Quick answer: Both are AI meeting notetakers with free plans, and both write transcripts, summaries and action items. Otter leans toward capturing conversations anywhere, including in-person talks on its phone apps and bot-free recording on desktop. Fireflies leans toward searching and analyzing your meetings, with transcription in 100+ languages and 200+ AI Skills.
Pick Otter if…
- You record in-person meetings, interviews or lectures on your phone
- You want a live transcript during the call
- You want a low-cost paid plan for one person (Pro is $8.33 a month billed yearly)
Pick Fireflies if…
- Your calls are in a language outside the six Otter transcribes (Fireflies lists 100+)
- You want to search months of calls or ask AskFred what a client agreed to
- You want unlimited transcription on the free plan and links to CRM, project tools and Slack
Otter vs Fireflies at a glance
| Otter | Fireflies | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Otter.ai is an AI meeting notetaker that transcribes conversations and turns them into searchable notes, summaries, and action items. | Fireflies.ai is an AI meeting assistant that joins calls to transcribe, summarize, search, and analyze team conversations. |
| Best for | Solo Consultant, Micro Team (2 to 5), Freelancer, Content Creator | Solo Consultant, Micro Team (2 to 5), One-Person Agency, Solo Founder / Indie Maker |
| AIME Score | 73 | 69 |
| Reviews | Proven (500+ reviews) | Proven (500+ reviews) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Starting price | Pro: $8.33 per user a month, billed yearly ($16.99 monthly) (as of October 2026) | Pro: $10 per seat a month, billed yearly ($18 monthly) (as of October 2026) |
| Platforms | iPhone & iPad app, Android app, Chrome extension | Chrome extension, Mobile app, API access |
| Works with | Not listed | Slack |
| Standout features |
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Reviews: our public review level, never exact counts. Free plan and prices: from each tool’s own pricing page; plans change, so check there before you buy.
Where they differ
Languages: Otter transcribes English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Fireflies says it transcribes more than 100 languages with automatic language detection. If your calls are in another language, that settles it.
Where they record: Otter has iPhone and Android apps for in-person conversations, a bot-free desktop app for Mac and Windows, and a Chrome extension. Fireflies mostly sends its notetaker into Zoom, Google Meet and Teams from your calendar, with a Chrome extension, a desktop app and uploads for when you prefer no bot.
Free plans: Otter Basic gives 300 transcription minutes a month, caps each conversation at 30 minutes and keeps your 25 most recent conversations. The Fireflies free plan includes unlimited transcription, with 400 minutes of storage per team and meetings up to 2 hours.
After the call: Fireflies puts more weight on what happens next, with search down to the sentence, AskFred, 200+ AI Skills for follow-up emails and deal notes, and conversation analytics on Business. Otter AI Chat also answers questions across meetings, and Otter can sync sales notes to a CRM.
AIME Score: Otter has the higher AIME Score: 73 out of 100, against 69 for Fireflies. Both are Proven tools (4.0 stars or better from 25 or more verified reviewers). How the AIME Score works
Where they’re the same
Both join Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls, label speakers, write a summary with action items, let you ask questions across past meetings and have a free plan. Both notetakers show up as a participant when they join a call, and both offer a way to record without a bot.
Pricing in plain words
Otter
Start on Basic to try it on real calls. Pro is a good fit for one person with regular meetings. Business adds longer meetings, unlimited imports and admin tools for teams. Enterprise is for large companies.
- Basic: $0 forever
- Pro: $8.33 per user a month, billed yearly ($16.99 monthly)
- Business: $19.99 per user a month, billed yearly ($30 monthly)
- Enterprise: Custom (schedule a demo)
Students and teachers with a .edu email get 20% off Pro. Prices from otter.ai/pricing on October 13, 2026; check there before you buy.
Fireflies
Start on Free. Move to Pro when you want video recordings, downloads or more storage. Business is for teams that want call analytics.
- Free: $0 forever
- Pro: $10 per seat a month, billed yearly ($18 monthly)
- Business: $19 per seat a month, billed yearly ($29 monthly)
- Enterprise: $39 per seat a month, yearly only
Longest meeting it records: 2 hours on Free and Pro, 3 on Business, 4 on Enterprise. Prices from fireflies.ai/pricing on October 10, 2026; check there before you buy.
Who should choose which
Choose Otter
Otter suits sales teams, educators, media professionals, and recruiters who need meetings and conversations captured automatically.
Best for: Solo Consultant, Micro Team (2 to 5), Freelancer, Content Creator
Choose Fireflies
Fireflies suits teams and solo professionals who want meetings automatically recorded, transcribed, and summarized instead of typing notes by hand.
Best for: Solo Consultant, Micro Team (2 to 5), One-Person Agency, Solo Founder / Indie Maker
Questions
What is the difference between Otter and Fireflies?
Otter is built around capturing conversations anywhere, including in person, with live transcripts. Fireflies is built around searching and analyzing your calls, in 100+ languages.
Is Otter or Fireflies cheaper?
For one person paying yearly, Otter Pro ($8.33 a month) costs less than Fireflies Pro ($10 a month). Paying monthly, Otter Pro is $16.99 and Fireflies Pro is $18.
Do Otter and Fireflies have a free plan?
Yes, both have a free plan. Free plans have limits, so check what each one includes in the pricing section above.
Which has the higher AIME Score, Otter or Fireflies?
Otter has the higher AIME Score: 73 out of 100, against 69 for Fireflies. Both are Proven tools (4.0 stars or better from 25 or more verified reviewers). The AIME Score is our 0 to 100 score for every AI tool; partner links never change it.
Should I pick Otter or Fireflies?
Pick Otter if you record in-person meetings, interviews or lectures on your phone. Pick Fireflies if your calls are in a language outside the six Otter transcribes (Fireflies lists 100+).
More comparisons
Sources
- Otter: AI Made Easy profile and Spotlight research (checked October 13, 2026)
- Fireflies: AI Made Easy profile and Spotlight research (checked October 10, 2026)
- AIME Score and review level: How the AIME Score works. We never show exact review counts or other sites’ ratings.