Cockatoo vs Otter.ai (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Otter.ai grades higher than Cockatoo: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Otter.ai grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cockatoo
Upload-based AI transcription with speaker labels and translation
Otter.ai
Live meeting transcription with summaries and AI chat
Which one is for you
Pick Cockatoo if
- Fits if you have recordings to upload and want speaker-labelled transcripts
- Works for iPhone users who want voice notes sent to the same account
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you pay monthly, as Pro is $30 against $22.50 on yearly billing, and Max is $100 a month
- Skip it if you want a bot to join your calls, as the pages read describe none
- Watch out: Team starts at three users, and Max is billed monthly only
- Skip it if you use Android or want a desktop app, as only web and iPhone are listed
Pick Otter.ai if
- Fits if you want to read the live transcript while a meeting or lecture is still going
- Works for students and teachers with a .edu address, which takes 20% off Pro
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes a conversation, 3 file imports ever and only your 25 most recent conversations
- Not for you if your meetings run long, as Pro stops at 1,200 minutes a month and 90 a meeting, and unlimited starts on Business at $19.99
- Pricey if you pay monthly: Pro is $16.99 and Business $30, against $8.33 and $19.99 a month on the yearly plan
- Watch out: AI Chat is capped on every plan, at 20 questions a month free, 50 on Pro and 200 at most
- Skip it if you need SSO, SCIM, the API or webhooks, which are Enterprise only at an unpublished price, with HIPAA as an add-on
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACockatooFair | 3.0GPAOtter.aiVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $22.50 a month on yearly billing and $30 monthly, past the dearer quarter ($18) of meeting-note tools but below its dearest tenth. | CPro is $8.33 a month on the yearly plan, which is right about where meeting notetakers start, and $16.99 if you pay monthly. Pro is still metered at 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes a meeting, and unlimited meetings wait for Business at $19.99, the dear end of this lot. Middling money, then. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan to try transcription, read and edit transcripts and preview translation, no card needed. It is a taste, not a plan to live on. | CBasic hands you 300 transcription minutes a month, but a conversation stops at 30 minutes, you get 3 file imports ever, and only your 25 most recent conversations stay open. Short calls are fine; anything longer runs into a cap. |
| Features | CUpload or record, two transcription models, translation, exports and a Canvas. The pages describe no bot to join calls. | BIt covers the whole job: live transcription with speakers labelled, a summary of every conversation on every plan, AI Chat, file imports and exports, and a notetaker that joins Zoom, Teams and Meet or records bot-free from your desktop. Nothing here its rivals don't do, mind, and AI Chat is capped on every plan. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but you upload a file or record and get a transcript back with nothing to set up. | A4.8 from about 83,000 App Store ratings. Connect your calendar and the notetaker turns up to your meetings by itself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb and iPhone only, with no integrations or desktop app listed. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and a browser extension. It works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Slack and Notion, and with Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier from Pro. An MCP server is on every plan, though the API and webhooks are Enterprise only. |
| Best for | upload-based AI transcription | reading the transcript while the meeting's on |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cockatoo and Otter.ai. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cockatoo starts at $22.50 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Otter.ai starts at $8.33 a month for each person and scores 3.7.
Otter.ai scores higher and starts $14.17 a month lower. Of the other AI meeting note takers on the chart, 45 score higher than Cockatoo for less, and 2 score higher than Otter.ai for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Cockatoo also covers dictation.
At a glance
| Cockatoo | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $22.50 per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) | $8.33 per user / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | Free: try audio and video transcription, read and edit transcripts, file translation previews and Canvas. No credit card required. | Basic plan: 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports, 20 AI Chat queries a month and access to the 25 most recent conversations. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of Otter Business. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Cockatoo | Otter.ai Inc |
| Price read from | cockatoo.com | otter.ai |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cockatoo
- It works from uploaded files and live recording; the pages read do not describe a bot that joins calls.
- Pro needs $30 a month on monthly billing; the $22.50 figure applies to annual billing.
- Team plans start at three users, and Max is billed monthly only.
Otter.ai
- Basic is capped at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation, and only the 25 most recent conversations stay accessible.
