Ottex
Mac, iOS
Choose if
You want dictated emails to follow your saved writing instructions.
Look elsewhere if
You need voice dictation on a Windows computer.
ComparisonEvery claim sourced · verified Oct 2026
Otter.ai vs Spokenly: the honest comparison.
Three tools. Different strengths. Find your fit.
Ottex
Otter.ai
SpokenlyAll comparisons
FAQ
At a glance
Which one fits your work?
Each tool takes a different approach. Here’s a quick side-by-side to help you choose based on your workflow, platforms, and goals.
Otter.ai
Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Web
Choose if
You want meetings automatically captured and organized into structured notes.
Look elsewhere if
You need voice dictation directly into your everyday apps.
Spokenly
Mac, Windows, iOS, Linux
Choose if
You want unlimited offline dictation without a subscription.
Look elsewhere if
You need a shared workspace for team meeting notes.
The evidence
Pricing
Otter.ai Pro is $16.99/month, Spokenly Pro $9.99/month and Ottex Pro $14/month. Spokenly and Ottex offer free app access with local models or your own API key (BYOK); provider API charges are separate.
See the evidence — 14 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Otter.ai | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Forever free with local models and BYOK providers. | PartialSource: otter.ai/start-for-free — checked Oct 2026300 monthly transcription minutes; 30 minutes per conversation; Import and transcribe 3 audio or video files lifetime per user | PartialSource: spokenly.app/pricing — checked Oct 2026No usage limits |
| Subscription | $14/moSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026$14/mo — unlimited dictation and meeting intelligence, all hosted models included. | $16.99/moSource: otter.ai/pricing — checked Oct 2026The monthly transcription pool is shared across recordings and imports, with the $99.99 annual total published at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/otter-transcribe-voice-notes/id1276437113. | $6.99/moSource: spokenly.app/team — checked Oct 2026Each seat includes full Pro with a permanent 30% discount and centralized billing. |
| One-time payment | Not applicableSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Application is free | NoNo one-time payment plan | Not applicableSource: spokenly.app/pricing — checked Oct 2026Application is free |
| Bring your own keyPay the model provider, not the middleman | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026OpenRouter, Google AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and compatible providers. | No public claim | YesSource: spokenly.app/privacy — checked Oct 2026BYOK audio and text travel directly from the device to the selected provider. |
| Education discount | NoSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Same pricing for everyone. | YesSource: otter.ai/pricing — checked Oct 2026Individual students and teachers using .edu email receive 20% off Pro: $13.59 USD monthly or $79.99 USD annually, advertised as $6.67 per month billed annually. | YesSource: spokenly.app/students — checked Oct 2026Verified students receive 50% off Pro at $4.99/month or $49.99/year after signing in with an academic email and emailing a student ID to support. |
The evidence
Platforms
Choose Otter.ai for Android or web access and Spokenly for Windows or Linux dictation. Ottex supports Mac and iOS; Spokenly meeting recording requires macOS 14.4 or later.
See the evidence — 5 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Otter.ai | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac, iOSSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, WebSource: otter.ai/integrations — checked Oct 2026 | Mac, Windows, iOS, LinuxSource: spokenly.app/download — checked Oct 2026Some platforms in beta/waitlist |
| Native app footprintLight on memory, instant to invoke | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Native Swift app, ~50MB RAM. | No public claim | YesSource: spokenly.app/android — checked Oct 2026The macOS and iOS applications are built with Swift. |
The evidence
Meetings & team memory
Otter.ai, Spokenly (Mac) and Ottex record without bots. Otter.ai offers configurable recording notices in meeting chat; Ottex offers an experimental, opt-in macOS camera recording watermark, which does not establish consent.
