Is Otter.ai Free? Basic Plan Limits and Upgrade Costs
Yes, Otter.ai offers a free Basic plan with 300 transcription minutes per month, a 30-minute transcription limit per conversation, and three lifetime audio or video file imports. You can use it for short, occasional meetings without buying a subscription. Longer meetings, a regular archive of uploaded recordings, or access to older conversations can make the free plan a poor fit.
Those caps do not substitute for one another: a full monthly balance still will not show a complete transcript of one 60-minute meeting on Basic, because the length cap cuts the readable text before the monthly pool is empty. The import allowance is a lifetime total, so a backlog of files does not refresh when the month turns.
What you get on Otter Basic compared with Pro
| Feature | Basic | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Listed cost | Free | $8.33 per user/month annually, $16.99 monthly |
| Recording allowance | 300 transcription minutes per month | 1,200 in-app recording minutes |
| Length | Up to 30 minutes of transcription per conversation or import | Up to 90 minutes per meeting |
| File imports | Three per account, not three per month | Ten per month |
| Conversation history | 25 most recent; older conversations archived | Unlimited storage listed |
| Meeting platforms | Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet listed | Included |
Otter's Basic plan help page explains the time, import, and history limits, and its pricing page compares Basic with the paid plans. Trust the allowance in your account before you record a conversation you cannot afford to lose part of.
How does Otter's free transcription limit work in practice?
The monthly allowance is a running total: a useful ceiling for occasional short conversations, and a poor forecast of how many meetings will fit, because meeting length and other uses of transcription both draw from the same pool.
Dupple data: Ten separate 30-minute conversations add up to 300 minutes. That uses the stated monthly allowance exactly and leaves no room in this example for an extra recording or imported file. Four 45-minute conversations total only 180 minutes, but each is longer than Basic's 30-minute per-conversation transcription limit. Both checks matter before you choose the plan.
According to Otter, a conversation or import that runs past the per-conversation cap on Basic does not necessarily stop, but only the capped share of the transcription is accessible on that plan. The help page says the full transcript can be unlocked after an upgrade, so do not assume the remainder is free, and confirm the result in your account when the recording matters.
Otter's minute reset guide says allowances reset with the billing cycle rather than necessarily on the first of the calendar month, and unused minutes do not roll over. Deleting a conversation does not restore its used minutes, so check the reset time in your account if you often finish near the cap.
If the ceiling is why you are shopping, compare free transcription software and AI transcription tools on live notes versus uploaded files, because a live-only tool will not clear a folder of recordings.
What does a lifetime file import mean on Basic?
An import is an existing audio or video file you upload for transcription, and on Basic that allowance is per account rather than a fresh set each month. The monthly minute pool and the per-file duration cap still apply, so a short clip can spend time you needed for a live call. Otter's import guide describes supported formats and notes that imports count against the relevant plan limits.
A researcher with twenty recorded interviews should not choose Basic expecting that file allowance to renew each month. A few live calls and a small set of existing clips are a sample of the workflow, not a way through a backlog.
Before you upload, decide whether you may send the contents to a third-party service. Client calls, interviews, and employee conversations can hold confidential information, and consent rules still apply on a free plan.
Otter's pricing comparison lists a monthly import allowance on Pro, a different deal from the lifetime cap, so confirm quantity, duration, and features at checkout rather than treating an old screenshot as the contract.
Are older transcripts deleted or only hidden on Basic?
Otter says Basic shows the 25 most recent conversations, and older ones are archived, not deleted. A paid plan can restore access to that older history. Otter also says you can export an archived conversation without upgrading, or export and delete newer conversations to make older ones accessible within the 25-conversation limit. Deletion removes those newer conversations, so verify your exports and your organization's data policy first. See Otter's archive and export guidance.
Names, action owners, dates, and technical terms may be transcribed incorrectly, so compare any decision that matters with the original recording and confirm assignments with the people who attended. If you would rather not add an automated participant, see how to take meeting notes without a bot.
What does Otter Pro cost once Basic runs out?
Otter's US pricing page lists Pro at $16.99 per user per month with monthly billing and $8.33 per user per month as the annual-billing equivalent. The same page shows an offer marked for an India-issued credit card, and that promotional amount does not apply to every customer, because prices and discounts vary by location.
