Minutes vs Otter.ai: where do your meetings actually go?
Otter is the best known meeting transcriber, it works everywhere, and it sends your audio to a server to do it. Minutes does the same job on your own Mac for a one-time price, and nothing leaves the machine. Here is the honest comparison, including what Otter does better.
Last updated: July 2026
Full disclosure: this page is published by the makers of Minutes. Otter's prices and limits below are taken from Otter's own pricing page, checked in July 2026.
The short version
Pick Otter if you need one transcript that everyone on the team can open, on Windows and the web as well as a Mac, and you want search and chat across a whole history of meetings.
Pick Minutes if the meetings are yours, the recording should stay on your Mac, and you would rather pay $29.99 once than every month for the rest of your working life.
Side by side
| Minutes | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29.99 one-time | Free, or $8.33 to $30 per user per month |
| Where the audio goes | Nowhere. It stays on your Mac | Otter's servers |
| Minute limits | None | 300 a month free, 1,200 per user on Pro |
| Works offline | Entirely | Needs the network |
| Where notes live | Plain Markdown in a folder you own | Otter's workspace |
| Team sharing | It is a personal tool | Shared workspaces, built for it |
| Platforms | macOS 26, Apple Silicon | Mac, Windows, web, iOS, Android |
Where Otter is better
- Teams. Shared workspaces, a searchable history everyone can reach, and assistants that join calls for you. Minutes does not try to do any of that.
- It runs everywhere. Windows, the web, phones. Minutes is a Mac app and always will be.
- You can start for nothing. 300 minutes a month at no cost is a real way to find out whether transcription helps you at all.
- Search across everything. Years of meetings in one place, asked questions in plain language. A folder of Markdown files does not do that on its own.
Where Minutes is better
- Nothing is uploaded. Recording, transcription and the summary all run on your Mac with the models that ship inside macOS. Not encrypted in transit and stored responsibly: never sent. Pull the network cable mid meeting and it keeps working.
- You buy it once. $29.99, once. Otter Pro at $8.33 a month billed annually passes that in under four months and keeps going.
- No meter. No monthly minutes, no 30 minute cap on a single conversation. Your Mac does the work, so there is nothing to ration.
- The notes are files. One Markdown file per meeting in a folder you choose, readable in any editor. Stop using Minutes and every note still opens.
- It catches what was agreed. Decisions and action items come out with an Add button for Calendar and Reminders, and nothing is written until you tap it.
The pricing math
Otter Pro is $16.99 per user per month, or $8.33 per user per month if you pay for a year up front. Business is $30 per user per month, $19.99 annually. Minutes is $29.99 once.
On the cheapest paid Otter plan, four months costs more than owning Minutes outright. Over three years the subscription is roughly ten times the price. That is not an argument against Otter, whose team features Minutes has no answer to. It is an argument for knowing which one you actually need.
The question underneath
Both apps turn talking into text. The difference is what happens to the recording in between. Otter needs your audio on its servers to do the work, and for a lot of teams that is a perfectly reasonable trade. If your meetings involve salaries, health, clients or anything you would not paste into a stranger's website, the trade stops being reasonable, and that is the whole reason Minutes exists.
FAQ
How much does Otter.ai cost?
Basic is free with 300 transcription minutes a month. Pro is $16.99 per user per month, or $8.33 billed annually, with 1,200 minutes per user. Business is $30 per user per month, or $19.99 annually. Prices from Otter's pricing page, July 2026.
Is there a meeting notetaker that does not upload my audio?
Yes. Minutes records, transcribes and summarizes on your Mac, so there is no server to send anything to.
Does Minutes have a minutes limit?
No. Your Mac does the work, so there is no meter.
Can Minutes join a call for me?
No. It records what your Mac plays and what your microphone hears, as separate channels, while you are in the meeting yourself. If you need a bot that attends without you, Otter is the right tool.
Which Macs does Minutes run on?
macOS 26 on Apple Silicon. That floor is the reason there is nothing to download and nothing to upload.
Keep the meeting on your Mac
Both sides of the call transcribed, a summary written on device, and the promises pulled out with an Add button. Plain Markdown in a folder you own. $29.99 once, no subscription.
Get Minutes, $29.99 Try free for 7 daysmacOS 26 on Apple Silicon · 7-day trial, no card up front · nothing uploaded, ever
More comparisons: Best Mac meeting notes apps in 2026 · vs Granola · vs Fathom · vs Fireflies.ai · vs tl;dv · vs Notion AI · Private, on-device notes · Notes without a bot · Minutes overview