The Otter.ai
alternative with no
bot to switch off.
Reline (reline.so) and Otter can both record without a bot: Otter joins calls with its bot by default, with a botless desktop mode, so on the bot question this is close to parity and we are not going to pretend otherwise. The split is everything around it: Reline captures every Zoom, Meet, Teams and in-person call from macOS, Windows, a browser tab or Linux (beta), keeps the audio, and lets you press play on any transcript line to hear that exact moment.
Both can record without a bot, so pick on what surrounds it. Choose Reline if you want capture from a browser tab with nothing installed, audio you can play back from any transcript line, and a real collaborative notepad. Choose Otter if you need a bot that auto-joins calls you do not attend, mobile apps, or enterprise compliance depth like SOC 2 Type 2, HIPAA and SSO/SCIM.
What Reline does that Otter.ai doesn't.
Otter built a great transcription engine, and it now offers botless recording from its desktop app and Chrome extension. On the bot question this is parity, not an advantage. What is still different: Otter's default is OtterPilot joining as a visible participant while Reline has no bot to switch off at all, Reline records from macOS, Windows, Linux (beta) or a plain browser tab with nothing to install, and it keeps the audio so you can press play on any transcript line and hear the moment it came from.
Bot-free is the only way Reline records, on macOS, Windows, Linux (beta) and the web. Otter's botless mode sits next to OtterPilot, which is still the default.
Works with every meeting platform — Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Slack Huddles, Discord, in-person.
Chat answers can cite the note or the exact moment they came from, with a clip you can play, so you can check a claim against the recording.
Reusable Lenses for sales, discovery, design review, standup, customer interview.
Real-time collaborative notepad — write live alongside the transcript, your team co-edits.
RAG chat across notes, folders, and entire workspaces.
Five-level granular permissions per note and folder. SSO + audit log on the Enterprise plan.
Web app + desktop apps: use Reline on macOS, Windows, Linux (beta), or any browser. No install needed.
Push summaries and action items to Slack, Linear or Notion, or route them to Zapier, Make or n8n through signed webhooks.
Reline vs Otter.ai: feature comparison
| Capability | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
Bot-free by default (nothing to switch on) Otter ships botless recording in its desktop app and Chrome extension, but OtterPilot joining the call is still the default path | Yes | No |
Web app — full editor in any browser, no install | Yes | Yes |
Bot-free local recording (no bot joins) Otter's desktop app offers bot-free capture; web app and OtterPilot bot use cloud processing | Yes | Partial |
Works without integrations (records system audio) | Yes | No |
Live speaker-separated transcription | Yes | Yes |
Keeps the recording + click-to-seek playback Both keep the audio and play it back against the transcript. Otter lists audio playback on the free Basic plan at 1x, with faster speeds and unlimited storage on paid tiers. Reline gives click-to-seek playback on every plan. | Yes | Yes |
Collaborative real-time editor | Yes | No |
Reusable AI Lenses | Yes | No |
Multi-note rollups across folder | Yes | No |
RAG chat across corpus Otter's AI Chat works within and across meetings (Business caps it at 200 queries per user a month). Reline chat answers can cite the note or the exact moment. | Yes | Yes |
Free plan | 1 hr per note, 10 hrs / mo, unlimited notes | 300 min/mo total, 30-min cap per meeting |
Professional price | $15/user/mo · $12 annual, unlimited recording | Pro: 1,200 min/mo · Business $19.99/user/mo annual ($30 monthly), unlimited |
SSO + audit log | Enterprise · $32/mo · $26 annual | Enterprise only |
Desktop app: Windows | Yes | Yes |
Desktop app: macOS | Yes | Yes |
Mobile apps (iOS + Android) | No | Yes |
Integrations (Slack, Linear, Notion) | Yes | Partial |
Granular permissions per note | 5 levels | No |
Calendar sync (Google + Microsoft) | Yes | Yes |
Audio + transcripts never train models Otter has historically used customer data to improve models | Yes | No |
Comparison reflects public pricing + feature pages at the time of writing. Found something out of date? Let us know.
Last updated September 2026
Sources
Switch from Otter.ai in minutes
Keep your calls bot-free and start on the free plan. No credit card, no meeting bot.
When Otter.ai is the better choice
Choose Otter.ai over Reline if you need a bot that auto-joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams calls to capture meetings you don't attend, or if you require enterprise compliance depth like SOC 2 Type 2, HIPAA (Enterprise), and SSO/SCIM. Otter is also more established, with OtterPilot for Sales and broader calendar and conferencing integrations.
Switching from Otter.ai
- How does Reline record meetings without sending a bot like Otter?
- On macOS, Windows, and Linux (beta), Reline captures the system audio + microphone locally via the native desktop app. No participant joins your meeting, no "Otter has joined" message appears, and no bot joins the call. Otter also offers bot-free recording via its desktop app or Chrome extension, but sends OtterPilot into meetings by default.
- Can I use Reline without installing anything?
- Yes. Reline has a full-featured web app at https://www.reline.so: sign in, record meetings, edit notes, and collaborate in real-time, all in your browser. Desktop apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux (beta) are optional; the web version has feature parity with the desktop on supported platforms.
- Is Reline cheaper than Otter.ai?
- Reline starts free for solo note-takers (1 hour per note, 10 hours of transcription a month). Professional is $15/user/month ($12 billed annually) with unlimited recording. Enterprise, with SSO, audit log, org-policy locks, DPA and SLA, is $32/user/month ($26 billed annually). Otter Pro caps transcription at 1,200 minutes a month, and Otter Business is $19.99/user/month billed annually ($30 monthly) with unlimited transcription. Reline Professional has no minute cap.
- Does Reline have a Notion-like editor like Otter does not?
- Yes. Reline's editor is built on Tiptap and ProseMirror, an open-source editor framework, so the transcript, your notes and the AI summary live in one document your team edits together in real time.
- Does Reline work with Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams?
- Yes. Because Reline records system audio locally, it works with every meeting tool: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack Huddles, Discord, in-person meetings, lectures, podcasts. Anything making sound on your computer works, on macOS, Windows, or Linux (beta).
- Can I migrate my Otter notes into Reline?
- Not in bulk. You can import a Markdown file as a new note from a note's ••• menu. There is no bulk or folder import, so the move is about your next meetings rather than your back catalogue. Keep your Otter exports for reference and start recording in Reline on the free plan: bot-free, multilingual, with AI summaries next to the kept recording (press play on any transcript line).
- Reline vs Otter: which is better?
- Neither wins the bot question any more, so it comes down to the rest. Reline is better if you want to record from a browser tab with no install, keep the audio and press play on any transcript line to hear that moment, and work in a real collaborative notepad. Otter is better if you need a bot that attends meetings for you, mobile apps, or established enterprise compliance like SOC 2 Type 2, HIPAA and SSO/SCIM.
Reline vs every AI notepad
Side-by-side breakdowns of how Reline measures up against the rest of the AI meeting-notes category.
Stop taking notes.Start shipping outcomes.
Free forever for individuals. Five minutes to install. Your next meeting writes its own notes.