What it is
Otter.ai joins your Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams calls, or records in person, and produces a live transcript, a summary and action items. You can ask Otter's AI Chat questions about one meeting or across many, use meeting templates, and sync notes to Salesforce or HubSpot. Every plan, including the free one, includes an MCP server so AI assistants can read your meeting data.
The free Basic plan gives 300 minutes a month with a 30-minute limit per conversation. Pro costs $8.33 per user a month on yearly billing ($16.99 monthly) for 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per conversation. Business costs $19.99 per user a month yearly ($30 monthly), removes the monthly meeting-minute cap and allows four hours per conversation. Enterprise adds the API and webhooks, SSO and SCIM with a 100-user minimum, and a HIPAA add-on.
Otter's privacy policy says it trains its own AI on de-identified audio and on transcripts, and it faces a consolidated class action in California over recording meeting participants without their consent.
Our review
Otter is still one of the cheapest ways to get competent meeting transcripts, and one of the least comfortable to roll out without reading the privacy policy first. The policy lists training Otter's own AI on de-identified audio and on transcripts "which may contain Personal Information". There is no product setting to opt out; users are left with a general right to object by email, and the policy does not say whether deleting data removes it from training sets.
The litigation raises the stakes. In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation, a consolidated class action in federal court in California, alleges that the Notetaker recorded people who never agreed to it, and Courthouse News reported in August 2026 that the court dismissed some claims but let others proceed. Nothing has been decided on the merits. Otter's terms put the burden of getting consent on the account holder, which in practice means on whoever connected their calendar.
The caps set the real price. Pro allows 90 minutes per conversation, 50 AI Chat questions a month and 10 file imports. Business raises that to four hours and 200 questions and removes the meeting-minute cap, though imported audio stays limited to 6,000 minutes. CRM sync to Salesforce or HubSpot is limited to one user on Pro and five on Business.
For IT the gates are high. SSO and SCIM need an Enterprise licence of at least 100 users, and the API, webhooks and HIPAA add-on are Enterprise only. Otter's trust centre lists SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA and TX-RAMP Level 2, with the reports behind a request form. Fireflies and Granola compete in the same price band, and with Otter the deciding factor is less the transcript than the terms attached to it.
Where it earns its place
A graduate student recording seminars
Get searchable transcripts of 60-minute lectures
Pro with the .edu discount costs $79.99 a year for 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes per recording, enough for a full seminar timetable. Under the privacy policy, those transcripts may be used to train Otter's models.
A 15-person sales team on HubSpot
Log call notes to the CRM without typing them up
Business at $19.99 per user a month on yearly billing comes to about $3,600 a year but syncs notes for only five users; all 15 need Enterprise. Reps calling all-party-consent states must get agreement first, the issue at the centre of the class action.
An IT lead at a 300-person healthcare company
Approve a notetaker for meetings that touch patient information
Only Enterprise offers the HIPAA add-on, SSO, SCIM and the API, and SSO needs at least 100 licences. Request the SOC 2 and HIPAA reports through the trust centre and get Otter's position on training in the contract, since the public policy allows it.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Connect a Google or Microsoft calendar and the Notetaker joins scheduled Zoom, Meet or Teams calls as a visible participant; the mobile and web apps record in person.
- Integrations
- Zoom, Teams, Meet and an MCP server on every plan; Zapier, Salesforce and HubSpot from Pro; API, webhooks and custom CRM or dialer integrations on Enterprise only.
- Data and privacy
- The privacy policy allows training on de-identified audio and on transcripts, with no product opt-out and no fixed retention period. The trust centre lists SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA and TX-RAMP Level 2.
- Cost at scale
- A 25-person team on Business pays about $6,000 a year on yearly billing; Business caps a workspace at 25 billed users, so larger teams move to Enterprise, priced by demo.
- Limits
- Per-conversation limits of 30 minutes (Basic), 90 minutes (Pro) and four hours (Business); one, two or three simultaneous meetings by plan; Basic keeps only the 25 most recent conversations.
What's good
- Free plan includes Zoom, Teams, Meet and the MCP server
- Pro at $8.33/user/month yearly is among the cheapest paid tiers
- Business removes the monthly meeting-minute cap
- Trust centre lists SOC 2, HIPAA and TX-RAMP Level 2
What's not
- Trains its AI on transcripts, with no in-product opt-out
- Pending class action over recording consent
- SSO and SCIM need a 100-user Enterprise licence
- AI Chat capped at 50 questions a month on Pro
Best for
Students and small teams who want cheap, reliable transcripts and are comfortable with Otter's training terms.
Alternatives
Otter.ai: common questions
- Is Otter.ai worth it?
- Cheap, capable transcription with a data policy every meeting guest should know about: Otter trains on transcripts and offers no switch to stop it. We rate it 3.9 out of 5.
- How much does Otter.ai cost?
- Basic free (300 min/month, 30 min per conversation); Pro $8.33/user/month yearly or $16.99 monthly; Business $19.99/user/month yearly or $30 monthly; Enterprise by demo (SSO and SCIM need 100 users).
- What are the downsides of Otter.ai?
- Trains its AI on transcripts, with no in-product opt-out; pending class action over recording consent; sSO and SCIM need a 100-user Enterprise licence; aI Chat capped at 50 questions a month on Pro.
- Who is Otter.ai best for?
- Students and small teams who want cheap, reliable transcripts and are comfortable with Otter's training terms.
- How much does Otter.ai cost for a team or in production?
- A 25-person team on Business pays about $6,000 a year on yearly billing; Business caps a workspace at 25 billed users, so larger teams move to Enterprise, priced by demo.
- Is Otter.ai safe for company data?
- The privacy policy allows training on de-identified audio and on transcripts, with no product opt-out and no fixed retention period. The trust centre lists SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA and TX-RAMP Level 2.
- What are the best Otter.ai alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Fireflies.ai, Granola and Notion AI.
Answers checked Oct 22, 2026.