COMPARISONEvery claim sourced · verified Jun 2026

Aqua Voice vs Otter.ai: the honest comparison.

Aqua Voice and Otter.ai solve different jobs. Aqua Voice is for system-wide dictation, while Otter.ai is for meeting transcripts and team notes. Ottex sits between them with dictation, meetings, file transcription, local AI, and BYOK on Mac and iOS.

Ottex

Mac, iOS · Free tier · $14/mo · PAYG

Ottex is unusually broad for a young Mac/iOS-first tool: it turns dictation and meetings into emails, tickets, CRM updates, notes, and docs, but it is not the pick if you need Windows, Android, web, browser extension, or compliance paperwork.

Choose if

You want one tool for system-wide dictation, meeting recording, and finished written outcomes like follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, and docs
You want a real free path: unlimited local dictation, file transcription, and meetings on Mac with Whisper/Parakeet, or BYOK instead of a forced subscription
You need multilingual dictation with 100+ languages, auto-detection, mixed-language speech, personal vocabulary, and per-app output rules

Look elsewhere if

You need Windows, Android, Linux, web access, or a browser extension
You need mature team infrastructure such as a shared workspace, API/webhooks, third-party note destinations, or assistant chat over transcripts today.

Aqua Voice

Mac, Windows, iOS · Limited free · $8/mo

Aqua Voice is a polished system-wide dictation app for Mac, Windows, and iOS, with 49 languages and strong formatting controls, but it is not a meeting recorder or file transcription tool and dictation is processed server-side.

Choose if

You want fast, system-wide voice dictation across Mac, Windows, or iOS for everyday writing.
You want dictated text cleaned up automatically with punctuation, paragraphs, filler-word removal, snippets, custom vocabulary, and tone rules.
You are comfortable paying $10/month or $96/year after the 1,000-word trial, which is only about 8 minutes of speech.

Look elsewhere if

You need meeting recording, summaries, action items, speaker identification, or calendar-based meeting workflows.
You need audio or video file transcription with timestamps, speaker labels, exports, batch processing, or watch folders.

Otter.ai

Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web · Limited free · $16.99/mo

Otter.ai is a strong meeting transcription and team-notes platform with real-time summaries, CRM/workflow integrations, and broad apps, but it is not a system-wide dictation tool and relies on cloud transcription with only 6 published input

Choose if

You want AI meeting notes, summaries, speaker labels, follow-ups, and searchable transcripts across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, web, desktop, iOS, and i
You run a team that needs shared workspaces, Salesforce or HubSpot note sync, Slack/Zapier workflows, API/webhooks, and compliance claims including SOC 2 Type
You need a meeting-focused product with a usable free trial path: Basic has 300 transcription minutes/month, Pro is $16.99/month or $8.33/user/month annually,

Look elsewhere if

You need true system-wide dictation that inserts text into any app; the dossier says this is not supported.
You need private or offline local transcription, BYOK, or zero-data-retention guarantees; imported files upload to Otter and those privacy claims are not public

The evidence

What actually differs, claim by claim.

Each section opens with the takeaway. The table underneath is the receipt — every cell carries its source and the date we checked it.

Pricing

Aqua Voice is the cheaper paid dictation product: its 1,000-word free trial is only about 8 minutes of speech, then Pro is $10/month or $96/year. Otter.ai has the more useful free meeting trial with 300 transcription minutes/month and 3 lifetime file imports, then Pro is $16.99/month and Business is $19.99/seat/month. Ottex is the pricing surprise because it has free local AI, free BYOK, PAYG at $0.2/hour, Pro at $14

See the evidence — 14 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	Otter.ai
Free tier	YesWhisper & Parakeet run on your Mac. Dictation and meetings, $0.	Partial1,000 free words, no card required	Partial300 monthly transcription minutes; 30 minutes per conversation; Import and transcribe 3 audio or video files lifetime per user
Subscription	$14/mo$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.	$8/moFAQ says Pro is $8/month billed annually after the free words.	$16.99/moAnnual price is published as $8.33/user/month and monthly price as $16.99/user/month.
Pay-as-you-go / one-timeEscape the flat subscription	$0.2/hourHosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).	NoSubscription only	NoSubscription only
Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman	YesOpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers.	No public claim	NoNo public BYOK transcription or LLM-key support claim found.
Education discount	NoSame pricing for everyone.	YesStudents with a .edu email get 70% off annual plans.	YesStudent and teacher discount program is listed for the Pro plan.

