Otter.ai Pricing (2026): Free for Five Hours, Then $8.33

Otter.ai is free for 300 transcription minutes a month, but the free plan stops being workable at either the sixth hour or the 31st minute of a single meeting. Pro costs $16.99 month to month or $8.33 per user per month with annual billing; Business is $30 monthly or $19.99 annually. For most solo users, the decision is not Free versus Pro. It is Otter Pro versus a rival whose free plan does not meter transcription.

Otter.ai pricing at a glance

Otter.ai has four plans: Basic at $0, Pro at $16.99 monthly or $8.33 with annual billing, Business at $30 monthly or $19.99 annually, and Enterprise at a custom price. Those numbers and the limits below were verified against Otter.ai's live pricing page on August 11, 2026.

The sticker price is only half the decision. Basic and Pro meter transcription minutes. Business removes the live-meeting meter but still caps imported media. Enterprise adds procurement and security features while retaining several usage ceilings.

Annual figures are the effective monthly prices displayed by Otter and require annual billing. At those displayed rates, Pro is about $99.96 for a year and Business is $239.88 per seat for a year. The exact checkout total can differ by a few cents because Otter rounds the effective monthly figure.

The plan change is a cliff, not an overage curve. Otter does not publish a per-minute add-on for Basic or Pro. Once the recurring workflow exceeds its allowance, the options are to wait for the next reset or upgrade.

That makes a monthly usage audit more useful than comparing feature checkmarks. The longest meeting, imported-file volume, overlapping meetings, CRM users, and security requirements can force a higher plan before the monthly minute total does.

Is Otter.ai free? What Basic really allows

Otter.ai Basic is free forever, but it is a tightly bounded working plan. The free allowance is 300 transcription minutes per user each month, equal to five hours, with a maximum of 30 minutes per conversation.

Basic includes live transcription, speaker identification, audio playback, AI Chat across meetings, standard AI meeting workflows, mobile apps, and the Otter MCP server. It works with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. Otter lists transcription in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese.

The limits matter more than that feature list:

• Five hours a month: 300 minutes sounds roomy until recurring calls are added together.
• Thirty minutes per conversation: a 45-minute interview can fit under the monthly allowance and still fail the per-conversation rule.
• Three imported files for the life of the account: this is not three each month.
• Twenty AI Chat queries per user each month: no more than three can be used within one conversation.
• Twenty-five visible conversations: older conversations remain archived, but Basic shows only the most recent 25.
• One concurrent meeting: overlapping interviews or sales calls need a different plan.

The 30-minute rule is the first surprise. If a Basic recording runs longer, Otter continues recording, but only the first 30 minutes of transcription remain accessible. Upgrading can make the rest accessible. A founder with six 45-minute customer interviews uses only 270 minutes, below the monthly total, yet loses access to the final 15 minutes of every transcript on Basic.

The monthly ceiling is a hard stop too. After Basic reaches 300 minutes, recording and importing become unavailable until the next monthly cycle. Deleting conversations does not return those minutes. The reset follows the account's billing-cycle date rather than the first day of the calendar month, and unused minutes do not roll over.

This is the sixth-hour cliff. There is no small overage charge for an occasional heavy month. Hour six turns a $0 workflow into a plan decision.

Who never needs to pay for Otter.ai

A solo user can stay on Basic indefinitely when meetings are short and occasional. Ten half-hour calls consume the full 300-minute allowance. Someone recording a few brief interviews, lectures, or internal updates each month can get genuine value without entering a trial countdown.

Basic also works when the transcript is a temporary aid rather than a permanent knowledge archive. If only the latest 25 conversations need to remain visible, three lifetime file imports are enough, and 20 monthly AI Chat queries cover the workflow, paying adds little.

The free plan is a poor fit for standard hour-long meetings. It is also a weak choice for anyone importing a back catalog, running overlapping calls, or treating meeting history as a searchable operating record. Fathom and tl;dv both offer unlimited transcription on their free plans, so a price-sensitive user whose main outcome is complete transcripts should compare those before paying Otter.

Otter Pro pricing and the solo-user break point

Otter Pro is the sensible paid plan for one person who wants to stay with Otter. It costs $16.99 per user each month without a long commitment, or $8.33 per user per month with annual billing.

