Otter.ai Honest Review 2025: Is It Still the Best for English Transcription?

Otter.ai has long been a prominent name in the transcription industry. Leveraging AI, it turns audio into searchable, editable text. But with the rise of multilingual transcription tools and increasingly global teams, how well does Otter still hold up in 2025?

This review cuts through the hype and looks at Otter’s real-world performance, transcription quality, pricing, usability, and what’s changed — or hasn’t.

What is Otter.ai?

Otter.ai is an AI-driven transcription platform offering live recording, transcription, and limited meeting assistance features. It focuses solely on English and aims to simplify notetaking for meetings, interviews, and lectures.

It’s available via web, mobile apps (iOS/Android), and a Chrome extension, supporting both live and file-based transcription.

Ease of Use & Setup

Creating an Otter account is fast. You can use your Google, Apple, or Microsoft credentials. Within minutes, you’re inside an interface that’s clean but often cluttered with options.

Despite the initial information overload, Otter is beginner-friendly. The dashboard gives access to recording, uploading files, syncing calendars, and accessing past transcripts. Editing tools are intuitive, but some menus feel dated.

Key Features

1. Live & Uploaded Transcription

Otter’s core function — turning spoken English into text — works across:

• Live conversations
• Uploaded files (.mp3, .wav, .mp4, etc.)
• Synced calendar events (Zoom, Google Meet, Teams)

Files can be exported as .txt on the free plan and .pdf, .docx, or .srt on paid tiers. Users can edit transcripts collaboratively, tag speakers using voiceprint, and highlight action items.

2. Meeting Assistant

By connecting your calendar, Otter can auto-join Zoom/Meet/Teams sessions and begin recording/transcribing. This feature is handy but limited — it only captures audio, not video or screen sharing.

Setup is easy, but its reliability varies. There can be lag when joining meetings or syncing schedules.

3. Meeting “Gems”

Otter includes features like:

• Assigning tasks
• Adding comments and notes
• Highlighting takeaways

Unfortunately, summaries are only generated for longer meetings, and users can’t create calendar events directly inside Otter.

4. Speaker Identification

Otter attempts to tag speakers using voice patterns. It works reasonably well in quiet environments, but accuracy drops if multiple people talk over each other or in noisy settings.

Transcription Accuracy Test

We tested Otter under varied conditions by reading an 88-word paragraph from a novel in four scenarios:

• Worst case (noise, unclear speech): ~80% accuracy
• Best case (clear audio, slow speech): ~86% accuracy
• Average: ~83%

That’s decent — but still far from perfect. If you’re dealing with poor audio or accents, expect a drop in quality.

Security & Privacy

Otter uses AWS S3 with Server-Side Encryption (SSE), AES-256 encryption, and restricts data access to authorized personnel. However, their policy clarifies they don’t guarantee complete security over internet-transmitted data.

For general corporate use, the security is acceptable — but not best-in-class.

Otter.ai Pricing (2025)

Otter is moderately priced but limited by its English-only transcription.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Free plan available
• Clean interface
• Decent editing & collaboration tools
• Works on web, iOS, Android

Cons:

• Accuracy varies greatly
• English-only transcription
• No video recording
• Limited automation features

User Feedback Overview

Otter scores reasonably well on review sites:

• G2: 4.1/5
• Capterra: 4.5/5
• TrustRadius: 7.6/10

Common praise includes usability and calendar sync. Criticism centers on speaker confusion and transcription accuracy.

Looking for Alternatives?

If your meetings include multiple languages, or you want visual recordings and better summaries, Otter might fall short.

Votars and other modern tools offer multilingual transcription, higher accuracy, video recording, and visual content generation (slides, docs, spreadsheets).

Final Thoughts

Otter remains a solid English-only transcription solution. But in 2025, when teams are global and remote work demands more robust capabilities, its limitations feel noticeable.

Otter scores 3.5 out of 5. It gets the job done, but it’s no longer the only game in town.

FAQs

Q: Does Otter support non-English transcription?
A: No. Only English (US & UK) is supported.

Q: Does Otter provide translation?
A: No built-in translation or multilingual support.

Q: How fast is transcription?
A: Live transcription is instant; file upload takes about 5–6 mins per 15-min file.

Q: Is my data secure on Otter?
A: Reasonably. They use AWS encryption but don’t guarantee internet security.

Q: What’s a good alternative?
A: Tools like Votars support multilingual transcription, slides, documents, and more — offering broader functionality.

Where Otter Shines — And Where It Doesn’t

For everyday note-taking and English meetings, Otter is incredibly convenient. It works right out of the box, requires almost no training, and integrates easily with common meeting tools. It’s especially helpful for individuals or small teams looking for a lightweight tool to record, transcribe, and share meeting notes.

But as businesses scale or become more globally distributed, Otter’s limits come into play. Without translation features, it can’t support international collaboration effectively. Without video recording, teams can’t revisit full context. And with only moderate accuracy, manual editing is often still necessary.

That’s where more modern tools like Votars come in — offering multilingual transcription, video capture, document generation, and real-time summaries with over 74 languages supported, including Hindi, Japanese, Arabic, and Spanish.

Who is Otter Best For in 2025?

• Students and Lecturers: Great for recording and transcribing English-language lectures or tutorials.
• Freelancers: Useful for interviews, podcasts, and client calls — provided everyone speaks English.
• Small Teams: Ideal for those who don’t need advanced collaboration or cross-language functionality.
• Professionals on a Budget: The free plan delivers core functions for zero cost.

However, if you’re part of a remote-first, international, or fast-scaling team, Otter may not be the best fit for 2025 demands.

How Otter Compares to Emerging Tools

As shown above, Otter still serves a purpose but isn’t keeping pace with fast-evolving AI meeting tools.

Final Verdict: Is Otter.ai Still Worth It?

If your needs are simple, and you’re only dealing with English content, Otter is still a solid choice. It has matured over the years and remains a popular option with a strong user base and familiar interface.

But in 2025, productivity and collaboration demands are higher than ever. Otter’s lack of multilingual support, inconsistent accuracy, and limited output formats leave room for better alternatives to shine.

For more demanding users — whether for enterprise reporting, international teams, or content creation — exploring tools like Votars can unlock significantly more value.