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VV vs Otter.ai: two ways to get meeting notes
Both turn calls into transcripts, summaries and action items. They differ in where the call is transcribed, how the recording starts, and what else the app does for you between meetings.
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Two approaches to the same job
Meeting notes used to mean someone typing while everyone else talked. Both of these products replace that person. They take different routes to the same place: a transcript of what was said, and a short list of what was decided and who is doing what.
Otter.ai is a meetings product first and foremost, and publishes its scope plainly: calls on Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, turned into notes, summaries and action items. VV started as dictation software and added Vaitly Meetings to Pro, built around one constraint — the call should be transcribed on the computer you are already using for it.
| Otter.ai | VV Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Transcribes calls on Zoom, Teams and Google Meet; notes, summaries and action items | Vaitly Meetings (beta): records calls in the background, then minutes, decisions and action items |
| How recording starts | See Otter's own documentation | Automatically when a call starts on your computer; no meeting bot joins |
| Admin permission in Teams or Zoom | See Otter's own documentation | Not needed — it records on your computer |
| Where speech is transcribed | See Otter's own documentation | On your computer; audio is not uploaded or stored |
| Summaries | Notes, summaries and action items | Transcript text sent to our server, which uses OpenAI |
| Dictation into any app | Not its focus | Yes — hold a shortcut, speak, text appears at your cursor |
| Pricing | Free Basic; Pro $8.33/user/month annually ($16.99 monthly); Business $19.99 annually | Free tier for dictation; Pro £9.99/mo or £99/yr, including Vaitly Meetings (beta) |
Otter.ai scope and prices read on otter.ai/pricing on 11 September 2026. Where this page says "see Otter's own documentation", we have not checked the detail and would rather not guess.
How Vaitly Meetings works
- A call starts. When Zoom, Teams, Google Meet in the browser, Slack, WhatsApp, FaceTime or Webex starts using your microphone, VV notices and starts recording in the background. You can set it to ask first, or set rules per app.
- Both sides are captured. Your microphone is transcribed as you; the call's audio as the other participants. Nobody joins the call, so the meeting looks the same to everyone else.
- Transcribed on your computer. The same on-device speech model that powers dictation writes the transcript. The audio is not uploaded and not stored.
- Filed when it ends. The meeting lands in a calendar you can search, with minutes, decisions and action items written from the transcript's text by our server, which uses OpenAI.
Recordings from your phone can be brought in too: put a voice memo in a watched iCloud Drive or OneDrive folder and it is transcribed on your computer like any other meeting. For an in-person meeting, press Record now.
Which approach suits you
Vaitly Meetings is likely to suit you if
- You would rather no meeting bot appeared in the participant list.
- You cannot get an app approved by your Teams or Zoom administrator, or by a client's.
- You want the speech transcribed on your own computer.
- You also type a lot of prose and would like dictation in the same app.
A dedicated meetings product may suit you better if
- Meetings are your whole use case and you want the most established option.
- You need features we do not offer, such as a phone app that records meetings.
- You cannot use a beta for something this important yet.
Where dictation fits around meetings
A transcript is a record, not a reply. The follow-up email, the message to the person who missed the call, the update to the ticket — those are still writing. That is where dictation earns its place: hold the shortcut, say the reply, and it lands in Mail, Slack or the browser where your cursor is.
There is also a case for four lines of your own after a call, filtered by a human who was there. A 45-minute transcript and its summary are useful; your own one-paragraph take is often what you actually forward. See meeting notes by voice.
Where these facts came from
Anything stated about another product was read on that product's own site or documentation on the date shown, and is re-checked at least quarterly. If something below has changed, tell us and we will correct it.
- Otter.ai is built around meetings, transcribing calls on Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet and producing notes, summaries and action items. source, checked .
- Otter.ai publishes a free Basic plan, Pro at $8.33 per user per month billed annually ($16.99 monthly), Business at $19.99 per user per month billed annually, and custom Enterprise pricing. source, checked .
Questions
Does VV record meetings?
Yes, with Vaitly Meetings (beta), part of VV Pro. It records calls in the background when they start on your computer, with no meeting bot joining, and transcribes them on your computer. Dictation on its own only captures your microphone while you hold its shortcut.
Is my meeting audio uploaded?
No. The audio is transcribed on your computer and is not uploaded or stored. To write minutes, decisions and action items, the transcript's text is sent to our server, which uses OpenAI with storage turned off; there is no zero-retention agreement.
Do I need my Teams or Zoom administrator's permission?
Not for VV: nothing is installed in Teams or Zoom and no bot joins the call. You do still need to tell the people on the call that you are transcribing it.
Can I use both?
Yes. Some people keep a dedicated meetings tool for team-wide notes and use VV for dictation. Others find one VV Pro subscription covers both.