See the evidence — 18 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Otter.ai | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting recordingThe call is captured at all | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026With speaker separation. | YesSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Notetaker records Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams meetings. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/dictation-for-mac — checked Oct 2026Meeting recording ships on Mac and requires macOS 14.4 or later. |
| Bot-free captureNo "recording bot" joins your call | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026System-audio capture, no bot joins the call. | YesSource: otter.ai/integrations — checked Oct 2026Desktop applications can capture meeting audio without Notetaker joining. | YesSource: spokenly.app/blog — checked Oct 2026Mac meeting recording captures audio without a bot joining the call. |
| Camera recording watermarkShow recording in your camera video | PartialExperimental macOS virtual camera adds an Ottex icon to video; install/enable the extension, select it and turn video on. Guide covers Meet in Chrome and Zoom desktop; effects may obscure it. | No public claim | No public claim |
| Participant noticesRecording notices in chat or calendar | No public claim | PartialSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Notetaker posts configurable meeting-chat notices and optional pre-recording emails, with Enterprise workspace enforcement and configured Teams calendar permission links. | No public claim |
| Speaker separation | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | YesSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Users can label speakers and train Otter to recognize speaker names in later transcripts. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/blog — checked Oct 2026Saved meeting recordings can be transcribed with voice-based speaker labels that may require manual correction. |
| Calendar detection | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Calendar-based meeting detection. | YesSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026The desktop application detects live meetings and can prompt the user to record. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/releases — checked Oct 2026Mac meeting detection is documented in release notes, including Safari support. |
| Cross-meeting search | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026 | YesSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026AI Chat can query multiple conversations together through channels and additional conversation context. | No public claim |
| Shared team memory | PartialSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Public share links, not a full team workspace. | YesSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Channels collect shared recordings and let authorized members query their conversations with AI Chat. | No public claim |
The evidence
From meeting to finished work
Otter.ai and Ottex offer structured meeting templates and transcript-chat prompt libraries; Spokenly needs configured AI Instructions for summaries. Otter.ai has shared team memory; Ottex drafts tickets.
See the evidence — 12 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Otter.ai | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting template libraryTurn a transcript into a structured document | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Choose a ready-made document template to extract relevant information from a meeting transcript into a structured document, such as a product review or client-call report. | YesSource: otter.ai/blog — checked Oct 2026Ready-made Team Meeting, Sales Call, and 1:1 templates extract transcript information into meeting-specific sections. | No public claim |
| Transcript chat prompt libraryReady-made prompts for AI chat about meetings | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Use ready-made reusable prompts in AI chat to ask questions, analyze discussions and extract information from meeting transcripts. | YesSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026AI Chat supplies selectable starter prompts and reusable examples for extracting decisions, summarizing discussions, and generating content across meetings. | No public claim |
| Decisions, owners, action itemsLeave the meeting with next steps clear | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Decisions with owners extracted. | YesSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Otter generates action items from meetings and automatically assigns responsibilities. | No public claim |
| Follow-up email draftedThe outcome is sent, not summarized | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Drafted from templates or your own. | YesSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026AI Chat generates email drafts using meeting content and requested formatting. | No public claim |
| CRM update / ticket draft | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Structured for the target app. | PartialSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Configured Salesforce integration exports meeting notes and insights to matching CRM records for eligible calendar meetings with external guests. | No public claim |
| Your rough notes steer the result | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Rough notes and instructions steer the result. | No public claim | NoSource: spokenly.app/comparison — checked Oct 2026Not supported. |
The evidence
Dictation & transcription AI
Otter.ai cannot dictate into apps. Spokenly and Ottex automatically apply saved writing instructions to dictation; Ottex also formats lists and inserts voice-triggered snippets, while Spokenly list formatting is unverified.