- Pro is still metered: 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes per meeting. Unlimited meetings start on Business.
- AI Chat queries are capped on every plan, at most 200 per user per month.
- SSO, SCIM, the API and webhooks are Enterprise only, and HIPAA compliance is an add-on.
Key features
Cockatoo
- Upload or record
- Drag in MP3, MP4, M4A, MOV, WAV and other formats for a timestamped, speaker-labeled transcript, or record and dictate live on Pro.
- Two transcription models
- V4-Fast is unlimited on paid plans; V4-Pro supports 36 languages and has monthly limits that Max raises to 5x or 10x.
- Canvas
- Summaries, insights, chat and edits over a transcript. Canvas is available to try on the free plan and in full on Pro.
- Translation and exports
- Translate transcripts into 90 languages, and documents such as PDF, Word and PowerPoint. Export as PDF, DOCX, TXT or subtitles.
- Voice Notes for iOS
- A companion iPhone app, Cockatoo AI Voice Notes, handles voice capture and dictation on the go.
Otter.ai
- Meeting agent or bot-free recording
- The notetaker can auto-join Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet meetings from your calendar. The desktop app for Mac and Windows records without a bot joining the call.
- Live transcription with speaker ID
- Transcribes as people speak, labels speakers and syncs the text to audio playback. Custom vocabulary covers 5 terms on Basic and up to 800 names and 800 terms on Business.
- Automated summaries
- Each conversation gets an automated summary on every plan, so the main points are available without reading the full transcript.
- AI Chat
- Ask questions about your conversations in a chat. Monthly queries are capped per user: 20 on Basic, 50 on Pro and 200 on Business and Enterprise.
- File imports and exports
- Import audio or video files for transcription and export notes. Basic allows 3 imports in total and mp3 or txt export; paid plans add pdf, docx and srt.
- Integrations and MCP server
- Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier integrations start on Pro. An MCP server is listed on every plan, while the Otter API and webhooks are Enterprise only.
Plans
Cockatoo
Free$0
A small allowance to try transcription, translation previews and Canvas.
Pro$22.50
per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
Unlimited V4-Fast transcription, monthly V4-Pro limits, diarization, 90-language translation, bulk export, Canvas and 2 TB storage.
Max$100
per month for 5x Pro usage, billed monthly
Everything in Pro with 5x the V4-Pro allowance; 10x costs $200 a month. Adds early access and priority at busy times.
Team$12
per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
Starts at three users ($432 a year). Each member gets Pro features and 2 TB storage, with shared files and central billing.
Otter.ai
Basic$0
300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports and the 25 most recent conversations.
Pro$8.33
per user / month, billed annually ($16.99 billed monthly)
1,200 minutes a month, 90 minutes per meeting, 10 file imports a month, unlimited history and extra export formats.
Business$19.99
per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
Unlimited meetings and file imports, up to 4 hours per meeting, 3 concurrent meetings, activity logs and usage analytics.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds SSO, SCIM, domain capture, the Otter API and webhooks, video replay and a HIPAA compliance add-on.
Ways to pay less
Cockatoo
- Annual discount
Annual billing lowers Pro and Team
Pro is $270 a year ($22.50 a month) against $30 monthly, and Team for three people is $432 a year against $45 a month.
Otter.ai
- Annual discount
Save 51% on Pro and 33% on Business annually
Otter's pricing page shows Pro at $8.33 per user per month on annual billing against $16.99 monthly (labeled save 51%), and Business at $19.99 against $30 (save 33%).
- Education
20% off Pro for students and teachers
Individual students and teachers with an email address ending in .edu get 20% off Otter Pro: $6.67 per month billed annually ($79.99) or $13.59 month to month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cockatoo or Otter.ai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Cockatoo starts at $22.50 per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly), and Otter.ai starts at $8.33 per user / month, billed annually. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Cockatoo or Otter.ai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Cockatoo and Otter.ai have a free plan.
Which platforms do Cockatoo and Otter.ai run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Otter.ai lists macOS, Windows and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list a web app and an iOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.