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Circleback vs Otter.ai

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Verdict

Circleback is listed under AI Assistants and Otter.ai under Audio & Speech AI. Otter.ai scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.4 vs 8.2 out of 10), led by ease of use. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Circleback is available on CLI. Only Otter.ai is available on Chrome Extension.

Best overall

Otter.ai

  • Sales teams
  • Students and educators
  • Journalists and media teams
  • Recruiters

Choose Circleback if

  • You want a tool built for Teams that want automatic meeting notes and CRM or task-tracker updates via bot-free recording.
  • Bot-free desktop recording avoids a visible notetaker in client calls.
  • Free plan includes API, MCP and CLI access and mobile apps.

Choose Otter.ai if

  • You want a tool built for meeting transcription and summaries.
  • Permanent free plan with 300 monthly transcription minutes.
  • Works through a notetaker bot or bot-free via desktop apps and Chrome extension.
Best for beginners
Circleback
Best for business
Circleback

Features

18 features compared.

  • AI Meeting Notes
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Not available
  • Action Items
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Not available
  • Bot-Free Recording
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Available
  • Automations
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Not available
  • Ask Circleback
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Not available
  • Custom AI Insights
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Not available
  • Transcription
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Limited
  • Calendar Auto-Join
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Not available
  • Developer Access
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Not available
  • Live transcription
    Circleback
    Not available
    Otter.ai
    Available
  • Notetaker bot
    Circleback
    Not available
    Otter.ai
    Available
  • Bot-free recording
    Circleback
    Available
    Otter.ai
    Available
  • AI summaries and action items
    Circleback
    Not available
    Otter.ai
    Available
  • Otter AI Chat
    Circleback
    Not available
    Otter.ai
    Available
  • Channels
    Circleback
    Not available
    Otter.ai
    Available
  • File import
    Circleback
    Not available
    Otter.ai
    Available
  • CRM sync
    Circleback
    Not available
    Otter.ai
    Available
  • Otter MCP server
    Circleback
    Not available
    Otter.ai
    Available

Limited means partial support or a paid add-on.

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Circleback
    Freemium
    Otter.ai
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Circleback
    Yes
    Otter.ai
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Circleback
    $0
    Otter.ai
    $0
  • Plans
    Circleback
    4 plans
    Otter.ai
    4 plans

Circleback plans

  • Free

    $0

    Core notes and action items for individuals

    • AI meeting notes and action items
    • Ask Circleback
    • bot-free desktop app
    • mobile apps
    • limited automations
    • 30-day meeting history
    • 2 teams

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $18/user/mo

    Full automations and unlimited history

    • Automations with all integrations
    • custom AI insights
    • unlimited meeting history
    • 1 year of recording storage
    • 5 teams

  • Business

    $29/user/mo

    Team administration and retention controls

    • Everything in Pro
    • admin and member roles
    • unlimited free viewers
    • custom data retention
    • usage dashboard
    • 2 years of recording storage
    • unlimited teams

  • Enterprise

    $35/user/mo

    Security, provisioning and support for large organizations

    • Everything in Business
    • SSO (SAML or OIDC)
    • SCIM provisioning
    • invoice or PO billing
    • priority support
    • HIPAA compliance
    • unlimited recording storage

Otter.ai plans

  • Basic

    $0

    For those who want to give it a try

    • 300 monthly transcription minutes
    • 30 minutes per conversation
    • 3 lifetime file imports
    • Live transcription
    • AI Chat
    • iOS and Android apps

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $16.99/user/mo

    For individuals and small teams

    • 1,200 monthly transcription minutes
    • 90 minutes per meeting
    • 10 monthly file imports
    • Advanced search and export
    • Custom vocabulary
    • Salesforce and HubSpot and Zapier integrations

  • Business

    $30/user/mo

    For medium-sized teams

    • Unlimited meetings and recordings
    • 4 hours per meeting
    • Unlimited file imports
    • 3 concurrent meetings
    • Custom AI workflows
    • Admin activity logs and usage analytics
    • Prioritized support

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    For large teams and companies

    • Everything in Business
    • SSO and SCIM and Domain Capture
    • Otter API and Webhooks
    • Custom CRM and dialer integrations
    • HIPAA compliance add-on
    • Customer Success Program

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Circleback
8.2overall
Otter.ai
8.4overall

Circleback leads in 1 category and Otter.ai in 1.

