An Otter.ai alternative that never joins the call
Updated
MeetMi is an AI meeting assistant for Mac and iPhone that you can use instead of Otter.ai: nothing joins the call, the speech is transcribed on your device and the audio is never kept, there is no account, and it gives you suggestions while people are still talking. Otter is the better pick if you need speaker names, recordings you can play back, a shared workspace, or Windows, Android or a web browser.
Facts about Otter come from Otter’s own website; the pages and the dates we read them are listed under the table. We make MeetMi and haven’t tested Otter.
How MeetMi differs from Otter
Does anything join the call?
No. MeetMi listens on your own device: on a Mac it hears whatever the Mac plays plus your microphone, and on iPhone it uses the microphone. Otter’s AI Meeting Agent joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet calls, and you can schedule it to join all of them on its own; Otter’s desktop app for Mac and Windows records without a bot.
More detail: what MeetMi hears, and telling people
On a Mac, MeetMi hears the Mac’s whole audio mix, whichever app it comes from, so other sounds playing at the same time, such as music or a second video, are transcribed too. macOS asks for its Screen & System Audio Recording permission for this; you can decline and use the microphone alone. On iPhone, from version 1.0.1 on iOS 27, you can switch MeetMi to system audio to transcribe what the phone itself plays, such as a video or a lecture. System audio can’t hear calls.
Since nothing joins the call, MeetMi doesn’t appear in the participant list. Rules on recording and transcription differ by place and workplace, so check the ones that apply to you and tell people you’re using MeetMi when they require it.
What happens to the audio?
MeetMi never saves or uploads the audio: Apple’s speech recognition turns it into text on your device, and only the text is kept. Otter keeps the recording, with playback and MP3 export even on its free Basic plan.
More detail: what you keep instead
You can’t play a meeting back in MeetMi. What you keep is the transcript, the running analysis and the notes, and you can export them as Markdown or plain text. If a language’s speech model isn’t on the device yet, MeetMi downloads it once; after that, transcription works without an internet connection.
Cloud AI, which writes the suggestions, the analysis, the answers and the notes, works on text only, and gets nothing until you accept the data notice. You can choose “Local Transcription Only” instead. The privacy policy lists what goes where.
Does it help during the meeting?
Yes, that’s what MeetMi is built for: with AI credits, it posts short suggestions as people talk, keeps a running analysis of the names, numbers and commitments, and answers questions you type. Otter’s AI Chat answers questions within and across meetings, and Otter says it offers real-time coaching and prompts during calls.
More detail: cards, analysis and notes
MeetMi posts at most one card every 20 seconds by default, each with one to four points tagged Fact, Advice, Risk or Action. The analysis is revised every 3 minutes by default. If you point MeetMi at a folder of briefs, contracts or your own notes from earlier meetings, the analysis, the notes and most answers check that material.
When you end the meeting, MeetMi writes the notes with cloud AI: a one-line title, then Overview, Discussion, Decisions and Action Items. Without cloud AI, the meeting is still saved to your history, just without notes.
Do you need an account?
No. MeetMi has no sign-in: the free AI credits come with the download, and the optional App Store subscription is the only thing you buy. Otter’s apps ask you to sign in to an Otter account, where you can join or create a Workspace. The trade-off: MeetMi keeps meeting history on each device, with no sync between Mac and iPhone and no team workspace.
Does it name the speakers?
No. Each MeetMi transcript line is tagged Mic or System, by where the sound came from. Otter identifies speakers by name, on its free plan too.
What does it cost?
MeetMi is free to download and transcribes on your device without using credits; from version 1.1, every Apple Account gets 250 free AI credits a week for suggestions, analysis, answers and notes. Otter’s free Basic plan has 300 transcription minutes a month, with up to 30 minutes per conversation.
More detail: paid plans
MeetMi’s subscription adds 4,500 credits a month and web search: $9.99 a month in the United States (the App Store shows your local price), with a one-week free trial for new subscribers. One subscription covers your Mac and iPhone on the same Apple Account.
Otter lists Pro at $16.99 a user a month, or $8.33 a month billed annually. Otter’s Basic plan also keeps only your 25 most recent conversations and allows 3 imported audio or video files in total.
MeetMi and Otter side by side
| Question | MeetMi | Otter |
|---|---|---|
| Does a bot join the call? | No | Its AI Meeting Agent joins Zoom, Teams and Google Meet calls, and can join all of them on its own; the desktop app records without one |
| Is the audio kept? | No, only the text | Yes, with playback and MP3 export |
| Help during the meeting | Suggestions as people talk, a running analysis and answers to typed questions | AI Chat within and across meetings; real-time coaching and prompts, according to Otter |
| Speaker names | No; lines say Mic or System | Yes, by name |
| Account | None | Otter account |
| Transcription languages | 13 options covering 10 languages | English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese |
| Where it runs | Mac with Apple silicon (macOS 26 or later) and iPhone (iOS 26 or later) | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, a web browser and a Chrome extension |
| Free plan | 250 AI credits a week from version 1.1, plus on-device transcription, translation, history and export | Basic: 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation |
From Otter’s website, read on 21 October 2026 (the help pages on 26 September 2026); products change, so check Otter’s pages for current details:
- otter.ai: AI Meeting Agent, desktop app without bots, real-time coaching, platforms
- Pricing: Basic limits, playback and MP3 export, speaker identification, AI Chat, languages, Pro price
- Help: desktop app, mobile app and sign-in
When Otter is the better pick
- You need speaker names in the transcript. Otter identifies speakers by name.
- You want to replay or download the recording. Otter keeps the audio, with MP3 export.
- You want a bot that joins your meetings on its own. Otter’s AI Meeting Agent can join all your Zoom, Teams and Google Meet meetings.
- You share meeting history with a team or across devices. Otter has Workspaces; MeetMi keeps history on each device.
- You use Windows, Android or a web browser. MeetMi runs only on Mac and iPhone.
When MeetMi fits better
- You want help while the meeting is happening, not only notes at the end.
- You don’t want a bot in the call or your audio kept.
- You’d rather not create an account.
- You prepare with a folder of material. It feeds the analysis, the answers and the notes.
- You meet in the room with your iPhone. It keeps transcribing with the screen locked.
- You listen in one language and want to read in another. MeetMi can translate each line on your device and writes its suggestions and notes in any of 10 languages.
Your Otter conversations stay in Otter, and MeetMi starts with an empty history. To try it, download MeetMi and press Start Meeting when your next meeting begins; if you say no to cloud AI, you still get the on-device transcript.
How MeetMi compares puts MeetMi, Otter, Fireflies and Granola side by side; there are also pages on switching from Fireflies and Granola.