COMPARISONEvery claim sourced · verified Jun 2026

Krisp vs Otter.ai: the honest comparison.

Krisp is the call-first choice when noise cancellation and bot-free meeting capture matter. Otter.ai is the broader meeting-notes workspace with iOS and CRM/workflow sync. Ottex, which we make, is the Mac/iOS option when dictation and finished written work matter more than broad platform coverage.

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.

Krisp

Mac, Windows, Android, Web · Limited free · $16/mo

Krisp is strongest as a noise-cancelling meeting assistant with solid notes, summaries, and compliance signals, but it is not a live dictation tool for writing across apps.

Choose if

You want bot-free meeting recording and transcription on macOS or Windows, with noise cancellation as a core part of the workflow.
You spend a lot of time in calls and want summaries, action items, speaker identification, decisions, and chat across past meetings.
You need team or enterprise controls such as SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, encryption at rest, and SSO/SCIM on Enterprise.

Look elsewhere if

You need system-wide live dictation, hotkey-triggered insertion, voice commands, snippets, or per-app writing rules.
You want a local/offline transcription setup; Krisp’s noise cancellation is on-device, but meeting recordings and notes use cloud services broadly speaking.

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

Ottex wins pricing if you can use Mac or iOS: it has free local AI, free BYOK, $0.2/hour PAYG, and a $14/mo Pro plan. Krisp starts at a limited free plan and $16/mo Pro, while Otter.ai starts at Basic with 300 monthly transcription minutes and $16.99/mo Pro. Otter.ai’s free tier is more like a trial path than an operating plan because 300 minutes/month and 30 minutes per conversation run out quickly for regular calls

See the evidence — 15 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Krisp	Otter.ai
Free tier	YesWhisper & Parakeet run on your Mac. Dictation and meetings, $0.	Partial60 min/day noise cancellation; 2 meetings/day to take notes; 60 min/day transcription; 10 min/day accent conversion	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.	$16/moPro is priced at $16 monthly or $8/month billed yearly.	$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.	NoNo bring-your-own-model-key support is published.	NoNo public BYOK transcription or LLM-key support claim found.
Education discount	NoSame pricing for everyone.	YesStudents, teachers, faculty, and staff can apply for a 50% education discount.	YesStudent and teacher discount program is listed for the Pro plan.

Platforms

Otter.ai wins platform coverage with Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web. Krisp covers Mac, Windows, Android, and Web, but lacks iOS in the digest. Ottex is the narrowest here with Mac and iOS only, so it loses immediately if Windows, Android, or web access is required.

See the evidence — 4 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Krisp	Otter.ai
Platforms	Mac, iOS	Mac, Windows, Android, Web	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

Krisp wins meeting capture when the job is live calls: it combines bot-free meeting recording and transcription on macOS or Windows with unlimited noise cancellation on Pro and Business. Otter.ai is strong for meeting transcription across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web, with 1200 Pro recording minutes and 6000 Business transcription minutes. Ottex records meetings too, but its Mac/iOS-only footprint makes it a,.

See the evidence — 18 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Krisp	Otter.ai
Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all	YesWith speaker separation.	YesKrisp can record and transcribe online and in-person meetings.	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.	YesThe desktop app can record and transcribe meetings without adding a bot to the call.	YesDesktop app supports bot-free meeting capture.
Speaker separation	Yes	YesKrisp supports speaker identification for meeting transcripts.	YesSpeaker identification is listed on the pricing page.
Calendar detection	YesCalendar-based meeting detection.	YesKrisp detects meetings from the desktop app and prompts to record or transcribe.	YesNotetaker can automatically join synced calendar event meetings.
Cross-meeting search	Yes	YesKrisp AI Chat can answer questions across Krisp meetings.	YesOtter AI Chat searches across meetings and connected apps.
Shared team memory	PartialPublic share links, not a full team workspace.	PartialMeeting notes can be shared, but no persistent team memory model is publicly described.	YesOtter Workspaces provide team collaboration and management features.

From meeting to finished work

Otter.ai wins mature meeting intelligence for teams because it pairs summaries, speaker labels, follow-ups, searchable transcripts, Salesforce or HubSpot note sync, Slack/Zapier workflows, API/webhooks, and shared workspaces. Krisp has summaries, action items, speaker identification, decisions, and chat across past meetings, but fewer workflow destinations are stated. Ottex is the surprise if finished work matters: it turns meetings into follow-ups, CRM updates, tickets, notes, and docs.

