Top 5 Otter.ai Alternatives: Best AI Transcription Tools Compared

Looking for a transcription tool? You’ve probably come across Otter.ai and are now wondering what other options are out there, especially ones better suited to your team or company. You’re in the right place.

In this guide, we’ll show you five powerful AI assistants for automatic transcription that don’t go by the name Otter.ai. and might be an even better fit.

What Is Otter.ai?

Before we dive into alternatives, let’s clarify what Otter.ai actually does. Otter is a real-time speech recognition software that transcribes audio from virtual meetings. It’s especially popular with journalists, media professionals, and educational institutions.

But for remote, hybrid, or asynchronous business teams, especially in Germany, Otter often falls short. The platform supports only English, making it unsuitable for German-language meetings. In addition, its transcription time is limited: 1,200 minutes/month in the Pro plan ($16.99) and 6,000 minutes in the Business plan ($30).

The 5 Best Otter.ai Alternatives for German-Speaking Teams

A growing number of AI transcription tools are available, but which one fits your team best? Here are five standout options, compared for features, limitations, and suitability.

1. Sally

Sally is more than a transcription tool, it’s a complete AI assistant for online meetings and task automation. Designed with German businesses in mind, it delivers tailored transcripts and detects tasks, objections, and decisions automatically.

Key Features:

• Contextual transcripts: Adapted by meeting type (e.g. sales, brainstorm, team sync) for targeted follow-up
• Unlimited transcription in all plans, no caps on meeting length
• AI-powered task management: Automatically detects and assigns tasks
• Cross-team dashboards: Visualize insights like objections and sales opportunities
• Wide integration support: MS Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Gmail, Outlook, Salesforce, Dynamics 365 & more
• Multilingual support: Transcribes in 10 languages

Where Sally Could Improve:

• No **real-time transcription, **focused on accuracy post-meeting
• Not yet compatible with WebEx or BlueJeans (planned for future)

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Sally vs. Otter.ai:

While Otter.ai excels at quick, real-time English transcripts, Sally delivers deeper business value with its task automation, CRM integration, and multilingual support. For German-speaking teams and structured workflows, Sally is the stronger choice.

2. Read.ai

Read.ai specializes in analyzing meeting performance and communication patterns using AI.

Pros:

• Tracks speaking time and engagement
• Offers visual dashboards and summary reports
• Works with Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet

Cons:

• Limited language support: Optimized for English, weak in German
• No meeting bot controls (e.g. stopping or removing it)
• Reports of bugs and technical instability

3. Fireflies.ai

Fireflies focuses on transcription and meeting analysis, aiming to boost team productivity.

Pros:

• High transcription accuracy
• Supports Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, and Slack
• Offers meeting efficiency analytics

Cons:

• Complex permissions management poses security concerns
• No phone support, email-only customer service in English
• Occasional bugs (e.g. failing to join meetings)

4. tl;dv

tl;dv (too long; didn’t view) is all about meeting summaries, helping users skip straight to what matters.

Pros:

• Highlighting with timestamp navigation
• Supports over 25 languages
• Works with Zoom, Google Meet, and MS Teams

Cons:

• German summary quality needs improvement
• No mood/tone analysis
• Limited mobile support
• No option to add custom vocabulary or terms.

5. Bliro.io

Bliro is a German-built platform for real-time collaboration, notes, and transcription.

Pros:

• Fast and easy setup
• Interactive notes for live collaboration
• Integrates with Slack, Teams, and Google Workspace
• Built for the German language

Cons:

• Summaries may lack accuracy
• No calendar sync for automatic recording
• Sometimes misattributes speakers

Conclusion: Is Otter.ai Right for You?

That depends. If your team runs English-only meetings and needs real-time transcription, Otter.ai could work. But if you need German language support, unlimited transcription, or automated follow-up and task tracking, then the answer is no.

Each alternative above brings something unique to the table:

• Read.ai and Fireflies.ai are strong in analytics and integrations
• tl;dv is ideal for teams needing fast meeting recaps
• Bliro offers a local, German-native platform for collaboration

But if you’re looking for a complete solution that does more than just transcribe, managing tasks, tracking conversations, and helping your team stay aligned, we highly recommend Sally.

With Sally, you get more than just a transcription tool. You get a smart AI assistant that helps you stay productive and make every meeting count.