Verdict
Will Otter's free plan cover your meetings, or will its caps push you to upgrade?
Otter's free Basic plan caps usage at 300 transcription minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation. Pro and Business raise the caps.
Who should consider it. Consider it if your meetings are short and you want every limit stated before you sign up.
Start here: first steps with Otter.ai
Editorial guidance based on the vendor details we recorded. We have not tested Otter.ai, and we do not describe its screens or settings.
- Who should start with it
- Individuals who want a free transcription plan with every limit itemised.
- Before you create an account
- Pick one real job, for example "Transcribe meetings", and prepare invented or non-sensitive input for the first try.
- Read the vendor's data and privacy terms. Our privacy review checklist lists what to look for.
- Commercial-use terms: we have not verified them. Read the vendor's terms for the plan you will use.
- Which plan to start with
- Start on the free plan. The limits we recorded: 300 monthly transcription minutes; 3 lifetime imports; 30 minutes per conversation; 25 conversations kept; 20 AI Chat queries per month.
- A first small task
- Try a small version of a real case like this one: A freelancer with a few short client calls a week (30-minute cap on Basic).
- How to tell whether it helps
- Time the job by hand first. Then record minutes taken, minutes of editing and anything the plan limits. Use the trial scorecard.
- Common first-week mistakes
- Adding seats before you know the tool works for you, or missing a seat minimum.
- Building a routine on a free limit that resets daily or never, without checking which.
- Putting private or customer data in before reading how the vendor handles it.
- When to consider another tool
- Anyone who regularly holds meetings over 30 minutes on a free plan: Basic stops at 30 minutes per conversation.
- Anyone who needs long history on free: Basic keeps the 25 most recent conversations.
Alternatives: Fathom, Fireflies.ai. Reasons to switch.
What Otter.ai actually does
- Records and transcribes meetings, and imported audio or video files.
- Lets you ask questions about a conversation with Otter AI Chat.
- Keeps a searchable history of conversations: the 25 most recent on Basic, unlimited on Pro.
Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere
Good fits
- A freelancer with a few short client calls a week (30-minute cap on Basic).
- A team lead who needs 4-hour sessions transcribed (Business).
Scenarios are illustrative, based on plan limits and documented features.
Consider alternatives if
- Anyone who regularly holds meetings over 30 minutes on a free plan: Basic stops at 30 minutes per conversation.
- Anyone who needs long history on free: Basic keeps the 25 most recent conversations.
Practical workflows
Illustrative: built from documented features, not from testing.
Capture and search a client call
Outcome: A searchable transcript of a client meeting
- Record the meeting (Basic allows 1 concurrent meeting).
- Open the transcript after the call.
- Ask Otter AI Chat a question about it (Basic allows 20 queries a month).
- Copy the points you need into your own notes.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths Vendor-documented
- Free plan limits are fully itemised
- Student and teacher discount of 20% off Pro with a .edu email
- Monthly and annual prices are both listed
Limitations and cautions Documented limits and editorial guidance
- Free plan keeps only the 25 most recent conversations
- Free plan allows 3 lifetime file imports
- Some promotional prices are tied to an India-issued card and are not explained
Hands-on testing
Not tested by us yet, so this page describes what the vendor documents. How testing is recorded.
Pricing
Free
Free plan300 monthly transcription minutes; 3 lifetime imports; 30 minutes per conversation; 25 conversations kept; 20 AI Chat queries per month
Free trial
Not statedNo paid-plan trial is stated.
Cheapest paid plan
ProFrom $8.33/user/mo, billed annually, or $16.99 month-to-month
Show all 4 plans and limits
| Plan | Price and billing | Limits and inclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Free |
| 300 monthly transcription minutes; 3 lifetime imports; 30 minutes per conversation; 25 conversations kept; 20 AI Chat queries per month |
| Pro |
| 1,200 monthly minutes; 10 monthly imports; 90 minutes per conversation; 50 AI Chat queries |
| Business |
| 6,000 imported-file minutes per user per month; 4 hours per conversation; 200 AI Chat queries |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing (contact sales) | No limits listed |
How usage is counted
- Basic: 300 monthly transcription minutes, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports, 20 AI Chat queries a month.
