Otter.ai vs Spellar AI
We give Otter.ai a 3.6 GPA and Spellar AI a 2.8, out of 4.0. Otter.ai grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
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
Spellar AI
Bot-free meeting notes with a choice of AI models
How we grade them
| 3.6GPAOtter.aiExcellent | 2.8GPASpellar AIGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPro is $8.33 a month if you pay for the year, a little under what meeting notetakers usually start at. Pay monthly and it's $16.99, about double. And Pro is still metered, at 1,200 minutes a month and 90 minutes a meeting. Unlimited meetings wait for Business at $19.99. | CPro is $15 a month on the yearly plan, $20 monthly, the dear end of a category that typically starts near $10. In its favour, it's one plan with nothing held back: unlimited recordings, summaries and AI chat, GPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity models, 20+ integrations, the API and MCP. |
| Free plan and trial | BBasic gives you 300 transcription minutes a month for nothing. But a conversation stops at 30 minutes, you get 3 file imports ever, and only your 25 most recent conversations stay open. Fine for short calls, tight for anything longer. | CNo free plan is listed. The pricing page describes a 7-day free trial, and nothing on record says whether it needs a card. A first subscription also has a 14-day money-back guarantee, which is a refund, not a trial. |
| Features | ALive transcription with the speakers labelled, a summary of every conversation on every plan, and AI Chat for asking what was said. The notetaker joins Zoom, Teams and Meet from your calendar, or the desktop app records with no bot in the call. | AIt records your device's audio with no bot, on Zoom, Meet, Teams and Webex or in person. You choose the AI model per meeting, transcription can stay on the device, and you set how long audio is kept. Templates are plain-language prompts, with weekly recaps and uncapped AI chat. |
| 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. | BNothing joins the call and nobody is notified, since it records on your own device. There's no App Store rating on record to show how people get on with it, so it stops at a B. |
| 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. | BMac, iPhone, iPad and the web, with two-way sync to Notion, Linear and Jira, 20+ integrations, webhooks, an API and an MCP server. No Windows or Android version is mentioned, and the iPhone app needs iOS 18 or later. |
| Best for | reading the transcript while the meeting's on | Apple users who want to pick the AI model |
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 Spellar AI. How we grade
Where they differ
- Otter.ai starts at $8.33 per user / month, billed annually. Spellar AI starts at $15 per month, billed annually ($180 per year).
- Otter.ai has a free plan. Spellar AI does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Otter.ai lists Windows and Android apps.
- Only Otter.ai lists a browser extension.
- Spellar AI also covers templates.
At a glance
| Otter.ai | Spellar AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $8.33 per user / month, billed annually | $15 per month, billed annually ($180 per year) |
| 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. | 7-day free trial, per the pricing page's description; 14-day money-back guarantee on a first subscription |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Otter.ai Inc | Spellar LTD |
| Price read from | otter.ai | spellar.ai |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Otter.ai
- Reading a live transcript while a meeting or lecture is still going
- Students and teachers, who get a discount on Pro with a .edu address
- People who want the same notes on web, desktop and phone
Spellar AI
- Apple users who want notes on Mac, iPhone and iPad under one plan
- People who want to pick the AI model or use their own API key
- Meetings where transcription should stay on the device
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.
Spellar AI
- The pricing page lists no free plan. Pro costs $20 a month or $180 a year, with a 14-day money-back guarantee on a first subscription.
- Apps are listed for Mac, iPhone, iPad and the web only. No Windows or Android version is mentioned.
- Teams, with shared notes, centralized billing and seat management, starts at 5 seats and is priced on request.
- The iPhone and iPad app requires iOS 18 or later, according to its App Store listing.
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.
Spellar AI
- Local, bot-free recording
- Records the audio of your device on a Mac, iPhone or iPad, so nothing joins the call or notifies attendees. It works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Webex, and in person on an iPhone.
- Choice of AI model
- GPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity models are included in Pro and can be switched per meeting, per template or per question. You can also supply your own API key.
- Opt-in server transcription
- Server-side AI transcription is off by default and enabled per meeting, or transcription can run on the device with a built-in model. The pricing page lists 50+ languages.
- Configurable audio retention
- Audio is kept in an encrypted vault for a period you choose, from 1 hour up to always, or it can be set to device-only so that it does not leave your machine.
- Templates, recaps and AI chat
- Summary templates are written as natural-language prompts. Weekly and monthly recaps summarize across meetings, and an AI chat answers questions about them without a usage cap.
- Integrations, API and MCP
- Syncs with Notion, Linear and Jira in both directions and lists more than 20 native integrations. Webhooks, a public API and an MCP server are included.
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.
Spellar AI
Spellar Pro$15
per month, billed annually ($180); $20 billed monthly
Unlimited recordings, transcripts, summaries and AI chat, every included AI model, custom templates, 20+ integrations, and apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad and web.
Spellar TeamsCustom
From 5 seats: shared templates, folders, notes and AI chats, centralized billing and seat management, team integrations and your own S3-compatible audio storage.
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.
Spellar AI
- Annual discount
25% off Pro with yearly billing
The pricing page marks yearly billing as 25% off: Pro is $180 a year, shown as $15 a month, instead of $20 a month, which adds up to $240 a year.
