Otter.ai vs Speak AI

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.

The short answer

Cheaper paid plan: Otter.ai — $8.33/seat/mo vs $20/seat/mo for Speak AI
Free plan: Both have one
Public API: Both have one
Higher Trust score: Otter.ai — 94 vs 71 for Speak AI
Best fit: Otter.ai: Teams that live in Zoom, Meet or Teams and want notes without a note-taker · Speak AI: Qualitative and UX researchers analysing interview recordings

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

Otter.aiMeeting transcription with per-plan minute and length caps

Speak AITranscribes and analyses audio, video and meetings, scores calls and lets AI clients query the results through an MCP server.

Side by side

Fact	Otter.ai	Speak AI
Category	Meeting Assistants	Speech-to-Text & Transcription
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starts at	$8.33/seat/mo	$20/seat/mo
Public API	Yes	Yes
Trust score	94 / 100	71 / 100
Platforms	Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, API	Web, iOS, Android, API
Company	Otter.ai	Speak AI Inc.
Launched	2016	—
Last verified	Oct 15, 2026	Oct 29, 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

Speak AI

Speak AI fits researchers, consultants and small sales or ops teams who want transcripts, analysis and call scoring in one shared library, and developers who want that data reachable from AI assistants. Individuals who only need occasional cheap transcription, or large teams beyond five seats on self-serve, should compare options first.

Pros

Pay-as-you-go credits with no subscription
Over 100 languages with translation
API, webhooks, CLI and MCP server on every plan
Unlimited data retention on Pro

Cons

Pro is capped at five users
Headline Pro price assumes annual billing
Meeting transcription costs twice the credit rate of uploads

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 Speak AI if you need

Qualitative and UX researchers analysing interview recordings
Consultants and agencies who want a white-label conversation platform
Teams that want transcripts available to Claude or ChatGPT through MCP