Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai: Which Meeting Notetaker Is Better?
- type
- Comparison
- published
- reading
- 3 min
- by
- BVR Editorial Team
- method
- how we evaluate ↗
Both send a bot into your video calls and hand you a transcript afterwards. They differ in what they limit — Otter caps minutes, Fireflies caps storage — and that decides the winner.
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Otter for individuals. Fireflies for teams.
Otter's live transcript and AI chat make it the nicer daily tool for one person in video calls. Fireflies' unlimited transcription, Webex support and team analytics make it easier to roll out across a team.
- 01
Free–$30/mocheck price - 02
best for teamsFireflies.ai
Unlimited transcription on every plan, plus team analytics and CRM integrations.
Free–$39/mocheck price
contents (8)
The short version
Otter and Fireflies solve the same problem the same way: a bot joins your Zoom, Google Meet or Teams call, records it, and gives you a transcript and summary. If you only compare features, they look nearly identical. The real differences are in what each plan limits and who each tool is designed for.
Side by side
| spec | otterOtter.ai | firefliesFireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| list price | Free · Pro $16.99/mo · Business $30/mo | Free · Pro $18/mo · Business $29/mo |
| online meetings | Bot joins Zoom, Meet, Teams; bot-free desktop app | ▲Bot for Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex; bot-free desktop app |
| transcription | Live, speaker labels | ▲Unlimited on all plans |
| languages | 6 (German & Chinese in beta) | ▲English + 100+ in beta |
| ai summaries | Yes + AI chat | Yes (AI credits per plan) |
| free tier | 300 min / month, 30 min per conversation | Unlimited transcription, 400 min storage |
| paid plan from | $8.33/mo (Pro, billed yearly) | $10/mo (Pro, billed yearly) |
| storage | Cloud | Free 400 min · Pro 8,000 min/user · Business unlimited |
| connectivity | Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android | Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android |
| security & compliance | SOC 2 Type II, AES-256; HIPAA (Enterprise add-on) | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, ISO 42001; HIPAA BAA on Enterprise |
Limits: minutes vs storage
This is the biggest practical difference.
Otter limits transcription minutes. Basic (free) gives you 300 minutes a month and a 30-minute cap per conversation. Pro raises that to 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per conversation; Business is unlimited with a 4-hour cap per conversation.
Fireflies limits storage instead. Every plan includes unlimited transcription. Free stores 400 minutes, Pro 8,000 minutes per user, and Business is unlimited.
If you have many short meetings and don’t need to keep them forever, Fireflies’ model is more generous. If you want a searchable archive of everything, Otter’s paid tiers are simpler to reason about.
Pricing
| Otter.ai | Fireflies.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation | Unlimited transcription, 400 min storage |
| Entry paid, billed yearly | Pro $8.33/mo | Pro $10/mo |
| Entry paid, monthly | Pro $16.99 | Pro $18 |
| Business, billed yearly | $19.99/mo | $19/mo |
The two tools in detail
Otter’s strength is the live experience: you can watch the transcript build during the meeting, and afterwards ask its AI chat questions across every meeting you’ve recorded. It’s quick to set up and works well for one person juggling lots of calls. Security-wise, Otter states AES-256 encryption and SOC 2 Type II certification.
- Excellent live transcription
- AI chat across your meeting history
- Simple minute-based plans
- 30-minute cap on free conversations
- Only three lifetime imports on free
- Six languages
Fireflies is built for rolling out across a team. Its bot joins Zoom, Meet, Teams and Webex, there’s a bot-free desktop app, transcription is unlimited on every plan, and its integrations push meeting notes into the tools sales and customer-success teams already use. Fireflies states SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and ISO 42001 compliance.
- Unlimited transcription on all plans
- Bot plus bot-free desktop capture
- Team and CRM integrations
- Most non-English languages in beta
- Storage caps on Free and Pro
- AI features metered by credits
What neither one does well
Both tools are at their best on video calls. Neither records ordinary phone calls, and in-person meetings mean leaving your phone on the table running an app. If a lot of your important conversations happen offline, pair your bot with a dedicated recorder — or read Plaud vs Otter vs Fireflies to see how a hardware recorder changes the picture.
Our verdict
Choose Otter if you’re one person who lives in video calls and wants the best live transcript and meeting-history chat. Choose Fireflies if you’re equipping a team, have lots of meetings, or need Webex support and conversation analytics. Looking to leave Otter specifically? See our Otter.ai alternatives.
Questions
q.01Is Fireflies or Otter better for free users?
Fireflies, if you have lots of meetings — transcription is unlimited, with 400 minutes of storage. Otter, if you want to keep a rolling history — its free plan includes 300 minutes a month, but each conversation is capped at 30 minutes.
q.02Which supports more languages?
Fireflies lists 100+ languages, though English is primary and most others are in beta. Otter supports English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese.
q.03Can Otter or Fireflies record in-person meetings?
Both have iOS and Android apps that record through your phone. For dedicated in-person or phone-call recording, a hardware recorder such as Plaud Note Pro is better suited.
q.04Are Otter and Fireflies HIPAA compliant?
Otter lists HIPAA as an Enterprise add-on. Fireflies offers a HIPAA BAA on Enterprise with private storage. Neither covers it on standard plans.
- Fireflies prices, storage and platforms re-checked against Fireflies' official blog, help center and security page.
- First published. Fireflies prices from a third-party check (Aug 2026) because fireflies.ai did not display them.
sources
- otter.ai/pricing
- otter.ai/apps
- otter.ai/privacy-security
- businesswire.com/news/home/20250710027730/en/Otter.ai-Achieves-HIPAA-Compliance
- fireflies.ai/blog/fireflies-pricing-which-plan-is-right-for-you
- guide.fireflies.ai/articles/2631950139-learn-about-transcription-credits-storage-and-rate-limits-for-meetings
- fireflies.ai/security
specs and prices above were checked against these pages on 2026-10-29.
BVR Editorial Team. We compare recorders and AI note takers using makers' official spec sheets and pricing pages, cross-checked against independent reviews. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
