Choose Otter.ai if
You want calendar auto-join into Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams as a visible bot.
You want speaker identification, Otter AI Chat, slide capture, and CRM integrations.
You want Basic free with 300 transcription minutes per month.
Facts last verified August 24, 2026
Otter.ai vs
Otter.ai vs
Fireflies.ai
Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai both capture remote calls with a visible meeting bot or bot-free system-audio tools, then add summaries and action items in the cloud. Otter trains proprietary models on de-identified audio and transcriptions; Fireflies says it does not use personal information for model training. WhisperJot, our app, keeps microphone notes on-device and does not join calls.
Facts come from each vendor's public pages, linked in Sources. The date above is the earlier of the two registry checks.
| Feature | Otter.ai | Fireflies.ai | WhisperJot |
|---|---|---|---|
| How meetings are captured | An AI notetaker bot can join Zoom, Google Meet, or Teams through calendar auto-join. Mac and Windows desktop apps also provide botless local system-audio capture. | Primarily a visible Fireflies.ai Notetaker participant invited to Zoom, Meet, Teams, or Webex. Bot-free options include a Meet Chrome extension, desktop system-audio capture, and mobile recordings. | Microphone-only local capture for meetings you can hear: in-person meetings, interviews, lectures, and your side of calls. It does not capture system audio or the remote side of a video call, and no bot joins. |
| Where transcription runs | Cloud transcription on US-based AWS. Otter says live transcription requires a stable internet connection; recordings can continue locally and transcribe after reconnecting. | Cloud processing on servers in the United States and other countries. | Meeting transcription always runs on-device with the local engines, including for opt-in Jot Cloud dictation users; meeting audio never streams to the cloud. |
| Works offline | Not for live transcription. Recording can continue locally while offline, with transcription after the connection returns. | No offline mode documented. | Yes, after the local model download. |
| AI summaries and action items | Includes speaker identification, AI summaries, Otter AI Chat, action items, slide capture, and meeting and CRM integrations. | Provides AI summaries and action items, AskFred Q&A, Live Assist suggestions, speaker recognition, search and analytics, soundbites, and CRM integrations. | None. WhisperJot produces a transcript for you to review and export. |
| Price | Basic is free. Pro is $8.33/user/month annually or $16.99 monthly; Business is $19.99/user/month annually or $30 monthly; Enterprise is custom. | Free is $0. Pro is $10/seat/month billed annually or $18 monthly; Business is $19/seat/month billed annually or $29 monthly; Enterprise is $39/seat/month with annual billing. | $99/year for meeting notes and system-wide dictation, with no per-minute or storage caps and a six-hour cap per meeting. |
| Free tier and limits | Basic includes 300 transcription minutes/month, 30 minutes/conversation, and three lifetime file imports. Pro includes 1,200 minutes/month and 90 minutes/conversation. Business has unlimited transcription with a four-hour conversation cap. | Free includes unlimited transcription, limited AI credits, and 400 minutes of storage per team; published limits can change. Pro includes 8,000 minutes of storage per seat, while Business includes unlimited storage. | No free tier; a 30-second browser demo is available. |
| What happens to your audio | Audio, screenshots, and transcripts are stored on US AWS as long as necessary. Otter's policy says it trains proprietary AI technology on de-identified audio and on transcriptions that may contain personal information. | Fireflies says it does not use personal information for AI model training and contractually prohibits vendors from doing so, with zero-day vendor retention for meeting data. Transcripts are deletable anytime and encrypted at rest. Enterprise adds a healthcare compliance option and private storage. | Audio stays on your machine, with 90-day retention by default that you can change. Optional cloud library sync sends text, titles, and timestamps, never audio. |
Who each option fits
Choose the tradeoffs that match your work.
Choose Fireflies.ai if
You want AskFred Q&A, Live Assist suggestions, soundbites, and analytics.
You want a vendor that says it does not use personal information for model training.
You want a free plan with unlimited transcription and 400 minutes of storage per team.
Consider WhisperJot if
You want microphone-only notes that stay on your computer and work offline.
You want one $99/year plan with no per-minute caps plus system-wide dictation.
You do not need a meeting bot, summaries, action items, or speaker identification.
The honest take
Their strengths
Otter.ai
Otter can capture every participant in a remote video call through a visible meeting bot or botless desktop system-audio capture, which WhisperJot cannot do. It also provides speaker identification, summaries, action items, chat, slide capture, calendar auto-join, file import, and meeting and CRM integrations. Its free tier is useful for lighter schedules, though Free and Pro have monthly minute limits and every tier has a per-conversation cap.
Fireflies.ai
Fireflies can capture every participant in remote video calls through its visible bot or bot-free desktop and Chrome system-audio options, which WhisperJot cannot do. Its meeting workflow adds speaker recognition, summaries, action items, Q&A, real-time suggestions, search, analytics, soundbites, and broad CRM integrations. Fireflies also says neither it nor its vendors use personal information for model training, and Enterprise adds private storage and a healthcare compliance option.
Questions
Straight answers.
Does Otter or Fireflies join meetings as a bot?
Otter can join Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams as a visible AI notetaker, including through calendar auto-join; a host may need to admit it. Fireflies primarily joins as a visible participant named Fireflies.ai Notetaker, and hosts can deny it entry. Both also offer bot-free desktop system-audio capture. WhisperJot never joins a call.
Does Otter or Fireflies train on meeting data?
Otter's privacy policy says it trains proprietary AI technology on de-identified audio recordings and on transcriptions, which may contain personal information. Fireflies says it does not use personal information for AI model training and contractually prohibits vendors from doing so, with zero-day vendor retention. WhisperJot meeting audio stays on the machine.
Can Otter or Fireflies record everyone in a remote call?
Yes. Otter can capture every participant through a visible meeting bot or botless desktop system-audio capture. Fireflies can capture every remote participant with its meeting bot or bot-free system-audio options, including a Meet Chrome extension. WhisperJot, our app, captures microphone audio only, not system audio or the remote side of a video call.
Is Otter or Fireflies free?
Otter Basic includes 300 transcription minutes per month, 30 minutes per conversation, and three lifetime file imports. Fireflies has a free plan with unlimited transcription, limited AI credits, and 400 minutes of storage per team; published limits can change. WhisperJot has no free tier. Its $99 annual plan has no per-minute or storage caps and includes system-wide dictation.
See the full WhisperJot comparison with Otter.ai or Fireflies.ai. For a three-way table, visit the dictation app comparison.
Sources, checked August 24, 2026: Otter pricing, Otter privacy policy, Otter Notetaker overview, Otter desktop app (botless), Fireflies pricing, Fireflies privacy policy, Fireflies security, How Fireflies joins meetings (FAQ). Pricing and features change — check each vendor's site for the current numbers.
Choose where your dictation runs.
Use local transcription by default, or explicitly opt in to Jot Cloud when you select it.