Fireflies.ai excels as a cloud-based meeting assistant that automatically joins calls via a bot participant, making it particularly effective for remote team collaboration. Its strength lies in delivering quick, actionable summaries and bullet-point action items within minutes of meeting completion. The platform offers broad language support with 100+ languages and maintains good transcription accuracy, though it can struggle with heavy accents and technical jargon.

Fireflies.ai works best for sales teams analyzing customer calls, distributed teams needing efficient knowledge sharing, and professionals who want automated meeting documentation without manual effort. The tool provides solid integrations with CRM systems and project management platforms, though these connections primarily focus on data transfer rather than driving meaningful workflow automation. Users may find the summaries occasionally lose nuance and the interface can feel cluttered with notification overload.

Otter.ai positions itself as a real-time transcription tool that captures live meeting conversations and generates searchable, shareable transcripts. Its primary advantage is the ability to provide immediate transcription during meetings with features like live highlighting and commenting. However, the platform produces verbose transcripts that lack structure, making it difficult to quickly extract key insights or actionable items.

Otter.ai serves students, journalists, and professionals who need detailed meeting records rather than concise summaries. While it offers integrations with popular platforms like Zoom, Slack, and HubSpot, these connections feel more like basic data pushes than comprehensive workflow solutions. The platform's limited language support and tendency toward transcription errors in complex audio environments may restrict its effectiveness for diverse or technical meeting environments.

Comparison table

What users say about Fireflies.ai and Otter.ai

Users have mixed feelings about Fireflies.ai, with many praising its convenience and accuracy for meeting transcription needs. According to reviews on Trustpilot, users find the service remarkable and would be "literally lost without" it, highlighting how it transcribes meetings perfectly and integrates seamlessly into their workflow. G2 reviews consistently describe Fireflies.ai as "a great tool that makes my work easier," with users appreciating features like automatic meeting recording, detailed note-taking, and the helpful Fred chatbot for summarizing content.

Otter.ai receives more polarized feedback from users, with significant concerns about its core transcription capabilities despite some positive features. Reddit users specifically warn others to "stay away from Otter" due to it being "absolutely horrible at capturing multi-speaker transcripts," even when working with clear audio files. While CNET acknowledges that "Otter AI is an easy-to-use recording and transcription service," they note significant limitations in its capabilities, and Trustpilot reviews show mixed results with some users finding it "amazingly accurate" while others struggle with its functionality.

Users switch away from Fireflies.ai primarily due to the quality limitations of its AI-generated content. Many users find that the summaries tend to be too high-level and lack the nuanced detail they need, often losing the original phrasing or tone of important discussions. This becomes particularly problematic when users need to reference specific language or context from their meetings for follow-up actions or decision-making.

Transcription accuracy issues represent another significant reason for user departure. The platform struggles with heavy accents, technical jargon, and slang, leading to missed words and misidentified speakers. These accuracy problems can be especially frustrating for users who rely on precise transcriptions for professional purposes, as errors in speaker identification or missed technical terminology can impact the usefulness of the recorded content.

The limitations imposed by Fireflies.ai's free plan structure also drive users to seek alternatives to Fireflies.ai. Important features like video recording are restricted to higher-tier plans, forcing users to upgrade for functionality they may consider essential. Additionally, some users find the interface cluttered and become overwhelmed by excessive email notifications, creating a user experience that feels more burdensome than helpful for their workflow needs.

Users often switch away from Otter.ai due to poor transcript quality and structure. The transcripts tend to be overly verbose and lack proper organization, making it difficult for users to quickly locate key takeaways and important information. Additionally, transcription accuracy frequently suffers when dealing with complex audio situations, with users reporting mistakes in both the actual transcription and speaker identification. This creates frustration when trying to rely on the platform for accurate meeting documentation.

Another major pain point that drives users to alternatives is Otter.ai's problematic meeting management system. Users have complained about the assistant spamming calendar invites and joining unwanted meetings when not properly configured. This intrusive behavior can be disruptive to workflows and create embarrassing situations in professional settings, leading users to seek more reliable and less invasive solutions.

The platform's limited functionality also pushes users toward competitors. Otter.ai only supports a handful of languages (primarily English, with limited Spanish and French support), which is restrictive for international teams or multilingual organizations. The free version's limitations, such as the 40-minute cap on Zoom meetings, create additional friction for users who need more comprehensive transcription capabilities without upgrading to paid plans, driving them to consider alternatives to Otter.ai.

Using Fireflies.ai

Does Fireflies.ai work for in-person meetings?

Yes. Fireflies.ai has a mobile app that can record in-person meetings and voice notes.

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

Yes. Fireflies.ai works by sending a bot participant called "Fred" to join meetings across platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Webex.

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

Users generally report good transcription quality, with many noting that it accurately captures meeting content even in other languages like Dutch. However, some users note that transcription accuracy can decrease with heavy accents or technical jargon, and there are occasional issues with misidentified speakers or missed slang.

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

Fireflies.ai delivers summaries and bullet-point action items within minutes after a call. It can auto-log notes to CRM systems for contacts and deals, and can create tasks in project management tools like Asana. The platform also integrates with various tools like Slack and CRM systems to facilitate follow-ups.

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

Yes. Fireflies.ai offers dozens of integrations including native integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, and Slack, as well as additional integrations through Zapier.

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?

No, Otter.ai does not require a meeting bot for all use cases. While it can integrate with platforms like Zoom and Teams via an assistant that joins meetings in real time, it can also record audio via web or mobile app without needing a meeting bot.

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

Users have mixed feedback about transcription quality. On the positive side, they appreciate that it captures a large amount of meeting information and provides AI-generated summaries. However, accuracy can suffer with complex audio, and some reviews note mistakes in transcription or speaker identification. Users also find that transcripts can be overly verbose and lack structure, making it hard to quickly find key takeaways.

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

Otter.ai helps with follow-ups through its "OtterPilot" feature, which auto-generates summaries, follow-up emails, and CRM updates.

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

Yes, Otter.ai integrates with various platforms including HubSpot and Notion via OtterPilot. It also integrates with Zoom and Slack, among other tools.

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