Pick Otter if
- you want a free tier and 300 minutes a month covers you
- you'd like a note-taker to join the call as a participant
- you need mobile apps or team plans
- you want unlimited meetings on a business plan
Gistsmith vs Otter.ai
Otter joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet as a bot to write notes. Gistsmith listens on your Mac instead, so nothing extra appears in the call. Otter has a free tier and team plans; Gistsmith has one personal plan.
Prices checked October 2026.Source: otter.ai/pricing
Side by side
| Topic | Gistsmith | Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 a month, taxes included | Basic free; Pro $16.99 per user a month billed monthly ($8.33 a month billed annually); Business $19.99 per user a month billed annually |
| Free option | Free trial: 3 meetings or 7 days, whichever comes first; no card needed | Basic plan: 300 transcription minutes a month and 3 file imports in total |
| How it hears the meeting | No bot. Listens to your Mac's system audio and microphone | Joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet as a bot to write notes |
| Platforms | Mac with Apple silicon, macOS 26 or later | Mobile apps available |
| Meeting limits | Up to 10 meeting hours a month and up to 4 hours per meeting | Pro: 1,200 minutes a month, up to 90 minutes per meeting. Business: unlimited meetings, up to 4 hours per meeting |
| Languages | 30+ languages, with live translation during the meeting | Automatic transcription in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese |
| Notes | The note starts with your own tasks, then decisions and a summary; templates for different kinds of meetings | Not checked |
| Questions across meetings | Ask across all your meetings; answers link to the meetings they came from | Not checked |
| Integrations | Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Notion, Apple Notes, an Obsidian folder, webhooks and MCP | Not checked |
| Where notes are kept | Notes, transcripts and recordings are saved on your Mac | Not checked |
| Plans for teams | One personal plan | Per-user Pro and Business plans |
A dash means the point wasn't part of what we checked on the vendor's pricing page. It doesn't mean the feature is missing.
Where Otter is stronger
- A free Basic plan with 300 transcription minutes a month.
- Mobile apps.
- Per-user Pro and Business plans for teams.
- Unlimited meetings on the Business plan.
Who should pick which
Pick Gistsmith if
- you'd rather no bot joins your calls
- you meet in a language beyond the six on Otter's pricing page, or you want a live translation
- you want every note to open with your own tasks
- you work on a Mac and want one price: $5.99 a month, taxes included
Try Gistsmith on your next meeting
3 meetings or 7 days free, no card needed. Then $5.99 a month, taxes included.
Download for MacGranola and Otter.ai are trademarks of their owners. Gistsmith isn't affiliated with either company. Plans and prices change; check the vendor's site before you buy.