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Otter.ai vs Wudpecker

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, Wudpecker at $19. Both have a free tier. Only Otter.ai ships a public API.

Otter.aiMeeting transcription with per-plan minute and length capsWudpeckerMeeting bot that records Zoom, Meet and Teams calls and writes notes from your template

Side by side

FactOtter.aiWudpecker
CategoryMeeting AssistantsMeeting Assistants
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$8.33 month$19 month
Public APIYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Chrome Ext, APIWeb
CompanyOtter.aiWudpecker Oy
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

Wudpecker

Counting meetings rather than minutes makes the bill easy to reason about, and template-driven notes beat a generic summary when every call has the same shape. The catch is the ceiling: 100 recorded meetings a month on the top self-serve plan, no published API, and a hard length cap on any single recording.

Pros

  • Notes follow a template you pick, not one fixed summary shape
  • Transcription across dozens of languages with a custom vocabulary list
  • EU company and EU servers, stated plainly on the site
  • Free tier records 10 meetings a month rather than offering a short trial

Cons

  • Meeting caps rather than minute pools, so a short call costs the same as a long one
  • No documented public API
  • Notion, Slack and HubSpot integrations are paid-tier only

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 Wudpecker if you need

  • Sales, research or recruiting teams running the same call format repeatedly
  • Teams that need EU data residency for meeting recordings
  • Anyone who wants notes filed straight into Notion, Slack or HubSpot

More comparisons

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