Pro raises the monthly transcription allowance to 1,200 minutes, equal to 20 hours. It also raises the per-conversation limit to 90 minutes, allows 10 imported files each month, keeps unlimited conversation history and storage, and permits two concurrent meetings. AI Chat increases to 50 queries per user each month.

The plan adds advanced AI workflows, advanced meeting templates, team vocabulary and taggable speakers, advanced search and export, and Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier integrations. The pricing page still caps synced notes to Salesforce or HubSpot at one user on Pro, and a Pro workspace tops out at five billed users.

Pro cost per usable transcript hour

At the full 20-hour allowance, Pro costs about $0.42 per available transcript hour on annual billing or $0.85 per hour on monthly billing. The calculation is simple: divide $8.33 or $16.99 by 20 hours.

At five hours of monthly use, the effective cost rises to about $1.67 per hour annually or $3.40 monthly. At 10 hours, it is about $0.83 or $1.70. Pro becomes inexpensive when the allowance supports a recurring paid workflow, not merely because the annual sticker looks small.

The annual discount is substantial. Twelve monthly payments total $203.88. Multiplying the displayed annual equivalent produces about $99.96, a displayed-rate saving of $103.92 per seat each year. Otter labels the annual saving as 51%.

That saving does not make annual billing the automatic choice. An annual purchase is non-refundable under Otter's standard terms. A user who stops after two months can save less by buying the cheaper cadence because the unused annual period cannot be recovered.

When Pro earns its price

Pro earns its price when at least one Basic constraint repeatedly interrupts work:

• Meetings regularly run beyond 30 minutes but stay within 90 minutes.
• Total monthly transcription falls between five and 20 hours.
• More than three files need importing, but 10 per month is enough.
• Full conversation history, richer export, or advanced search is part of a paid workflow.
• Two overlapping meetings need coverage.

A senior operator with weekly one-hour project reviews and several customer calls fits Pro well. The free plan fails on meeting length before volume. Pro removes that friction for an effective $8.33 a month on annual billing, and the transcript-hour cost falls as usage approaches 20 hours.

Pro is poor value when the only requirement is unlimited basic transcription. Fathom supplies that outcome for $0, while Fireflies and tl;dv also offer broader free transcription than Otter. Pro must earn its fee through Otter's workflow, storage, search, integrations, or preferred live-transcription experience.

It is also the wrong plan for a recurring two-hour meeting. The 90-minute conversation ceiling forces a split recording or a Business upgrade even when total monthly usage is well below 1,200 minutes.

Otter Business pricing and the team budget

Otter Business costs $30 per user per month on standard monthly billing or $19.99 per user per month with annual billing. It is the first plan that removes the live-meeting and in-app recording minute meter, but it is not unlimited in every direction.

Business allows meetings up to four hours, three concurrent meetings, and an unlimited count of imported audio or video files. Imported media is still capped at 6,000 minutes per user each month, equal to 100 hours, with no rollover.

It also raises AI Chat to 200 queries per user each month, allows 30 custom AI Meeting Template meetings per user, supports up to 25 billed workspace members, and caps Salesforce or HubSpot synced notes at five users. Activity logs, usage analytics, custom AI workflows, stronger administration, and prioritized support are part of the upgrade.

The Pro-to-Business break point

Business costs $11.66 more per user each month than Pro on annual billing, or $13.01 more on monthly billing. For imported media, that annual-billing premium expands the ceiling from 20 hours to 100 hours, an extra 80 hours. At full use, the premium is about $0.15 per additional import hour.

At Business's full import allowance, the listed plan price equals about $0.20 per available imported-media hour annually or $0.30 monthly. Live meetings and in-app recordings are unlimited, so their cost per meeting continues to fall as legitimate usage rises.

The financial break point is therefore tied to a constraint:

• If Pro's 20 hours and 10 imports are enough, the Business premium buys unused capacity.
• If one recurring meeting runs past 90 minutes, Business solves the problem immediately.
• If imports exceed 20 hours, the extra capacity can be bought for about $11.66 more a month with annual billing.
• If three meetings overlap, or team administration is required, the operational benefit can outweigh the minute calculation.

There is no self-serve overage that keeps a user on Pro. A predictable month above the Pro ceiling is a Business decision even if the overage would have been small under a metered model.

