Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai: Which AI Meeting Notetaker Fits Your Team?
Both transcribe, summarize, and search your meetings — but they diverge on bot behavior, integrations, and how each handles calls beyond the browser. Here's how to choose.
Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai are two of the most widely used AI meeting assistants. Each one joins your calls (or records them locally), produces a live transcript, identifies speakers, and generates a summary with action items you can search later. On the surface they solve the same problem, so the real decision comes down to how they capture meetings, which apps they connect to, and which pricing model matches how often you meet.
This comparison is built from each vendor's own product and pricing pages. Because plan details and limits change frequently, treat every number here as a starting point and confirm the current terms on the official sites before you commit.
At a glance
Choose Otter.ai if you want bot-free desktop recording, a strong free tier, and a clear path to CRM integrations and Enterprise security. Choose Fireflies.ai if you need broad language support, dialer/API call capture, and a bot that auto-joins across your calendar. Both handle transcription, summaries, and searchable meeting history well.
Head to head
Key differences side by side; the stronger option is tinted green.
| Feature | Otter.ai | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Bot-free desktop recording | Yes — record from Mac/Windows without a bot joining | Primarily bot-based capture |
| Dialer integrations (Aircall, RingCentral) | CRM-focused integrations | Yes — transcribes calls from dialers |
| Advertised language support | Multi-language support | 100+ languages with auto-detection |
| Free tier | Basic — 300 monthly transcription minutes | Free tier available |
| Conversational AI over meetings | Otter AI Chat across meetings and apps | AskFred reviews meetings and answers |
| Real-time in-meeting coaching | Live coaching tips (sales) | Live Assist for suggestions and coaching |
Feature matrix
| Feature | Otter.ai | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Free planOtter Basic includes 300 monthly transcription minutes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bot-free local recordingOtter desktop app records without a bot joining | ✓ | ✗ |
| AI notetaker bot / auto-join | ✓ | ✓ |
| Speaker identification | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conversational AI over meetingsOtter AI Chat / Fireflies AskFred | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dialer call transcriptionFireflies lists Aircall, RingCentral; Otter via Enterprise custom integrations | △ | ✓ |
| Real-time in-meeting assistOtter offers live sales coaching; Fireflies Live Assist is broader | △ | ✓ |
| API accessOtter API on Enterprise; Fireflies exposes an API for audio files | △ | ✓ |
| HIPAA complianceOtter offers HIPAA as an Enterprise add-on; verify Fireflies terms directly | △ | ✗ |
✓ full · △ partial/paid · ✗ not supported
Pricing
Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
- 300 monthly transcription minutes
- AI Chat within and across meetings
- Live transcription and speaker identification
- 3 lifetime audio/video file imports
- iOS and Android apps
- 1200 in-app recording minutes
- Advanced AI workflows
- 10 monthly file imports
- Up to 90 mins per meeting
- Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier integrations
- Unlimited meetings and in-app recordings
- Custom AI workflows
- Up to 4 hours per meeting
- Admin activity logs and usage analytics
- Join 3 concurrent meetings
- SSO, SCIM, Domain Capture
- Otter API and webhooks
- HIPAA compliance (add-on)
- Custom integrations (CRM, dialers)
- Enterprise-grade security and controls
- AI notetaker bot with calendar auto-join
- Comprehensive AI summaries and action items
- AskFred meeting Q&A
- Dialer and API integrations
- 100+ language support
Pros & cons
- Bot-free recording directly from the Mac/Windows desktop app
- Generous free Basic tier with 300 monthly transcription minutes
- AI Chat searches across meetings and connected apps
- Channels organize meetings by team, project, or topic
- Clear four-tier structure with Enterprise security (SSO, HIPAA add-on)
- Higher per-meeting limits and integrations gated behind paid tiers
- File import counts are limited on lower plans
- Some CRM integrations reserved for higher tiers
- Advertises 100+ languages with automatic detection
- Transcribes calls from dialers like Aircall and RingCentral
- AskFred and Live Assist for post-meeting and in-meeting help
- Multiple capture options: bot, Chrome extension, mobile, desktop, API
- Relies primarily on a bot joining calls
- Specific plan prices and limits require checking the pricing page
- Some advanced features likely tier-gated (verify before buying)
How each tool captures meetings
Otter.ai emphasizes flexibility in how a meeting gets recorded. It connects to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, and its desktop app for Mac and Windows can record conversations directly from your device without a bot joining the call. That bot-free desktop capture is useful when you'd rather not have a visible participant show up in the attendee list, or when the meeting isn't happening on a supported video platform.
Fireflies.ai leans on an AI notetaker bot you invite (or set to auto-join calendar meetings) to record, transcribe, and summarize. Beyond that, it offers a Chrome extension that records Google Meet calls with real-time transcripts, a mobile app for in-person conversations, a desktop app, and the ability to pull in calls from dialers such as Aircall and RingCentral or process audio and video files through its API. Fireflies advertises support for 100+ languages with automatic language detection between meetings.
