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Otter.ai vs Sonix

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, Sonix at $25. Only Otter.ai has a free tier. Both ship a public API.

Otter.aiMeeting transcription with per-plan minute and length capsSonixTranscription, translation and subtitles with a browser editor

Side by side

FactOtter.aiSonix
CategoryMeeting AssistantsSpeech-to-Text & Transcription
Pricing modelFreemiumPaid
Starts at$8.33 month$25 month
Public APIYesYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Chrome Ext, APIWeb, API
CompanyOtter.aiSonix, Inc.
Launched20162017
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

Sonix

Pick Sonix when the transcript is a working document you will correct, subtitle and hand off — the editor is the product, not the ASR. If you mainly want live meeting notes, Otter is cheaper and better suited; if the recording is legally critical, Rev's human tier is the safer route.

Pros

  • The word-locked editor makes correcting a long transcript far faster than re-typing
  • 50+ languages for both transcription and translation, priced at the same hourly rate
  • REST API with batch processing and custom vocabulary is included with subscriptions
  • SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA posture and a stated no-training policy on customer files

Cons

  • Per-seat pricing at $25/mo each punishes small teams sharing one library
  • Hour allowances are the real constraint; Core's 5 hrs/mo goes fast on video
  • The 99% accuracy claim is vendor marketing — independent tests put it near peers, around the mid-90s
  • No free plan, only a 30-minute trial

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 Sonix if you need

  • Journalists and researchers cleaning up long interview recordings
  • Video teams producing multilingual subtitle tracks from one master file
  • Legal, medical and academic work where custom vocabulary matters
  • Engineering teams batch-transcribing a media archive through the API

More comparisons

All Otter.ai alternatives →Browse all Meeting Assistants →