Five-seat Business cost

Five Pro seats cost an effective $41.65 a month with annual billing. Five Business seats cost $99.95. Over a year, the Business upgrade adds $699.60 for that five-person team.

That is a meaningful budget line. A team should be able to name what the $699.60 buys: longer meetings, heavier imports, a third concurrent meeting, activity logs, usage analytics, custom workflows, prioritized support, or more CRM users. “Better plan” is not an outcome.

One important boundary appears at the CRM. Business supports synced notes to Salesforce or HubSpot for five users. A six-person sales team that requires synced notes for every rep cannot assume another $19.99 seat solves the problem. Enterprise is the only tier that lists unlimited synced-note users.

The current Business promotion

Otter's live page also displays $24 per user per month, described as 20% off for three months or more and marked for first-time subscribers. Treat $30 as the standard monthly budget and the $24 figure as a temporary acquisition offer. A forecast built around a promotional month becomes wrong when the standard price returns.

Annual billing cuts the standard twelve-month comparison from $360 to an effective $239.88 per seat, a displayed-rate saving of $120.12. That 33% discount is valuable only after the team has proved the seat count and workflow.

Otter Enterprise pricing is a procurement decision

Otter Enterprise has no public self-serve price. The tier is for organizations buying security, administration, API access, custom integrations, and support through a quote.

Enterprise adds Otter Sales Notetaker, custom CRM and dialer integrations, SSO, SCIM, domain capture, enterprise security controls, API and webhooks, and a Customer Success Program. HIPAA compliance is an add-on rather than a standard inclusion.

The hidden floor is significant: SSO and SCIM require a minimum 100-user license. A 30-person company that wants centralized identity management is not simply comparing an unknown per-seat price with $19.99 Business. It is entering a minimum-license negotiation.

Enterprise also retains limits that the name can obscure. Imported files are capped at 6,000 minutes per user each month, conversations at four hours, concurrent meetings at three, and AI Chat at 200 queries per user. Custom AI workflows and workspace size become unlimited, but usage does not become universally unlimited.

Live transcription through RTMP carries additional fees, with no public rate on the pricing page. API and webhooks are Enterprise features, and Otter's public API documentation currently lists a limit of 10 requests per second.

Before signing, a buyer should get five items in writing: the per-license price, the minimum license count, the HIPAA add-on, RTMP charges, and the exact integration scope. The quote should also distinguish included support from paid implementation.

Enterprise is justified when governance or integration is the outcome. It is a poor workaround for a small team that merely exceeded Pro minutes.

Monthly versus annual billing, discounts, and promotions

Annual billing almost halves Pro's displayed monthly equivalent and cuts Business by one third, but it exchanges flexibility for a non-refundable commitment. The correct cadence depends on confidence in the workflow, not the size of the percentage badge.

Pro monthly versus annual

Pro is $16.99 on monthly billing and $8.33 per user per month on annual billing. Using those displayed equivalents, 12 monthly payments cost $203.88 versus about $99.96 on annual billing. The annual saving is $103.92 per seat.

The clean buying move is one monthly proof cycle, then annualize. The first month costs $8.66 more than the annual equivalent, but it tests meeting volume, longest-call duration, import count, AI Chat demand, and integration fit before the displayed $99.96 annual amount becomes non-refundable.

Business monthly versus annual

Business is $30 monthly or $19.99 per user per month annually. The displayed twelve-month comparison is $360 versus $239.88, saving $120.12 per seat.

Seat count amplifies the decision. Ten unused or misassigned Business seats turn a $120.12 annual saving into a much larger committed spend. Prove both the plan and the roster before locking the billing cadence.

Student and teacher pricing

Otter offers a 20% discount on the individual Pro plan for eligible students and teachers. Discounted Pro Monthly is $13.59. Discounted Pro Annual is $6.67 per month, billed at $79.99 annually.

The program applies to individuals, not an education workspace. A school email ending in .edu can qualify through self-serve checkout. People at accredited institutions using another domain can contact support and may be asked for verification.

Workspace features are excluded. Someone already on a paid subscription must cancel before switching, and Otter does not refund the prior subscription fees. The discount is therefore strongest for a new individual account, not a backdated adjustment for an existing team plan.