For one user paying the listed monthly rate for a full twelve months, the arithmetic is $203.88 before taxes. Multiplying the displayed annual equivalent by twelve gives about $99.96, but that is a calculation from a rounded monthly figure, not a promised annual invoice. Check the final annual charge, the currency, the taxes, and the renewal terms in checkout.
The higher total is what you pay to keep monthly billing if you might leave before the year is up; the lower figure helps only when the seat stays for the whole term. Pro lists 1,200 in-app recording minutes, up to 90 minutes per meeting, and ten monthly file imports, as separate allowances, so a longer meeting cap does not raise how many files you can upload. Check which recording method draws on which allowance before you assume the workflow is covered.
Paying makes sense when the higher limit removes a constraint you actually hit. Meetings that regularly run 45 minutes still hit the Basic length cap while monthly minutes remain, and uploaded interviews make the monthly import allowance as important as the live-recording pool.
Who can stay on Otter's free Basic plan without paying?
Basic suits a few short meetings and a transcript you will review soon afterward. A student can try a few permitted interviews and then judge the quality, but a larger pile of uploads needs another plan or tool, because the lifetime import cap does not grow with the project.
On a team, ask whether people will accept an assistant on the call, then review how notes are shared. A free price does not settle privacy or access.
Skip Basic when older records, long meetings, or many uploads are the job you actually have. Each of those fails on its own, even when another cap still has room.
What should you compare before you decide to stay with Otter?
Compare the workflow you run, not one headline number: how many meetings you cover, how long they last, whether they are live or uploaded, which languages and platforms you use, and how long you need past notes. Match each of those to the free and paid limits, because clearing one cap can still leave you short on another.
Our Otter.ai alternatives guide lines up other products for that comparison. A wider shortlist is in AI meeting assistants, free AI meeting assistants, and AI meeting summary tools, which helps when the question is whether any assistant should join the call.
If you need a place for notes after the call, rather than an assistant inside it, compare AI note-taking apps, free AI note-taking apps, note-taking apps, and free note-taking apps. Paying for a note app does not cover transcription, and the reverse is also true.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Otter.ai Basic plan free for as long as Otter publishes it?
Otter describes Basic as a free plan, so you can use the published allowance without buying Pro. The vendor can still change the plan and its limits, so the allowance you see now may not remain.
Does the free plan include 300 minutes for every meeting?
No, that figure is a monthly pool, not a grant for each meeting. A separate cap limits how much of one conversation or import you can read on Basic, so a long call can come back incomplete while time remains.
Do unused Otter minutes roll into the next billing cycle?
Otter says unused monthly minutes do not roll over, and the reset follows your billing cycle rather than a date you can assume. A quiet month does not bank time for a busy one, so check the timing in the account before a heavy week.
Can I upload three recordings to Otter every month on Basic?
No, the Basic import limit is a lifetime total for the account, not a monthly refill. Each upload still has to fit the duration cap and the monthly transcription pool.
What happens to conversations that fall outside the recent set?
Otter says Basic shows the 25 most recent conversations and archives older ones rather than deleting them. You can upgrade to restore access, or export and delete newer conversations to bring older ones back within the 25-conversation limit. Otter also says archived conversations can be exported without upgrading; verify any export before deleting a newer conversation.
Can I transcribe a one-hour meeting and read all of it on Basic?
Otter says only the per-conversation share of the transcription is accessible on Basic, even when the recording continues. If the whole hour has to be readable, use a paid plan or another service and confirm what the account shows.
Does deleting a transcript put the used minutes back?
No, Otter says a deleted conversation still counts toward the monthly transcription allowance. Clearing the list does not refill the month, so plan around time already used.
Is paying for Otter Pro worth it when meetings run long?
It can be, when longer meetings, more imports, or a larger history is the limit you actually hit. Compare your schedule and the checkout price with those paid limits before you commit to a term you might not keep.
How we checked
We reviewed Otter's official pricing page and the help articles on Basic limits, imports, minute resets, and archived conversations, checked on October 28, 2026. The examples are arithmetic using published limits and US list rates, not an account test or an invoice. No Otter account was created for this page, and it does not rest on product testing. Check the terms, the features, and the price shown for your own account before you upgrade.
Cite this: Dupple, "Is Otter.ai Free? Basic Plan Limits and Upgrade Costs", October 2026.
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