See the evidence — 8 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Krisp	Otter.ai
Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear	YesDecisions with owners extracted.	YesKrisp AI Chat can highlight decisions from meeting content.	YesBusiness trial lists assigning action items to teammates.
Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized	YesDrafted from templates or your own.	No public claim	YesOtter creates follow-ups from meetings.
CRM update / ticket draft	YesStructured for the target app.	No public claim	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.	No public claim	No public claim

Dictation & transcription AI

Ottex wins dictation AI outright because it is the only one of the three with system-wide dictation, local options, BYOK, 100+ languages, personal vocabulary, and per-app output rules. Krisp and Otter.ai both support file transcription and meetings, but both digests mark dictation as false and localOption as false. Otter.ai publishes 6 input languages, while Krisp has no language count stated.

See the evidence — 11 claims across 3 toolsverified Jun 2026

	Ottex	Krisp	Otter.ai
Engines	Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local.	No public claim	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.	NoLive system-wide dictation is not a supported feature.	NoImported files upload to Otter for transcription.
Model selection per task	YesChoose the model per task and per provider.	NoNo user-selectable speech recognition model is published for live dictation.	NoNo user-selectable recognition model is published.
Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence	Yes100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching.	No public claim	No public claim
Per-app output rules	YesPer-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email.	NoNot supported	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

KrispPro$96/yr$96 + $0Pro is priced at $16 monthly or $8/month billed yearly. · Unlimited noise cancellation; unlimited meetings to take notes; 1200 min/month transcription; 60 min/day accent conversion

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.

KrispBusiness$180/yr$180 + $0Business is priced at $30 per user monthly or $15/user/month billed yearly. · Unlimited noise cancellation; unlimited meetings to take notes; unlimited transcription; 60 min/day accent conversion

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

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.

Krisp vs Otter.ai: which should I pick?

Pick Krisp if your main problem is live calls, noise cancellation, and bot-free meeting capture on macOS or Windows. Pick Otter.ai if you want the broader meeting-notes workspace across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Web with CRM and workflow sync. Pick Ottex if you want dictation plus meetings turned into emails, tickets, CRM updates, PRDs, and docs on Mac or iOS.

Is Krisp free?

Krisp has a free plan, but it is limited to 60 min/day noise cancellation, 2 meetings/day for notes, 60 min/day transcription, and 10 min/day accent conversion. That can test the product, but regular meeting work pushes toward Pro at $16/mo.

Is Otter.ai free?

Otter.ai Basic is free with 300 monthly transcription minutes, 30 minutes per conversation, and 3 lifetime imported audio or video files per user. It is useful for trialing meeting notes, but the file-import and per-conversation limits are not a real long-term setup. For a genuinely free option, consider Ottex, which has unlimited local AI or your own key.

How much does Krisp and Otter.ai cost?

Krisp Pro is $16/mo, and Business is $30/seat/mo. Otter.ai Pro is $16.99/mo, and Business is $19.99/seat/mo. Ottex is cheaper if Mac/iOS fits, with free local or BYOK modes, $0.2/hour PAYG, and Pro at $14/mo.

Is Krisp safer than Otter.ai?

Krisp is the better fit if privacy means bot-free capture and noise cancellation as part of the call workflow, and its notes mention SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, encryption at rest, and SSO/SCIM on Enterprise. Otter.ai is cloud-based, and the digest does not state offline local transcription, BYOK, or zero-data-retention guarantees. If privacy means local transcription or BYOK, Ottex is the stronger fit.

Is it worth switching from Krisp to Otter.ai?

Switch from Krisp to Otter.ai if your team needs shared workspaces, Salesforce or HubSpot note sync, Slack/Zapier workflows, API/webhooks, and iOS. Stay with Krisp if noise cancellation, bot-free meeting recording, and call cleanup are the main reasons you bought it.

Does Krisp or Otter.ai work on Windows and Android?

Both Krisp and Otter.ai work on Windows and Android. Otter.ai has the broader list because it also includes iOS, while Krisp lists Mac, Windows, Android, and Web. Ottex should not be your pick for Windows or Android because it is Mac and iOS only.

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