Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai (2026)
A head-to-head on price, free access, and staying power. Both live and price-verified as of Sep 8, 2026.
The verdict, first
Otter.ai
- if it is built for individuals and teams wanting low-cost real-time transcription, and that matches your job.
- if you specifically want real-time transcription with cross-meeting AI chat.
- if it starts cheaper, at $16.99/mo against $18/mo.
Fireflies.ai
- if it is built for teams meeting across many platforms wanting searchable records, and that matches your job.
- if you specifically want cross-platform capture with sentence-level search across your whole history.
What each one is
Otter.ai
What sets it apart real-time transcription with cross-meeting AI chat
Best for individuals and teams wanting low-cost real-time transcription · Pricing model freemium; per-seat Pro/Business
Otter.ai transcribes meetings in real time across Zoom, Teams, and Meet, adds speaker identification, and layers a chat that answers questions within and across meetings. It sits at a low per-seat price with a free tier. Note that Otter is currently flagged on Verdict as degrading following privacy litigation, tracked with dated sources on its signals page.
Sources Otter pricing
Fireflies.ai
What sets it apart cross-platform capture with sentence-level search across your whole history
Best for teams meeting across many platforms wanting searchable records · Pricing model freemium; per-seat Pro/Business/Enterprise
Fireflies records and transcribes meetings across Zoom, Meet, Teams, and other platforms, with transcription in a wide range of languages and search that can jump to a specific sentence and timestamp months later. It connects to CRMs and collaboration tools and layers on assistants such as AskFred. It fits teams that meet across several platforms and want one searchable, integrated record.
Sources Fireflies pricing
Side by side
| Metric | Otter.ai | Fireflies.ai |
|---|---|---|
| From $/mo | $16.99 | $18 |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Founded | 2016 | 2016 |
| Best for | solo & SMB & enterprise | solo & SMB & enterprise |
| Status | Live | Live |
ALL FIGURES = LOWEST PAID MONTHLY PLAN · STATUS & PRICE VERIFIED SEP 8, 2026
Where they differ
Price
Otter.ai is the cheaper entry at $16.99/mo, versus $18/mo for Fireflies.ai. Both prices are the lowest paid monthly plan, verified Sep 8, 2026.
Free access
Both Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai offer a permanent free tier - you can trial either at no cost. A permanent free tier lowers the risk of committing before you have validated the fit.
Track record
Otter.ai has been operating since 2016; Fireflies.ai since 2016. For a tool you build a business process on, a longer survival record matters.
Questions of record
Otter.ai or Fireflies.ai - which is better in 2026?
Is Otter.ai cheaper than Fireflies.ai?
Does Otter.ai or Fireflies.ai have a free tier?
Are Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai still maintained?
Get an alert the moment a tool's status changes
A price hike, a sunset announcement, or a confirmed shutdown, each dated and sourced. We email you when it happens, not before. No predictions, no spam.