Bluedot offers exceptional transcription accuracy and operates discretely without meeting bots, making it ideal for sensitive conversations where recording presence might be disruptive. Its Chrome extension approach allows seamless recording across platforms, and the tool provides solid integrations with popular CRM and productivity apps. However, the free tier is extremely restrictive at just 5 lifetime meetings, and higher-tier pricing can be steep for smaller teams.

Otter.ai provides an accessible entry point with a generous free tier and user-friendly interface that works well for basic transcription needs. The platform handles real-time transcription effectively and offers good mobile app support, making it suitable for users who need flexible recording options. The main drawbacks include verbose, poorly structured transcripts and accuracy issues with complex audio or speaker identification.

Bluedot appears best suited for sales teams, user researchers, and professionals who prioritize transcription accuracy and need discrete recording capabilities. Its integration-focused approach works well for users who want meeting insights automatically pushed to their existing workflow tools. The tool targets teams willing to pay premium prices for reliable, bot-free recording across multiple platforms.

Otter.ai serves students, educators, and casual business users who need basic transcription without significant upfront investment. Its real-time collaboration features and mobile accessibility make it practical for users who attend various meeting types and need immediate transcript access. While both tools offer integrations and automation features, neither provides the depth of workflow integration or actionable insights that would truly transform how users handle post-meeting tasks.

Comparison table

What users say about Bluedot and Otter.ai

Users have mixed feelings about Bluedot, with reviews highlighting both strengths and significant weaknesses. Many praise the platform's simplicity and ease of use, noting that it feels intuitive and doesn't require extra effort to onboard or navigate. However, other users report serious issues with reliability, describing the app itself as horrible with broken functionality throughout the platform.

Otter.ai receives similarly polarized reviews from users, with transcription accuracy being a major point of contention. While some users find the service amazingly accurate and praise its summarized transcription features, others warn that it's absolutely horrible at capturing multi-speaker transcripts. Overall, reviewers acknowledge that Otter AI is an easy-to-use recording and transcription service but note there are hard limits on its capabilities and functionality.

Users switch away from Bluedot primarily due to its restrictive pricing model and limited free tier. Unlike competitors, Bluedot offers only 5 meetings for free in total, which essentially serves as just a trial period. After this extremely limited free usage, users must pay for continued access, with the Basic plan starting at around $18 per user per month. This pricing structure can be particularly challenging for small teams or individual users who find the higher-tier Pro and Business plans relatively expensive compared to alternatives that offer more generous free tiers.

Platform compatibility and technical limitations drive users to seek alternatives. Bluedot's optimal performance requires Chrome on desktop, which creates barriers for organizations that don't use Chrome or users who need mobile support. The mobile and desktop app support are not fully mature, limiting flexibility for users who need to record meetings across different devices or platforms. This technical constraint can be particularly problematic for users who work in diverse technical environments or require mobile accessibility.

Feature restrictions across different pricing tiers also contribute to user attrition. Advanced features like longer video recordings, custom templates, and unlimited imports are locked behind higher-tier plans, forcing users to upgrade to access functionality they may consider essential. For example, the Basic plan limits meetings to 1 hour maximum and excludes custom templates, while CRM integrations and topic tracking are only available in the Business plan at $40 per user per month. These limitations can push users toward competitors that offer more comprehensive feature sets at lower price points.

Users commonly switch away from Otter.ai due to poor transcription quality and accuracy issues, particularly when dealing with complex audio environments or multiple speakers. Reviews consistently mention that the transcription accuracy suffers when there are background noises, overlapping conversations, or poor audio quality, leading to mistakes in both the transcript content and speaker identification. This creates unreliable meeting records that users cannot trust for important business decisions or follow-up actions.

The overly verbose and poorly structured output format frustrates users who need quick access to key information from their meetings. Rather than providing concise, actionable summaries, Otter.ai tends to generate lengthy transcripts that lack clear organization, making it difficult to quickly locate important takeaways, decisions, or action items. This defeats the purpose of using an AI tool to save time, as users end up spending significant effort manually reviewing and reorganizing the content to extract meaningful insights.

Technical and workflow integration problems also drive users to seek alternatives, particularly around meeting management and calendar functionality. Users report issues with the assistant spamming calendar invites or joining unwanted meetings when not properly configured, creating awkward situations in professional settings. Additionally, the free version's limitations, such as the 40-minute cap on Zoom meetings, create interruptions during longer sessions, forcing users to either upgrade or lose portions of their meetings. Many users exploring alternatives to Otter.ai cite these workflow disruptions as primary motivations for switching.

Using Bluedot

Does Bluedot work for in-person meetings?

Yes, Bluedot works for in-person meetings. Its bot-free recorder can capture any meeting on your device without requiring a bot to join calls.

Does Bluedot require a meeting bot to join the meeting?

No, Bluedot does not require a meeting bot to join the meeting. It's provided via a Chrome extension that can quietly record and transcribe meetings without any bot presence, which means no awkward bot in meetings and it works even when you're not the host.

What do users say about the quality of Bluedot transcriptions?

Users widely praise Bluedot for its transcription accuracy, with marketing and early users often noting it as "the most accurate" AI notetaker they've tried.

How does Bluedot help users follow up on action items?

Bluedot's AI generates follow-up emails from notes and can log action items to participants through its automation engine.

Does Bluedot integrate with software like Hubspot, Salesforce, or Linear?

Yes, Bluedot integrates with HubSpot and Salesforce, along with other popular tools like Slack, Notion, and Google Drive. It offers one-click sync to CRM systems and project tools, and can automatically log summaries to other systems.

Using Otter.ai

Does Otter.ai work for in-person meetings?

Yes, Otter.ai can transcribe live in-person conversations via its app.

Does Otter.ai require a meeting bot to join the meeting?

Otter.ai uses an assistant that can join meetings in real-time for platforms like Zoom and Teams. However, it can also record audio via web or mobile app without requiring a meeting.

What do users say about the quality of Otter.ai transcriptions?

Users have mixed opinions about transcription quality. While some appreciate the real-time transcription capabilities, others note that accuracy can suffer with complex audio, and there can be mistakes in transcription or speaker identification. Additionally, transcripts can be overly verbose and lack structure, making it difficult to quickly find key takeaways.

How does Otter.ai help users follow up on action items?

Otter.ai's "OtterPilot" feature automatically generates summaries, follow-up emails, and CRM updates to help users manage action items after meetings.

Does Otter.ai integrate with software like Hubspot, Salesforce, or Linear?

Yes, Otter.ai integrates with various platforms including Zoom, Slack, HubSpot, and Notion through its OtterPilot feature, which can push notes to these systems.

Another alternative: Circleback

Circleback provides best-in-class AI-powered meeting notes and automations. We support over 100 languages and automatic participant identification in both in-person and online meetings.

• Automatically-identified and assigned action items

• AI-enabled search across all meetings

• Automations with 100+ app integrations

• Industry-leading security with SOC 2 Type II, EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and HIPAA compliance

• Ability to capture both online and in-person meetings with desktop and mobile apps