Otter AI alternatives that transcribe calls on your Mac
An Otter AI alternative that transcribes calls on your Mac: Koi, Granola, MacWhisper, Fathom, Fireflies, Jamie, tl;dv and Notta compared on bots and price.
Start here
What is the best Notta alternative?
For calls transcribed on your Mac without a beta mode, Koi keeps the transcript and a screen video there on every plan. MacWhisper and Talat are fully local, Otter and Fathom have bigger free plans in the cloud, and Granola AI and Jamie take notes with no bot.
Notta is a cloud transcription service with a bot, a bot-free desktop app and a local Privacy Mode. It also transcribes files and YouTube links and sells translation add-ons, which Koi doesn't do. Koi also names no one beyond You and Them, has no free plan and runs only on a Mac.
We make Koi, so it's first below. Facts about the others come from their own sites, checked October 16, 2026.
Stay on Notta if
When Notta is still the better pick
- You transcribe files and YouTube videos as much as live calls.
- You need transcripts translated, or bilingual transcription.
- You want a cheap yearly plan: Pro is $97.99 a year.
- You're on Windows as well as a Mac.
Why switch
Why people look for a Notta alternative
From Notta's own pricing and Privacy Mode pages:
- The free plan stops at 3 minutes per conversation and 120 minutes a month, which is a trial more than a plan.
- Pro and Business show yearly prices only, at $97.99 and $199.99 a year.
- Recording meeting video is a Business feature.
- The bot-free desktop app and its Privacy Mode carry beta labels, and the local model covers five languages, plus six more on macOS 26.
Billing is the other reason. Notta's Trustpilot page shows no score: Trustpilot says it removed fake reviews and suspended the rating. Of the 169 reviews left, 88% are one star, most about charges after a trial or a cancellation. Reviews there aren't verified, so read them as complaints, not facts.
The picks
7 Notta alternatives for Mac
1. Koi
Best for: Local transcripts and video, not in beta
Notta's Privacy Mode is a switch; on Koi there's no other way. Tap Fn + ⌃, pick Online call, and Koi writes each stretch of the call down on your Mac with Whisper, your microphone as You and what the Mac plays as Them, in any of 57 languages. The screen is filmed with both sides' sound, so you get video without a Business plan. Pick In person for a meeting or a lecture in the room, and the sound is kept to play back.
Calls have no length or monthly cap. When one ends, Koi asks whether to summarize it, and only with a yes do the transcript's words go to Koi's AI online. Pro is $20 a month or $192 a year after a 3-day trial with a card, and Koi emails a reminder before a trial or a year renews. Lifetime is paid once: $59 for the first 25 buyers, rising to $199.
2. MacWhisper
Best for: Files and meetings transcribed on your Mac
If files are why you use Notta, MacWhisper is the local answer: audio, video and YouTube links transcribed on your Mac, with SRT and VTT subtitles, in more than 100 languages. Pro adds meeting recording, still in beta, with up to 8 speakers. It's €64 once and needs macOS 15.
3. Talat
Best for: Fully local meeting notes
Talat records and transcribes on your computer and summarizes with a built-in model, so neither the audio nor the notes leave. It starts by itself on Zoom, Teams and Meet calls. $89 a year or $189 once, after 10 free hours with no card. macOS 15 on Apple silicon, or Windows.
4. Otter
Best for: A free plan with longer conversations
Otter's free Basic plan allows 30 minutes per conversation and 300 a month, against Notta's 3 and 120. Its desktop app records without a bot, and its Notetaker joins from your calendar. Pro is $16.99 a user a month, or $8.33 yearly. See our Otter AI page.
5. Fathom
Best for: Free unlimited recordings, with video
Fathom's free plan has unlimited recordings and transcriptions with summaries, and its bot records video. Bot-free capture on Mac is in beta. Premium is $20 a month, or $16 yearly. More in Fathom alternatives.
6. Granola AI
Best for: Polished bot-free notes
Granola never sends a bot and writes notes from the transcript and your own jottings, in the cloud. Basic is free with 30 days of history and no stated meeting cap; Business is $14 a user a month. See Granola AI alternatives.
7. Jamie
Best for: Bot-free notes in the EU
Jamie captures your device's audio with no bot, processes it in the EU and deletes the audio after transcription, per its security page. Free gives 10 AI notes a month for meetings up to 30 minutes; Plus is €21 a month billed yearly.
Comparison
Notta vs the alternatives
From each company's own site, checked October 16, 2026.
| Speech becomes text | Video | Free plan | Paid from | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notta | Cloud, or Privacy Mode in beta | Business | 120 minutes a month, 3 per conversation | $97.99 a year | Files and translation |
| Koi | On your Mac | Every plan, on your Mac | None. Pro has a 3-day trial | $20 a month, or $59 once | Calls kept on your Mac |
| MacWhisper | On your Mac | Not listed | Files, meetings need Pro | €64 once | Local files |
| Talat | On your Mac | Not listed | 10 hours | $89 a year, or $189 once | Fully local notes |
| Otter | Otter's cloud | Enterprise only | 300 minutes a month, 30 per conversation | $16.99 a user a month | A longer free plan |
| Fathom | Fathom's service | Yes | Unlimited recordings | $20 a month, $16 yearly | Free, with video |
| Granola AI | Cloud providers | No | 30 days of history | $14 a user a month | Polished notes |
| Jamie | Cloud, in the EU | No | 10 AI notes a month | €21 a month, yearly | EU data |
Consent
Do you need consent to record a call?
Often, and a bot-free recorder doesn't tell anyone. Koi doesn't announce itself to the call, so say you're recording at the start. Some places require everyone to agree. This isn't legal advice.
It's a live legal question: Brewer v. Otter.ai, a proposed class action filed in August 2025, alleges a note taker recorded people without their consent, per NPR. It's an allegation, not a ruling.
Choosing
Which Notta alternative should you pick?
- Calls transcribed and filmed on your Mac, no beta switch? Koi.
- Files and YouTube transcribed locally, paid once? MacWhisper.
- Everything local, summaries too? Talat.
- A free plan with 30-minute conversations? Otter.
- Free unlimited recordings? Fathom.
- Bot-free notes in the cloud? Granola AI or Jamie.
For a list ranked by how much stays on your Mac, see local AI meeting notes.
Keep exploring
The best AI note takers for Mac, no bot required
The best AI note takers for Mac with no bot in the call: Koi, Fathom, Granola AI, Otter, Fireflies AI, Jamie, MacWhisper and Talat, checked October 16, 2026.
Fireflies AI alternatives for Mac, with no bot and no auto-join
Fireflies AI alternatives for Mac that never join a call on their own: Koi, Fathom, Otter, Granola AI, tl;dv, Jamie and MacWhisper, on video, storage and price.
Record and transcribe calls on your Mac, with no bot
An AI note taker for Mac with no bot. Tap Fn + ⌃ on Zoom, Meet or Teams, or pick In person, and Koi writes down who said what on your Mac, with the video.
Support
Frequently asked questions
With Privacy Mode in Notta Desktop, yes, once it's set up. The downloads are labeled beta, and the local model covers fewer languages than Notta's cloud.
Fathom's free plan has unlimited recordings and transcriptions, and Otter's allows 30 minutes per conversation. Koi has no free plan; its Pro trial lasts 3 days and needs a card.
No. Koi transcribes the calls and meetings it records. For audio, video and YouTube files on your Mac, MacWhisper is the local choice.
Yes, on every plan. For an online call, Koi films the screen with both sides' sound and saves the video on your Mac. Notta records meeting video on its Business plan.