Bluedot receives positive feedback from users who appreciate its seamless integration into existing workflows, with reviewers noting that it quietly joins calls without requiring invites or bots and captures meeting content in the background. Users describe it as feeling like a natural extension of their work processes. The service maintains a high rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars based on user reviews.

Otter.ai receives mixed reviews from users, with some praising its comprehensive summaries as outstanding, quick, and accurate, while others criticize it as being horrible at capturing multi-speaker transcripts. CNET describes it as an easy-to-use recording and transcription service but notes there are hard limits on its capabilities and usage. The platform maintains a moderate rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, with users requesting additional language support and expressing concerns about transcript accuracy in complex audio scenarios.

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Bluedot positions itself as a highly accurate AI meeting recorder that operates through a Chrome extension without requiring meeting bots. Its primary strengths include superior transcription accuracy and discreet recording capabilities across major platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet. The tool targets professionals like sales reps and researchers who need precise transcripts, though its integrations remain basic and don't extend deeply into workflow automation.

The main drawbacks of Bluedot include an extremely limited free tier (only 5 lifetime meetings) and higher pricing tiers that may not justify the cost for basic note-taking. Chrome dependency and lack of mobile apps limit accessibility for some organizations. While it offers CRM integrations, the depth of these connections falls short of creating actionable workflows that truly help users accomplish post-meeting tasks.

Otter.ai provides a more accessible entry point with its generous free tier and real-time transcription capabilities during meetings. The platform excels at capturing comprehensive meeting information and offers useful features like speaker identification and slide capture. It appeals to a broader audience including students, educators, and business professionals who need basic transcription services, though its automation features remain surface-level.

Otter.ai's weaknesses include verbose, poorly structured transcripts that can obscure key insights and inconsistent accuracy with complex audio scenarios. The bot assistant can create calendar management issues if not properly configured, and the platform struggles with non-English languages. Like Bluedot, its integrations provide basic connectivity but lack the depth needed to transform meeting insights into completed tasks and meaningful workflow improvements.

Why users switch away from Bluedot or Otter.ai

Users switch away from Bluedot primarily due to its restrictive free tier and browser limitations. The free version offers only 5 meetings lifetime, which functions essentially as a trial rather than a usable free option. This contrasts with competitors like Otter.ai that provide 600 minutes of transcription monthly on their free plan. Additionally, Bluedot's optimal performance requires Chrome on desktop, creating barriers for organizations that don't use Chrome or users who need mobile functionality.

Cost considerations drive many users to seek alternatives, particularly for smaller teams and individual users. Bluedot's pricing starts at approximately $18 per user monthly for the Basic plan, with the Pro plan at $25 monthly and Business at $40 monthly. The higher-tier plans lock advanced features like longer video recordings, custom templates, and unlimited imports behind paywalls, making the total cost of ownership steep compared to other solutions in the market.

The platform's limited mobile support creates workflow disruptions for users who need cross-device functionality. While Bluedot offers desktop apps for Windows and Mac, it lacks mobile applications entirely, forcing users to rely solely on desktop or web-based solutions. This restriction becomes problematic for users who conduct meetings or need note-taking capabilities while away from their primary workstation.

Users switch away from Otter.ai due to transcription accuracy issues, particularly with complex audio environments. Reviews indicate the tool makes mistakes in transcription and speaker identification, which undermines its core functionality for users who require precise meeting records.

The verbose and unstructured nature of Otter.ai's transcripts creates difficulty in extracting key information quickly. Users report that transcripts lack proper organization, making it challenging to locate important takeaways or action items from meetings without extensive manual review.

Technical limitations and meeting management problems also drive users to alternatives. The assistant can send unwanted calendar invites or join meetings inappropriately when not configured correctly. Additionally, Otter.ai's language support is limited primarily to English with only Spanish and French available, and it lacks a native desktop application, restricting users to web browser access.

FAQs

Would Bluedot work for in-person meetings? What about Otter.ai?

Yes, both tools work for in-person meetings. Bluedot's bot-free recorder can capture any meeting on your device, and Otter.ai can transcribe live in-person conversations via its app.

Does either of these tools require a meeting bot to join the meeting?

Bluedot does not require a meeting bot - it works via a Chrome extension and can quietly record without any bot presence in meetings. Otter.ai uses an assistant that can join meetings in real time, which some users have complained can spam calendar invites or join unwanted meetings if not configured properly.

What do users say about the quality of transcriptions?

Bluedot is widely praised for transcription accuracy, with users often noting it as "the most accurate" AI notetaker they've tried. Otter.ai receives mixed reviews on accuracy - while users appreciate the real-time transcription capability, some note that accuracy can suffer with complex audio and there can be mistakes in transcription or speaker identification. Users also find Otter.ai transcripts can be overly verbose and lack structure.

Do these tools help a user follow up with action items from the meeting? How so?

Both tools help with follow-up actions. Bluedot's AI generates follow-up emails from notes and can log action items to participants. Otter.ai's "OtterPilot" feature auto-generates summaries, follow-up emails, and CRM updates.

Do these tools integrate with software like HubSpot, Salesforce, or Linear?

Yes, both tools offer integrations with popular business software. Bluedot has a wide integration suite including Slack, Notion, Google Drive, HubSpot, and Salesforce, with one-click sync capabilities to CRM and project tools. Otter.ai integrates with Zoom, Slack, and pushes notes to HubSpot and Notion via its OtterPilot feature.

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