Compare · Meeting notes
Promptly vs Otter.ai.
Otter is a full meeting-transcription platform: its notetaker joins Zoom, Teams and Meet as a visible participant — automatically, once you connect a calendar and leave auto-join on [1][6] — and recordings live in its cloud [2]. Promptly takes the opposite approach — it listens through your own computer, never joins the call, and saves notes as files on your machine.
Otter.ai details checked against Otter.ai's own site on October 6, 2026. Sources are listed at the end.
The short version
Choose Promptly if…
- You don't want a notetaker appearing in the participant list.
- You want notes kept on your computer, not in a cloud archive.
- You'd rather your meetings not be used to train anyone's model — Otter's policy says it trains on de-identified audio and transcripts [2].
- You also want live answers on calls, dictation and a teleprompter in the same app.
Choose Otter.ai if…
- You need searchable, shareable transcripts for a team, with admin controls on Business [3].
- You want CRM and workflow integrations — Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier on Pro [3].
- You're on Mac, iPhone or Android [3][4], or want to import recorded files [3].
- You need a generous free plan for transcription minutes — 300 a month [3].
Side by side
| Promptly | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Bot joins the call | Never | Yes — Otter Notetaker joins as a participant and can auto-join calendar meetings; the desktop app can record without a bot [1][4] |
| Where notes are stored | Locally on your machine, as markdown | Otter's cloud (AWS) [2][5] |
| Audio kept | No — transcribed in chunks, never stored | Yes — audio and transcripts are kept [2] |
| Used for AI training | No transcripts or audio are kept to train on | Privacy policy: trains on de-identified audio and transcriptions [2] |
| Free plan | Notes not included (3 demo interviews) | 300 min/mo, 30 min per conversation, last 25 conversations [3] |
| Paid plans | Base $20/mo · Pro $40/mo (10 / 100 listening hours) | Pro $16.99/mo ($8.33 annual) · Business $30/mo ($19.99 annual) [3] |
| Output | TL;DR, key points, decisions, action items with owners | Live transcript, summaries, action items, AI Chat [3][6] |
| Platforms | Windows 10 & 11 | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome [3][4] |
| Team features & integrations | No | Yes — admin and analytics on Business; Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier from Pro [3] |
| Also included | Live answers on calls, teleprompter, dictation, Resume Tailor | — |
Where they differ
No one in the meeting sees a notetaker
Otter's meeting agent joins Zoom, Teams and Meet as a visible participant, and can join calendar meetings automatically [1][6]. Promptly never joins: it hears the call through your computer's audio, like your own ears, and nothing appears in the grid.
Your notes, on your disk
Otter stores audio and transcripts in its cloud [2][5] and, per its privacy policy, trains its AI on de-identified recordings and transcriptions [2]. Promptly keeps no audio or transcripts; the notes it makes are markdown files in a local library.
A different job
Otter is built for teams that want a searchable record of every meeting, with sharing, AI Chat and integrations [3]. Promptly makes a structured summary when you ask — TL;DR, decisions, action items — for the person running the call.
More on Promptly's side: Meeting notes.
Questions
Does Otter.ai join my meetings?
Its Otter Notetaker joins Zoom, Teams and Meet as a participant, and can auto-join meetings on a connected calendar — that's configurable [1][6]. Otter's desktop app also offers bot-free recording [4]. Promptly never joins a meeting.
Does Otter.ai use my recordings to train AI?
Otter's privacy policy says it trains its proprietary AI on de-identified audio recordings and transcriptions [2]. Promptly doesn't keep audio or transcripts.
Is Promptly's meeting-notes feature free?
No — AI meeting notes are included with Base ($20/mo) and Pro ($40/mo).
Sources
- Otter.ai pricing (Otter Notetaker) — otter.ai/pricing
- Otter.ai privacy policy — otter.ai/privacy-policy
- Otter.ai pricing — otter.ai/pricing
- Otter.ai desktop app — otter.ai/desktop
- Otter.ai privacy & security — otter.ai/privacy-security
- Otter.ai homepage (notetaker or bot-free recording) — otter.ai/
Otter.ai is a trademark of its owner. Promptly isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Otter.ai. We describe Otter.ai only from what its own site says, as of October 6, 2026; plans and features change, so check their site for the latest. Spot something out of date? Email support@trypromptly.app and we'll fix it.
Try Promptly on your next call.
Free: 3 demo interviews, 3 teleprompter tries, 3 résumé tailorings. No card. · See pricing