Facts checked
The short answer
If you want notes from Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet calls, pick Otter: it joins the meeting, transcribes it live and writes the summary, and Slice does none of that. If you have a recording to upload, such as a podcast episode, an interview or a lecture, Slice fits better. Its free tier takes a file up to 1 hour with speaker labels and subtitle files, where Otter's free plan shows only the first 30 minutes of a transcript, allows 3 file imports for the life of the account, and keeps SRT export for paid plans. Paid, Slice is $7.99 a month for 20 hours, or hour packs from $1.99 that never expire; Otter Pro is $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed annually.
Otter Pro is a subscription: $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed annually. On Slice, a one-hour recording is the 1-hour pack at $1.99, paid once.
Choose Otter if
- Most of what you transcribe is meetings. Otter Notetaker joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet from your calendar and transcribes them as they happen.
- You want live transcription, a phone app to record in person, and summaries with action items written for you.
- You work in a team: shared speakers and vocabulary, folders, channels, admin controls, and Zapier, Salesforce or HubSpot on the paid plans.
- You want to search and chat across months of conversations. Paid plans keep unlimited history.
Choose Slice if
- You have recordings, not meetings: a podcast, an interview, a sermon or a lecture you upload once it is done.
- Your files run long. Slice takes 1 hour a file free and 3 hours paid; Otter's free plan stops at 30 minutes a conversation and Pro at 90.
- You need subtitles. Slice gives you .srt and .vtt on the free tier; Otter keeps SRT for paid plans.
- You transcribe now and then, not every week. Hour packs (1 hour for $1.99, 5 hours for $4.99, 15 hours for $9.99 or 40 hours for $24.99) never expire, so a quiet month costs nothing.
- You want to call it from code: Slice has an HTTP API at $2 an hour after the free allowance. Otter lists its API on the Enterprise plan.
Otter vs Slice, side by side
| Slice | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A transcriber for recordings you upload | An AI meeting notetaker that also takes uploads |
| Free | 2 recordings a month, each up to 1 hour | 300 transcription minutes a month; 3 file imports for the life of the account |
| Longest file, free | 1 hour | 30 minutes a conversation. A longer import still uploads, but you see only the first 30 minutes |
| Longest file, paid | 3 hours | 90 minutes (Pro), 4 hours (Business) |
| Paid price | $7.99 a month for 20 hours (about 40¢ an hour), files up to 3 hours, no count of files | Pro $16.99/user a month, or $8.33/user a month billed annually: 1,200 minutes, 10 file imports a month. Business $30/user a month, or $19.99 billed annually |
| Pay once | 1 hour for $1.99, 5 hours for $4.99, 15 hours for $9.99 or 40 hours for $24.99. Paid once, the hours never expire, no subscription | No. Subscriptions only |
| File size | 600 MB a file | 5 GB a file |
| Speaker labels | Yes, free: each voice labelled Speaker A, Speaker B | Yes, on the free plan too |
| Exports | Free: the text on screen, plus .txt, .srt and .vtt (also emailed to you). Paid: adds Word (.docx), Copy for Notion and notes with a timestamp on every paragraph | Free: mp3, txt. Paid: mp3, txt, pdf, docx, srt |
| Languages | Detects the language and transcribes in it. Tuned for English; we do not promise accuracy in other languages | English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese (Simplified) |
| Meetings | No. Upload a recording; nothing joins your calls | Joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet; live transcription; iOS and Android apps |
| API | HTTP API: the same free allowance, then $2 an hour (10 hours for $20 or 50 hours for $90) | Otter API and webhooks on Enterprise |
| Accuracy | No accuracy figure. We would rather you try one file | No figure. Otter says it is "generally quite accurate" and varies with noise, accents and the conversation |
Otter’s figures from its pricing page and help pages, read . Prices in US dollars. Slice’s from the code that runs it.
Where Slice falls short
- It does not join meetings or record anything. You upload a file you already have.
- No transcript editor. You get the text and subtitle files and fix them in your own editor.
- No translation, and it is tuned for English. Other languages are transcribed in the language spoken, without a promise on accuracy.
- The free tier is small: two recordings a month. It is built for one long recording, not for daily use.
- No team workspace, shared folders or mobile app.
- Links are not supported on the website: you upload the file itself.
Where Otter does more
- Meetings, end to end: the bot joins from your calendar, transcribes live, and writes the summary and action items.
