O 
Otter.ai
Transcription got 40x cheaper the day Whisper shipped.
KINDA
why this verdict
Downgrade — pay for the workflow, not the AI
Whisper covers the headline feature free, so the $17/mo is now paying for the workflow around it.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- Whisper + native meeting transcription. OpenAI, September 1, 2023 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers headline only editorial call
- The headline feature, but not the workflow, data or integrations around it.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 1 of 2 listed replacements have a usable free tier: Whisper.
- What the call is worth $204/yr
- $17/mo at the entry paid tier — $204 a year per seat.
Reason composed from the fields above missing: announcement linked recorded: free replacement listed recorded: two or more escape hatches
- Threatened by
- OpenAI
- Since
- September 1, 2023
- List price
- $17/mo
- Per year
- $204
The backstory
Otter.ai sells meeting transcription and summaries. OpenAI's Whisper made accurate speech-to-text almost free, and every meeting platform (Zoom, Teams, Meet) now ships native transcription and AI recaps. Otter survives on its live-notes UX and integrations, but the pricing power is gone.
Escape hatches
switching could free up $204/yr W 
Whisper Open-source, run it locally for free.
github.com open_in_new N 
Native Zoom/Meet recaps Built into the meeting tools you already pay for.
zoom.us open_in_new1 of 2 replacements have a usable free tier.