> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.stenoai.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Steno vs Otter.ai

> A direct comparison of Steno and Otter.ai: privacy, cost, transcription accuracy, and which to choose for your needs.

Otter.ai is a cloud-based AI meeting transcription service. Steno is a local macOS app. They solve the same core problem -- capturing and summarizing spoken meetings -- but in fundamentally different ways.

## At a glance

|                                     | Steno               | Otter.ai                               |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| **Audio processing**                | On your Mac, always | Otter's servers                        |
| **Account required**                | No                  | Yes                                    |
| **Price**                           | Free                | Free tier (limited) / $16.99-$30/month |
| **Works offline**                   | Yes                 | No                                     |
| **Meeting bot**                     | No                  | Yes (OtterPilot)                       |
| **Other participants see the bot**  | No                  | Yes                                    |
| **Transcription engine**            | Whisper (on-device) | Proprietary cloud                      |
| **Supported languages**             | 99                  | Primarily English                      |
| **Speaker labels**                  | Yes                 | Yes                                    |
| **Shared team workspace**           | No                  | Yes                                    |
| **Mobile app**                      | No (macOS only)     | Yes (iOS, Android)                     |
| **Calendar integration**            | Via Apple Shortcuts | Yes (native)                           |
| **Data used for training**          | No                  | Check current policy                   |
| **Suitable for confidential audio** | Yes                 | Requires review                        |
| **Platform**                        | macOS only          | Cross-platform                         |

## Privacy

Otter.ai processes audio on its servers. When you use Otter, your recording is transmitted to Otter's infrastructure, transcribed there, and stored in your Otter account. Otter's privacy policy governs what happens to that data.

Steno processes everything on your Mac. No audio is transmitted anywhere. This makes Steno suitable for meetings where sending audio to a third party is not acceptable -- clinical consultations, legal calls, financial discussions.

## Cost

Otter.ai's free tier limits monthly transcription minutes and restricts features. The Pro plan costs $16.99/month and Business is $30/user/month.

Steno is free and open source. The only cost is disk space for model files (\~3-5GB for the default setup).

## Meeting bot

Otter's OtterPilot feature joins your video calls as a visible participant. Other attendees will see "Otter" or "OtterPilot" in the participant list and receive a notification that the meeting is being recorded by an AI notetaker.

Steno has no meeting bot. It records audio from your Mac's audio system -- the other participants never see it in the call.

## Accuracy and language support

Both tools offer high transcription accuracy for clear, English-language audio. Whisper (Steno's engine) performs well across accents and in noisy environments.

Otter is primarily optimized for English. Steno's Whisper models support 99 languages automatically -- it detects the language and transcribes accordingly.

## Team features

Otter.ai includes shared workspaces, team folders, and collaborative notes -- features Steno does not have. If your team needs a shared repository of meeting notes with access controls, Otter is more suited to that use case.

Steno stores notes as plain Markdown files on your device. You can sync them with any tool you use for file sharing.

## When to choose Steno

* You work with confidential audio that cannot go to a cloud service
* You do not want a bot appearing in your calls
* You want free, unlimited transcription
* You work primarily on a Mac

## When to choose Otter.ai

* Your team needs a shared meeting notes workspace
* You need mobile recording (iOS or Android)
* You need live captions or real-time transcripts shared during a meeting
* Your meetings are predominantly in English and cloud storage is acceptable

***

<Accordion title="Can I use both Steno and Otter?">
  Yes. They do not conflict. Some users run Steno for sensitive or private meetings and use Otter for general team meetings where a shared transcript is useful.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="How does transcription accuracy compare?">
  Both use strong transcription engines and perform similarly for clear, English-language audio. Whisper's main advantage is language breadth (99 languages vs Otter's primarily English focus) and the fact that it runs on-device without sending audio anywhere.
</Accordion>