for confidential interviews | Audio that must stay on your computer |
| Otter.ai | Pro USD 8.33 per user a month billed annually, 1,200 minutes | Fine if meetings stay under 90 minutes | Staying on Otter for less |
Our picks in detail
Fathom
The most direct swap; unlimited free recording
- Best for: people who record many Zoom, Meet or Teams calls and want summaries and search without a monthly fee.
- Main limitation: advanced summary templates and Ask Fathom are limited use on the free plan, and CRM field sync starts at Business, USD 25 per user a month billed annually.
Fathom's free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions, according to Fathom's pricing page checked 23 October 2026.
Fireflies.ai
100+ languages and cheap Pro seats; free summaries are limited
- Best for: international and sales teams that need many languages, CRM-friendly notes and a bot-free browser option.
- Main limitation: the free plan has limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team and a 2-hour recording limit, and Pro keeps the 2-hour limit.
Fireflies.ai Pro costs USD 10 per seat a month billed annually, according to Fireflies' pricing page checked 23 October 2026.
Granola
Bot-free notes on desktop and phone; free history covers 30 days
- Best for: people in back-to-back meetings who jot rough notes and want AI to complete them, with nothing visible in the call.
- Main limitation: the free Basic plan shows 30 days of meeting history, and integrations with Notion, HubSpot and Zapier start at Business.
Granola Business costs USD 14 per user a month with unlimited meeting history, according to Granola's pricing page checked 23 October 2026.
TurboScribe
Unlimited file transcription for one person at a flat fee
- Best for: students, researchers and podcasters who used Otter mainly to transcribe recorded files.
- Main limitation: the pricing page lists file uploads only, with no meeting bot or live captions, and Unlimited covers one person.
TurboScribe Unlimited costs USD 10 a month billed yearly, with files of up to 10 hours, according to TurboScribe's pricing page checked 23 October 2026.
MacWhisper
On-device transcription with a one-time Pro licence
- Best for: journalists, researchers and anyone recording confidential interviews on a Mac.
- Main limitation: it is a Mac app with an iPhone and iPad version, the Pro licence is for personal use, and no shared team workspace is listed.
MacWhisper Pro costs EUR 65 as a one-time personal licence and transcribes on the device, according to its store page checked 23 October 2026.
Reviewed 23 October 2026 against Otter.ai, Fathom, Fireflies.ai, Granola, TurboScribe and MacWhisper pricing pages.
Our pick
Fathom wins because it fixes the limit most Otter users hit first: the minute counter. The Fathom pricing page lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions, instant AI call summaries, clips and search across calls on the free plan, with a choice of bot capture or bot-free capture (a Mac beta). Premium costs USD 16 a month billed annually or USD 20 monthly, and Team costs USD 15 per user a month billed annually with a two-user minimum. Every paid plan carries a 90-day money-back guarantee. The trade-off is that the pricing page lists meeting capture only, with no import of recorded files, so Fathom replaces Otter's meeting bot rather than its file transcription.
Switching from Otter.ai: what it does well and why people leave
Otter is still a capable tool. Its pricing page lists live transcription, speaker identification, iOS and Android apps and a notetaker for Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet on the free Basic plan. Few rivals combine live phone recording, a meeting bot and file imports in one free app, which is why our AI meeting assistant rankings still place Otter second.
People switch for five documented reasons:
- Minute caps. Basic includes 300 transcription minutes a month and stops each conversation at 30 minutes. Pro raises that to 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per meeting.
- File import limits. Basic allows 3 lifetime audio or video imports, and Pro allows 10 a month.
- History and chat limits. Basic keeps only the 25 most recent conversations and 20 Otter AI Chat queries a month.
- Languages. Otter lists AI transcription in six languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese.
- Consent worries. In August 2025 a proposed class action in federal court in Northern California accused Otter of recording private conversations without the consent of everyone present, NPR reported. Otter says users give explicit permission before transcripts are used for training. The suit is an allegation, not a ruling.
Otter Basic includes 300 transcription minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation, according to Otter's pricing page on 23 October 2026.
Bots, consent and what the Otter lawsuit changes
A note taker records people, so the law on recording conversations applies to you as the host, whichever tool you choose.
US federal law allows one-party consent: under 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d), a participant may record a conversation they are part of. Several states go further. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press summarizes California's rule as requiring every party to a confidential conversation to consent. The Otter suit turns on exactly that gap: a bot that auto-joins from a linked calendar can record people who never agreed.
Switching tools changes how visible the recording is, not whether you need consent:
- A visible bot (Fathom's default, Fireflies' Fred, Otter's notetaker) tells guests they are recorded the moment it joins.