Regional and first-time offers

The pricing page displays a separate $8.49 Pro monthly offer marked as valid only with an India-issued credit card. It is not the US base price and should not appear in a US budget.

The $24 Business monthly promotion is marked for first-time subscribers. Record the standard $30 renewal assumption even if checkout grants the offer.

Promotional pricing should lower the cost of proving a workflow, not justify a plan that fails at standard price.

Hidden costs and limits that change the bill

Otter's largest hidden cost is forced tier movement. It does not publish a self-serve minute overage for Basic or Pro, and its help center says users who need more minutes should upgrade or wait for reset.

Minutes expire and cannot be replenished

Monthly minutes reset on the billing-cycle date and do not roll over. A quiet month cannot build a reserve for a launch, research sprint, or interview-heavy hiring cycle.

Deleted conversations still count toward Basic usage. Cleaning the library does not restore capacity. The counter measures transcription consumed, not transcripts retained.

For a funded founder, this changes interview planning. Six 45-minute interviews fit inside 300 total minutes but violate the 30-minute Basic conversation cap. Twenty-one one-hour calls exceed Pro's 20-hour allowance even though the excess is only one hour. Both cases trigger a plan decision rather than a small variable charge.

“Unlimited imports” still has a minute ceiling

Business lists an unlimited number of imported files, but imported-file transcription is capped at 6,000 minutes per user a month. One hundred short files and five long files draw from the same 100-hour pool.

This distinction matters for a content or research operator importing a back catalog. Unlimited file count does not mean unlimited media duration. Enterprise carries the same 6,000-minute import limit.

CRM access is capped by users

Pro lists Salesforce and HubSpot synced notes for one user. Business lists five. Enterprise lists unlimited users.

A sales leader should count the people who need automatic CRM notes, not only the people who attend meetings. The sixth required CRM user can turn a small Business expansion into an Enterprise conversation.

Security carries a minimum and add-ons

Enterprise SSO and SCIM require at least 100 licenses. HIPAA compliance is an add-on. RTMP live transcription has additional fees. A mid-market CTO should request each as a separate line item because the public Enterprise label does not disclose a total.

Annual subscriptions are non-refundable

Otter's terms state that standard subscription fees are non-refundable. Canceling stops renewal but leaves paid features active until the current period ends. Otter advises canceling at least 24 hours before the next billing date.

Billing channel changes the process. Purchases made through Apple App Store or Google Play are managed through that store for cancellation and refund requests. Web purchases accept credit and debit cards. Otter does not accept PayPal.

An annual discount is therefore an annual-lock decision. Save the checkout total, renewal date, billing channel, and cancellation confirmation. Do not assume unused months will be prorated.

The Business trial can become a multi-seat charge

Otter's Business free trial requires a credit card. If it is not canceled before expiry, the current number of workspace seats is charged at the Business monthly rate.

That makes trial-member cleanup part of the test. An admin should remove unnecessary seats and cancel before expiry if the team is not proceeding. A trial proves workflow fit; it should not silently choose the paid roster.

1. 1

   Capture the checkout state

   Save the standard price, promotion, annual total, seat count, renewal date, and purchase channel before paying.

2. 2

   Set a decision date

   Review the plan before the trial or monthly cycle ends, with a calendar reminder at least 24 hours before renewal.

3. 3

   Measure the constraint

   Record monthly minutes, longest meeting, imports, concurrent calls, AI Chat usage, CRM users, and required security controls.

4. 4

   Annualize only after proof

   Move to annual billing when the same workflow and seat count are likely to remain useful for the full year.

Otter.ai versus Fireflies.ai, Fathom, and tl;dv on price

Otter is cheaper than all three alternatives at the entry paid tier on annual billing, but it has the least generous transcription allowance on its free plan. The buyer should decide whether the outcome is complete free transcripts, Otter's paid workflow, or team meeting intelligence.

For a broader product ranking, see the AI meeting note taker comparison. For transcription beyond meetings, the AI transcription comparison covers a different shortlist.

Fireflies.ai: better free volume, slightly higher solo price

Fireflies.ai is the closest price match for a buyer who wants unlimited transcription. Its Free plan costs $0 and includes unlimited transcription and AI summaries, 400 minutes of team storage, and 20 AI credits.

