Otter.ai guides: every page on this site about Otter.ai, by topic

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This is an index of the 26 pages on this site about Otter.ai, grouped by what you are trying to do: get started, change a setting, fix a problem, understand the price, or compare it with something else. It is not Otter.ai's official documentation, which is at help.otter.ai.

I built YapToText, a different dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about Otter.ai with that in mind. Every fact on these pages comes from Otter.ai's own site, with the date it was read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 9 sections
  1. Start here
  2. Features and settings
  3. Fix a problem
  4. Price, plans and billing
  5. Privacy, data and accounts
  6. Compared with other apps
  7. How these pages are made
  8. The short version
  9. Questions

Start here

  • How to Use Otter.ai. How to use Otter.ai: sign up, record or import, let Notetaker join meetings, teach it names, and the Basic free plan's limits, from Otter's help center.

Features and settings

  • Add Otter.ai to Zoom, Google Meet or Teams. Add Otter to a meeting by pasting the meeting link on Otter's home page, or connect a calendar so Notetaker joins by itself. Zoom and Teams settings.
  • Export an Otter.ai Transcript. How to export or download an Otter.ai transcript: the Export menu, the formats (TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT), MP3 audio, and why the Basic plan only shows TXT.
  • Otter.ai Accuracy. Otter's own advice on accuracy: cut background noise, avoid overlap, place the microphone within three feet, tag speakers and add custom vocabulary.
  • Otter.ai Import Audio or Video. Upload a recording to Otter: Import, then Browse or drag the file. Files up to 5 GB, the formats it takes, the free plan's 3 imports, and fixes.
  • Otter.ai Languages. Otter transcribes English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Simplified Chinese, one language per conversation. How to change it, and translation.
  • Otter.ai Login Problems. Cannot sign in to Otter? Reset the password at otter.ai/forgot-password, try the Google, Microsoft or Apple sign-in you first used, then 2FA help.
  • Otter.ai Mac App. The Otter desktop app for Mac needs macOS 12.3 or later. How to install it, the two permissions it asks for, and how it records a meeting without a bot.
  • Otter.ai Minutes. Otter's monthly minutes reset on the day and time your billing cycle started, and do not roll over. What uses them, the free 300, and processing time.
  • Otter.ai Not Recording Audio. Otter records nothing, or only your side? In a browser it hears through the microphone, so headphones, Safari and noise cancellation block the rest.
  • Otter.ai Phone Calls. Otter cannot record a phone call itself, because Apple and Google restrict it. Record the call with the phone's own feature, then share the audio to Otter.
  • Otter.ai Speaker Names. Name speakers in Otter: open the Transcript tab, click Speaker 1, and pick or create a name. One tag updates the whole conversation. Rename, rematch.
  • Otter.ai Subtitles. Otter turns a transcript into captions by exporting an SRT file, on paid plans only. The export steps, where the SRT goes, and free Mac apps that make SRT.
  • Otter.ai. Edit an Otter transcript from the Transcript tab, then share it by link or permission level. What Viewers and Collaborators can do, and Notion export.
  • Transcribe a YouTube Video With Otter.ai. Otter cannot take a YouTube link. Download the video and import the file, or record it as it plays. The steps from Otter's help center, and free options.

Fix a problem

  • Stop Otter From Joining Meetings. Type stop otter in the meeting chat to remove Otter's Notetaker at once. Anyone can, with no account. Then turn off auto-join so it stays out.

Price, plans and billing

  • Cancel an Otter.ai Subscription. Cancel Otter in Account Settings, Billing, Cancel plan. It runs to the end of the billing period, with no refund. Apple and Google purchases cancel there.
  • Otter.ai Pricing. Otter.ai pricing, checked October 5, 2026: Basic free limits, Pro at $16.99 a month or $8.33 billed yearly, team plans, and a free on-device app for files.

Privacy, data and accounts

  • Delete an Otter.ai Recording. Delete an Otter.ai conversation: it sits in Trash for 30 days, then leaves Otter's servers. How to delete now, restore, and what you cannot delete.
  • Delete Your Otter.ai Account. Deleting an Otter account is permanent and erases every conversation. First turn off Notetaker, disconnect the calendar, export and cancel.
  • Is Otter.ai Safe? What It Stores, Trains On and Shares. Is Otter.ai safe? Its privacy page, point by point: SOC 2 Type 2, AES-256 on AWS, training on de-identified data, 30-day Trash, who can see recordings.
  • Otter.ai and HIPAA. Otter says it is HIPAA compliant, on the Enterprise plan only, once a Business Associate Agreement is signed. What that covers and what stays your job.

Compared with other apps

  • Free Otter.ai Alternative for Mac. A free Otter.ai alternative for Mac: transcribe recordings and dictate into any app on device, with no minute cap. Otter's limits checked October 5, 2026.
  • MacWhisper vs Otter.ai. MacWhisper against Otter.ai: what each is built for, free and paid plans, where speech is processed, offline use and platforms, in one table.
  • superwhisper vs Otter.ai. superwhisper against Otter.ai: what each is built for, free and paid plans, where speech is processed, offline use and platforms, in one table.
  • Wispr Flow vs Otter.ai. Wispr Flow vs Otter.ai, from each maker's own pages: one types what you say into any app, the other joins meetings and transcribes them. Prices and limits.

How these pages are made

Each page takes its facts from Otter.ai's own pages, names the article it came from, and gives the date I read it. When Otter.ai changes something, the page can be wrong until I catch it, so the date matters. The official source is Otter.ai's own help center, and that is the place to check anything that affects money or data.

I built YapToText, a free dictation app for Apple silicon Macs, which makes me a rival, and each page says so. The comparison page sets the apps side by side.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

The short version

  • New to it. Start with How to Use Otter.ai.
  • Something broke. Look under Fix a problem.
  • Deciding. Look under Compared with other apps.
  • Official answers. Otter.ai's own help center.

If a page here no longer matches Otter.ai, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Where is the official Otter.ai documentation?

At help.otter.ai. This page is an independent index of guides written from it.

Is this site affiliated with Otter.ai?

No. I built YapToText, a different dictation app, and write about Otter.ai from its own published pages.

Which Otter.ai guide should I read first?

How to Use Otter.ai, then the page that matches your question under Features and settings or Fix a problem.