Otter.ai is popular, but it's not the only option. Whether you need better privacy, lower costs, or features Otter doesn't have—there's an alternative for you.

This guide compares the best Otter.ai alternatives in 2026, including open source options you can self-host, privacy-focused tools that process data locally, and commercial alternatives with different feature sets.

Quick Comparison: Best Otter.ai Alternatives

Tool Best For Self-Host Free Tier Price
TellMeMo ⭐ Privacy & open source ✅ ✅ Free + API
Fireflies.ai CRM integrations ❌ ✅ $19/mo
Fathom Zoom users (free) ❌ ✅ Free/$24/mo
Jamie No-bot meetings ❌ ✅ $24/mo
Fellow Enterprise compliance ❌ ✅ $9/mo
Tactiq Browser extension ❌ ✅ $12/mo

Why Look for an Otter.ai Alternative?

Otter.ai is a solid product, but there are valid reasons to consider alternatives:

  • Privacy concerns — Otter stores all your meeting data on their servers
  • Cost at scale — $20/user/month adds up fast for larger teams
  • Limited search — Basic keyword search, no semantic/AI search across meetings
  • No self-hosting — Can't run it on your own infrastructure
  • Missing features — No real-time Q&A, limited RAG capabilities

Detailed Comparison: Top Otter.ai Alternatives

1. TellMeMo — Best Open Source Alternative

Best for: Teams who want complete control over their data, privacy-conscious organizations, and developers who want to customize their meeting intelligence.

TellMeMo is the only true open source alternative to Otter.ai. It's fully self-hostable and includes features Otter doesn't have.

What TellMeMo Does Better Than Otter

  • Self-hosting — Run on your own servers, your data never leaves
  • Real-time Q&A — AI answers questions during meetings, not just after
  • RAG search — Semantic search across all meetings and documents
  • Action tracking — Auto-extracts tasks with owner and deadline
  • Cost — Free software, only pay for AI API usage (~$0.01/meeting)

Pricing

TellMeMo is 100% free. You pay only for AI APIs:

  • Basic usage: ~$5-10/month for a small team
  • Heavy usage: ~$30-50/month for larger teams
  • Compare to Otter: $200/month for 10 users

Limitations

  • Requires technical setup (Docker)
  • No native Zoom/Meet bot (uses audio upload or browser capture)

2. Fireflies.ai — Best for Sales Teams

Fireflies is a commercial alternative focused on sales and revenue teams, with strong CRM integrations.

What Fireflies Does Better Than Otter

  • CRM integration — Auto-syncs meeting notes to Salesforce, HubSpot
  • Conversation intelligence — Tracks talk time, questions asked, sentiment
  • AskFred AI — ChatGPT-style interface for meeting search

Pricing

  • Free: Limited transcription credits
  • Pro: $19/user/month
  • Business: $39/user/month

Limitations

  • No self-hosting option
  • Data stored on their servers
  • Gets expensive for large teams

3. Fathom — Best Free Option for Zoom

Fathom offers unlimited free transcription for Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.

What Fathom Does Better Than Otter

  • Truly free — Unlimited recordings on free plan
  • Speed — Instant summaries, no waiting
  • Simplicity — Minimal UI, easy to use

Pricing

  • Free: Unlimited recordings and summaries
  • Premium: $24/user/month for team features

Limitations

  • Limited search capabilities
  • No self-hosting
  • Fewer integrations than competitors

4. Jamie — Best for No-Bot Meetings

Jamie works without joining your meeting as a bot. It captures audio from your device directly.

What Jamie Does Better Than Otter

  • No bot — Doesn't join meetings, no "AI assistant joined" notification
  • Works anywhere — In-person meetings, phone calls, any audio
  • Privacy — Audio processed locally on your device

Pricing

  • Free: 5 meetings/month
  • Pro: $24/month unlimited

Limitations

  • Single-user focused
  • Limited team collaboration features
  • No self-hosting

5. Fellow — Best for Enterprise Compliance

Fellow is built for enterprise teams with strong governance, compliance, and integration needs.

What Fellow Does Better Than Otter

  • Compliance — SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR certified
  • Bot-free option — Can record without a visible bot
  • Meeting governance — Templates, agendas, feedback collection

Pricing

  • Free: Basic features
  • Pro: $9/user/month
  • Business: Custom pricing

Limitations

  • AI features require higher tiers
  • No self-hosting
  • Complex setup for full feature set

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Feature Otter TellMeMo Fireflies Fathom Fellow
Self-hosted option ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Open source ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Real-time transcription ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
AI summaries ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Action item extraction ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Real-time Q&A during meetings ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
RAG search across meetings Limited ✅ ✅ Limited Limited
CRM integration Limited API ✅ Limited ✅
HIPAA compliant Business Self-host Business ❌ ✅
Price (per user/month) $20 ~$1-5 $19 Free/$24 $9

Which Otter Alternative Should You Choose?

Choose TellMeMo if:

  • Privacy is your top priority
  • You want to self-host on your own servers
  • You need real-time Q&A during meetings
  • You want to minimize costs
  • You're comfortable with Docker setup

Choose Fireflies if:

  • You're a sales team needing CRM integration
  • Conversation intelligence is important
  • You prefer a fully managed solution

Choose Fathom if:

  • You want free unlimited transcription
  • You primarily use Zoom, Meet, or Teams
  • You value simplicity over features

Choose Fellow if:

  • You need enterprise compliance (SOC 2, HIPAA)
  • Meeting governance is important
  • You want structured meeting templates

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free alternative to Otter.ai?

TellMeMo is the best free alternative to Otter.ai. It's 100% open source, can be self-hosted, and includes features Otter lacks like real-time question answering. Fathom also offers unlimited free transcription if you prefer a managed solution.

Which Otter.ai alternative is best for privacy?

TellMeMo is the most privacy-focused alternative because it can be completely self-hosted—your meeting data never leaves your servers. For cloud options, Jamie processes audio locally on your device.

Is there an open source alternative to Otter.ai?

Yes. TellMeMo is the leading open source alternative. It's available on GitHub and includes AI transcription, summaries, action tracking, and real-time Q&A.

How much can I save by switching from Otter.ai?

A team of 10 users pays $200/month for Otter.ai. With TellMeMo, the same team would pay approximately $10-50/month in API costs—a savings of 75-95%.

Conclusion

Otter.ai is a good product, but it's not the only option. In 2026, you have excellent alternatives depending on your needs:

  • For privacy and cost savings → TellMeMo
  • For sales teams → Fireflies
  • For free unlimited use → Fathom
  • For enterprise compliance → Fellow

If you value data privacy and want to avoid vendor lock-in, TellMeMo is the clear choice—it's the only option that lets you own your infrastructure and your data.

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About the Author: Nick is the founder of TellMeMo. He built the open source alternative after years of frustration with commercial meeting tools that didn't respect user privacy.