Fireflies Pro costs $18 monthly or $10 per seat per month annually. Otter Pro is $1.01 cheaper on monthly billing and $1.67 cheaper on annual billing, equal to a $20.04 annual advantage at the displayed rates.

Fireflies Business costs $29 monthly or $19 annually. It is $1 cheaper than Otter Business monthly and $0.99 cheaper annually. Fireflies Enterprise is $39 per seat per month and annual only, while Otter requires a custom quote.

The price complication is Fireflies AI credits. Paid add-on subscriptions start at $5 for 50 credits, auto-renew monthly, and purchased credits do not roll over. AI credits are non-refundable. A team using advanced AI features should budget the credit layer separately from seats.

Choose Fireflies.ai when unlimited transcription matters more than Otter's lower Pro price and the team can monitor storage and AI-credit usage. Choose Otter Pro when 20 hours covers the month and the existing Otter workflow is worth $1.67 a month more than switching friction would save.

Fathom: the strongest free answer for a solo transcript workflow

Fathom is the price winner for an individual who primarily needs complete recordings and transcripts. Its Free plan costs $0 forever and includes unlimited recordings, storage, and transcriptions.

Fathom limits the richer AI layer rather than transcription. Free includes advanced summaries for the first five calls each month, then falls back to the General or Enhanced summary template. That is a better free trade for a user whose first priority is not losing the second half of an hour-long transcript.

Fathom Premium costs $20 monthly or $16 per user per month annually. Otter Pro is $3.01 cheaper monthly and $7.67 cheaper annually, a $92.04 annual advantage at the displayed rates.

Fathom Team costs $19 monthly or $15 annually with a two-user minimum. Fathom Business costs $34 monthly or $25 annually, also with a two-user minimum. The minimum makes a nominal $15 Team price a $30 effective monthly commitment on annual billing for the smallest team.

Choose Fathom Free when unlimited capture and transcription are the outcome and five advanced-summary calls are enough. Choose Otter Pro when Otter's workflow is preferred and the user can stay inside 20 hours, because its annual paid price is materially lower than Fathom Premium.

tl;dv: broader free transcription, higher paid tiers

tl;dv is another stronger free option for meeting volume. Its Free plan costs $0 and includes unlimited video recordings, unlimited transcription in more than 30 languages, 10 meetings with AI notes, and 10 Ask AI queries.

The free tradeoff is retention and AI depth. Free recordings are retained for up to three months and move to archived storage after three days. All tl;dv plans cap recorded or uploaded meetings at three hours.

tl;dv Pro costs $29 monthly or $18 per user per month annually. Otter Pro is $12.01 cheaper monthly and $9.67 cheaper annually, a $116.04 annual advantage.

tl;dv Business costs $39 monthly or $29 annually. Otter Business is $9 cheaper monthly and $9.01 cheaper annually. Both vendors quote Enterprise.

Choose tl;dv Free when unlimited transcription matters and three-month recording retention is acceptable. Choose Otter when its paid workflow fits and price matters, because Otter undercuts both tl;dv paid tiers by a wide margin.

The normalized decision

No single price wins every usage pattern:

• Below five hours with meetings no longer than 30 minutes: Otter Basic can remain free.
• Long meetings with basic free transcription: Fathom Free is the cleanest value, with tl;dv and Fireflies also avoiding Otter's 300-minute transcription meter.
• A committed Otter user under 20 hours: Otter Pro at $8.33 annually is the cheapest entry paid tier in this four-tool comparison.
• A meeting-heavy team: compare Fireflies Business at $19 annually with Otter Business at $19.99, then model AI-credit spend, import volume, CRM users, and administration.
• Sales intelligence at scale: price is secondary to which plan exposes the needed integrations, coaching workflow, and security. Require a quote before treating Enterprise as comparable.

The decision flips on the first constraint that interrupts a paid outcome. Free transcription volume favors the alternatives. Entry paid price favors Otter. Variable AI use can raise Fireflies. Team intelligence and retention can justify tl;dv or Fathom despite the higher sticker.

Which Otter plan should you choose?

Choose Basic when the workflow is genuinely occasional: no more than five hours a month, every conversation at or below 30 minutes, no more than three lifetime imports, and only the latest 25 conversations need to stay visible. It is a permanent free plan, not a countdown.