See the evidence — 30 claims across 3 toolsverified Oct 2026Show tableHide table
| Feature | Ottex | Otter.ai | Spokenly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engines | Cloud: Whisper, Gemini 3 Flash, Voxtral. Local: Whisper, Parakeet v3.Source: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Hosted routing, BYOK, or fully local. | No public claim | Whisper, NVIDIA Parakeet, Apple Speech Analyzer, OpenAI GPT-4o Transcribe, Deepgram Nova, SonioxSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Local and cloud transcription engines are selectable per mode. |
| Local / on-device optionAudio never leaves the machine | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Whisper and Parakeet v3 run fully on-device. | NoSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | YesSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Downloaded local models transcribe offline, and Local Only Mode blocks outbound network access. |
| Model selection per task | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Choose the model per task and per provider. | NoSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | YesSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Users choose transcription models and AI providers per mode. |
| Languages & mixed speechWork that crosses languages mid-sentence | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026100+ languages · Mid-sentence language switching. | NoSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/blog — checked Oct 2026100+ languages · Gemini 3.5 Transcribe supports switching languages mid-sentence. |
| Automatic formatting | YesSource: ottex.ai/docs — checked Oct 2026Dictation automatically fixes punctuation, groups ideas into paragraphs and formats enumerations as lists. Formatting toggles and profile rules customize output. | NoSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Models add punctuation, and optional Smart Paragraphs on Mac adds paragraph breaks; automatic list formatting remains unverified. |
| Custom dictionary | YesSource: ottex.ai/docs — checked Oct 2026Add or delete names and specialist terms with preferred spellings; entries provide recognition context during transcription. | NoSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Custom vocabulary applies to conversation transcription rather than system-wide dictation. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Supported models accept custom keyterms; ElevenLabs live transcription applies only the first 50 terms. |
| Voice snippetsSay a saved phrase to insert a link or text | YesSource: ottex.ai/docs — checked Oct 2026Save a voice trigger and expansion text; saying the trigger while dictating inserts the saved URL or text in place. | NoSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | NoSource: spokenly.app/comparison — checked Oct 2026Not supported. |
| Custom voice instructionsFree-form rules applied after dictation | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Saved profile instructions automatically process dictation before insertion; rules can include writing examples, personal phrasing and email signatures. | NoSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | YesSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Saved mode AI Instructions process each dictation before its configured auto-insert action using the selected AI provider. |
| Tone presetsChoose a predefined writing style | YesSelect built-in Messaging or Email profiles for casual or professional dictation; assigning apps or websites enables automatic profile activation. | NoSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | No public claim |
| Text transforms / AI ShortcutsApply an AI action to existing text | YesSource: ottex.ai/docs — checked Oct 2026Select or copy existing text, open Omnibar and run an AI Shortcut to rewrite, translate, summarize or apply a custom prompt; the result is copied/pasted. | PartialSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026AI Chat and custom meeting prompts can summarize, reformat, or translate conversation content, with no documented selected-text workflow across other applications. | No public claim |
| Per-app output rules | YesSource: ottex.ai — checked Oct 2026Per-app output rules: exact in AI chats, polished in email. | NoSource: help.otter.ai/hc — checked Oct 2026Not supported for system-wide dictation. | PartialSource: spokenly.app/docs — checked Oct 2026Mac modes automatically activate for configured applications or websites. |
Questions people actually ask.
Otter.ai vs Spokenly: which is better?
Choose Otter.ai for shared team meeting notes and Spokenly for unlimited free offline dictation, including Windows. Choose Ottex on Mac or iOS when saved writing rules, automatic list formatting and voice-triggered snippets matter.
Is Otter.ai or Spokenly free?
Otter.ai Basic is free with 300 transcription minutes/month and a 30-minute conversation limit. Spokenly offers unlimited free local dictation, while Ottex also offers free local models; both have free BYOK app access, with provider API charges separate.
How much do Otter.ai and Spokenly cost?
Individual Pro costs $16.99/month or $99.99/year for Otter.ai, $9.99/month or $99.99/year for Spokenly, and $14/month or $168/year for Ottex. Spokenly and Ottex offer free local-model or BYOK app access; BYOK provider charges are separate.
Is Otter.ai or Spokenly better for privacy?
Choose Spokenly when you need outbound network access blocked: its Local Only Mode provides that control. Ottex also runs Whisper and Parakeet v3 on-device; Otter.ai has no local-processing option, while BYOK uses an external API provider.
Is it worth switching from Otter.ai to Spokenly?
Switch to Spokenly for dictation into everyday apps or unlimited free offline transcription. Stay with Otter.ai for shared meeting channels and structured notes; Ottex combines meeting templates with Mac and iOS dictation, but offers public share links rather than a full team workspace.
Do Otter.ai and Spokenly work on Windows or Android?
Otter.ai supports Windows and Android, but cannot dictate into other apps. Spokenly supports Windows dictation but not Android; Ottex supports Mac and iOS, with no Windows or Android support.
Do Otter.ai and Spokenly use a recording bot?
All three offer bot-free capture: Otter.ai on desktop, Spokenly on Mac and Ottex through system audio. Otter.ai also offers Notetaker bots with configurable recording notices in meeting chat; Ottex has an experimental, opt-in macOS camera recording watermark that does not prove consent.