now recording vs otter.ai

The structural difference: cloud service vs on-device app

Otter.ai is a cloud transcription service. Whether its OtterPilot bot joins your call, you record from the desktop app, or you import a file, the audio travels to Otter's servers, where it is transcribed, stored, and made available across your devices. That architecture is what enables Otter's strengths: team workspaces, cross-device audio playback, and integrations with Zoom and Salesforce.

now recording inverts this. The Whisper speech-recognition model runs inside your browser — ready in about two seconds in any current Chrome or Edge, including managed work profiles, with no GPU needed (or inside the iOS app) — so transcription happens on your own hardware. There is no bot, no upload, and no server-side copy of your audio. Because it captures whatever audio your device hears, it works identically with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or an in-person conversation — there is nothing to integrate and no calendar access to grant. That last point is becoming more than a convenience: Microsoft Teams begins automatically blocking third-party notetaker bots in August 2026, which affects bot-based capture but not local capture.

Neither architecture is universally better. Cloud processing buys convenience and team features at the cost of holding your audio; on-device processing buys privacy and unlimited usage at the cost of some of that convenience. The rest of this page maps those trade-offs concretely.

Privacy: where does your audio actually go?

With Otter, your meeting audio is uploaded to and stored on Otter's servers — that is how the product works, and it is the standard model for nearly every meeting transcription tool. Your recordings exist as files on infrastructure you don't control, governed by Otter's retention and security policies. For many teams that is an acceptable trade; for conversations covered by NDAs, legal privilege, patient confidentiality, or strict company policy, it can be a dealbreaker. The legal surface is not hypothetical: as of July 2026, Otter is defending a consolidated federal class action alleging its assistant recorded conversations without all parties' consent and processed voiceprints.

With now recording, audio never leaves your device. Recording, live transcription, speaker identification, and the high-accuracy polish pass all run locally. This is not a policy promise you have to trust — it is verifiable: open your browser's DevTools network tab while recording and you will see no audio leaving the page. A sourced "what leaves your device" comparison across meeting tools is published at nowrecording.com/trust.

Two scoped exceptions, stated plainly. First, AI summaries: when you request one, the transcript text (never audio) is sent to an LLM API. If you skip summaries, nothing leaves the device at all. Second, the optional cloud backup and cross-device sync for signed-in accounts covers transcript text only — now recording's servers never store audio, on any plan.

Consent is on you either way, so now recording makes it easy to do right: a visible indicator shows while recording, one click copies an "I'm recording this meeting" disclosure you can paste into the meeting chat, and deleting a meeting from your account is final — it does not silently reappear on re-sync.

Pricing as of July 2026

Otter.ai (per otter.ai/pricing, July 2026): the free Basic plan includes 300 transcription minutes per month, 30 minutes per conversation, 20 AI Chat queries per month, and 3 lifetime file imports. Pro costs $16.99/month, or $8.33/month billed annually, and raises limits to 1,200 minutes per month and 90 minutes per conversation. Business costs $30/month, or $19.99/month billed annually, with unlimited meeting transcription and conversations up to 4 hours.

now recording (July 2026): currently free for everyone in early access — unlimited recording, unlimited live transcription in 29 languages, unlimited on-device file imports, on-device speaker identification and per-speaker stats, the high-accuracy polish pass, full exports, and evidence-anchored AI summaries, plus (signed in) cloud text backup, cross-device sync, full-text search across meetings, "Ask your meetings" Q&A, and public share links. A paid Pro plan is planned at $8/month ($5/month billed annually) but is not purchasable today.

The notable difference is what gets gated. Otter meters transcription itself, so a single one-hour weekly meeting exceeds the free plan's 30-minute-per-conversation cap. now recording never meters transcription — and publishes that as a commitment at nowrecording.com/pricing-promise: never meter minutes, never paywall your meeting history, never train on your data, never email your attendees, never invent AI credits.

Importing recordings and getting your data out

File import is where the free-plan gap is widest. On now recording, drop any existing recording — MP3, M4A, WAV, OGG, or the audio track of an MP4 — onto the recorder page and it is transcribed on-device with timestamps, free and unlimited, and the file never uploads; the import becomes a full meeting with an anchored summary, speaker stats, exports, and search. Otter's free plan allows 3 file imports for the lifetime of the account.

Getting data out is just as unmetered. Every meeting page — including public share pages — has an Export menu: Markdown notes, a plain-text transcript, .srt/.vtt subtitle files with speaker-labeled cues, a full-fidelity JSON record, and the original audio (from the device that holds it), or "Everything" in one click. The anti-lock-in pledge at nowrecording.com/your-data puts it plainly: your data outlives your subscription.

Where Otter.ai is stronger

Integrations: Otter connects to Zoom, Salesforce, and calendar systems, can auto-join scheduled meetings, and pushes notes into existing workflows. now recording deliberately has no integrations — local capture means it needs none, but it also means no automation around your calendar or CRM.

Mobile and platform maturity: Otter ships mature iOS and Android apps with years of refinement. now recording offers a browser app and an iOS app; there is no Android app, though the web app runs on capable Android browsers.

