Rev vs Otter.ai: AI Minutes, Human Transcription and Meeting Recording
Data checked:
They are often compared because both appear in “transcription” searches, but they solve different jobs. Rev is a file-upload service: you send recordings in and get AI or human-made transcripts back. Otter.ai is a meeting assistant that joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls, transcribes live and writes summaries, with file imports as a limited extra.
- Free plan. Rev gives 45 AI minutes a month, English only, and analyses up to 5 files at a time. Otter gives 300 minutes a month with a 30-minute cap per conversation, 3 file imports in total and TXT-only exports.
- Price. Rev Essentials is $29.99 a month, or $25.49 billed yearly, and includes 5,000 AI minutes per user per month in English and Spanish; Pro ($59.99 a month, or $47.99 billed yearly) adds 37+ languages. Human transcription costs $1.99 a minute. Otter Pro is $16.99 a month, or $8.33 billed yearly, with 1,200 minutes; Business is $30 a month, or $19.99 billed yearly.
- Languages. Rev lists 37+ languages on Pro, including Japanese and Mandarin; its free minutes are English only and Essentials adds Spanish. Otter lists 6 languages, including Japanese and Chinese.
- Length. Rev states no maximum file length on the pages we checked. Otter caps conversations at 30 minutes (Basic), 90 minutes (Pro) and 4 hours (Business).
- Exports. Rev’s document editor exports Word and PDF; other formats are not listed. Otter exports TXT on the free plan and adds DOCX, PDF and SRT from Pro.
- API. Rev offers a separate speech-to-text API through Rev AI (pricing not in our data). Otter lists API access on the Enterprise plan.
- Privacy. Both train by default. Rev’s Master Services Agreement says customer content is used for continuous training of its speech models; its help center says Enterprise and Unlimited customers can opt out. Otter’s privacy policy says it trains on de-identified audio and transcriptions and describes no opt-out.
Side by side
| Rev | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 45 AI transcription minutes/month, English only source | 300 min/month, up to 30 min per conversation, 3 file imports in total source |
| Paid from | $29.99/mo $25.49/mo billed yearly (Essentials) Essentials: 5,000 AI minutes per user per month, English and Spanish only. Pro ($59.99/month, or $47.99 billed annually) adds 37+ languages. Human transcription costs $1.99 per minute. source | $16.99/mo $8.33/mo billed yearly (Pro) Pro includes 1,200 min/month and 10 file imports per month. Business is $30/month, or $19.99/month billed annually. source |
| Languages | ENJAZH 37+ languages 37+ languages on Pro, including Japanese and Mandarin; the free plan is English only and Essentials adds Spanish. source 1 source 2* | ENJAZH 6 languages The pricing page lists English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. source |
| Max length per file | Free: Not verified Paid: Not verified Rev does not state a maximum file length on its pricing or AI transcription pages; the free plan analyses up to 5 files at a time. source 1 source 2 | Free: 30 min Paid: 4 h Per conversation: 30 min (Basic), 90 min (Pro), 4 hours (Business). source |
| Speaker labels | Yes source | Yes source |
| Export | Not verified The document editor exports Word and PDF; other download formats are not listed on the pages we checked. source | TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT Free plan exports TXT only; DOCX, PDF and SRT need Pro or higher. source |
| Meeting bot | Not verified source | Zoom, Google Meet, Teams source |
| Platforms | Web source | Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome source |
| Trains on your data? | Yes Rev's Master Services Agreement (updated 26 June 2026) says customer content "will be analyzed by our ASR models and used for continuous training of those models" but not for generative AI training. Rev's help center says Enterprise and Unlimited customers can opt out. source 1 source 2* | Yes The privacy policy (effective 16 June 2026) says Otter trains its AI on de-identified audio recordings and on transcriptions. It describes no opt-out for training. source |
| API | Yes Speech-to-text API is offered separately through Rev AI. source | Yes Otter API and webhooks are listed on the Enterprise plan. source |
Which to choose
- Choose Rev if you have batches of uploaded recordings, want up to 5,000 AI minutes a month in English or Spanish, or want a human to verify important transcripts at $1.99 a minute.
- Choose Otter if the recordings are recurring meetings you want captured, summarized and searchable without uploading anything.
- If either tool’s training terms are a problem, see transcription apps that don’t train on your data; for more meeting-first options, see Otter.ai alternatives.