Otter.ai Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
Otter.ai's free Basic plan gives you 300 transcription minutes a month, capped at 30 minutes per meeting. Here are all five limits, and when Pro is worth it.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-13T10:21:37+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-13T10:21:37+00:00
Otter.ai Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
Otter.ai's free plan is called Basic. It costs nothing and never expires. It gives you 300 transcription minutes a month, with a hard cap of 30 minutes per conversation. That sounds generous until you meet the other four limits: 3 file imports for the life of the account, only your 25 most recent conversations, 20 AI Chat questions a month, and one meeting at a time. This guide lists every limit, compares the paid plans, and explains when Pro is worth it. All figures come from Otter's official pricing page, read on 13 November 2026.
What the Otter.ai free plan includes
Basic is a real free tier, not a trial. It includes the Otter Notetaker, which joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet to write and share notes automatically. It includes live transcription, speaker identification, and automated summaries with action items and outlines. It includes the iOS and Android apps, web and mobile recording, and live notes and captioning for Google Meet.
Here is the full allowance on the free plan:
- 300 transcription minutes a month. That is about five hours of meetings. Meeting and recording minutes share one pool, and minutes do not roll over.
- 30 minutes maximum per conversation. The recording does not stop at 30 minutes, but only the first 30 minutes of transcript are visible until you upgrade.
- 3 audio or video file imports, total. This is a lifetime limit, not a monthly one. Once you have used all three, you cannot import another file without paying.
- Your 25 most recent conversations. Older conversations are archived, not deleted. Paying brings them back.
- 20 AI Chat questions a month. No more than 3 per conversation.
- One meeting at a time. Basic joins a single concurrent meeting.
- 5 custom vocabulary terms. For names, jargon, and acronyms.
- mp3 and txt export. PDF, docx, and srt export need a paid plan.
The Otter.ai free plan limits that catch people out
The 300-minute headline is not the limit that hurts most. The 30-minute conversation cap is. A 60-minute call on the free plan gives you 30 minutes of transcript. The recording keeps going, but you cannot read past the halfway mark. That makes the free plan a poor fit for anyone whose meetings run long.
The 3-import lifetime limit is the second trap. People burn it on test files, then find they cannot import a recorded interview later. Treat imports as precious. The 25-conversation history is the third trap. If you meet daily, your history only reaches back about five weeks. The 20 AI Chat questions a month is the fourth trap. At 3 questions per conversation, you can only interrogate about 6 or 7 meetings a month. Deleted conversations still count against the month's minutes, so deleting does not buy you more time. And Otter does not sell extra minutes. Its answer to running out is to upgrade plans.
Otter.ai free plan vs Pro vs Business
| Feature | Basic (Free) | Pro | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price, billed monthly | $0 | $16.99 per user | $30 per user |
| Price, billed annually | $0 | $8.33 per user a month | $19.99 per user a month |
| Transcription per month | 300 minutes | 1,200 minutes | Unlimited meetings |
| Max per conversation | 30 minutes | 90 minutes | 4 hours |
| File imports | 3, lifetime | 10 a month | Unlimited (6,000-minute cap) |
| AI Chat questions | 20 a month | 50 a month | 200 a month |
| Conversation history | 25 most recent | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Concurrent meetings | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Export formats | mp3, txt | mp3, txt, pdf, docx, srt | mp3, txt, pdf, docx, srt, bulk export |
Pro costs $16.99 per user a month billed monthly, or $8.33 a month billed annually, which is $99.96 a year. It gives you 1,200 minutes a month, 90 minutes per conversation, 10 imports a month, and unlimited history. Business costs $30 per user a month billed monthly, or $19.99 a month billed annually. It gives you unlimited meeting transcription, 4 hours per conversation, 6,000 import minutes a month, and 3 concurrent meetings. Business is the first plan where meetings themselves are unlimited. Enterprise has no public price.
Students and teachers get 20% off Pro with an email address ending in .edu. That brings Pro Annual to $6.67 a month, billed at $79.99 a year, and Pro Monthly to $13.59 a month.
Who the Otter.ai free plan suits
The free plan suits three kinds of user. First, anyone trying Otter out. Five hours a month covers a few short calls and shows whether the summaries and speaker labels are accurate. Second, people with short, regular meetings. If your calls run under 30 minutes, the conversation cap never bites. Third, occasional users who need a transcript of a job interview or a lecture now and then, and who can live with the 3-import lifetime limit.
It does not suit anyone with hour-long meetings. The 30-minute cap cuts every call in half. It does not suit anyone who imports recordings, because 3 lifetime imports run out fast. And it does not suit daily meeting users, because 300 minutes is about 10 short calls a month and the 25-conversation history only reaches back a few weeks.
How to start on the Otter.ai free plan
- Sign up for Basic. The free plan needs no card and never expires.
- Connect your calendar. Let the Notetaker join your next Zoom, Teams, or Meet call automatically.
- Test a short meeting. Check the transcript, the speaker labels, and the automated summary for accuracy.
- Save your 3 imports. Do not spend them on test files. Keep them for recordings that matter.
- Watch your minutes. Minutes do not roll over, and deleted conversations still count. Check your usage before the month ends.
One more thing to know before you sign up. In August 2025, a class action was filed against Otter, alleging that its bot recorded meeting participants without their consent. Tell the people in your meetings that a notetaker is present. It is good practice on any plan.
Bottom line
The Otter.ai free plan is genuinely free forever, but it is narrow. You get 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports, 20 AI Chat questions, and your 25 most recent conversations. For short meetings and a trial run, that is enough. For hour-long calls or regular imports, Pro at $8.33 a month billed yearly is the first tier that fits, with 1,200 minutes and 90 minutes per conversation. Business at $19.99 a month billed yearly is the first tier with unlimited meetings.