Otter.ai vs Sonix (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Otter.ai grades higher than Sonix: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 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.
Otter.ai
Live meeting transcription with summaries and AI chat
Sonix
Browser-based transcription, translation and meeting recorder
Which one is for you
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- Skip it if you need SSO, SCIM, the API or webhooks, which are Enterprise only at an unpublished price, with HIPAA as an add-on
Pick Sonix if
- Fits if you transcribe recorded interviews or podcasts and need subtitles or translations
- Makes sense if you need a BAA or SOC 2 report from a transcription vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a bot that sits in every call, since the recorder is a side feature
- Tight if you transcribe a lot: 5 hours a month on Core, then $10 an hour
- Pricey if you add seats, at $25 a month each with no extra hours
- Watch out: real-time transcription is only early access, and there are no mobile or desktop apps
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAOtter.aiVery good | 2.2GPASonixFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | C$25 a month for 5 hours, or $275 billed yearly. The category's middle sits at $11.99 and the dearer quarter starts at $15, so this is the upper end. Extra hours are $10 each and extra seats $25 a month with no added hours. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CNo free plan. There are 30 free minutes of transcription with no card, which is about one short meeting. |
| Features | 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. | CTranscripts, translation, subtitles, summaries, a meeting bot and an API. The listing itself says real-time transcription is early access and the recorder is a side feature, so it is a file tool first. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 83,000 App Store ratings. Connect your calendar and the notetaker turns up to your meetings by itself. | CNo store rating on record. It's a web app where you upload a file, but the meeting recorder needs your calendar and call accounts connected, and the editor has a learning curve. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb only, with no mobile or desktop apps on the pricing page. It does connect to Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Zapier and Adobe Premiere, and has a REST API. |
| Best for | reading the transcript while the meeting's on | transcribing recorded audio and video files in a browser |
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: Otter.ai and Sonix. How we grade
Price against what you get
Otter.ai starts at $8.33 a month for each person and scores 3.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sonix starts at $25 a month and scores 2.3.
Otter.ai scores higher and starts $16.67 a month lower. Of the other AI meeting note takers on the chart, 2 score higher than Otter.ai for less, and 45 score higher than Sonix 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
- Otter.ai also covers chat assistant.
At a glance
| Otter.ai | Sonix | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $8.33 per user / month, billed annually | $25 per month for 5 hrs, billed monthly ($275 billed yearly) |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Otter Business. | 30 free minutes of transcription, no card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Otter.ai Inc | Sonix, Inc. |
| Price read from | otter.ai | sonix.ai |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Sonix
- Pay As You Go is $10 per hour with no subscription; extra hours on any plan are also $10 per hour.
- Extra seats cost $25 a month ($275 a year) each and add no hours; the included hours are shared by the workspace.
- Real-time transcription is listed as early access, and the AI meeting recorder is one feature among a file-based transcription product.
- The pricing page shows no mobile or desktop apps; the editor runs in a browser.
Key features
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.
Sonix
- Transcription in 54+ languages
- Uploaded audio and video become transcripts with named speakers and word-level timestamps, editable in the browser.
- Translation and subtitles
- Transcripts can be translated into 54+ languages, and subtitles exported as SRT or VTT or burned into video.
- AI meeting recorder
- A Sonix agent joins Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams calls and writes the transcript while people talk.
- AI analysis
- Summaries, chapters and sentiment analysis run on transcripts, drawing on a separate monthly allowance of AI hours.
- Sharing and exports
- Share transcripts by link, embed a media player, or export to DOCX, PDF and TXT.
- API and automation
- A REST API, webhooks and a Zapier connection let other tools send recordings in and pull transcripts out.
Plans
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.
Sonix
Core$25
per month for 5 hrs, billed monthly ($275 billed yearly)
5 hours a month of transcription and translation and 5 of AI analysis, 25 GB storage, email support.
Advanced$50
per month for 20 hrs, billed monthly ($550 billed yearly)
20 hours of transcription, 25 hours of AI analysis, 50 GB storage, email and chat support.
Pro$80
per month for 40 hrs, billed monthly ($880 billed yearly)
40 hours of transcription, 100 hours of AI analysis, 100 GB storage, priority support.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds SSO, SCIM, audit logs, a BAA, unlimited team members, 1 TB storage and a dedicated account manager.
Ways to pay less
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.
Sonix
- Annual discount
One month free with yearly billing
Sonix's pricing page shows yearly prices of $275, $550 and $880, equal to 11 months of the monthly price, and marks the toggle as 1 month free.
- Education
Discounts for students, educators and nonprofits
Sonix lists special pricing for students, teachers, faculty and nonprofit staff; its discounts page is titled 20% off.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Otter.ai or Sonix?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Otter.ai starts at $8.33 per user / month, billed annually, and Sonix starts at $25 per month for 5 hrs, billed monthly ($275 billed yearly). 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, Otter.ai or Sonix?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Otter.ai has a free plan. Sonix does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Otter.ai and Sonix run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Otter.ai lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list a web 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.