Team and collaboration features: Otter's Business plan offers shared workspaces, channels, and admin controls built for organizations. now recording is currently a single-user product whose collaboration story is limited to public read-only share links.

Cloud audio playback and slide capture: because Otter stores your audio, you can replay any recording from any device — now recording syncs transcript text only, so the original audio stays on (and exports from) the device that recorded it. Otter also captures meeting slides during virtual calls, which now recording does not do. Both products now offer AI chat across your meetings; Otter's AI Chat has simply been in production longer, while now recording's "Ask your meetings" shipped in July 2026.

Where now recording is stronger

Privacy: audio is processed and stored on your device only, with no server-side copy to secure, subpoena, or breach. The claim is verifiable in your browser's network tab rather than asserted in a policy document.

No bot, no setup: nothing joins your meeting as a visible participant, nothing needs calendar access, and the web version requires no installation and no account. It runs in any current Chrome or Edge — including managed work profiles, since no GPU is needed. Open the page, press record. Local capture is also untouched by Microsoft Teams' automatic blocking of third-party notetaker bots starting August 2026.

Unlimited free transcription and import: no monthly minute caps, no per-conversation caps, and no lifetime import caps, in 29 languages, with on-device speaker identification and per-speaker stats (talk-time share, turn counts, longest monologue, questions asked) included free. Otter's free plan stops a one-hour meeting at the 30-minute mark and allows 3 file imports ever.

Summaries you can audit: every action item and decision in a now recording summary cites the exact transcript turns it came from — citations are clickable and highlight the quoted turn, including on share pages — with chapters, seven note templates (General, 1:1, Standup, Sales call, Interview, Client intake, Lecture) plus free-form custom instructions, and output in the transcript's language.

Price: now recording is currently free for everyone in early access, and even its planned Pro plan ($8/month, or $5/month annual) would cost roughly half of Otter Pro's $16.99/month ($8.33/month annual) as of July 2026. Its unmetered transcription is something Otter only offers on the $30/month Business plan.

frequently asked questions

Does now recording really never upload my meeting audio?

Yes. Recording, transcription, speaker identification, and the accuracy polish pass all run on your device — in the browser (any current Chrome or Edge, no GPU needed) or in the iOS app. You can verify this yourself by opening your browser's DevTools network tab while recording. The one exception is AI summaries: requesting one sends the transcript text (never audio) to an LLM API. Cloud sync for signed-in accounts stores transcript text only; no audio touches now recording's servers on any plan. The full what-leaves-your-device breakdown is at nowrecording.com/trust.

Will the other people in my meeting know I'm transcribing?

With now recording, no bot or visible participant joins the call — it captures audio locally on your device, shows you a visible recording indicator, and offers a one-click copy of an "I'm recording this meeting" disclosure to paste into the meeting chat. With Otter's default OtterPilot mode, a bot joins the meeting and is visible to participants (Otter also offers a botless desktop-capture mode, though audio still uploads to its cloud). Either way, recording-consent laws in your jurisdiction apply regardless of which tool you use, and informing participants is your responsibility.

Does now recording work with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams?

Yes — with all of them, plus in-person conversations. Because it transcribes whatever audio your device captures, it works with any meeting app without integrations, plugins, or calendar access. The flip side: it cannot auto-join scheduled meetings the way Otter's bot can — though note that Microsoft Teams begins automatically blocking third-party notetaker bots in August 2026, which does not affect local capture.

Can I import an existing recording instead of capturing live?

Yes. Drop an MP3, M4A, WAV, OGG, or the audio of an MP4 onto the recorder page and now recording transcribes it on-device with timestamps — free, unlimited, and the file never uploads. The import becomes a full meeting: anchored summary, speaker stats, exports, and search. On Otter's free plan, file import is capped at 3 imports for the lifetime of the account (as of July 2026).

Can I ask questions across my meetings, like Otter's AI Chat?

Yes. "Ask your meetings" shipped in July 2026: signed-in users can ask questions across all their synced meetings and get answers with cited sources pointing back to the transcripts. Otter's AI Chat offers cross-conversation questions too, limited to 20 queries per month on its free plan as of July 2026.

Is Otter.ai's free plan enough for regular meetings?

It depends on your meeting length. As of July 2026, Otter's free plan allows 300 transcription minutes per month with a 30-minute cap per conversation, so a one-hour meeting gets cut off halfway — and file imports are capped at 3 for the lifetime of the account. now recording has no transcription or import limits — and it is currently free for everyone in early access, with no account needed to record.

Can I access my now recording transcripts from multiple devices?

Without an account, transcripts live on the device that recorded them (with on-device search across your local meetings). Sign in — currently free for everyone in early access — to get cloud backup and cross-device sync of transcript text, plus full-text search and "Ask your meetings" across all your meetings. Audio itself never syncs — you can export the original audio from the device that holds it, but if you need cloud audio playback from any device, Otter is the better fit.

Which one is cheaper?

now recording — it is currently free for everyone in early access, with a Pro plan planned at $8/month ($5/month billed annually). As of July 2026, Otter Pro costs $16.99/month or $8.33/month billed annually, and Otter Business costs $30/month or $19.99/month billed annually. For unmetered transcription specifically, now recording includes it free, while Otter requires the Business plan.