Choose Pro when one person repeatedly crosses a Basic cap but stays below 20 hours, 90 minutes per conversation, and 10 imports a month. Pay monthly for the proof cycle. Move to annual billing when the workflow has earned the $99.96 displayed-rate commitment.

Choose Business when a four-hour meeting ceiling, unlimited live meetings, 100 hours of imported media, three concurrent meetings, activity logs, usage analytics, or stronger administration changes the result. On a five-seat annual plan, be ready to defend the $699.60 yearly premium over Pro.

Choose Enterprise when SSO, SCIM, domain control, HIPAA, API access, custom integrations, or unlimited CRM synced-note users are requirements. Ask for the 100-license identity-management minimum and every add-on in the quote.

Skip paid Otter when complete basic transcripts are the only requirement. Fathom, Fireflies, and tl;dv each offer more transcription on their free plans. A lower paid Otter price cannot beat $0 for an outcome a rival already supplies.

The Monday move

Pull the last 30 days of meetings next Monday and write down five values: total minutes, longest call, number of imported files, maximum overlapping calls, and people who need CRM sync. Add any SSO, HIPAA, API, or administration requirement.

Route the workflow through the plan limits in that order. If Basic survives every value, keep $0. If Pro survives, buy one monthly cycle. If Business is required, price the full seat roster at both $30 monthly and $19.99 annually. If a security or integration requirement triggers Enterprise, request the quote before migrating data.

That exercise takes less time than reading another feature list and produces the budget line that matters.

Frequently asked questions

Is Otter.ai free or paid?

Both. Basic is free forever and includes 300 transcription minutes per month, a 30-minute conversation cap, three lifetime file imports, and access to the 25 most recent conversations. Pro, Business, and Enterprise lift different usage, workflow, and administration limits.

How long can I use Otter.ai for free?

Indefinitely. Basic does not expire. Its limits reset monthly where stated, but the three imported-file allowance is lifetime and the 30-minute per-conversation cap applies even when monthly minutes remain.

How much is Otter Pro per month?

Otter Pro is $16.99 per user on monthly billing or $8.33 per user per month with annual billing. The displayed effective annual rate is about $99.96 for 12 months, subject to checkout rounding.

Is Otter.ai worth the cost?

Pro is worth it when a recurring paid workflow crosses a Basic cap and stays within 20 hours and 90 minutes per conversation. It is not the best value when unlimited basic transcription is the only requirement, because Fathom, Fireflies, and tl;dv provide broader free transcription.

What is the difference between Otter Pro and Business?

Pro costs $16.99 monthly or $8.33 annually and includes 1,200 minutes, 90-minute conversations, 10 imports a month, and two concurrent meetings. Business costs $30 monthly or $19.99 annually and adds unlimited live meetings, 6,000 import minutes, four-hour conversations, three concurrent meetings, and stronger team administration.

Does Otter.ai offer a student discount?

Yes. Eligible individual students and teachers receive 20% off Pro. Discounted Pro Monthly is $13.59, while Pro Annual is $6.67 a month billed at $79.99 annually. Workspace features are excluded, and prior subscription fees are not refunded when switching.

Can I get a refund from Otter.ai?

Otter states that purchased subscriptions are non-refundable. Canceling stops the next renewal and leaves paid access active until the current period ends. App Store and Google Play purchases follow those stores for billing and refund requests.

Does Otter.ai have a free trial?

Otter offers a Business free trial that requires a credit card. If it is not canceled before expiry, the current workspace seat count is charged at the Business monthly rate.

Can I buy more Otter transcription minutes?

Otter does not list a self-serve minute add-on for Basic or Pro. Its help center recommends upgrading when more monthly minutes are needed. Minutes reset each month and do not roll over.

Is Otter.ai HIPAA compliant?

HIPAA compliance is listed as an Enterprise add-on. It is not included in Basic, Pro, or Business pricing, so a regulated buyer needs a quote that separates the add-on from the base license cost.

What is the best free alternative to Otter.ai?

Fathom Free is the strongest price answer for an individual who wants unlimited recordings and transcriptions. Fireflies Free also includes unlimited transcription and AI summaries, while tl;dv Free includes unlimited recordings and transcription with a three-month recording-retention limit.

Assign the subscription to a recurring meeting outcome before paying for overlapping tools. Get the AI Tools Map for Business Owners.