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Otter.ai vs AudioPen
Otter.ai records a conversation and tells you who said what. AudioPen transcribes what you say and can turn it into clear, finished writing in a style of your choice.
Free to start. Loved by over 200,000 people.
The verdict
Otter.ai is a meeting assistant. It joins your calls, records them, transcribes in real time, identifies each speaker, and hands you a summary with action items.
AudioPen is a tool for individual thought. You think out loud, freely and unstructured, and it transcribes what you said. When you need it, it can also rewrite that into finished writing in the style and language you choose. Use it to replace your keyboard inside any app on Mac, Windows, and iOS, or keep it as a personal library where your notes live and stay searchable.
You can upload a recording, including a meeting, and get a transcript, a rewrite, or a summary. AudioPen won't label speakers or join a Zoom call. AudioPen also works as a voice keyboard in any app, on every device, and it can type what you say in a style you choose, even when you ramble.
If you need a true meeting recorder, choose Otter. If you want a transcriber for your own thinking that can also sharpen your words when you ask it to, AudioPen is the better fit.
Where each one wins
If you need to record meetings and search what everyone said afterwards, Otter.ai is a great choice.
If you want to think out loud and have your own messy thoughts written down clearly, AudioPen is the clear choice.
Voice typing, in any style
Otter.ai works on recordings of meetings. AudioPen also works in the moment, in whatever app you are typing in. Put your cursor in an email, a doc, or a chat and talk.
Talk the way you think. Start mid-thought, circle back, change your mind halfway through. AudioPen types your exact words when you want them, or writes it up in a style you pick, right at your cursor.
“okay quick recap for everyone, um, so we're shipping the beta friday, that's decided, and marco, marco's doing the release notes, oh and legal still hasn't signed off on the new terms, so that has to happen before friday or we slip, yeah”
Quick recap from today: • Beta ships Friday (confirmed) • Marco owns the release notes • Blocker: Legal must sign off on the new terms before Friday, or the launch slips
Works in any app, on every device: a hotkey on Mac and Windows, the AudioPen keyboard on iPhone and iPad, and a floating bubble on Android.
Rewrite level
Set how much AudioPen edits, then pick a style and a length. Keep your exact words, or polish it until it sounds like you.
Rewrite level
Retains structure where possible, rewritten in your chosen style
Output length
Some compression, but not too much.
Writing style
Ask AudioPen to write like your favorite author. Or give it a sample of your own writing, and it will match your voice. If you can describe a style, AudioPen can write in it.
The Northwind meeting went better than expected. They care more about the reporting dashboard than the mobile app, the opposite of what we assumed, and want a demo by the 14th. I need to ask Sam about moving two engineers off mobile next sprint, and send Lisa a summary tonight, since she needs to approve the change.
Free to start, on every device.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Otter.ai | AudioPen |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Recording and transcribing meetings | Thinking out loud and personal notes |
| Live meeting transcription | ||
| Speaker identification | ||
| Meeting summaries with action items | ||
| Calendar and video call integrations | ||
| Transcribes your speech to text | ||
| Upload audio files for transcription | ||
| Saves notes you can revisit | ||
| Type with your voice in any app | Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android | |
| Types in a style you choose, even when you ramble | ||
| Rewrites speech into polished prose | ||
| Custom output styles | ||
| Speak in one language, write in another | ||
| Optional offline transcription | Mac, Windows, iOS | |
| Languages | 6 | Works in any language |
| Free tier | 300 min/mo, 30 min per meeting | Yes |
| Paid pricing | Pro from $8.33/mo, Business from $20/user/mo (annual) | Prime from $33 for 3 months |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Chrome | Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome Extension |
Where AudioPen works
Voice type into any app on Mac and Windows, use the AudioPen keyboard on iPhone and iPad, tap the floating bubble on Android, or open your notes in the web app.
One Prime account covers all of them. Your notes sync across every device, so whatever you capture on one is waiting on the next.
Testimonials
Read what real users have to say about AudioPen.
This is probably the best product I’ve come across in the past 18 months. So useful and it just keeps getting better.
Simple, but effective. The best tool to convert rambling into structured text, while keeping what you rambled intact.
I freakin love AudioPen.ai. If you are not using it yet, get on it.
Most helpful AI tool = audiopen. Been using it daily to do things like: turn voicenotes into action items, content ideas (magic for this), summarize calls, giving feedback. The UI is also so clean that it’s an absolute joy to use.
I used to manually summarize my transcribed brainstorming sessions. Took hours. AudioPen automates everything to the point where I am almost done with my article after talking about a topic for 10min. Magic.
You speak to it as thoughts come in. It stitches a fine narrative from the rant. Writers can edit a ‘wrong’ page, not a ‘blank’ page. AudioPen gets you to 90% and then you do the rest.
OH MY GOSH. I just learned about AudioPen today, and it’s already a GAME CHANGER. If you write, create, or do any serious thinking, this tool is for you.
This is one tool that has dramatically changed the way I think. It has allowed me to get the thoughts out of my head and down on paper.
I’ve been using AudioPen to talk through my ideas, have them summarized and then use the summarization as a draft for blog posts. 13 out of 10. Highly recommend for the “blank page” problem.
I can’t say enough good things about the AudioPen app. It’s been my go-to app for getting ideas down without having to type. Not only does it arrange even the most inarticulate nonsense into readable sentences, it’s the best dictation app I’ve ever used.
No product has fundamentally changed the way I work over the last 12 months more than Audiopen. Home Screen on iPhone.
I can now create 95% of my blog posts and have minimal editing. In my tone of voice. This saves so much time
I’ve been writing online for over 10 years and tried virtually every writing app, productivity, note-taking, and idea-capture system out there. Nothing comes close to the amount of time AudioPen saves me.
This is by far the greatest and most useful tool I have ever had! I have severe ADHD and it’s able to translate my rambling into a well written and concise note. I feel more organized and less anxious!
Best buy in 2023: AudioPen from @louispereira. Hats off.
Switched from Superwhisper to Audiopen Mac App within 20 minutes of using the Mac App.
Tried it out, and paid for the prime version because it is SO good and simple to use. The product has made it so much easier to track my various thoughts throughout my day.
I am a natural speaker. My ideas flow faster when I speak. I record my voice notes and with my accent, it is perfect all the time.
AudioPen is able to clear my spoken thoughts into text in Estonian, one of the most complicated languages in the world! Shut Up And Take My Money!
Already not sure what I did before I had AudioPen. If you often have thoughts you want to capture in writing, check it out. Cost is super reasonable too.
Questions
Straight answers to the questions people ask before they start.
