Which app did you set to record? Fireflies? Otter?

Both tools promise crystal-clear transcripts, AI summaries, and painless sharing. Yet they work—and charge—in very different ways.

This guide put Fireflies and Otter head-to-head on features, transcription quality, user experience, and price.

Features Comparison

Below is a quick-scan rundown of what Fireflies and Otter actually do inside—and outside—your calls.

Meeting Capture

• Fireflies joins like an extra guest (“Fireflies Notetaker”) or records your tab via a Chrome plug-in.
• Otter sends “OtterPilot” to auto-join any Calendar event that has a video link.

You control the join options in Fireflies. Otter feels more hands-off but can surprise attendees if you forget to warn them.

Live Collaboration

• Fireflies lets you drop comments, reactions, and emojis directly onto the running transcript while people speak.
• Otter offers live “highlights” and snapshots of shared slides, so you can mark key moments in real time.

Both keep the chat visible next to the transcript, but Fireflies threads replies, making follow-up easier to track.

AI Search & Insights

• Fireflies ships “AskFred,” an AI chat that combs every past meeting and answers in plain language. You can ask, “What did we promise Acme last month?”
• Otter counters with “AI Chat” that summarizes, drafts emails, or produces to-do lists from the notes.

If you need cross-meeting memory, Fireflies edges ahead. If you want quick post-meeting emails, Otter is a click faster.

Action Items & Summaries

• Fireflies auto-creates tasks and pushes them to Asana, Monday, or HubSpot.
• Otter highlights action verbs and lets you copy a to-do list, but you still paste it into your project tool.

Choose Fireflies when you crave one-click sync. Pick Otter if you’re fine with manual transfer and prefer lighter notes.

Integrations & APIs

• Fireflies syncs to HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, Zapier, and more than 40 other apps.
• Otter focuses on Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Dropbox, and a basic Zapier hook.

If your workflow lives in CRM, Fireflies slides right in. If you just need the big meeting platforms, Otter covers the basics.

Language Support

• Fireflies transcribes in 30-plus languages and can detect mixed accents.
• Otter is still English-first, though it offers multilingual captions on playback.

Global teams lean Fireflies. US-centric or English-only teams won’t notice a difference.

Security & Admin

• Fireflies offers role-based access, redaction, and optional EU data residency on Business plans.
• Otter provides SOC-2 compliance, SSO, and granular vocabulary sharing on Business and above.

Both encrypt data in transit and at rest, so you tick most compliance boxes either way.

Mobile & Offline

• Fireflies has an iOS and Android app for on-the-go playback and quick note edits.
• Otter pushes further with full mobile recording—even offline—and instant sync once you reconnect.

If you record from your phone, Otter’s offline capture is handy. If you mainly review, both apps feel snappy.

Recording & Transcription Quality Comparison

Getting crisp audio and clean text is the whole point of an AI note-taker. Below, you’ll see how Fireflies and Otter differ when the mic goes live.

Recording Methods

• Fireflies
  • Joins as a virtual attendee.
  • Captures the raw meeting audio that everyone hears.
• Otter
  • Uses “OtterPilot” to join from the calendar invite.
  • Inside Zoom, it taps the internal audio feed—often clearer than a bot recording.

If you forget to admit the Fireflies bot from the lobby, you lose the recording. Otter’s auto-join avoids that risk, but can catch people off-guard if you don’t warn them.

Baseline Accuracy

• Fireflies claims ≈ 90 % on standard business calls. Independent reviews say it stays solid even with accents.
• Otter markets “high accuracy,” especially when OtterPilot taps the host audio. Users note cleaner text but more hiccups with heavy jargon.

Both tools improve as you add custom vocabulary, yet Fireflies lets you bulk-upload keyword lists on the free tier. Otter locks vocab sharing behind its Business plan.

Noise & Accent Handling

• Fireflies runs a noise-suppression model trained on global accents. Background chatter still shows up, but you’ll see fewer “[inaudible]” tags.
• Otter asks for quiet rooms. Its FAQ warns you to mute mics not in use. In real life, it stumbles more when multiple speakers overlap.

So if you work in an open office or record hybrid calls, Fireflies is more forgiving. For clean podcast-style audio, both shine.

Speaker Diarization

• Fireflies labels speakers fast and lets you merge duplicates with one click.
• Otter also tags speakers, but you need to train the model by naming each voice the first few times.

Fireflies feels “set it and forget it.” Otter needs a bit more manual grooming up front.

Time-Stamped Highlights

• Fireflies creates automatic markers for questions, tasks, and sentiment spikes. Click a tag to jump right to the moment.
• Otter captures slide images and key phrases in the timeline. Those visual cues speed skim-reading.

Both give you easy navigation, but Fireflies’ sentiment tags help recruiters spot enthusiasm or concern instantly.

Export Options

• Fireflies exports MP3, MP4, DOCX, VTT, and even push-to-CRM notes.
• Otter offers TXT, DOCX, SRT, plus annotated slide images.

If you need video plus captions, Fireflies wins. If you share plain text or SRT files, either tool works.

User Experience & Review Comparison

Below you’ll find how real users rate Fireflies and Otter once the setup is done and the transcripts start rolling.

Ease of Sign-Up and First Recording

• Fireflies asks you to connect Google or Outlook Calendar, pick a workspace name, and approve bot access. Most people launch a recording in under five minutes.
• Otter pushes you through a short tutorial, then invites you to switch on “OtterPilot” so calls auto-record. The automation feels slick, yet new users sometimes worry about surprise joins.