Platforms

Otter.ai has the broadest coverage with Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web, so it wins if your team needs Android or browser access. Aqua Voice covers Mac, Windows, and iOS, which is enough for cross-platform dictation but not web or Android. Ottex is Mac and iOS only, so it loses coverage even though it combines more workflows on Apple devices.

See the evidence — 4 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	Otter.ai
Platforms	Mac, iOS	Mac, Windows, iOS	Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke	YesNative Swift app, ~50MB RAM.	No public claim	No public claim

Meetings & team memory

Otter.ai wins meeting capture because it supports meetings, file transcription, 300 free monthly transcription minutes, speaker labels, summaries, and team-note workflows. Aqua Voice has no meetings and no file transcription, so it should not be chosen for calls. Ottex also supports meetings and file transcription, and its local/BYOK options make it more flexible for Mac and iOS users who do not need Otter.ai's wider

See the evidence — 18 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	Otter.ai
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all	YesWith speaker separation.	NoNot supported.	YesOtter Notetaker records and transcribes Zoom meetings in real time.
Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call	YesSystem-audio capture, no bot joins the call.	NoNot supported.	YesDesktop app supports bot-free meeting capture.
Speaker separation	Yes	NoNot supported.	YesSpeaker identification is listed on the pricing page.
Calendar detection	YesCalendar-based meeting detection.	NoNot supported.	YesNotetaker can automatically join synced calendar event meetings.
Cross-meeting search	Yes	NoNot supported.	YesOtter AI Chat searches across meetings and connected apps.
Shared team memory	PartialPublic share links, not a full team workspace.	NoNot supported.	YesOtter Workspaces provide team collaboration and management features.

From meeting to finished work

Otter.ai wins classic meeting intelligence for teams that need summaries, follow-ups, searchable transcripts, shared workspaces, and CRM or workflow sync. Aqua Voice does not cover meeting intelligence at all because it is a dictation app, not a meeting recorder. Ottex goes further on finished work by turning dictation and meetings into follow-up emails, Linear tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, notes, and docs, but it is

See the evidence — 11 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	Otter.ai
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear	YesDecisions with owners extracted.	NoNot supported.	YesBusiness trial lists assigning action items to teammates.
Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized	YesDrafted from templates or your own.	NoNot supported.	YesOtter creates follow-ups from meetings.
CRM update / ticket draft	YesStructured for the target app.	NoNot supported.	YesPricing lists synced notes to Salesforce or HubSpot and AI Chat with Salesforce.
Your rough notes steer the result	YesRough notes and instructions steer the result.	NoNot supported.	No public claim

Dictation & transcription AI

Aqua Voice is the better pick than Otter.ai for pure dictation because it inserts system-wide text, supports 49 languages, and includes formatting controls like punctuation, paragraphs, filler-word removal, snippets, custom vocabulary, and tone rules. Otter.ai is not a system-wide dictation tool and publishes only 6 input languages. Ottex wins the dictation-AI depth test with dictation, 100 languages, local AI, BYOK,

See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Aqua Voice	Otter.ai
Engines	Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.	Avalon proprietary speech modelAqua says it runs on its own Avalon speech model.	proprietary cloud AI transcriptionOtter describes AI transcription and cloud upload for imported files.
Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine	YesWhisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device.	NoAqua requires an internet connection and processes audio server-side.	NoImported files upload to Otter for transcription.
Model selection per task	YesChoose the model per task and per provider.	No public claim	NoNo user-selectable recognition model is published.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence	Yes100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.	Yes49+ languages · Language guide says Aqua supports multilingual speakers.	No public claim
Per-app output rules	YesPer-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email.	PartialAqua formats for the destination app, but no per-app rule editor is documented.	No public claim

Cost

What a year actually costs at your volume.

