Krisp vs Otter.ai Comparison 2026
Krisp has no free tier at all, only a seven-day trial, then $8 a month per user for unlimited noise cancellation, transcription and notes plus an hour a day of accent conversion. Otter.ai gives away 300 free minutes a month, five hours, before Pro at $16.99 a month, or $8.33 billed annually, raises that to 1,200 minutes. Krisp's own listing draws the real distinction: it cleans the audio going out, not just the transcript coming back, so if notes are the only want, Otter costs less and does more with them.
At a glance
- Krisp starts cheaper, at $8.
- Only Otter.ai has a free tier.
Side by side
Krisp | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $8 | From $16.99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial (they differ) | 7 days | None |
Krisp
Noise removal and AI notes on any call
Krisp sits between your microphone and whatever application is listening, so the noise removal works on any call rather than only inside one meeting tool. The same audio gets transcribed and summarised into notes and action items afterwards. Accent conversion is the unusual feature and it is metered by the hour on the cheaper plan. There is no free tier here, only a seven-day trial.
Our note
The reason to pick this over the meeting-notes tools is that it cleans the audio going out, not just the transcript coming back. If you only want notes, Otter or Fireflies cost less and do more with them.
Otter.ai
Searchable transcripts of calls and recordings
Otter sits in a meeting or takes a file and returns a transcript with the speakers separated, which is where show notes, a follow-up post or a list of clips can start. Search across everything you have ever recorded is the part people keep paying for. Three hundred free minutes a month is five hours, so a weekly interview show fits and a daily one does not.
Our note
Why people weigh these two
- Otter.ai instead of Krisp
- Otter.ai keeps every call as a searchable transcript rather than removing noise from it, with a free plan to start before its $16.99 tier, unlike Krisp's trial-only access.
- Krisp instead of Otter.ai
- Krisp at $8 removes noise and takes notes on any call, without a bot joining the meeting to record it.
Which one should you pick
Choose Krisp if the room itself is the problem, a shared office, a kitchen table, a hotel, since noise removal works at the device level on any call rather than only inside one meeting tool. If the recording setup is already quiet, this is a feature you are paying for and will not use.
Choose Otter.ai if notes and a searchable transcript are the actual want, since 300 free minutes a month is enough to judge accuracy before paying anything, and Pro at $8.33 a month billed annually is priced close to Krisp's Core plan without needing noise cancellation as the reason to buy. Krisp's own comparison names Otter as the cheaper, more capable choice for notes alone.
Common questions
- Which one has a free plan?
- Otter.ai does, 300 minutes a month, five hours, enough for a weekly interview show. Krisp has no free tier at all, only a seven-day trial before its $8 a month Core plan begins billing.
- Does Otter.ai remove background noise the way Krisp does?
- Its listing does not describe device-level noise removal; Otter focuses on transcription, search and summaries. Krisp sits under the microphone and cleans audio for any call, which is its whole reason to exist.
- Which one is cheaper for someone who only wants notes?
- Otter.ai, according to Krisp's own comparison, which states plainly that Otter or Fireflies cost less and do more if notes are the only want. Otter's Pro plan is $8.33 a month billed annually, close to Krisp's $8 Core plan, without paying for noise cancellation.
- Does either one search across everything ever recorded?
- Otter.ai does, with search across every past conversation as a headline feature. Krisp's listing does not describe an equivalent search-everything feature; it focuses on cleaning audio and producing notes per call.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.