Otter.ai Review

Our Otter.ai review

Our verdict

Otter is the long-standing choice for live transcription and searchable meeting notes, and its annual Pro price is among the lowest in the category. The free plan is tight, and a consolidated class action over recording consent is pending, so you should read how the tool joins calls and tell participants you’re recording.

Our 4.1 out of 5 score is an editorial judgment based on features, pricing and user feedback. It loses points for the free-plan caps and the unresolved lawsuit.

What it does

Otter transcribes meetings live and afterwards, produces summaries and action items, and lets you ask questions across your meeting history. Its meeting agent, formerly OtterPilot, can join scheduled calls through calendar integration. It works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams.

What users say

Reviewers like the live transcripts, the interface and the price. Complaints centre on free limits, with a 30-minute cap per conversation and only three file imports for the life of the account, and on the cost of moving up to Business for unlimited recording.

The lawsuit

Otter is the defendant in In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation, a consolidated federal class action filed in 2025, which alleges its meeting agent recorded participants without their consent and used recordings to train models. According to legal summaries, on August 13, 2026 the judge let the wiretap, California privacy and Illinois biometric claims proceed, Otter denied the claims, and the case is in discovery. No court has ruled that Otter acted illegally. Whatever the outcome, tell everyone before you record.

Pricing

Basic is free with 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, three lifetime file imports and 20 AI Chat questions a month. Pro costs $16.99 a month, or $8.33 billed annually ($99.96), with 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per conversation. Business costs $30, or $19.99 annually, with unlimited recording and four-hour conversations. Enterprise is quoted. Check the pricing page, since plans change.

Where it falls short

The free plan is a test, AI Chat is metered and the privacy case is unresolved.

Who should use it

Choose Otter if you want live transcription at a low price. Skip it if you want unlimited free recording (Fathom) or bot-free capture (Granola). Compare it with Fireflies. See our list of the best AI note takers.

How we reviewed this tool

This review is based on Otter’s published pricing as reported by several 2026 sources, legal summaries, user reviews and independent write-ups (checked November 5, 2026). We have not run our own trials.