Personal or team — switch tabs. Subscriptions are flat; usage-based pricing depends on how much you speak and meet.

You dictate about 3 h a week≈ 23,400 words at ~130 wpm

0 h5 h10 h

and sit in 4 h of meetings a weekhours you'd want captured and turned into follow-ups

0 h7.5 h15 h

Fill the gaps with:

Dictation appadded to meetings-only toolsMeetings appadded to dictation-only tools

Otter.aiPro$100/yr$100 + $0Annual price is published as $8.33/user/month and monthly price as $16.99/user/month. · 1200 in-app recording minutes; Up to 90 mins/meeting; 10 monthly audio/video file imports

OttexOttex Provider — PAYG$135/yrHosted models at cost: dictation ~$0.2/h, meetings ~$0.5/h (~$3/mo average).

OttexPro$168/yr$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included.

Otter.aiBusiness$240/yr$240 + $0Business is published for teams at $19.99/user/month billed annually. · Unlimited meetings + in-app recordings; 6000 monthly transcription minutes - 4 hours per conversation; Import and transcribe unlimited audio or video files

Aqua VoicePro Annual$264/yr$96 + $168FAQ says Pro is $8/month billed annually after the free words. · Unlimited use

Aqua VoicePro Monthly$288/yr$120 + $168A vendor comparison page lists Pro at $10/month. · Unlimited use

Estimates, not quotes. Striped bar segments are the cost of the second app you picked above to cover the gap — rankings use that combined total. PAYG and BYOK usage are estimated at provider at-cost rates ($0.2/h dictation, $0.5/h meetings) — bring-your-own-key plans still pay the model provider per use. One-time licenses are amortized over 2 years. Subscriptions use published pricing, checked Jun 2026.

FAQ

Questions people actually ask.

Aqua Voice vs Otter.ai: which should I pick?

Pick Aqua Voice if you want system-wide dictation on Mac, Windows, or iOS. Pick Otter.ai if you want meeting notes, summaries, speaker labels, searchable transcripts, and team workflows across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web. Pick Ottex if you want dictation, meetings, file transcription, local AI, BYOK, and finished outputs on Mac or iOS.

Is Aqua Voice free?

Aqua Voice has a free trial with 1,000 words and no card required. At about 130 words per minute, that is only about 8 minutes of dictation, so it is a teaser rather than a real free plan. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex — unlimited with local models or your own key.

Is Otter.ai free?

Otter.ai Basic is free with 300 monthly transcription minutes, a 30-minute limit per conversation, and 3 lifetime audio or video file imports per user. That is a usable meeting trial, not an unlimited meeting system. Otter.ai is the better free test than Aqua Voice if your need is meetings rather than dictation.

How much does Aqua Voice cost compared with Otter.ai?

Aqua Voice Pro is $10/month or $96/year for unlimited use after the 1,000-word trial. Otter.ai Pro is $16.99/month, and the input also lists an annual path at $8.33/user/month, or about $99.96/year. Ottex is cheaper for local or BYOK use because those paths are free, with PAYG at $0.2/hour and Pro at $14/month.

Is Aqua Voice safer than Otter.ai?

Neither Aqua Voice nor Otter.ai is the winner if privacy means fully local transcription, because Aqua Voice processes dictation server-side and Otter.ai relies on cloud transcription. Otter.ai is built for meeting teams, while Aqua Voice is built for personal dictation. If privacy is the actual concern, Ottex is the better fit because it supports local AI and BYOK.

Is it worth switching from Aqua Voice to Otter.ai?

Switch from Aqua Voice to Otter.ai if you need meeting recording, summaries, action items, speaker labels, file imports, or team workflows. Stay with Aqua Voice if your main job is fast system-wide dictation with formatting controls in everyday writing apps. Otter.ai is not a replacement for Aqua Voice-style dictation.

Does Aqua Voice or Otter.ai work on Windows and Android?

Both Aqua Voice and Otter.ai work on Windows, but only Otter.ai lists Android and Web. Aqua Voice covers Mac, Windows, and iOS. Ottex is Mac and iOS only, so it is not the choice for Windows or Android coverage.

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