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Otter.ai vs Rimo

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, Rimo at $9. Both have a free tier. Only Otter.ai ships a public API.

Otter.aiMeeting transcription with per-plan minute and length capsRimoJapanese meeting-transcription service whose AI editor interviews you by voice and turns the answers into a finished article.

Side by side

FactOtter.aiRimo
CategoryMeeting AssistantsLong-form & Blog Content
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$8.33 month$9 month
Public APIYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Chrome Ext, APIWeb
CompanyOtter.aiRimo LLC
Launched2016—
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 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

Rimo

The interview-then-draft flow is a real differentiator: it gets material out of people who can talk about a subject but stall at a blank page. Rimo is fundamentally a Japanese transcription company, and it shows - the pricing you see depends on which locale of the site you land on, and the two do not agree.

Pros

  • Voice interview flow extracts content rather than expecting a prompt
  • Existing audio recordings can be converted into articles directly
  • 60+ languages supported for transcription out of the box
  • Data residency selectable across Japan, the US and the EU
  • Free tier covers three interviews and three articles a month

Cons

  • English and Japanese pages quote different currencies and different plan structures
  • Entry dollar price is a limited-time 50% discount, so renewal is likely at $18
  • AI editor free tier caps re-editing
  • No API for pushing transcripts into other systems

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 Rimo if you need

  • Turning subject-matter interviews into publishable drafts
  • Japanese-language meeting transcription and summaries
  • Teams that need data residency choice between JP, US and EU

More comparisons

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