7 Best Otter.ai Alternatives for Meeting Transcription (2026 Edition)

Introduction: Why You Might Need an Otter.ai Alternative

Otter.ai has been a go-to transcription tool for professionals, students, and remote teams for years. But with a surge of powerful competitors entering the market — many offering better accuracy, more integrations, or more generous free plans — it may be time to explore what else is out there.

Whether you're frustrated with Otter's word limits, looking for better speaker identification, need multilingual support, or just want more bang for your buck, this guide covers the 7 best Otter.ai alternatives for meeting transcription available in 2026.

We've tested each tool based on real-world accuracy, pricing, integrations, ease of use, and unique features. Whether you're a solopreneur, a marketing agency, or an enterprise team, there's something on this list for you.

Pro Tip: Before choosing a transcription tool, think about your priorities — do you need real-time transcription, post-meeting summaries, or deep integrations with tools like Zoom, Google Meet, or Salesforce? Let's dive in.

What Is Otter.ai and Why Are People Looking for Alternatives?

Otter.ai is an AI-powered transcription service that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings in real time. It integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, making it popular in the remote work era.

However, users often report several pain points:

• Limited free plan — Only 300 minutes of transcription per month on the free tier
• Accuracy issues — Background noise and strong accents can reduce quality
• No multilingual support — Otter.ai primarily focuses on English
• Storage limitations — Older recordings are archived or deleted
• Lack of advanced analytics — No coaching intelligence or sentiment analysis

Understanding these gaps is essential when evaluating alternatives. You can learn more about how AI tools are changing the SEO and productivity landscape and what to look for in modern AI-powered platforms.

How We Evaluated These Alternatives

Before we list our top picks, here's the criteria we used to evaluate each Otter.ai alternative:

• Transcription Accuracy — Word Error Rate (WER) across multiple accents and environments
• Real-Time vs. Async Transcription — Support for live meetings and pre-recorded audio
• Speaker Identification — Ability to distinguish between multiple speakers
• Language Support — Number of supported languages
• Meeting Platform Integrations — Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex compatibility
• Pricing & Free Plan — What you get without paying
• Export Options — TXT, DOCX, SRT, PDF support
• Security & Privacy — SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA compliance

You can also check our comprehensive guide on best AI tools complete guide with pros and cons to understand how to evaluate any AI tool effectively.

7 Best Otter.ai Alternatives for Meeting Transcription

1. Fireflies.ai — Best Overall Otter.ai Alternative

Website: Fireflies.ai

Fireflies.ai is arguably the most feature-rich Otter.ai alternative on the market. It goes beyond transcription by offering AI-generated meeting summaries, action item extraction, sentiment analysis, and conversation intelligence that make it perfect for sales teams, project managers, and executives.

Key Features

• Automatic meeting recording across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and 40+ platforms
• AI-generated summaries with action items and key decisions highlighted automatically
• Smart Search — search across all transcripts using keyword filters
• Conversation Intelligence — measure talk time, filler words, and engagement metrics
• CRM Integrations — sync notes directly to Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, and more
• 92%+ transcription accuracy across English, Spanish, French, German, and 30+ languages
• API Access for custom integrations

Pricing

Pros

• Generous free plan (800 minutes)
• Excellent CRM and productivity integrations
• Strong multilingual support
• Conversation intelligence for sales coaching

Cons

• Search limited on free plan
• AI summaries can miss nuance in complex discussions
• Storage limits on free tier

Who Should Use Fireflies.ai?

Sales teams, customer success managers, and remote-first companies that need meeting transcription paired with actionable insights and CRM sync.

2. Fathom — Best Free Otter.ai Alternative

Website: Fathom

Fathom is making waves as the most generous completely free meeting notetaker available. Built exclusively for Zoom (with Google Meet support recently added), Fathom records, transcribes, and highlights key moments — all without charging a single dollar for most users.

Key Features

• Unlimited free recordings and transcriptions (no minute caps)
• One-click highlight sharing — clip and share the best moments instantly
• AI-generated summaries with follow-up items
• Automatic CRM logging — pushes notes to Salesforce, HubSpot, and Close CRM
• Multilingual support — 28+ languages including Spanish, French, Japanese, and Portuguese
• Speaker-labeled transcripts for easy readability
• Video playback with searchable transcripts

Pricing

Pros

• Genuinely free with no hidden limits
• Extremely clean and easy-to-use UI
• Excellent for one-on-one meetings and client calls
• Fast, reliable, and distraction-free

Cons

• Primarily built for Zoom (Teams/Webex support limited)
• Less enterprise-ready than competitors
• No phone call transcription

Who Should Use Fathom?

