An Otter alternative that does not join the call
Trippi Notes team · facts checked on 2026-10-01
Otter is a strong tool, and many people leave it for two reasons: the bot that joins every call from the calendar, and a meeting in a language Otter does not transcribe. Here is what Otter does, what Trippi Notes does, and where Otter is still the better pick. Facts checked on 1 October 2026.
Side by side
| Trippi Notes | Otter | |
|---|---|---|
| Joins the call | No. A Chrome extension that hears the meeting tab after you click its icon | Otter Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams as a participant, usually from your connected calendar (Otter help). Its desktop app for Mac and Windows also offers capture without a bot (desktop app) |
| Where it works | Google Meet, Zoom in the browser, Teams in the browser. No desktop app, no phone | Web, desktop app, iOS and Android apps, Chrome extension for Meet and Zoom |
| Languages | 68 speech languages | English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified) (Otter help) |
| Translation | Yes, live: a translation line under each line, in your language. Summary in your language too | Not live. Otter suggests asking Otter Chat to translate a conversation afterwards |
| Audio and video | Not kept. Text only | Keeps the recording with the transcript |
| Lowest paid price | $6 a month for 10 hours of meetings, or $60 a year | Pro $8.33 a month billed yearly; $16.99 list price month to month (pricing) |
Read from otter.ai and help.otter.ai on 1 October 2026.
The bot, and why people want it gone
Otter Notetaker joins any calendar event with a Zoom, Meet or Teams link once auto-join is on. Otter even says you can send it to a meeting you cannot attend (Notetaker overview). That is useful for you, and awkward for everyone else: a new name in the participant list, a host who has to admit it, and sometimes a company rule against it.
If the bot is the only problem, you may not need to leave Otter: its desktop app can capture without a bot, and you can set auto-join to meetings you pick by hand. Our guide how to stop note-taker bots shows where.
Trippi Notes has no bot to switch off. You click its icon in the meeting tab, and it hears the sound of that tab. No bot does not mean secret. Tell people at the start that you take AI notes: what to say and a line to paste in the chat.
Languages are the bigger gap
Otter transcribes six languages. Its own help answers “Does Otter support other languages, such as Portuguese?” with a plain “No” (supported languages). If your calls are in Portuguese, Polish, Turkish, Korean or Hindi, Otter is not the tool.
Trippi Notes recognizes 68 languages. Under each line it can show a translation in your language, live, so you follow a call in a language you only half know. The summary, decisions and tasks come out in your language, which is what you send to people afterwards.
What Otter does better
- It records. Otter keeps the audio with the transcript, so you can listen again. Trippi Notes keeps no audio or video.
- It works everywhere. Desktop Zoom and Teams, a mobile app, the web. Trippi Notes works only in Chrome on a computer, only in the browser versions of Meet, Zoom and Teams.
- It starts by itself. With the calendar connected, nothing to remember. Trippi Notes needs one click in each meeting.
- It covers you. Your own voice is in an Otter transcript. In Trippi Notes it is not: it hears the tab, which is the other people.
- Integrations. Otter’s plans connect to Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion and Zapier. We send tasks to Linear, Jira and Asana, and stop there.
Price
Otter Pro is $8.33 a month on a yearly plan. Trippi Notes is $6 a month for 10 hours of meetings, $12 for 25 hours, $24 for 70 hours, or $60, $120 and $240 a year. For a few calls a week, we cost less. If you are in calls most of the day, Otter Business, with no cap on meetings, may cost less per hour.
Trippi Notes, with its limits
A Chrome extension for a computer. Click its icon in a Google Meet, Zoom or Teams tab in the browser, and it writes the transcript with names and times, a translation line in your language, then a summary, tasks with owners and a follow-up email draft. It does not join the call, keep audio or video, work in desktop apps or on a phone, or start from your calendar. Your own microphone is not in the transcript. All Otter facts on this page were checked on 1 October 2026.
FAQ
Asked about this.
Is there an Otter alternative without a bot?+
Yes. Trippi Notes and Tactiq never join the call. Otter itself can capture without a bot in its desktop app, if that is all you need.
Does Trippi Notes transcribe Portuguese, Polish or Korean?+
Yes. It recognizes 68 languages, and can show a translation line in your language under each line. Otter lists six languages.
Can Trippi Notes import my Otter recordings?+
No. It does not take audio files. It works only live, in a meeting tab in your browser.
Does it work with the Zoom desktop app?+
No. Open the meeting in the browser instead. Zoom usually shows a “join from your browser” link on the join page.
Is Trippi Notes cheaper than Otter?+
For light use, yes: $6 a month for 10 hours. For many hours a month, a plan with no cap on meetings can be cheaper per hour.
Read next
Meeting notes in your language, no bot.
Trippi Notes is in the Chrome Web Store. One click on the icon when the call begins, and nothing before that.