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Otter.ai vs Recal

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors. Otter.ai starts at $8.33, Recal at $14. Both have a free tier. Only Otter.ai ships a public API.

Otter.aiMeeting transcription with per-plan minute and length capsRecalTurns Slack threads, meetings, and calls into recap summaries, decisions, and tasks.

Side by side

FactOtter.aiRecal
CategoryMeeting AssistantsMeeting Assistants
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$8.33 month$14 month
Public APIYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Chrome Ext, APIWeb, Chrome Ext
CompanyOtter.aiRecal
Launched2016—
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 1, 2026

What our research says

Otter.ai

Still the default for English-language meeting notes, and the free tier is unusually usable. What determines the right plan is not features but the per-conversation ceiling: 30 minutes on Basic and 90 on Pro means a standard hour-long review truncates on the free tier and a workshop truncates on Pro. Pick the tier by your longest recurring meeting.

Pros

  • 300 free minutes a month makes evaluation real rather than token
  • Annual Pro at $8.33 is roughly half the month-to-month rate
  • An MCP server is exposed from the free tier, so assistants can query transcripts without the paid API
  • Business removes the minute cap entirely rather than raising it

Cons

  • The API and webhooks require Enterprise, which is quote-only
  • Per-conversation ceilings (30 min free, 90 min Pro) cut recordings mid-meeting
  • Basic allows three file imports in total, not per month
  • Month-to-month pricing is roughly double annual at both self-serve tiers

Recal

Ingests Slack threads, meetings, calls, and shared docs, then produces recap summaries, decisions, and task lists that sync into Linear, Notion, Jira, and GitHub. The free plan covers only 30 minutes of async recaps a month, so any real team use lands on a paid tier quickly.

Pros

  • Covers both meetings and async Slack threads, not just calls
  • Pushes extracted tasks directly into Linear, Notion, Jira, and GitHub
  • Free Starter tier exists to test before paying

Cons

  • Free tier capped at just 30 minutes of async recaps per month
  • Meeting-recap and async-recap minutes are tracked and billed separately, complicating usage estimates
  • No native desktop app; relies on browser extension and integrations

Which one fits

Choose Otter.ai if you need

  • Teams that live in Zoom, Meet or Teams and want notes without a note-taker
  • Accessibility use, where live captions matter as much as the transcript
  • Recruiters and researchers who need searchable interview records across a workspace

Choose Recal if you need

  • Teams wanting meeting and Slack recaps pushed into existing task tools
  • Async-first teams summarizing long Slack threads into decisions
  • Managers wanting a searchable record of what was decided and by whom

More comparisons

All Otter.ai alternatives →All Recal alternatives →Browse all Meeting Assistants →