Otter.ai pricing starts with a free Basic plan offering 300 transcription minutes per month. Pro costs $16.99 per user per month or $8.33 per user per month on annual billing, while Business costs $30 per user per month or $19.99 per user per month on annual billing. Enterprise pricing is available by quotation.

The important limits sit below those headline prices. Pro includes 1,200 minutes but permits only 10 uploaded audio or video files per month. Business offers unlimited in-app meetings, yet imported files remain capped at 6,000 minutes per user. Unused transcription minutes do not roll over. This guide explains the real plan limits, the effective hourly cost and when a cheaper speech-to-text service makes more sense.

Pricing confirmed accurate as of 18 June 2026. Prices are in US dollars per user and exclude applicable taxes.

Otter.ai pricing at a glance

Plan	Monthly price	Annual rate	Main limits	Best for
Basic	Free	Free	300 minutes, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports	Testing short meetings
Pro	$16.99/user	$8.33/user/month	1,200 minutes, 90 minutes per conversation, 10 file imports monthly	Individuals and light meetings use
Business	$30/user	$19.99/user/month	Unlimited in-app meetings, 6,000 imported-file minutes, 4 hours per conversation	Teams and frequent meetings
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Custom security, API and integration controls	Large or regulated organisations

Annual billing reduces Pro to about $99.96 per user per year and Business to about $239.88. Monthly billing is safer for a short project or an uncertain workload.

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What the Otter.ai limits mean in practice

Basic is useful for checking the accuracy of your own microphones and speakers. Its three-file imports apply throughout the account’s lifetime, making it unsuitable for an ongoing archive workflow.

Pro provides 20 transcription hours, 90-minute meetings, unlimited storage, advanced exports and custom vocabulary. Its 10-file import cap can still stop a researcher with several short interviews before the minute allowance is exhausted.

Business includes unlimited in-app meetings, three concurrent meetings and unlimited file imports, although imported audio remains capped at 6,000 minutes. Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM, API access, custom integrations and an optional HIPAA compliance add-on.

What Otter.ai really costs per transcription hour

Pro includes 20 hours per month. When every minute is used, the effective price is about $0.85 per hour on monthly billing or $0.42 per hour with an annual subscription. Use only five hours, and the effective cost rises to about $3.40 or $1.67 per hour, respectively.

Business annual billing works out at about $0.20 per imported-file hour if the full 100-hour allowance is used. Monthly billing is roughly $0.30 per hour of imported file time. In-app meetings are unlimited, so their effective hourly price falls as usage increases.

Those rates assume full use. Minutes expire monthly, and Pro’s file cap may bind first, so compare workflows rather than theoretical hourly rates.

Otter.ai Free vs Pro vs Business

Use case	Best plan	Why
Testing meeting transcription	Basic	No payment and enough capacity for several short checks
Weekly personal meetings	Pro	20 monthly hours and 90-minute conversations
More than 10 uploaded files monthly	Business or an alternative	Pro’s file-count cap applies even when minutes remain
Team administration and concurrent calls	Business	Admin controls, analytics and three simultaneous meetings
SSO, API or HIPAA requirements	Enterprise	These controls are not included in self-serve plans

Eligible individual students, teachers and education staff can also check Otter’s student and teacher discount programme. It applies to individual Pro subscriptions rather than normal workspace plans.

Cheaper Otter.ai alternatives

Otter.ai scores 8.1/10 in the DIY AI dataset. Its strength lies in meeting notes and collaboration rather than in raw model accuracy or developer control.

Tool	DIY AI score	Stars	Where it can cost less	Main trade-off
Otter.ai	8.1/10	4.1/5	Frequent meetings using most of the subscription	File limits and no minute rollover
OpenAI Whisper	9.2/10	4.6/5	Low-cost batch or self-hosted transcription	Requires an app, API workflow or local setup
Deepgram	9.1/10	4.6/5	Metered files and real-time speech products	More technical than a meeting notes app
AssemblyAI	9.0/10	4.5/5	API workloads needing speech intelligence	No equivalent ready-made meeting workspace

OpenAI’s managed transcription can start at roughly $0.18 per audio hour, although you must supply the workflow. Our Whisper API pricing breakdown covers the current model choices.

Deepgram is better suited to streaming and production APIs. Compare it in the Deepgram pricing guide or review the broader rankings of best speech-to-text tools.

Otter.ai pricing pros and cons

Pros	Cons
Generous free allowance for testing meetings.	Only three lifetime file imports on Basic.
Annual Pro pricing is inexpensive when fully used.	Pro allows only 10 file imports per month.
Business includes unlimited in-app meetings.	Imported files retain a 6,000-minute limit.
Strong speaker identification and collaboration.	Unused transcription minutes do not roll over.

Verdict: Which Otter.ai plan should you choose?

Choose Basic to test real meeting audio. Pro suits an individual using fewer than 20 monthly hours and 10 uploaded files. Commit annually only after confirming that those limits fit.

Business is justified by collaboration, administration and concurrent meetings. Bulk-file users and developers should compare usage-based APIs first.

The practical distinction is simple: choose Otter when the meeting workspace is part of the value. Choose a metered transcription service when you mainly need text from files. You can check the current Otter.ai plans before selecting monthly or annual billing.

Otter.ai pricing FAQs

Is Otter.ai free?

Yes. Basic includes 300 minutes per month, a 30-minute limit per conversation and three lifetime audio or video file imports.

How much does Otter.ai Pro cost?

Pro costs $16.99 per user monthly or $8.33 per user per month with annual billing. It includes 1,200 minutes and 10 file imports each month.

Does Otter.ai offer unlimited transcription?

Business and Enterprise include unlimited in-app meetings and recordings. Imported files remain limited to 6,000 transcription minutes per user each month.

Is Otter.ai Pro worth it?

Pro is worth it for individuals who regularly record meetings and stay within the minute and file limits. It is a weaker value for bulk uploads or occasional transcription because unused capacity expires.