Choose MeetGeek if you want notes without a bot joining and follow-ups sent to Zapier, Make or n8n. Choose Fireflies if the free plan's transcription limit is the problem: its transcription is unlimited even on free. Choose Fathom if you are one person on client calls and want the core product free. Choose Claap only if the calls are sales calls that belong on a deal timeline.
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Otter is a reasonable default: a free plan with 300 transcription minutes a month, automatic capture, action items pulled out of the call. People leave it for one of four reasons: the free minutes run out, the notes need to go somewhere after the call, a bot in the client's meeting is awkward, or the call is a sales call and belongs to a deal.
Each tool below answers one of those reasons. If none of them is yours, Otter is still a sound choice and switching would cost you more than it saves.
The picks that stand out
MeetGeek
The free plan includes bot-free recording and AI summaries rather than a trial, and teammates who only read the notes get free basic licences. Pro is $15.99 a month billed monthly, slightly under Otter Pro, but capped at 20 hours of transcription a month, so a heavy recorder outgrows it.
Fireflies.ai
Transcription is unlimited even on the free plan, and search works across every call. The catch moves rather than disappears: the free plan stores only 400 minutes per team, so the archive fills fast. Pro is $18 a month billed monthly, $10 billed yearly: an unusually large gap.
Fathom
The core product is free, guests need no download, and it connects cleanly to a CRM. It is not a full transcription archive and covers fewer languages than some rivals. Premium is $20 a month billed monthly, with a 90-day guarantee on paid plans.
Claap
Calls, dialer and email land on one deal timeline, and only the people who record pay: readers stay on free licences. That positioning is wasted on a team that is not selling, the free licence is 300 minutes in total, and Pro is €30 a licence a month billed monthly.
At a glance
| Criterion |  Otter.ai | MeetGeek | Fireflies.ai | Fathom | Claap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Used mainly for | Meeting transcription, action items | Meeting transcription, automatic summaries and action items | Meeting transcription, AI meeting summaries | Meeting notes, CRM sync | Recording sales calls, deal timelines across calls and emails |
| Entry price | $16.99/mo · Pro | $15.99/mo · Pro | $18.00/mo · Pro | $20.00/mo · Premium | €30.00/mo · Pro |
| Free plan | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Free trial | ✕No | ✓Yes | ✕No | ✓Yes | Not stated |
| Works on | Web, iOS, Android | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome | Web, Chrome, iOS, Android | Web, macOS | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Documented integrations | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, Make, n8n | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce | HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack | HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams |
| Setup | Easy: minutes | Easy: minutes | Easy: minutes | Easy: minutes | Easy: 30 min |
| Main limitation | Accuracy drops in noisy audio | Pro is capped at 20 hours of transcription a month; unlimited starts at Business | Free plan stores only 400 minutes per team, so the archive fills fast | Fewer languages than some rivals | The positioning is sales-specific, which is wasted on a team that is not selling |
| Our evidence level | Vendor documented | Vendor documented | Vendor documented | Vendor documented | Vendor documented |
| Try it | Try Otter.ai ↗ | Try MeetGeek ↗Partner link | Try Fireflies.ai ↗ | Try Fathom ↗ | Try Claap ↗Partner link |
Every cell comes from the tool's record, built from its official documentation and pricing page. The integrations listed are the ones the vendor documents, not tested by us.
Find your reason before you switch
Moving notetakers is cheap to start and expensive to finish, because the archive stays behind. Name the one thing Otter does not do for you. If it is minutes, Fireflies. If it is the bot, MeetGeek. If it is cost for a single person, Fathom. If it is the CRM, Claap. A tool that fixes a problem you do not have is a second subscription, not an upgrade.
The free plans are not the same kind of free
Otter caps minutes per month. Fireflies does not cap transcription but caps storage at 400 minutes per team. MeetGeek gives three hours of transcription a month and keeps transcripts for three months. Claap's free licence is 300 minutes in total, which makes it a trial for anyone who records. Fathom's core product is free. Read the unit that each one limits, because that is the unit you will run out of.
The price everyone forgets: seats
Every paid plan here is priced per person. A team of four on monthly billing pays four times the figure in the table below. MeetGeek and Claap soften that by letting readers stay free; on the others, decide who actually needs to record before multiplying.
Three ways people use a note-taker
Each tool stays in its own currency; the yearly figures use yearly billing from each record.
- A freelancer with a few client calls a week: Otter's 300 free minutes or Fathom's free plan may be all you need. Past that, Otter Pro is $99.96 a year and Fathom Premium $192 a year on yearly billing.
- A team of three that wants every call kept and searchable: Fireflies Pro at $10 per user is $360 a year for three, MeetGeek Pro at $9.99 is $359.64. Fireflies' free plan stores only 400 minutes per team, which is the usual reason to pay.
- A sales team where three people record demos: Claap Pro, priced in euros, is 24 € per licence on yearly billing, 864 € a year for three recorders, while colleagues who only read stay free.
When to stay on Otter
If your calls are general meetings, your volume fits 300 minutes or one Pro seat, and nobody has objected to the notetaker, the switching cost outweighs every difference above. The best alternative to a tool that works is the tool that works.
Pricing side by side
Otter.ai Pro · in dollars
MeetGeek Pro · in dollars
Fireflies.ai Pro · in dollars
Claap Pro · in euros
Each tool's paid entry plan multiplied by the number of seats, free plan and tax excluded. Each tool stays in its own currency and on its own scale: we do not convert dollars into euros, so bar lengths do not compare from one tool to the other. Prices read on the official pages (25.10.2026).
| Tool | Verified price | Billing condition | Free | Checked | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai | $16.99/mo · Pro | $8.33/user/mo billed annually; $16.99/user/mo billed monthly | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗ |
| MeetGeek | $15.99/mo · Pro | $15.99 per user/month billed monthly; $9.99 per user/month billed yearly | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗Partner link |
| Fireflies.ai | $18.00/mo · Pro | $18 per user/month billed monthly; $10 per user/month billed annually (Fireflies advertises up to 44% off) | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗ |
| Fathom | $20.00/mo · Premium | $16/mo billed annually; $20/mo billed monthly | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗ |
| Claap | €30.00/mo · Pro | €30 per licence/month billed monthly; €24 per licence/month billed yearly | Yes | 25.10.2026 | Visit ↗Partner link |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free alternative to Otter?
For transcription volume, Fireflies: its free plan does not cap transcription, though it stores only 400 minutes per team. For a single person on client calls, Fathom, whose core product is free. MeetGeek's free plan is the one that records without a bot.
Which Otter alternative works without a bot joining the call?
MeetGeek includes bot-free recording on its free plan, and Claap offers bot-free recording for sales calls. Check how each one records on your meeting platform before telling a client nothing will join.
Is MeetGeek cheaper than Otter?
Slightly, on monthly billing: MeetGeek Pro is $15.99 a month against $16.99 for Otter Pro, both per user. MeetGeek Pro is capped at 20 hours of transcription a month, so the cheaper figure only holds if your volume fits under it.
Can I move my Otter transcripts to another tool?
We have not tested exports between these tools, so we make no claim about what transfers. Plan for the old archive staying where it is, and export the transcripts you need to keep before cancelling.
Recently at these tools
September 2026 update: Desktop App 2.0 records calls on Mac and Windows without a bot joining the meeting, including Slack Huddles, WhatsApp calls and in-person conversations, and brings past meetings and AI Chat into the app; a OneNote integration is added. Source ↗
Read on each vendor's official changelog, not tested by us.