Fireflies vs Otter: which free plan and price fits how you meet
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Both send a notetaker into Zoom, Teams and Meet by default, so the real differences are in the limits: Otter caps minutes and meeting length, Fireflies caps storage. Here's how they line up on paper.
Side by side (as of 2026-10-27)
| Fireflies | Otter | |
|---|---|---|
| How it captures | Meeting bot for Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams and 10+ more; Chrome extension can record "without Fireflies bot"; desktop and mobile apps | Joins Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet; live transcription in the Otter app; iOS and Android apps |
| Free plan | Unlimited transcription of meetings it auto-joins, limited AI summaries, 20 AI credits | 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes max per conversation |
| The free catch | 400 minutes of storage in total, not per month (per seat, pooled across the team, per Fireflies' help center) | 25 most recent conversations kept; 3 file imports for the life of the account |
| File uploads on free | Uploads use sign-up transcription credits (3 via the website), up to 150 minutes per file; transcript downloads need a paid plan | 3 lifetime imports |
| Lowest paid tier | Pro $10/seat/mo billed annually, or $18 monthly | Pro $8.33/user/mo billed annually, or $16.99 monthly |
| What Pro adds | Unlimited AI summaries, 8,000 minutes of storage per seat, video recording, downloads of transcripts, summaries and recordings | 1,200 minutes a month, 90 minutes per meeting, 10 imports a month, unlimited storage |
| Next tier | Business $19/seat/mo annual or $29 monthly (unlimited storage) | Business $19.99/user/mo annual or $30 monthly (unlimited meetings, 4 hours per meeting) |
| Max recording length | Free and Pro 2 hours, Business 3 hours, Enterprise 4 hours | Basic 30 minutes, Pro 90 minutes, Business 4 hours |
| Training (vendor claims) | Pages differ: "Your data is never used for AI training" (pricing page) and "We don't train on it by default" (security page), checked 2026-10-27 | Trains its own models on de-identified recordings and transcripts; says its AI service providers don't train on customer data |
| HIPAA / BAA | HIPAA and FERPA: "BAA for healthcare and DSA for education, available on Enterprise with Private Storage." Enterprise is $39/seat/mo, annual only | HIPAA compliance is an Enterprise add-on; Otter says it becomes a Business Associate only once a signed BAA is in place |
Promos: Otter's pricing page sometimes shows limited-time discounts for some buyers. We use list prices only. Check the page at checkout.
Two-year cost math
Arithmetic on the list prices above, one user, before tax. Not a measured result.
| Plan | 2-year total |
|---|---|
| Fireflies Free or Otter Basic | $0 |
| Otter Pro (annual) | $199.92 |
| Fireflies Pro (annual) | $240 |
| Otter Pro (monthly) | $407.76 |
| Fireflies Pro (monthly) | $432 |
| Fireflies Business (annual) | $456 |
| Otter Business (annual) | $479.76 |
On annual billing Otter Pro lists about $40 less than Fireflies Pro over two years. On the business tiers Fireflies lists about $24 less. Small gaps either way, so the limits matter more than the price.
Which one fits which situation
- Lots of short calls, free: Otter Basic gives about 5 hours a month (300 minutes), each conversation capped at 30 minutes. Fireflies Free has no monthly minute cap listed for meetings it joins, but storage is 400 minutes in total, not per month. Fireflies says that once you hit it, new meetings are still captured but you have to delete older ones to access them (Fireflies storage help).
- Long meetings: Otter caps conversations at 30 minutes on Basic, 90 on Pro and 4 hours on Business. Fireflies lists a recording limit of 2 hours on Free and Pro, 3 hours on Business and 4 hours on Enterprise.
- You don't want a bot in every call: Fireflies lists a Chrome extension that records without its bot. Otter's pages we read describe the notetaker joining calls, plus live recording in its own app.
- You want to keep and download recordings: Fireflies lists downloads and video recording starting on Pro. Otter Pro lists unlimited storage and advanced export.
- Students and teachers: some vendors offer student pricing. Deals change often; check the vendor's site. Fireflies lists a FERPA DSA only on Enterprise. Schools often have their own recording rules.
- Health information: both keep HIPAA and a BAA on Enterprise. Not legal or compliance advice.
Want neither? See Otter.ai alternatives and note takers that don't send a bot into your meeting.
Privacy and consent
Recording laws: tell people first. Federal law and most states let you record a conversation you're part of. About 11 states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington, generally require everyone's consent, and a few states mix the rules. Oregon, for example, requires that everyone in an in-person conversation be told it's being recorded, while phone calls need one person's consent (RCFP guide, ORS 165.540). If people are in different states, the stricter law may apply. Rules outside the US differ too, and many employers, schools and clinics have their own policies. A meeting bot showing up in the participant list is a notice, not consent. The same goes for a "this call may be recorded" greeting: it may not tell people that an AI service is transcribing or summarizing the call, so name the AI note taker when you ask. This is general information, not legal advice. If you're unsure, ask a lawyer where you live.
- Bots are visible but not consent. Both tools' notetakers show up in the call by default. Still ask, especially with outside guests.
- The Chrome extension route means no automatic notice. If you record with Fireflies' extension instead of the bot, nobody sees a notetaker join, so tell people.
A simple way to ask. Start recording first, so your announcement is captured on the recording (Washington law requires that). Then say: "Quick heads-up: I'd like to record this and use an AI note taker to transcribe it, so I don't miss anything. The recording and notes are stored with [tool name]. Is everyone OK with that?" Wait for a clear yes from each person. If anyone says no, stop and delete what you captured. For meetings with outside guests, also put a line in the invite: "This meeting may be recorded and transcribed by an AI note taker. Let me know beforehand if you'd prefer it isn't."
What we did and didn't do
We read the vendor pages below on 2026-10-27. We didn't use Fireflies or Otter, so nothing here is about transcript accuracy or summary quality.
Sources (checked 2026-10-27)
- Fireflies pricing: https://fireflies.ai/pricing
- Fireflies security (training statements, checked 2026-10-27): https://fireflies.ai/security
- Fireflies pricing plans help article: https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/3734844560-learn-about-the-fireflies-pricing-plans
- Otter pricing: https://otter.ai/pricing
- Otter HIPAA help article: https://help.otter.ai/hc/en-us/articles/33975072019991-HIPAA-Otter-ai
- Otter privacy and security FAQ (training): https://otter.ai/privacy-security
- RCFP recording guide: https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-reporters-recording-guide/
- Oregon ORS 165.540: https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_165.540
- Fireflies Free plan help (checked 2026-10-27): https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4027724828-learn-about-the-fireflies-free-plan
- Fireflies meeting storage limits help (checked 2026-10-27): https://guide.fireflies.ai/articles/4777633252-learn-about-meeting-storage-limits
Changes
- 2026-10-24: page first written. Prices, plans and policies checked on the vendor pages in Sources.
- 2026-10-24: Review fixes. Fireflies recording limits per plan filled in, Fireflies Free upload and download catches added, storage line reworded to match Fireflies' help, FERPA note for Otter, generic promo line.
- 2026-10-24: Otter student discount replaced with a general deals line (student discounts are promos); unsourced Otter FERPA sentence dropped.
- 2026-10-25: Fireflies training line now shows both of Fireflies' statements.
- 2026-10-26: standard consent block now adds that a "this call may be recorded" greeting may not tell people an AI service is transcribing or summarizing the call.
- 2026-10-27: ship-day re-read. Prices, plan limits and quoted vendor lines re-checked on the vendor pages in Sources; checked dates updated (promos left off).
- 2026-10-27: affiliate disclosure wording updated.