Otter.ai vs Avoma (2026): live transcription or the sales meeting machine?
Otter.ai is the live transcription assistant: it joins Zoom, Meet and Teams, transcribes in real time and turns meetings into searchable notes with AI summaries, from a free Basic plan and Pro at $8.33 a user a month billed annually. Avoma is the meeting assistant for sales teams: recording, transcription, CRM notes, a dialer, a scheduler and coaching, from a 14-day free trial and Startup at $19 a recorder seat a month billed annually.
| Otter.ai | Avoma | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Basic free: 300 transcription minutes a user a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports | No free tier — a 14-day free trial of the Organization plan; view-only seats are free on every plan |
| Paid tier | Pro $16.99 a user a month ($8.33 billed annually) for 1,200 minutes a month and 90-minute meetings; Business $30 ($19.99 annual) for unlimited minutes and 4-hour meetings | Startup $29 a recorder seat a month ($19 billed annually) for up to 25 seats; Organization $39 ($29 annual); Enterprise $39 a seat a month on annual billing, 10-seat minimum |
| Best for | Individuals and small teams who want accurate live transcripts and searchable meeting notes, cheaply | Sales and revenue teams who want meeting notes saved to the CRM, plus coaching, forecasting and a dialer |
| Standout strength | The fastest live transcription in the category, with real-time captions and AI Chat over your meetings, from a genuinely free plan | Only recorder seats are billed — viewers and collaborators are free — and notes, follow-up emails and action items land in the CRM automatically |
| Watch out for | Pro caps at 1,200 minutes a month and 90-minute meetings, so a heavy month needs Business at $30, and CRM note sync covers only 1 user on Pro | Conversation Intelligence and Revenue Intelligence are $29 a seat a month each on top of the plan, so the real sales setup costs about double the headline price |
Otter wins when the transcript is the job: a person or a small team who wants every meeting captured, searchable and summarised, without paying for a sales platform. Its Basic plan is free and its Pro plan at $8.33 a user a month billed annually is the cheapest serious meeting-notes seat in the category — and for most teams, 1,200 minutes a month is enough. Avoma wins when the meeting is a sales event: a rep whose notes need to land in Salesforce or HubSpot, whose manager wants coaching and deal views, and whose team needs a dialer and a scheduler in the same tool.
The price comparison flips depending on what you count. Otter's Pro at $8.33 a seat a month billed annually is less than half of Avoma's Startup at $19 a recorder seat — but Avoma bills only the people who record, so a 10-person team with 3 recorders pays $57 a month while Otter charges all 10. And Avoma's real cost is higher than its headline: Conversation Intelligence at $29 a seat a month is the feature most sales teams actually buy, which doubles the bill. If you want cheap, accurate meeting notes, Otter is the better buy. If you run a sales team and want the CRM, the coaching and the follow-ups in one place, Avoma earns its price — just budget for the add-ons.
Sources: official pricing pages and 2026 comparison coverage. Otter.ai listing · Avoma listing