Otter.ai Alternatives: 9 Transcription Tools Compared by Free Minutes, Languages and Privacy
Data checked:
People usually leave Otter.ai for one of four reasons, and each points to a different replacement:
- The free plan runs out. Otter Basic gives 300 minutes a month, stops each conversation at 30 minutes and allows only three file imports in total.
- Long recordings. Pro still caps a conversation at 90 minutes; you need Business for 4 hours.
- Languages. Otter’s pricing page lists six transcription languages.
- Privacy. Otter’s privacy policy says it trains its AI on de-identified audio and on transcriptions, and it describes no way to opt out.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Languages | Max length per file | Speaker labels | Trains on your data? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom Meeting notes | Unlimited recordings and transcripts; some AI features are limited | $20/mo $16/mo billed yearly (Premium) | ENJAZH 38 languages | Free: Not verified Paid: Not verified | Not verified | Yes, unless you opt out |
| tl;dv Meeting notes | Unlimited recordings and transcripts, AI notes for 10 meetings, up to 5 uploads; recordings kept up to 3 months | €29/mo €18/mo billed yearly (Pro) | ENJAZH 30+ languages | Free: 3 h Paid: 3 h | Yes | No |
| Fireflies.ai Meeting notes, File transcription, Live transcription | Transcription marked unlimited, but only 400 min of storage per team and limited AI summaries; downloads need Pro | $18/mo $10/mo billed yearly (Pro) | ENJAZH 100+ languages | Free: 150 min Paid: 150 min | Yes | No |
| Notta Meeting notes, File transcription, Live transcription | 120 min/month but only the first 3 min of each recording, 50 file uploads/month; exporting transcripts needs Pro | $13.49/mo $8.17/mo billed yearly (Pro) | ENJAZH 58 languages | Free: 3 min Paid: 5 h | Yes | Unclear |
| TurboScribe File transcription | 3 files per day, up to 30 min each | $20/mo $10/mo billed yearly (Unlimited) | ENJAZH 98+ languages | Free: 30 min Paid: 10 h | Yes | No |
| Sonix File transcription | No free plan 30-minute free trial, no card needed | $25/mo $22.92/mo billed yearly (Core) | ENJAZH 54+ languages | Paid: Not verified | Yes | No |
| Happy Scribe File transcription, Meeting notes | No free plan One-time 10-minute trial for uploaded-file AI transcription, subtitling and translation. The Free plan separately allows unlimited meeting recordings, up to 45 minutes each, with limited history. | £17/mo £8.50/mo billed yearly (Basic) | ENJAZH 150+ languages | Paid: Not verified | Yes | Only if you opt in |
| Rev File transcription, Meeting notes | 45 AI transcription minutes/month, English only | $29.99/mo $25.49/mo billed yearly (Essentials) | ENJAZH 37+ languages | Free: Not verified Paid: Not verified | Yes | Yes |
| MacWhisper File transcription, Offline / on-device | Free version with local Whisper transcription; Pro unlocks more features | €64 one-time (Pro) | ENJAZH 100 languages | Free: Not verified Paid: Not verified | Yes | No |
Prices are for the cheapest paid plan, billed monthly and yearly. Open a tool to see every value with a link to the vendor page it came from.
Pick by the reason you’re switching
Meeting notes without a monthly minute cap
Fathom and tl;dv both record and transcribe an unlimited number of meetings on their free plans. Fathom limits some AI features; tl;dv writes AI notes for 10 meetings and keeps free recordings for up to three months. Fireflies.ai also advertises unlimited transcription, but its free plan stores only 400 minutes per team and downloads need Pro.
Long uploaded files
TurboScribe accepts files up to 10 hours on its Unlimited plan ($20 a month, or $10 a month billed yearly). Notta’s paid plans take recordings up to 5 hours, and Happy Scribe removes the per-recording limit on its Pro and Business plans.
Keeping your recordings out of AI training
Sonix says it never uses your files to train its models, on any plan or trial. tl;dv and Fireflies.ai make the same commitment, and Happy Scribe uses content for training only if you opt in. If the audio must never leave your computer, use an on-device app such as MacWhisper; see offline transcription software.
Japanese or Chinese audio
Notta, Sonix and Happy Scribe list Japanese and Mandarin, and Sonix and Happy Scribe also list Cantonese. Fathom supports Japanese but not Chinese. These are the vendors’ language lists, not accuracy results: we have not tested accuracy yet.
Before you switch
- Export what you have. Otter’s free plan exports TXT only; DOCX, PDF and SRT need Pro.
- Check the per-seat price. Fireflies, Fathom and tl;dv charge per seat, and Fathom’s Team plan starts at two users.
- Rev is a different kind of service: AI transcripts plus optional human transcription at $1.99 a minute. Its free plan is English only, and its terms let it train its speech models on your content.
See all tools and filter them yourself in the directory.