  • Ease of Use

    Otter.ai leads by 0.4
    Circleback
    8.6
    Otter.ai
    9.0

  • Feature Depth

    Circleback
    8.3
    Otter.ai
    Not rated

  • Value for Money

    Circleback leads by 0.4
    Circleback
    8.2
    Otter.ai
    7.8

  • Performance & Speed

    Circleback
    8.0
    Otter.ai
    Not rated

  • Documentation & Support

    Circleback
    7.8
    Otter.ai
    Not rated

  • Transcription Accuracy

    Circleback
    Not rated
    Otter.ai
    8.4

  • Meeting Summaries & Action Items

    Circleback
    Not rated
    Otter.ai
    8.5

  • Integrations

    Circleback
    Not rated
    Otter.ai
    8.3

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Circleback

Pros

  • Bot-free desktop recording avoids a visible notetaker in client calls.
  • Free plan includes API, MCP and CLI access and mobile apps.
  • Broad integration list covering Slack, Notion, Linear, HubSpot, Salesforce and Zapier.
  • Unlimited free viewers on Business, so non-participants do not need a seat.
  • Releases page shows frequent updates, with entries in October 2026.

Cons

  • Free plan keeps only 30 days of meeting and recording history and 2 teams.
  • Most integrations, including Notion, HubSpot and Salesforce, require Pro at $18 per user per month.
  • SSO, SCIM and HIPAA compliance are limited to the Enterprise plan.
  • The desktop app covers macOS and Windows only; no Linux app was found.

Otter.ai

Pros

  • Permanent free plan with 300 monthly transcription minutes
  • Works through a notetaker bot or bot-free via desktop apps and Chrome extension
  • Summaries, action items and AI Chat across past meetings
  • Apps for web, iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, rated 4.8 on the App Store from 86K ratings
  • Integrations with Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Slack and CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot

Cons

  • Free plan caps conversations at 30 minutes and file imports at 3 lifetime
  • Pro caps monthly transcription at 1,200 minutes and meetings at 90 minutes
  • Business costs $30 per user per month on monthly billing
  • API access, SSO and HIPAA add-on require the Enterprise plan
  • Transcription is limited to six listed languages

Platforms

  • Web
    Circleback
    Supported
    Otter.ai
    Supported
  • Windows
    Circleback
    Supported
    Otter.ai
    Supported
  • macOS
    Circleback
    Supported
    Otter.ai
    Supported
  • iOS
    Circleback
    Supported
    Otter.ai
    Supported
  • Android
    Circleback
    Supported
    Otter.ai
    Supported
  • API
    Circleback
    Supported
    Otter.ai
    Supported
  • Browser Extension
    Circleback
    Not supported
    Otter.ai
    Not supported
  • CLI
    Circleback
    Supported
    Otter.ai
    Not supported
  • Chrome Extension
    Circleback
    Not supported
    Otter.ai
    Supported

Integrations

Circleback

22 integrations
  • Google Calendar
  • Gmail
  • Outlook
  • Slack
  • Notion
  • Linear
  • HubSpot
  • Salesforce
  • Attio
  • Asana
  • PostHog
  • Ashby
  • Intercom
  • Plain
  • Zoho
  • Monday
  • Zapier
  • Make
  • Zoom
  • Google Meet
  • Microsoft Teams
  • WebEx

Otter.ai

13 integrations
  • Zoom
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Google Meet
  • Google Calendar
  • Slack
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Zapier
  • Dropbox
  • Google Drive
  • Asana
  • ClickUp
  • Claude

Company

  • Company
    Circleback
    Circleback
    Otter.ai
    Otter.ai, Inc.
  • Founded
    Circleback
    2023
    Otter.ai
    2016
  • Headquarters
    Circleback
    San Francisco, CA
    Otter.ai
    Mountain View, CA
  • Listing
    Circleback
    Claimed
    Otter.ai
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Circleback better than Otter.ai?

It depends on your workflow. Circleback is built for Teams that want automatic meeting notes and CRM or task-tracker updates via bot-free recording. Otter.ai is built for meeting transcription and summaries.

What are the key feature differences between Circleback and Otter.ai?

Circleback: AI meeting notes, action items and automations that work with or without a bot. Otter.ai: Record, transcribe and summarize meetings, with action items and searchable AI chat.

Does Circleback or Otter.ai have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Circleback is freemium and Otter.ai is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Circleback or Otter.ai?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.