Freelancers, consultants, coaches, and solopreneurs who need unlimited transcription without paying a cent.

3. Trint — Best for Journalists and Media Professionals

Website: Trint

Trint is purpose-built for media and journalism workflows. Used by The Guardian, BBC, and The Washington Post, Trint combines transcription with a powerful story-building editor that lets journalists turn interviews into publishable content quickly.

Key Features

• 40+ language support with high accuracy
• Interactive transcript editor — click any word to jump to that moment in audio/video
• Story Builder — drag quotes from transcripts to build articles and reports
• Collaboration tools — real-time commenting and multi-user editing
• Subtitle and caption export — SRT, VTT, STL formats for video content
• Custom vocabulary — train the AI on your industry-specific terminology
• SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant

Pricing

Pros

• Industry-leading for media and journalism use cases
• Excellent subtitle and caption support
• Clean, professional editor interface
• Strong collaboration features

Cons

• Expensive compared to general-purpose alternatives
• No real-time meeting bot
• Better for async audio/video than live meetings

Who Should Use Trint?

Journalists, podcasters, documentary filmmakers, content creators, and marketing agencies who work heavily with interview recordings and video content.

4. Rev.ai — Best for Developer API and Custom Integration

Website: Rev.ai

Rev.ai is the developer-facing arm of Rev.com, one of the most trusted transcription services on the market. Unlike its competitors, Rev.ai is optimized for developers who want to embed transcription into their own applications via a powerful API.

Key Features

• REST API with real-time WebSocket streaming
• Asynchronous transcription for pre-recorded files
• Human transcription option for maximum accuracy (99%+)
• Custom vocabulary and profanity filter support
• Speaker diarization (separation of multiple speakers)
• Punctuation and casing applied automatically
• Caption export in SRT, VTT, and other formats
• HIPAA-compliant infrastructure

Pricing

Pros

• Industry-leading accuracy with human transcription backup
• Powerful, well-documented API
• HIPAA-compliant — great for healthcare
• Flexible pay-as-you-go pricing

Cons

• Not designed as a meeting notetaker
• No built-in meeting bot or calendar integration
• Requires technical knowledge to implement

Who Should Use Rev.ai?

Developers, SaaS companies, healthcare organizations, and media platforms that need to embed professional transcription into their products.

5. Grain — Best for Sales Teams and Coaching

Website: Grain.com

Grain is a meeting recording and transcription tool specifically designed to help sales teams, coaches, and recruiters extract value from conversations. Its integration with major video conferencing platforms combined with powerful coaching features makes it one of the best Otter.ai alternatives for revenue teams.

Key Features

• AI-generated meeting notes with summary, key moments, and action items
• Highlight reels — create short clips from long meetings for coaching
• Deal intelligence — syncs call insights to your CRM automatically
• Coaching tools — track talk ratios, objections, and competitor mentions
• Slack integration — share meeting highlights directly to channels
• Playlist creation — organize highlights by topic, rep, or deal stage
• Custom AI prompts — extract specific insights automatically

Pricing

Pros

• Perfect for sales enablement and coaching
• Excellent Slack and CRM integrations
• Highlight reel feature is unique and powerful
• Clean and intuitive interface

Cons

• Pricing can add up for large teams
• Free plan is quite limited
• Less useful for non-sales use cases

Who Should Use Grain?

B2B sales teams, SDRs, AEs, sales managers, and coaches who want to improve performance through meeting intelligence.

6. Sonix — Best for Multilingual Transcription

Website: Sonix.ai

Sonix is a fast, accurate, and affordable transcription platform that excels in one area most competitors struggle with: multilingual support. With support for 49+ languages and automatic language detection, Sonix is the best choice for global teams and international content creators.

Key Features

• 49+ languages with automatic language detection
• In-browser transcript editor with easy corrections
• Automated translation — translate transcripts into 30+ languages
• Automated subtitles for video content (SRT, VTT, SBV)
• Custom dictionary support for specialized terminology
• Team collaboration with role-based access
• Zapier integration for workflow automation
• SOC 2 Type II compliant

Pricing

Pros

• Best multilingual transcription on the market
• Affordable pay-as-you-go pricing for occasional users
• Excellent subtitle and translation features
• Fast turnaround (most files under 5 minutes)

Cons

• No real-time transcription or meeting bot
• Less robust collaboration features
• No free plan

Who Should Use Sonix?

International businesses, global marketing teams, podcast producers, and content creators who need accurate multilingual transcription at scale.

