GILD verdict
Pick Otter when meetings run in its six languages and people value the live transcript, a renewable free tier, and Enterprise recording-permission controls.
Pick Fireflies when meetings span many languages or when a vendor commitment not to train on meeting content decides the purchase. Either way, set the notetaker's auto-join and notice before it reaches external calls.
The only named switch GILD found runs from Otter to Fireflies, DeckRooster in Fireflies' own customer story. Languages and training terms separate them most. Fireflies transcribes more than 100 languages to Otter's six, and it states that meeting content never trains AI models, while Otter trains on de-identified data unless a user opts out. The free plans and the packaging of retention and admin controls differ too. Each sends a bot into Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, records bot-free from a desktop app, and connects to CRMs.
What teams report
Switched 1
DeckRoosterOn Fireflies
DeckRooster moved from Otter to Fireflies because Otter missed the other side of calls when people wore headphones, in Fireflies' customer story of March 31, 2020.
“DeckRooster was previously using Otter, but they couldn't record calls while using headphones since in that case, Otter didn't record the sound of the other end. Impact…”
Mohit Bansal, Founder, DeckRoosterFireflies blog, , write-upVendor customer story
Choosing between Otter and Fireflies
Choose Otter if
- Meetings run in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, or Chinese, and people want a live transcript to follow and catch up on during the call.
- You want a renewable free tier of 300 minutes a month, and an MCP server for AI assistants on every plan.
- Enterprise features such as Teams recording permissions, audio removal, and disabled speaker learning matter to your legal team.
Choose Fireflies if
- Meetings run in many languages: Fireflies lists transcription in more than 100.
- You want a vendor statement that meeting content never trains AI models, with zero data retention at its AI providers.
- Your team wants video recording from Pro and unlimited transcription on paid plans; Otter Pro stops at 1,200 minutes a month.
Side by side
| Dimension | Otter | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|
| Capture | Otter Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams as a visible participant. The desktop app records bot-free. Mobile, web, and Chrome record and import files | Fireflies.ai Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. The desktop app's Take Notes records system audio with no bot and saves no audio or video |
| Paid seat, billed annuallyList prices in US dollars. | Pro US$8.33. Business US$19.99 per user per month | Pro US$10. Business US$19. Enterprise US$39 per seat per month |
| Paid seat, billed monthly | Pro US$16.99. Business US$30 per user per month | Pro US$18. Business US$29 per seat per month. Enterprise is annual only |
| Free plan | 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports, the 25 most recent conversations visible | Unlimited transcription with limited AI summaries and 400 minutes of storage |
| Languages | English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese (Simplified) | More than 100 languages. Multi-language Mode on Business |
| Model training | The privacy policy lists training Otter's own AI on de-identified audio and transcripts. Each user can set Help improve Otter to Don't allow sharing, and Enterprise workspaces are opted out by default | States that audio, video, transcripts, and summaries are never used to train AI models, internally or at vendors |
| Consent notice | Notetaker appears as a named participant and posts a chat announcement. Pre-recording emails per user, enforced workspace-wide on Enterprise. Teams permission page on Enterprise | The notetaker joins as a participant. For bot-free Take Notes, a meeting chat consent message is available on Mac only |
| Retention and admin | Conversations kept until deleted. Enterprise adds custom retention, audio removal, SSO and SCIM from 100 users, and HIPAA as an add-on | Enterprise adds custom data retention, a rules engine, SSO and SCIM, audit log API, private storage, and HIPAA |
| 50 people, 20 meeting hours each a monthList prices; taxes and discounts excluded. | About US$1,000 a month on Business at US$19.99 a seat billed annually, in two workspaces at this headcount. GILD's calculation from published rates, read Oct 28, 20261 | US$950 a month on Business at US$19 a seat billed annually. GILD's calculation from published rates, read Oct 28, 20269 |
| Who switched | DeckRooster left Otter because its setup missed the other side of calls when people wore headphones, in Fireflies' customer story of March 31, 202014 | DeckRooster now records headphone calls without starting recording by hand, per the same story14 |
What practitioners report, side by side
Each product's figures come from its own practitioners, for the group you pick.
Overall signal
Leaders and teams rate Fireflies +6, 75 points above Otter at −69. Most of the gap is in praise, with 18 of Fireflies's 36 sources positive against 3 of Otter's 36. Fireflies has 16 negative and Otter 28.
The score is how far positive sources lead negative ones, per 100 sources from leaders and teams that take a side. Each author behind these scores wrote one of them, so each source is one vote.
A lead of a fifth of the sources reads positive and a lead of half strong positive, with the same lines below zero. The dots run positive, mixed, negative. Run a pilot on a month of real meetings to measure how much each summary needs editing before it is shared.
Footprint on the AI Knowledge Work stack
They differ on one of 7 layers. On Data analysis, Otter touches it and Fireflies supports it. Coverage is each product's placement on this stack, as its product page shows it. Core is a job the product owns; Supports and Touches are jobs it helps with. Coverage says nothing about how well a product does them.
| Layer | Otter | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|
| Analyze | ||
| Data analysis | Touches | Supports |
The 6 layers where they match
| Layer | Otter | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|
| Assist | ||
| AI assistant | Touches | Touches |
| Find | ||
| Web research | Touches | Touches |
| Enterprise search | Supports | Supports |
| Create | ||
| Documents | Supports | Supports |
| Meeting notes | Core | Core |
| Automate | ||
| Automation | Supports | Supports |
What practitioners praise
Among leaders and teams, Fireflies alone has three praise themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Notes & Action Items and Searchable Record lead, at 8 of 8 each.
| Praised for | Otter | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|
| Notes & Action Items | Not a theme in its sources | 8 of 8 |
| Searchable Record | 2 of 2 so far | 8 of 8 |
| Integrations & API | Not a theme in its sources | 6 of 6 |
Each count is the sources that praise a theme, or raise it as a concern, out of those that discuss it. A row pairs the two products when both carry a theme under the same or an equivalent name.
A count ending in "so far" has under 5 sources from 3 authors among leaders and teams. "Not a theme in its sources" means GILD found no theme of that name in that product's sources.
What practitioners raise as concerns
Among leaders and teams, Otter alone has three concern themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. IT Control and Uninvited Notetaker lead, at 14 of 18 and 12 of 12. Bot Control & Privacy reaches 5 sources from 3 authors only for Fireflies, at 17 of 22. Otter needs a pilot on the same meetings before you choose on it.
| Raised as a concern | Otter | Fireflies |
|---|---|---|
| IT Control | 14 of 18 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Uninvited Notetaker | 12 of 12 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Privacy & Consent | 10 of 10 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Bot Control & Privacy | Not a theme in its sources | 17 of 22 |
14 sources
- Otter.ai pricing
- Otter Help Center: Otter Notetaker Overview
- Otter Help Center: Otter Desktop App (Mac & Windows)
- Otter Help Center: Supported languages
- Otter.ai Privacy Policy (effective June 16, 2026)
- Otter Help Center: Provide feedback to Otter
- Otter Help Center: Recording Permissions with Otter
- Otter Help Center: Enterprise Admin Controls Overview
- Fireflies.ai pricing
- Fireflies.ai security
- Fireflies Knowledge Base: How Fireflies.ai keeps your information safe
- Fireflies Knowledge Base: How to Record Meetings Without a Bot on the Fireflies Desktop App
- Fireflies Knowledge Base: Learn about storage, and rate limits
- Fireflies blog: DeckRooster uses Fireflies for better conversations (Mar 31, 2020)