Switching From Otter.ai to Fireflies.ai: Migration Steps and Gotchas

No one-click importer moves Otter.ai to Fireflies.ai, but the switch takes about an hour. Export transcripts, re-upload recordings, and watch the gotchas.

By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-10T22:28:24+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-10T22:28:24+00:00

Switching From Otter.ai to Fireflies.ai: Migration Steps and Gotchas

There is no one-click importer from Otter.ai to Fireflies.ai. The move is still simple. Export your Otter transcripts, set up Fireflies, then re-upload your old recordings so Fireflies can transcribe them again. The whole job takes about an hour for one person and a day for a team. The gotchas are in the export formats, the free-plan storage cap, and the fact that Fireflies imports audio and video, not transcript text files.

Before you switch: what moves and what does not

Your meeting history does not transfer. Fireflies cannot import Otter transcript files as searchable transcripts. What moves is your raw material: the audio and video recordings, plus the exported transcript files you keep as documents. Fireflies re-transcribes the recordings you upload, and those new transcripts become searchable inside Fireflies.

Check your Otter plan before you export. Basic, the free plan, exports only MP3 audio and plain text. It also keeps only your 25 most recent conversations. Pro adds PDF, Word and SRT exports. Business adds bulk export. If you are on Basic and need Word or PDF copies of older meetings, upgrade to Pro for one month or accept plain text.

On the Fireflies side, know the plan limits. Free gives unlimited transcription with an asterisk, limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team, and 20 AI credits a month. Transcript downloads need Pro, at $10 per seat a month billed yearly or $18 billed monthly. Business costs $19 a seat billed yearly or $29 monthly, with unlimited storage. Plan your migration around the paid tier if you need downloads.

How to switch from Otter.ai to Fireflies.ai in 7 steps

1. Export your Otter transcripts. Open each conversation in Otter, choose Export, and save the format you need. On Pro, pick Word or PDF for readable records and SRT if you need captions. On Business, use bulk export to pull everything at once. Save the files in a folder named by date and meeting.
2. Download your recordings. Export the MP3 audio for every meeting you want to keep searchable. Otter's Basic plan caps each conversation at 30 minutes and 300 transcription minutes a month, so older or longer meetings may already be cut short. Note any meeting that was truncated before you rely on it.
3. Create your Fireflies account. Sign up, then invite your team. Each teammate is a paid seat on Pro and Business. Set your workspace name and time zone first, so timestamps match your old records.
4. Connect your calendar. Link Google Calendar or Outlook and turn on auto-join for the meetings you own. This is also the switch that keeps transcription unlimited on new free accounts. Accounts created since September 2026 get only a few transcription credits unless auto-join is on for meetings you own or with teammates.
5. Upload your past recordings. In Fireflies, upload the MP3 or video files from step 2. Each file can be up to 150 minutes long. Paid plans allow 3,000 upload and import minutes a month per user per source. Uploads usually transcribe within 5 to 10 minutes of the call or file. Large backlogs will take several sessions, so start with the meetings you search most.
6. Rebuild your organisation. Otter folders become Fireflies channels. Recreate your custom vocabulary as Fireflies topic trackers, which flag keywords across meetings. Reconnect the integrations you used, such as Slack, Notion or your CRM. Integrations need Pro or higher.
7. Cancel Otter. Wait until your Fireflies uploads are transcribed and searchable. Then cancel Otter at the end of its billing cycle. Unused Otter minutes never roll over, so there is nothing to save by leaving early.

Gotchas that catch switchers

• Free storage is a total, not a monthly allowance. Fireflies free storage is 400 minutes for the whole team. Once it fills, old meetings stop being stored. Paid Pro gives 8,000 minutes per seat, pooled. Business storage is unlimited.
• Downloads are paid-only. On the free plan you can read transcripts inside Fireflies but cannot download them one by one. If exports matter, budget for Pro. Fireflies does offer a full data export on request for all users, with recordings as MP3 or MP4 and transcripts as text, delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
• Recording length limits differ. Fireflies caps live recordings at 2 hours on Free and Pro, and 3 hours on Business. Otter Pro caps each conversation at 90 minutes and Business at 4 hours. Long workshops may split across two recordings.
• Meeting length works differently. Otter meters minutes: Basic gives 300 a month, Pro 1,200. Fireflies meters storage and recording length instead. A team with many short meetings may find Fireflies cheaper. A team with long meetings may find Otter's Business plan simpler.
• Consent and privacy rules still apply. Both tools put a bot in your calls. Tell participants before recording, and check the rules in your region. Otter is also the defendant in a pending privacy class action, with no court ruling so far. Read both privacy policies before moving sensitive meetings.

Cost comparison: Otter.ai vs Fireflies.ai

For one person on annual billing, Otter Pro costs about $100 a year and Fireflies Pro about $120 a year. Fireflies Business and Otter Business cost almost the same. Pick on features, not on price. Fireflies wins on storage and integrations. Otter wins if your meetings are short and you want a simple minute allowance.

Bottom line

Switching from Otter.ai to Fireflies.ai is a manual job, not a migration. Export your transcripts first, while your Otter plan still allows the formats you need. Upload your recordings to Fireflies in batches, and turn on calendar auto-join so transcription stays unlimited. Do not cancel Otter until the uploads are transcribed and searchable. Done in that order, the move takes an afternoon and you lose nothing that matters.