7. Notta — Best All-in-One Transcription Tool for Teams

Website: Notta.ai

Notta is a fast-rising transcription platform that combines real-time meeting transcription, AI-generated summaries, and a powerful notetaking workspace into one seamless product. Available on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and browser extensions, Notta is perfect for teams that want an all-in-one solution.

Key Features

• Real-time transcription for live meetings and recordings
• 58 languages supported — one of the widest ranges in the market
• AI summaries and action items after every meeting
• Direct integration with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex
• Chrome extension for easy one-click recording
• Export to Notion, Google Docs, Dropbox, and more
• Speaker identification with custom speaker labeling
• Meeting scheduling — auto-join meetings from your calendar

Pricing

Pros

• Widest language support (58 languages)
• Excellent mobile apps for on-the-go transcription
• Clean AI summaries and action items
• Reasonable pricing for individuals and teams

Cons

• Free plan is quite limited (120 minutes)
• AI summaries sometimes lack depth
• Advanced features locked behind higher tiers

Who Should Use Notta?

Multinational teams, educators, researchers, and professionals who need transcription across many languages and platforms in a single tool.

Side-by-Side Comparison: Otter.ai vs. 7 Alternatives

How to Choose the Right Otter.ai Alternative

Choosing the right transcription tool isn't just about accuracy — it's about fit. Here's a quick decision framework:

Choose Fireflies.ai if: You're a sales or revenue team that needs CRM integration, smart search, and conversation analytics alongside solid transcription.

Choose Fathom if: You're an individual or small team who wants unlimited free transcription with no strings attached.

Choose Trint if: You work in media, journalism, or content creation and need a powerful editor with subtitle and translation export.

Choose Rev.ai if: You're a developer who wants to embed transcription into a custom application with enterprise-grade accuracy.

Choose Grain if: You're in B2B sales and want coaching tools, highlight reels, and deal intelligence from your meetings.

Choose Sonix if: You regularly work with audio or video in multiple languages and need automated translation as well as transcription.

Choose Notta if: You need a single, affordable tool that covers the widest range of languages with solid real-time support across all major platforms.

Also consider reading our guide on best AI tools for productivity to see how transcription tools fit into a broader AI-powered workflow.

Key Features to Look for in Any Meeting Transcription Tool

When shopping for an Otter.ai alternative, pay close attention to these must-have features:

1. Transcription Accuracy

Look for tools that advertise and demonstrate accuracy rates above 90%. Many tools perform well in controlled environments but struggle with background noise, technical jargon, or non-native English accents. Always test with your actual audio before committing.

2. Speaker Diarization

The ability to separate and label different speakers in a conversation is crucial for meeting notes. Without it, transcripts become a wall of unlabeled text that's difficult to use.

3. Real-Time vs. Asynchronous Transcription

Real-time transcription shows text as it's spoken, which is excellent for live note-taking. Asynchronous transcription processes pre-recorded files, which is often more accurate. Know which you need before choosing.

4. Integration Ecosystem

The best tools integrate deeply with your existing stack — whether that's Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Slack, Notion, Salesforce, or HubSpot.

5. Security and Compliance

If your team handles sensitive data, prioritize tools with SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, or GDPR compliance. This is non-negotiable for healthcare, legal, and financial services companies.

6. Export and Sharing Options

Look for tools that let you export transcripts in multiple formats — TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT, VTT — so you can easily share, embed, or reuse your content.

7. Language Support

If your team operates globally, multilingual support isn't a nice-to-have — it's essential. Tools like Sonix and Notta lead the pack here.

You can explore more about how to use AI tools for content creators effectively, including transcription as part of a broader content strategy.

Meeting Transcription Use Cases by Industry

Sales and Revenue Teams

Sales teams use transcription tools to capture call notes, automatically sync to CRM, identify objections, analyze competitor mentions, and coach reps using real call data. Fireflies.ai and Grain are purpose-built for these workflows.

Marketing and Content Teams

Marketers use transcription to repurpose interview recordings, turn podcast episodes into blog posts, create YouTube captions, and pull quotes for social media. Trint and Sonix are excellent here.

For more on content repurposing, see our guide on how content marketing boosts SEO.

Education and Research

Professors, researchers, and students use transcription for lecture notes, research interviews, and accessibility. Notta and Otter.ai have historically served this market well.

Journalism and Media

Journalists need fast, accurate transcription of interviews and press conferences. Trint and Rev.com are industry standards here, used by major outlets worldwide.

Healthcare

Medical professionals use transcription for documentation, patient notes, and consultation summaries. HIPAA-compliant tools like Rev.ai and enterprise versions of other platforms are the right choice here.

