Aside vs Otter
Otter joins calls as a bot by default, also has a bot-free desktop app, and transcribes in the cloud. Aside never joins the call and transcribes on your Mac.
Which should you choose?
Choose Otter if…
- You want it on the web, Windows, iPhone and Android as well as a Mac.
- You want a bot that joins meetings from your calendar.
- You want a live transcript on the free plan.
- Your team wants shared speaker profiles, Salesforce or HubSpot sync, Zapier or MCP.
- You want a long-established product with AI Chat across meetings.
Choose Aside if…
- You never want a bot in the call.
- You want the call transcribed on your Mac, with the audio never uploaded.
- You want guidance toward your own goals without an Enterprise plan.
- You need more than Otter’s six transcription languages.
Side by side
| Otter | Aside | |
|---|---|---|
| How it records | A bot joins Zoom, Meet and Teams by default. The desktop app records without a bot. | No bot. Records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays. |
| Where transcription happens | In the cloud, stored on AWS in the US. | On your Mac, with an on-device speech model. Audio is never uploaded. |
| The audio afterwards | Kept as long as necessary, per its privacy policy. Admins can ask for a custom retention period. | Saved in a folder you choose, with playback of both sides. |
| Notes during the call | Live transcript, live summary and AI Chat during the meeting. | Press ⌃⌥N in any app to type a note. It lands in the transcript at the moment you started typing. |
| Live guidance during the call | “Call objectives + live coaching” is listed on Enterprise only. | Optional. Goals you set fill in as dots, one line suggests your next move, and answers you prepared appear when the topic comes up. Paid plan. |
| After-call write-up | Summaries with action items and outlines, and templates. | A summary, the goals you reached, next steps and a follow-up email to copy. Paid plan. |
| Speaker names | Learns voices from names you tag. With the bot in Zoom, names come from the participant list. | Suggested from clues in the call, like a name said aloud, with the reason shown. Voices you’ve confirmed before are named for you, and you can undo it. |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, web and a Chrome extension. | Mac only (Apple silicon, macOS 14.2 or later). |
| Languages | English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese (Simplified). One per recording. | English plus 24 European languages. |
| Integrations | Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier from Pro. MCP on all plans. | None yet. |
| Search or ask across meetings | AI Chat across meetings, with a monthly query limit on each plan. | Not yet. |
| AI training on your data | Its privacy policy lists training on de-identified audio and transcripts. | Nothing you record or write is used to train AI models. |
| Price | Pro is $16.99 per user a month, or $8.33 a month billed yearly. | $15 a month, or $12 a month billed yearly, for guidance and write-ups. |
| Free plan | Yes. 300 minutes a month, up to 30 minutes per conversation. | Yes. Recording, notes and transcripts. |
Otter prices are from its pricing page on 8 Oct 2026.
What Otter is
Otter is a long-running AI notetaker that transcribes and summarises meetings. By default its notetaker joins Zoom, Meet and Teams as a participant. A desktop app for Mac and Windows can also record without a bot.
Where Otter is stronger
Otter works on nearly every device and has a live transcript even on its free plan. Its notetaker can attend meetings from your calendar. For teams, it learns voices across the workspace, syncs to Salesforce and HubSpot, and offers AI Chat across all your meetings.
Where Aside differs
Aside never joins the call. It records your microphone and your Mac’s audio, and transcribes on your Mac with an on-device model, so audio is never uploaded. Otter transcribes in the cloud, and its privacy policy lists training on de-identified audio and transcripts. Aside doesn’t use your data for training.
Help during the call
Otter lists call objectives and live coaching on its Enterprise plan. Aside’s guidance is part of its single paid plan: your goals fill in as you cover them, one line suggests the next move, and the answers you prepared appear when the topic comes up.
Questions
Can Otter record without a bot?
Yes. Its desktop app for Mac and Windows records without a bot. The bot is the default for Zoom, Meet and Teams.
Which one transcribes on my computer?
Aside. It runs an on-device speech model on your Mac. Otter transcribes in the cloud.
Can Aside attend a meeting for me?
No. Aside records on your Mac while you’re in the call. Otter’s notetaker can join from your calendar.
Does Aside work on my phone or the web?
Not yet. Aside is a Mac app for Apple silicon Macs. Otter has web, iPhone and Android apps.
Last checked 8 Oct 2026. Products change, so check each company’s pages before you decide.
Sources
Facts about Otter come from its own pages, read on 8 Oct 2026.