Fireflies.ai or Otter.ai: which should you pick?
| If you are | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Someone whose meetings often run over 30 minutes and who wants to stay free | Fireflies.ai | Fireflies lists a 2-hour recording limit on its free plan. Otter’s free plan stops each meeting at 30 minutes. |
| A solo user who wants the cheapest paid plan | Otter.ai | Otter Pro is listed at $8.33 a month on annual billing, against $10 for Fireflies Pro. |
| A team with meetings in several languages | Fireflies.ai | Fireflies lists transcription in 100+ languages. Otter lists six. |
| Someone who records interviews or in-person meetings on a phone | Otter.ai | Live transcription and speaker identification are on every Otter plan, and its mobile app is a core part of the product. |
Fireflies and Otter are two of the most common AI meeting assistants. Both join your calls, transcribe them, write summaries and let you ask an AI questions about what was said. They price and limit things differently, and those differences decide which one is right for you.
This comparison uses both companies’ pricing pages, read on 13 October 2026. We have not run meetings through both tools for this page, so it is labeled as researched. See how we test for what that means. Full write-ups are in our Fireflies review and Otter review.
Fireflies vs Otter at a glance
| Fireflies.ai | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan transcription | Unlimited | 300 minutes a month |
| Free plan meeting length | 2 hours | 30 minutes |
| Free plan storage | 400 minutes per team | Not stated (unlimited storage is listed from Pro) |
| Pro, annual billing | $10 per seat a month | $8.33 per user a month |
| Pro, monthly billing | $18 shown, not clearly labeled | $16.99 |
| Pro meeting length | 2 hours | 90 minutes |
| Pro storage | 8,000 minutes per seat | Unlimited |
| Business, annual billing | $19 per seat | $19.99 per user |
| Business meeting length | 3 hours | 4 hours |
| Languages | 100+ listed | 6 listed |
| AI assistant allowance | 20 AI credits on Free and Pro, 30 on Business | 20 chat queries on Basic, 50 on Pro, 200 on Business |
| CRM integrations | Unlimited integrations from Pro | Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier from Pro |
| Live transcription | Live notes listed | Live transcription on every plan |
Where Fireflies beats Otter
Longer meetings for free. Fireflies lists a 2-hour recording limit on its free and Pro plans. Otter’s free plan cuts each meeting at 30 minutes, so a single hour-long call needs Otter Pro.
Languages. Fireflies lists transcription in 100+ languages, with a Multi-language Mode on Business for meetings that switch between languages. Otter lists English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. For international teams or clients, that gap matters.
A searchable team library. Fireflies is built around storing and searching your meeting history. Business adds conversation intelligence and team analytics for admins, which suits sales and client-services teams who want to look back across many calls.
Where Otter beats Fireflies
Price on annual billing. Otter Pro is $8.33 per user a month on annual billing, compared with $10 for Fireflies Pro. Over a year that is about $20 less per person.
Unlimited storage from Pro. Otter Pro lists unlimited storage. Fireflies Pro lists 8,000 minutes per seat, with unlimited storage only from Business.
Live transcription and mobile use. Live transcription and speaker identification are on every Otter plan, and Otter’s iOS and Android apps make it practical for in-person meetings and interviews.
Longer top-tier meetings. Otter Business allows 4-hour meetings, while Fireflies Business allows 3 hours. Fireflies reaches 4 hours only on Enterprise.
Fireflies and Otter drawbacks
Fireflies’ free plan has only 400 minutes of storage per team and limited AI summaries, so a team will outgrow it quickly. Its monthly prices were not clearly labeled on the page we read.
Otter’s minute and meeting-length caps are tight on the free plan, and Pro’s 90-minute limit can still cut off long workshops. Its free plan allows just 3 file imports in total.
How to choose between Fireflies and Otter
- Check your typical meeting length. If calls run over 90 minutes, Fireflies Pro (2 hours) or Otter Business (4 hours) are the options.
- Check your languages. If any meetings are not in Otter’s six listed languages, choose Fireflies.
- Check who needs a seat. For one person on annual billing, Otter is cheaper. For a team that wants a shared, searchable call history, Fireflies is built for that.
Whichever you pick, run it on three real meetings before paying and compare the summaries with what was actually agreed. Try Fireflies or Otter on their free plans first. For a third option with a generous free plan, see our AI meeting note takers comparison. Prices change often, so confirm them on each vendor’s pricing page before you pay.
Fireflies.ai: check current pricingOtter.ai: check current pricing
Fireflies.ai vs Otter.ai: frequently asked questions
Is Fireflies or Otter cheaper?
On annual billing, Otter Pro is $8.33 per user a month and Fireflies Pro is $10 per seat. On monthly billing, Otter Pro is $16.99, and Fireflies showed an unlabeled $18 that appears to be its monthly price. At the next tier, Fireflies Business is $19 a seat annually and Otter Business is $19.99.
Which has the better free plan?
It depends on your meetings. Fireflies’ free plan allows 2-hour recordings and unlimited transcription but only 400 minutes of storage per team and limited AI summaries. Otter’s free plan gives 300 minutes a month with a 30-minute cap per meeting and 3 file imports in total.
Can I use both?
You can, but two bots joining the same meeting is confusing for attendees. Try each one on separate meetings for a week, then keep the one whose summaries are more accurate.
Do they work with Zoom, Teams and Google Meet?
Both pricing pages list Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. Check the vendors’ integration pages for your calendar and CRM before paying.