- An editor: fix the text and speaker tags, highlight, comment, and share the transcript with your team.
- AI Chat over your conversations, and Zapier, Salesforce and HubSpot integrations from Pro up.
- Phone apps for recording in person.
- Team plans with admin controls, usage reports and, on Enterprise, SSO and HIPAA (add-on).
Otter’s prices, in plain words
- Basic: free. 300 minutes a month, up to 30 minutes a conversation, 3 file imports for the life of the account, the 25 most recent conversations visible.
- Pro: $16.99 per user a month, or $8.33 a month billed annually ("save 51%"). 1,200 minutes a month, 90 minutes a conversation, 10 file imports a month.
- Business: $30 per user a month ($24 for the first three months for first-time subscribers), or $19.99 a month billed annually. Unlimited meetings, 6,000 minutes of imported files a month, 4 hours a conversation.
- Enterprise: by demo. Adds the Otter API and webhooks, SSO and HIPAA (add-on).
- Students and teachers with a .edu address: Pro at $13.59 a month, or $79.99 a year.
Worth knowing before you pick Otter
- The free plan's 300 minutes are a shared pool: meetings and imports draw on the same minutes, and deleted conversations still count.
- The 3 free imports are for the account's lifetime, not per month.
- Filler words ("um", "ah") are left out of transcripts, by design.
- Imports come from your computer or phone; Business and higher can also import from Dropbox.
“you can import up to three audio or video files for transcription per account (not per month)”Otter Help Center, on the Basic free plan
“your recording or import will not stop, but you will only be able to access up to 30-minutes of the transcription”Otter Help Center, on the Basic free plan
Try Slice on your own recording
2 recordings a month free, each up to 1 hour, with speaker labels and .srt and .vtt subtitles. Your first one needs only an email address. If Otter fits you better, use it.
More than that: 1 hour for $1.99, 5 hours for $4.99, 15 hours for $9.99 or 40 hours for $24.99. Paid once, the hours never expire, no subscription. Or $7.99 a month for 20 hours (about 40¢ an hour), files up to 3 hours, no count of files. Calling it from code? The transcription API.
Questions
Which is better, Otter or Slice?
If you want notes from Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet calls, pick Otter: it joins the meeting, transcribes it live and writes the summary, and Slice does none of that. If you have a recording to upload, such as a podcast episode, an interview or a lecture, Slice fits better. Its free tier takes a file up to 1 hour with speaker labels and subtitle files, where Otter's free plan shows only the first 30 minutes of a transcript, allows 3 file imports for the life of the account, and keeps SRT export for paid plans. Paid, Slice is $7.99 a month for 20 hours, or hour packs from $1.99 that never expire; Otter Pro is $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed annually.
Is Otter free?
Yes, the Basic plan is free: 300 minutes a month, up to 30 minutes a conversation, and 3 file imports for the life of the account. SRT export is on the paid plans only.
Can I upload a recording to Otter for free?
Three times. The free plan allows 3 audio or video imports per account, not per month, and shows only the first 30 minutes of each transcript. Pro allows 10 imports a month, up to 90 minutes each.
Is Slice a meeting notetaker?
No. Slice transcribes files you upload. Nothing joins your calls. If meetings are what you need transcribed, Otter is the better choice.
Which is cheaper for a podcaster?
For a few episodes a month, Slice: $7.99 a month covers 20 hours with files up to 3 hours, or buy hours once (from $1.99) and keep them. Otter Pro is $16.99 a month ($8.33 billed annually) for 1,200 minutes, with 10 imports a month and 90 minutes a conversation, so a two-hour episode does not fit.
Which languages does each support?
Otter supports English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese (Simplified), and says no to others such as Portuguese. Slice detects the language and transcribes in it, but it is tuned for English and we do not promise accuracy in other languages.
How was this compared?
Otter.ai's prices and limits were read from its own pricing page (with the monthly and yearly toggle clicked) and its help pages on 4 November 2026, not signed in. Slice's figures come from the code that runs it. We did not test Otter hands-on and did not read its reviews. We make Slice.
Sources
Each read in a browser, not signed in, on :
- Otter pricing (monthly and annual)
- Basic free plan limits
- Importing a file
- Supported languages
- Accuracy FAQ
- SRT captions
- Otter Notetaker
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