Legal Services

Law firms transcribe depositions, hearings, and client meetings. Accuracy and security are paramount. Both Rev.com (human transcription) and Verbit are popular choices.

The Rise of AI Meeting Notetakers: What's Next?

The meeting transcription market is evolving rapidly. Here's what to expect in the next 12–24 months:

AI-Powered Meeting Intelligence will become the norm — tools won't just transcribe, they'll predict action items, score call performance, suggest next steps, and auto-draft follow-up emails.

Deeper CRM Integration means that transcription tools will increasingly function as data capture layers for sales and customer success platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot.

Multilingual Real-Time Translation will break down language barriers in global meetings, with tools like Notta leading the charge.

Privacy-First Architectures will gain importance as enterprises demand on-premise or private cloud transcription to protect sensitive communications.

Voice Biometrics for speaker identification without requiring training will become standard, making speaker diarization seamless.

Read more about how AI agents are becoming your digital coworkers and what that means for the future of meeting productivity.

Tips to Get the Most From Any Meeting Transcription Tool

Regardless of which platform you choose, these best practices will help you extract maximum value:

Test Before You Commit: Most tools offer free trials. Record a real meeting and evaluate the transcript for accuracy, speaker labeling, and formatting quality.

Train Custom Vocabularies: Tools that allow custom dictionaries will dramatically improve accuracy for industry-specific terms, product names, and acronyms.

Set Up Calendar Integrations: Most modern tools auto-join meetings from your Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar. Enable this so you never miss a recording.

Create Templates for Summaries: Define what a "good summary" looks like for your team — bullet points, action items, decisions made — and configure your tool accordingly.

Review Transcripts Promptly: AI transcription isn't perfect. Review and correct transcripts soon after meetings while context is fresh, especially for important client calls or legal matters.

Leverage Search: The best tools allow full-text search across all your transcripts. Use this to find specific discussions, follow up on commitments, and track recurring themes.

Integrate With Your Workflow: Connect your transcription tool to Slack, Notion, Google Docs, or your CRM so notes flow automatically to the right place.

For more workflow optimization advice, see our article on best AI tools for productivity and how to use AI to grow your YouTube channel if you create video content from your recordings.

Otter.ai Alternatives for Specific Platforms

Best Transcription Tool for Zoom

Fireflies.ai and Fathom both offer native Zoom integration with automatic bot joining. Fathom was originally built for Zoom and remains the gold standard for that platform.

Best Transcription Tool for Microsoft Teams

Fireflies.ai and Notta offer the deepest Microsoft Teams integration, with automatic joining, transcription, and note delivery directly in Teams channels.

Best Transcription Tool for Google Meet

Fathom recently expanded support for Google Meet and is quickly becoming the top choice. Grain also offers solid Google Meet integration.

Best Transcription Tool for Webex

Fireflies.ai stands out for Webex support, which fewer competitors offer at the same quality level.

Security and Privacy: What You Need to Know

When your meetings contain sensitive business information, customer data, or proprietary strategy, security cannot be an afterthought.

Look for these certifications:

• SOC 2 Type II — Covers security, availability, and confidentiality
• GDPR compliance — Essential if you have European customers or employees
• HIPAA compliance — Required for any healthcare-adjacent use case
• ISO 27001 — International standard for information security management

Questions to ask any vendor:

• Where is my data stored, and in which country?
• Do you use my recordings to train your AI models?
• Can I delete my data on request?
• Who has access to my transcripts?
• Is data encrypted in transit and at rest?

Tools like Rev.ai and enterprise tiers of Fireflies.ai and Trint offer the strongest security posture for enterprise buyers.

You can also learn more about website security and HTTPS for SEO as part of a broader understanding of digital security best practices.

Free vs. Paid Transcription Tools: Is Free Good Enough?

For casual users with occasional meetings, a free plan may be perfectly adequate. Here's a realistic breakdown:

When Free Plans Work:

• You have fewer than 5–10 meetings per week
• Meetings are in English with clear audio
• You don't need CRM integrations or advanced analytics
• You're a student or researcher with modest needs

When You Should Upgrade:

• You rely on transcription daily for client calls, sales, or content creation
• You need integrations with your CRM, PM tool, or communication platform
• You require multilingual support
• Security and compliance are business requirements
• You want advanced features like conversation intelligence, search, or coaching tools

Fathom is the only tool with a genuinely unlimited free tier — making it the best starting point before upgrading to a paid solution.

Conclusion: Which Otter.ai Alternative Should You Choose?