If you hate fiddling with settings, Otter’s autopilot wins. If you want tight control, Fireflies keeps you in the driver’s seat.

Interface and Navigation

• Fireflies packs everything into a Slack-like sidebar: Dashboard, Conversations, Tasks, and Settings. You jump between transcripts with one click.
• Otter shows a cleaner feed—each meeting appears as a card with the date, length, and quick summary. Search sits front and center.

Live Collaboration

• Fireflies lets teammates react with emojis, leave threaded comments, and assign tasks while the call is still happening. That energy boosts engagement.
• Otter offers “Live Highlights.” You tap a key phrase and it pins a bookmark, visible to everyone in real time.

Mobile Experience

• Fireflies apps focus on playback. You skim transcripts, leave comments, and share clips. Recording from the phone is possible but secondary.
• Otter treats mobile as a first-class recorder. You start, pause, and sync interviews even offline; perfect for field reporters or recruiters on the go.

Sharing and Exporting

• Fireflies sends a branded email with a link to the conversation hub plus one-click pushes to HubSpot, Salesforce, and Slack.
• Otter drops a share link that anyone with permission can open in a browser; direct CRM sync is limited.

Support and Learning Curve

• Fireflies offers live chat on paid plans and a knowledge base with GIF-style tutorials. Users applaud quick responses but note weekend delays.
• Otter relies on a searchable help center and email tickets. Replies arrive within a business day, yet some users miss real-time chat.

Reliability and Trust

• Fireflies bot occasionally waits in Zoom’s lobby if the host forgets to admit it, leading to missed first minutes. Reviews flag that as the top pain point.
• OtterPilot can join calls you reschedule without notice, causing awkward “Why is Otter here?” moments. Users solve it by tweaking calendar rules.

Review-Score Snapshot

• Fireflies holds a 4.6/5 on G2. People love AI search and CRM sync but wish for cleaner mobile recording.
• Otter sits at 4.5/5. Fans praise simplicity and mobile power; detractors mention limited language options and pricier upper tiers.

Pricing Comparison

Below is a clear-cut look at what you’ll pay, what you’ll get, and where the hidden fees lurk.

Free Tiers at a Glance

• Fireflies Free – Records unlimited meetings but caps storage at 800 min per seat and holds AI summaries to a basic level.
• Otter Basic – Gives 300 min each month with a hard 30-min limit per file. Great for quick huddles, but longer interviews will cut off.

Mid-Tier Plans (Solo Power-Users)

• Fireflies Pro – $10 per seat/month on annual billing ($18 monthly). Unlimited transcription credits, 8 000 min storage, and full AskFred AI search.
• Otter Pro – $8.33 per seat/month on annual billing (≈$13–14 monthly). Now includes 1 500 min per month and AI Chat for instant email drafts.

Business Tier & Enterprise (Team-Ready)

• Fireflies Business – $19 per seat/month (annual). Adds Salesforce & HubSpot sync, role-based access, redaction, and EU data residency.
• Otter Business – $20 per seat/month (annual). Jumps to 6 000 min per user/month, shared vocabulary, and full SSO.
• Enterprise – Both vendors quote custom pricing. Fireflies bundles private cloud options; Otter layers in advanced admin analytics and premium support.

Hidden Costs & Minute Limits

• Monthly vs annual – Fireflies jumps from $10 to $18 if you refuse the annual lock-in. Otter’s monthly hike is smaller but still stings.
• Overage anxiety – Fireflies’ unlimited minutes remove guesswork. Otter bills soft overages by forcing you to upgrade before you hit them.
• Seat vs host – Fireflies counts every user. Otter licenses “seats” the same way, but only one active device per seat—keep that in mind for shared logins.
• Discount quirks – Otter offers a 50 % student discount and 20 % off annual plans; Fireflies runs occasional promo codes but no permanent cuts.

Best AI Note-Taker — Noota

You’ve compared features, accuracy, and price. Now ask the bigger question: which tool keeps every meeting in one searchable hub—no matter where you host the call? That’s Noota’s lane. It isn’t tied to a single platform, and it doesn’t cap you with minute buckets.

• ‍Platform-agnostic capture. Noota records Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, phone calls, and even in-person chats. You click “Start,” and the bot joins or the Chrome plug-in captures your tab. One workspace, zero context-switching.‍
• Built-in interview or agenda reminders. Before the meeting begins, Noota flashes the questions or bullet points you saved. You stay on script without shuffling papers or scrolling docs. The prompt disappears once you ask it—so you never miss a talking point.‍
• Live transcription with smart tagging. As people speak, Noota labels speakers, flags deadlines, and marks decision statements. You watch the transcript build itself in real time. No one has to type “John owns this by Friday”—the AI already tagged it.‍
• Structured summaries that write themselves. As soon as the meeting ends, Noota emails a concise brief. It lists goals, key takeaways, and action items with owners and dates. You skim it in 30 seconds and forward it to anyone who missed the call.‍
• Deep workflow sync. One click pushes notes to Slack, Notion, HubSpot, your ATS, or any Zapier flow you need. Tasks land where your team already works. You stop copying text between tools and start closing loops faster.

You want to get access to the most complete note taker in the market ? Try Noota for free now.