- Bot-free capture (Granola, Fathom's Mac beta, the Fireflies Chrome extension, MacWhisper) is quieter, so the spoken notice matters more. Granola lists a per-user setting to let people know it is in use, which admins can enforce on Enterprise.
- Calendar auto-join is convenient and risky. Turn it off for external meetings until you have a consent line in the invite.
No note taker removes your duty to tell people they are being recorded. Our AI tool privacy checklist lists the retention and training questions to ask any vendor before the first call.
Where Otter AI alternatives fall short
None of these five copies Otter exactly. Fathom has no file import on its plan list. Fireflies caps free and Pro recordings at 2 hours, where Otter Business allows 4 hours per meeting. Granola's free history ends at 30 days. TurboScribe has no meeting bot or live view. MacWhisper runs only on Apple devices.
There is also a price case for staying. Otter Pro at USD 8.33 a month billed annually is the cheapest paid plan in this group, and its pricing page lists a 20% student and teacher discount that brings Pro Annual to USD 79.99 a year. If your meetings stay under 90 minutes and you transcribe fewer than 10 files a month, upgrading Otter can cost less than switching.
How we picked
- We compared each tool's free-plan limits, monthly minutes, meeting-length caps, file-import rules, supported languages, capture method and listed data controls, using each vendor's own pricing page as listed on 23 October 2026, in US dollars except MacWhisper, which prices in euros. Picks weigh how fully each tool removes the specific Otter limits above against price and privacy. Lawsuit details come from NPR's August 2025 report. Our full method is on the HumanRank ranking methodology page.
How to choose
How to choose
- Check last month's Otter usage. Note minutes used, longest meeting and number of imported files.
- Split meetings from files. If most of your work is live calls, compare Fathom, Fireflies and Granola. If most is recordings, start with TurboScribe or MacWhisper.
- Run one week in parallel with Otter, with attendees told about both tools.
- Compare action items from each tool against your own notes, and mark anything missed.
- Export your Otter archive before you cancel. Otter's Pro plan lists DOCX, PDF, TXT and SRT exports; Basic lists TXT and MP3.
- Set training and retention choices on the new account before the first upload.
For recorded files in more depth, see our AI transcription tools guide, and if Fathom is already your tool, read our Fathom alternatives. Researchers handling participant audio should also read our notes for researchers, and anyone who only needs short recaps can compare our AI summarizer picks.
Questions people ask
What is the best free Otter AI alternative?
Fathom, because its free plan includes unlimited recordings and transcriptions, while Otter Basic stops at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation.
Is there an Otter alternative without a bot?
Yes. Granola captures device audio with no bot on every plan, MacWhisper records calls on your Mac, Fathom offers a bot-free Mac beta and Fireflies has a bot-free Chrome extension.
Which Otter alternative supports the most languages?
Fireflies.ai lists transcription in 100+ languages, and MacWhisper lists 100. Otter lists six.
What should I use instead of Otter for lectures and recorded files?
TurboScribe, at USD 10 a month billed yearly for unlimited files of up to 10 hours each. Otter Pro allows 10 imported files a month.
Is Otter.ai being sued?
Yes. A proposed class action filed in August 2025 in the Northern District of California alleges Otter recorded conversations without every participant's consent, according to NPR. Otter says users give explicit permission before transcripts are used for training.
Is Fathom better than Otter?
For online meetings on a free plan, yes: Fathom has no minute cap. Otter is better for live phone recording and file imports in one app.
What is the cheapest paid Otter alternative?
Fireflies.ai Pro and TurboScribe Unlimited both cost USD 10 a month billed annually, and MacWhisper Pro is a one-time EUR 65. Otter's own Pro plan, at USD 8.33, still costs less per month.
Can I export my Otter transcripts before switching?
Yes. Otter's pricing page lists TXT and MP3 export on Basic, and DOCX, PDF and SRT on Pro and above.
Sources
- [1]Fathom pricing page fathom.ai · 23 Oct 2026
- [2]pricing page otter.ai · 23 Oct 2026
- [3]NPR reported npr.org · 23 Oct 2026
- [4]Fireflies pricing page fireflies.ai · 23 Oct 2026
- [5]Granola pricing page granola.ai · 23 Oct 2026
- [6]TurboScribe pricing page turboscribe.ai · 23 Oct 2026
- [7]MacWhisper store page goodsnooze.gumroad.com · 23 Oct 2026
- [8]18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d) law.cornell.edu · 23 Oct 2026
- [9]summarizes California's rule rcfp.org · 23 Oct 2026