Here's a quick summary to help you make your final decision:

• Best Overall: Fireflies.ai — Generous free plan, best integrations, powerful AI features
• Best Free Option: Fathom — Truly unlimited free plan for Zoom power users
• Best for Media: Trint — Built for journalists, editors, and content professionals
• Best for Developers: Rev.ai — Powerful API with human transcription backup
• Best for Sales: Grain — Coaching tools, CRM sync, and highlight reels
• Best Multilingual: Sonix — 49+ languages with translation
• Best All-in-One: Notta — 58 languages, all platforms, clean interface

The transcription market has never been more competitive, which means you have more great options than ever before. Take advantage of free trials, test with your actual workflow, and invest in the tool that will genuinely make your team more productive.

For more resources on AI tools and SEO, explore:

• Best AI tools for small businesses that save hours every week
• Best AI tools for every profession
• Top 100 best AI tools
• ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini — which AI wins?
• Free AI tools that replace expensive software

10 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQ 1: What is the best free alternative to Otter.ai?

Fathom is the best completely free Otter.ai alternative, offering unlimited meeting recordings and transcriptions with no monthly minute caps. It integrates natively with Zoom and Google Meet, making it ideal for individuals and small teams.

FAQ 2: Is Fireflies.ai better than Otter.ai?

For most professional use cases, yes. Fireflies.ai offers a more generous free plan (800 min/seat vs. Otter's 300 min), broader language support, deeper CRM integrations, and more advanced conversation intelligence features. However, Otter.ai may feel more familiar and simple for users who just need basic English transcription.

FAQ 3: Which Otter.ai alternative supports the most languages?

Notta supports 58 languages, making it the widest multilingual option on this list. Sonix supports 49 languages and also offers automated translation, making it excellent for teams that work across multiple regions.

FAQ 4: Can I use these transcription tools for phone calls, not just video meetings?

Some tools support phone call transcription. Rev.ai via its API and Fireflies.ai with its phone call dial-in feature are the best options for capturing traditional phone conversations. For video meetings specifically, all tools on this list perform well.

FAQ 5: Are AI transcription tools HIPAA compliant?

Not all of them. If you work in healthcare or handle protected health information (PHI), you must use a HIPAA-compliant transcription tool. Rev.ai is explicitly HIPAA-compliant. Enterprise plans for Fireflies.ai and Trint can also accommodate HIPAA requirements upon agreement with a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).

FAQ 6: How accurate are AI transcription tools?

Modern AI transcription tools typically achieve 85–95% accuracy under ideal conditions (clear audio, native English speaker, low background noise). Accuracy drops with heavy accents, technical jargon, or poor audio quality. Tools like Rev.com offer human transcription as a fallback option for a 99%+ accuracy guarantee. Always test with your actual audio before committing to a platform.

FAQ 7: Do transcription tools store my recordings permanently?

Policies vary by provider. Some tools store recordings indefinitely (with paid plans), while others archive or delete older recordings on free tiers. Always read the privacy policy of any tool you're considering. Importantly, confirm whether your recordings are used to train the provider's AI models — this matters for confidential business conversations.

FAQ 8: Which transcription tool is best for sales teams?

Fireflies.ai and Grain are the best transcription tools for sales teams. Both offer CRM integration, conversation analytics, talk ratio tracking, and coaching features that turn meeting data into revenue intelligence. Grain particularly excels with its highlight reel and coaching playlist features.

FAQ 9: Can I use these tools without a meeting bot joining my calls?

Yes. All tools on this list support uploading pre-recorded audio or video files for transcription, which doesn't require a bot to attend your meetings. For real-time transcription, most tools use a bot that joins as a participant. If your meeting attendees are sensitive to bots, some tools (like Fathom) operate more discreetly or can be configured as a local recorder.

FAQ 10: What's the difference between transcription, summarization, and meeting intelligence?

• Transcription is the word-for-word conversion of spoken audio into text.
• Summarization uses AI to generate a condensed version of the transcript, highlighting key topics, decisions, and action items.
• Meeting intelligence goes further — analyzing patterns across many meetings to provide insights like talk ratios, objection frequency, competitor mentions, and rep performance metrics.

Basic tools offer transcription only. Mid-tier tools add summarization. Advanced platforms like Fireflies.ai and Grain provide full meeting intelligence suites.

Additional Resources

• What are AI agents? The complete beginner's guide
• AI agents vs chatbots — what's the real difference?
• Best AI tools for e-commerce stores
• Free AI tools every freelancer needs
• Best AI tools for students
• Top 10 free AI tools for students
• Ultimate list of best AI tools for beginners
• Best free AI tools to use daily
• Best AI podcast clippers
• How to use AI to automate your business