Verdict
Otter writes out speech as it happens and gives a summary and action list afterwards, and the free plan covers 300 minutes a month in chunks of up to 30 minutes. Its privacy policy says it trains its AI on de-identified recordings and transcripts, and a US federal judge let a class action over recording people without consent go ahead in August 2026.
Privacy note. trains on de-identified recordings with no training opt-out (privacy policy), and a federal class action over recording without consent survived dismissal in Aug 2026 (natlawreview.com)
Best for
Students and workers who want live written transcripts of talks
Skip if
You'd rather your recordings weren't used to train its AI
Key facts
- Made by
- Otter.ai, Inc.
- Based in
- United States
- Launched
- 2018
- Works on
- iPhone, Android, Web
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- $16.99 a month
- Free plan
- Basic is free with 300 transcription minutes a month, up to 30 minutes per conversation and 3 file imports in total
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Pro (per user, billed monthly) | $16.99 | month |
| Pro (per user, billed annually) | $8.33 | month |
| Business (per user, billed monthly) | $30 | month |
| Business (per user, billed annually) | $19.99 | month |
What it does
- transcribes meetings live in multiple languages with speaker recognition
- joins meetings as a bot or records from the desktop without one
- writes meeting summaries with decisions and action items
- answers questions across past meetings in Otter AI Chat
- imports audio and video files for transcription
- syncs notes to Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier
Ratings
What people say
Users who meet mostly on Zoom or Meet find the live transcript useful, but the louder 2026 user reviews theme is unease about the Otter bot turning up in calls on behalf of someone who is not there, and about where transcripts end up. Store ratings (4.7 on both stores) do not reflect that concern.
“Otter makes sense if most of your meetings are scheduled online. Live transcription, a meeting bot, team collaboration, it's built around calls already happening in Zoom or Meet.”
Individual user review, 13 June 2026 · source
“I've used Otter for two years, but these days I transcribe old recordings. I have about 40 voice memos from site visits sitting on my phone and I don't need a bot joining calls anymore.”
Individual user review, 1 October 2026 · source
“today a new member (who we expected) join a call as "Jim's AI notetaker (Otter.ai)." Jim* was not otherwise in the call.”
Individual user review, 31 July 2026 · source
“Thirty seconds in, the little "Otter is recording" badge pops up and I realize I have no idea who turned it on or where that transcript is going to end up.”
Individual user review, 30 June 2026 · source
Press reviews
- TechRepublic 2026-09-28
Best for live transcription and searchable notes; the free plan's 300 minutes and 30-minute cap are the main limits.
- Zapier 2026-04-06
Picked Otter as the best meeting assistant for asking questions about past meetings, with a free plan and paid plans from $8.33 a month billed annually.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- Yes. The privacy policy (effective 16 June 2026) says Otter trains its AI on de-identified audio recordings and transcriptions
- Opt-out
- No training-specific opt-out described; the policy only offers general rights to withdraw consent or object to processing
- Retention
- Kept 'for as long as necessary' for the purposes in the policy; no fixed period stated
- Incidents
- In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation (N.D. Cal., 5:25-cv-06911): four class actions filed Aug-Sep 2025, consolidated, alleging Otter's notetaker records meeting participants without consent and uses the data for training. On 13 Aug 2026 the court let the wiretap (CIPA, ECPA), BIPA, unjust enrichment and UCL claims proceed. Unresolved.
- Age limit
- Not aimed at children; Otter does not knowingly collect data from under-13s. No age check.
Official videos
- Otter is AI for Accessibility 2019-05-24
FAQ
Is Otter free?
Yes. The Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes a month, with each recording capped at 30 minutes and only 3 file imports in total.
Does Otter use my recordings to train its AI?
Its privacy policy says it trains on de-identified audio recordings and transcripts. It does not describe a simple switch to turn this off.
Is Otter being sued?
Yes. A US class action says Otter's meeting bot recorded people without their consent. In August 2026 a federal judge allowed the main wiretap claims to go ahead.
Can Otter record in-person conversations?
Yes. The phone app records and transcribes anything in the room, such as lectures or interviews, as well as online meetings.
Otter or Granola?
TechRepublic rates Otter best for live transcripts and Granola best for recording without a bot joining the call. Granola says it deletes the audio after transcribing.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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