Fireflies.ai vs Otter.ai
Fireflies’s free plan has a team storage ceiling; Otter’s free plan separates monthly transcription minutes from lifetime file imports. Compare the budget that will constrain your actual meeting workflow.
Sources checked October 22, 2026 · No paid editorial rankings
| What matters |  Fireflies.ai |  Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Meeting assistants | Meeting assistants |
| Platforms | Web, Desktop, iOS, Android, Chrome extension | Web, Desktop, iOS, Android |
| Pricing model | Free plan with paid upgrades | Free plan with paid upgrades |
| Free AI plan | Yes | Yes |
| Why consider it | Searchable meeting notes | Meeting transcription |
| Limitations | Review source material and outputs yourself; advertised capabilities are not independently benchmarked here.; Free: 400 minutes of storage per team; AI summaries limited. Unlimited transcription is advertised with conditions. | Review source material and outputs yourself; advertised capabilities are not independently benchmarked here.; Basic: 300 transcription minutes per month and 3 audio/video imports over the account lifetime. |
Verified details & limits
Documented facts, with the source and date for each detail. Unknowns and conflicts are identified separately.
| Detail | Fireflies.ai | Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Free access | Ongoing free plan Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 | Ongoing free plan Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 |
| Free limits | Free: 400 minutes of storage per team; AI summaries limited. Unlimited transcription is advertised with conditions. Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 | Basic: 300 transcription minutes per month and 3 audio/video imports over the account lifetime. Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 |
| Paid pricing | Not verified Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 | Pro: $16.99/user/month on monthly billing. Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 |
| Best suited to | Searchable meeting notes Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 | Meeting transcription Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 |
| Meeting platforms | Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 | Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 |
| Transcription conditions | Not verified The pricing page qualifies unlimited transcription with an asterisk; check account-specific conditions before relying on it. Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 | Not verified |
| Storage limit | Not verified | Not verified A free storage allowance was not established in this research pass. Official sourceChecked October 22, 2026 |
Direct answer
Fireflies’s free plan has a team storage ceiling; Otter’s free plan separates monthly transcription minutes from lifetime file imports. Compare the budget that will constrain your actual meeting workflow.
Watch the units
Transcription minutes, retained storage, AI summaries, and file imports are different limits. Fireflies advertises unlimited transcription with conditions while retaining a free storage cap. Otter publishes separate recurring minutes and lifetime imports. Adding these numbers together would not produce a meaningful value score.
Fit the capture method to the task
For regular online meetings, confirm the platform and capture method first. For archived audio, check the import rules and how an uploaded file counts toward usage. For a shared workspace, establish who can see recordings and what happens when storage fills.
Review before distributing
A transcript can misidentify a speaker or lose an important qualification even when it looks readable. Check the relevant passage yourself. Our comparison uses official plan documentation; it does not establish which service transcribes more accurately or satisfies a particular organization's privacy requirements.
A practical decision check
Write down your required task, your acceptable limits, and the result you need to keep or export. Check those requirements against the sourced table above and the current account screen before paying. A free allowance is a way to evaluate suitability; it does not establish output quality or guarantee ongoing access.
Methodology
This is an editorial comparison of official product documentation checked 2026-10-22. Recommendations concern workflow fit, not measured accuracy, earnings, or speed. We did not run a hands-on benchmark. Unknown details and conflicting sources remain labeled in the fact table.
Related resources
Sources & verification
Official sources checked October 22, 2026. Information can change; confirm current terms with the provider. This is a source-based editorial overview, not a hands-on test.
Recommendations reflect fit, not guaranteed results. Read our affiliate disclosure.