Both identify different speakers automatically. If you frequently record in-person or want a bot-free option, Otter's desktop recording is a differentiator; if you route calls through dialers or need broad language coverage, Fireflies covers more capture surfaces.
Summaries, search, and AI chat
After a meeting, both tools generate summaries with decisions and action items. Otter turns each meeting into a summary highlighting decisions, action items, and insights, and automatically captures and assigns next steps. Its Otter AI Chat searches across your meetings and connected apps to answer questions and help draft follow-ups, reports, and content. Meetings can be grouped into Channels by team, project, or topic for shared collaboration.
Fireflies provides detailed notes, action items, and customized summaries after every meeting, with formats like bullet points, action items, and custom notes. Its AskFred assistant reviews your meetings and answers questions, and Meeting Search lets you find what was discussed months ago down to the sentence and timestamp. Fireflies also introduced a Live Assist feature for real-time suggestions, coaching, and answers during meetings.
The two are close here. Both offer conversational AI over your meeting history and post-meeting summaries; the practical difference is which ecosystem of connected apps each can search on your plan.
Integrations and workflows
Otter markets integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier on its paid tiers, along with CRM sync aimed at sales teams, and mentions upcoming AI Chat access to Gmail, Google Drive, Notion, and Jira on Enterprise. It also offers an Otter MCP server and, on Enterprise, an API and webhooks.
Fireflies positions itself around conversation intelligence and connecting to dialers and other tools, and exposes an API for processing audio files. Both are extending into real-time, role-specific agents — Otter markets Sales, Recruiting, Education, Media, and SDR agents, while Fireflies added Live Assist for in-meeting help.
If your workflow centers on a CRM like Salesforce or HubSpot, check exactly which plan unlocks the specific integration you need, since these are often gated to higher tiers on both platforms.
Pricing structure
Otter.ai publishes four tiers: a free Basic plan, a Pro plan for individuals and small teams, a Business plan billed as its best value for medium teams, and a custom-quoted Enterprise plan. Otter's free Basic plan includes 300 monthly transcription minutes, AI Chat, live transcription, speaker identification, and 3 lifetime file imports. Paid tiers raise recording minutes, per-meeting length caps, file imports, and unlock integrations and admin controls.
Fireflies.ai offers a free tier plus paid plans and an Enterprise option, with a demo available for larger organizations. The exact Fireflies price points and per-plan limits weren't part of the source material used here, so confirm them directly on the Fireflies pricing page.
A note on Otter's numbers: pricing is shown per user per month and varies significantly between monthly and annual billing, with steep annual discounts advertised. Always verify the live rate and any promotional terms before purchasing.
These tools are close competitors, and for most people either will capture meetings and produce usable summaries. The decision hinges on how you meet. If a meaningful share of your calls happen in person, on unsupported platforms, or in settings where a visible bot is awkward, Otter's bot-free desktop recording is a genuine advantage, and its free Basic tier is a low-risk way to test the workflow. Otter also presents a well-defined ladder from free to Enterprise, with SSO and a HIPAA add-on for regulated teams.
Fireflies makes more sense when your calls run through dialers like Aircall or RingCentral, when you need wide language coverage, or when you want in-meeting Live Assist. Its capture surface — bot, extension, mobile, desktop, and API — is broad.
Because both vendors adjust plans, limits, and integrations often, sign up for each free option, run a week of your real meetings through both, and compare the summaries and search results against your own workflow before paying. Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
FAQ
Is Otter.ai or Fireflies.ai free?
Both offer a free tier. Otter's free Basic plan includes 300 monthly transcription minutes, AI Chat, live transcription, and speaker identification. Fireflies also offers a free plan plus paid tiers. Free plans limit things like recording minutes and file imports, so check each vendor's pricing page for current limits.
What's the biggest difference between Otter and Fireflies?
The clearest difference is capture. Otter's desktop app can record meetings directly from your Mac or Windows machine without a bot joining the call, while Fireflies relies primarily on an AI notetaker bot that joins or auto-joins your meetings. Fireflies also advertises broader language support (100+ languages) and dialer integrations.
Can both tools transcribe meetings in other languages?
Yes. Otter offers multi-language support and live transcription in multiple languages, and Fireflies advertises 100+ languages with automatic language detection between meetings. Confirm the exact supported languages for your plan on each vendor's site.
Which one integrates with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot?
Otter.ai lists Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier integrations on its paid tiers, with additional custom CRM and dialer integrations on Enterprise. Fireflies also connects to a range of tools and dialers. Because specific integrations are often tied to particular plans, verify that the one you need is included before subscribing.