- Pro: 1,200 minutes, 90 minutes per conversation, 10 imports a month, 50 AI Chat queries.
- Business: 4 hours per conversation, 6,000 imported-file minutes per user a month, 200 AI Chat queries, 3 concurrent meetings.
- Pricing model
- Per seat or user
- Currency
- USD (shown by the vendor for the region we checked)
- Commercial use
- Not verified
- API
- Not confirmed · No official API documentation page was found. Third-party sources disagree, so it is left unconfirmed.
- Pricing checked
- 20 Oct 2026 · Vendor pricing page (opens in a new tab)
- Some lower prices on the page are marked "Offer valid only with an India-issued credit card". They are promotional and not shown here.
- The page showed a Business monthly price of $24 with a 20% promo code for 3+ months; the list price above is used.
Prices are shown as each vendor lists them. Where a vendor shows only a "$" sign, its page does not name the currency, and vendors may show a local currency or regional price. Confirm on the vendor's page before buying.
Alternatives
Fathom
Reason to consider it: The free plan lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions.
- API: Fathom documented; Otter.ai not verified.
- Paid prices are in different, unnamed or not comparable currencies, so they are not compared here.
Fireflies.ai
Reason to consider it: Unlimited transcription on paid seats and a documented GraphQL API.
- API: Fireflies.ai documented; Otter.ai not verified.
- Paid prices are in different, unnamed or not comparable currencies, so they are not compared here.
Frequently asked questions
Does Otter.ai have a free plan?
Yes. The free plan lists: 300 monthly transcription minutes; 3 lifetime imports; 30 minutes per conversation; 25 conversations kept; 20 AI Chat queries per month.
How much does Otter.ai cost?
The lowest-priced paid plan is Pro: from $8.33/user/mo, billed annually, or $16.99 month-to-month. Larger plans are quoted by the vendor. Annual-billing prices are shown per month but are paid yearly. Pricing was checked 20 Oct 2026.
Does Otter.ai have an API?
We could not confirm this from an official page. No official API documentation page was found. Third-party sources disagree, so it is left unconfirmed.
Can I use Otter.ai output commercially?
We have not verified the commercial-use terms. That is a gap in our research, not a statement about the product. Read the vendor's terms before publishing output commercially.
Keep comparing
- Compare ai meeting note-takers
- Otter.ai vs Fathom: free plans and paid tiers compared
- Guide: Why is my AI summary inaccurate?
- Guide: Buying AI software: US, UK, Canada and Australia
- Guide: Free plan, trial or credits: which is it?
- Guide: From call to a follow-up you can trust
- Guide: How to read an AI tool pricing page without getting caught out
- Guide: Seat costs and annual commitments, worked out
- Guide: Choosing a meeting note-taker on a free plan
- Workflow: Turn a meeting into a reviewed follow-up
- Explore AI tools with confirmed free plans
- Understand AI pricing, credits and billing commitments
Sources and update history
| Source | What it covered | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai pricing page (opens in a new tab) | Plans, prices, usage limits | 20 Oct 2026 |
Not yet verified
These are gaps in our research, not claims about the product.
- Whether a paid-plan trial exists
- Enterprise pricing
- Terms of promotional prices
- API availability
Research note
- Vendor-documented: prices, plan limits, features and terms are taken from the sources above on the dates shown.
- Editorial interpretation: the verdict, good fits, tradeoffs and workflows are our reading of those facts. None of it comes from testing the tool.
- Unverified: anything listed under "Not yet verified" is a gap in our research, not a claim about the product.
Update history
- 20 Oct 2026 · Initial research from the vendor's official pages.
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