Best Otter.ai alternatives
Hit Otter's free minutes, or want your calls off the cloud? Five alternatives and who each suits.
The best Otter.ai alternatives are Fetch if you want transcription on your own Windows PC with no minute limits, Granola for bot-free notes on Mac and Windows, Fireflies.ai for integrations and team analytics, Fathom for a generous free plan, and the AI built into Zoom or Teams if your company already pays for it.
Facts about other tools come from their own websites, checked October 29, 2026. Links are at the bottom. Fetch is ours, and we’ve noted where others win.
Why people look beyond Otter
Otter’s free plan is 300 minutes a month, with a 30-minute cap per conversation, and Pro starts at $16.99 per user a month (list price). Its Notetaker bot joins meetings, though its desktop app can record without one. Transcription happens in Otter’s cloud. Common reasons to switch: the minute caps, wanting no bot, or wanting audio kept off the cloud.
At a glance
| Bot? | Where speech becomes text | Free plan | Paid from | Apps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fetch | No | Your PC | Free during early access, no minute limits | None yet | Windows |
| Granola | No | Cloud | Free Basic plan | $14 per user a month (Business) | Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android |
| Fireflies.ai | Yes by default | Cloud | Yes | $10 per seat a month, yearly | Web, desktop, mobile |
| Fathom | Bot, or bot-free on Mac | Cloud | Unlimited recordings | $16 per user a month, yearly | Mac, Windows, iPhone |
| Zoom or Teams AI | Built in | Cloud | Depends on plan | Depends on plan | Inside each app |
1. Fetch: best for privacy and no minute caps
Fetch records your calls from your Windows PC, with no bot, and turns speech into text on your computer using models like NVIDIA Parakeet and Whisper. It keeps the audio as MP3 files you own, works offline, and has no minute limits during early access. AI notes use your own Claude or ChatGPT account.
Not ideal for: teams that share notes, or Mac users. Read Fetch vs Otter.
2. Granola: best for bot-free notes on Mac
Granola records from your computer without a bot and enhances your own notes with AI. It transcribes in the cloud and doesn’t keep the audio. It runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.
Read Fetch vs Granola.
3. Fireflies.ai: best for integrations
Fireflies joins calendar meetings with a bot by default and connects to many CRMs and work tools. Paid plans add a desktop app that can record without a bot.
Read Fetch vs Fireflies.
4. Fathom: best free plan
Fathom gives unlimited free recordings, with advanced summaries for 5 calls a month. Bot-free recording is for Macs on macOS 14.2 or later.
Read Fetch vs Fathom.
5. Zoom or Teams AI
If your company already pays for Zoom’s AI features or Microsoft’s Teams Premium or Copilot licenses, the built-in summaries may be enough. They only cover meetings on their own platform.
How to choose
- Calls are sensitive, or you’re tired of minute caps? Fetch.
- On a Mac and want no bot? Granola or Fathom.
- Need CRM sync and team analytics? Fireflies.
- Already paying for your meeting app’s AI? Start there.
Curious about the cloud question? Read Local vs cloud transcription.
Sources
Checked October 29, 2026. Plans change often, so check each site for the latest.
- Otter pricing and desktop app
- Granola pricing and security
- Fireflies pricing
- Fathom pricing and Free plan details
- Microsoft Teams intelligent recap
Otter.ai, Granola, Fireflies.ai, Fathom, Zoom and Microsoft Teams are trademarks of their owners. Soggy Dog Studios isn’t affiliated with them. This round-up is based on public information as of the date above.
Questions people ask
Is there a free alternative to Otter?
Fetch is free during early access with no minute limits, on Windows. Fathom has unlimited free recordings with some limits on advanced summaries. Granola and Fireflies have free plans with their own limits.
Which Otter alternative keeps audio off the cloud?
Fetch turns speech into text on your own PC and keeps the audio there. The other options on this list transcribe in the cloud.
Which is best on a Mac?
Granola and Fathom both have strong Mac apps with bot-free recording. Fetch is Windows only for now.
Still scratching your head?
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