Three tools, three very different philosophies. Otter.ai is the polished category veteran. Fireflies.ai is the integration powerhouse. Ecla is the privacy-first newcomer that runs entirely on your device.
Here's an honest breakdown of what each does well, where each falls short, and which one makes sense for your situation.
Otter.ai
What it does well
Otter.ai is the most mature product in this comparison. It has years of refinement behind it: reliable speaker diarization, good accuracy for standard English, smooth Zoom and Google Meet integrations, and a clean mobile and web interface.
The AI summary features are genuinely useful — action items are highlighted, key points are extracted, and you can chat with the transcript to ask follow-up questions. For teams that want a polished, out-of-the-box experience, Otter sets the standard.
Pricing
- Free: 300 minutes/month, limited AI features
- Pro: ~$16.99/month, unlimited transcription, AI summaries
- Business: ~$30/month, team features, admin controls
Where it falls short
All your audio and transcripts live on Otter's servers. The free tier is genuinely limited. And the subscription cost adds up — $17-30/month per user for a team is significant. There's also occasional frustration with the automatic bot joining meetings without full control.
Fireflies.ai
What it does well
Fireflies' strength is its integration ecosystem. If your workflow involves pushing meeting notes into Salesforce, creating Jira tickets from action items, or syncing summaries to Notion — Fireflies handles this better than any competitor. It also offers strong search across all your past transcripts, which becomes increasingly valuable over time.
The free plan, while limited in storage, is enough to evaluate the product seriously. For sales teams, customer success, and anyone with a heavy CRM workflow, Fireflies can pay for itself quickly.
Pricing
- Free: 800 minutes total storage, limited AI
- Pro: ~$10/month, unlimited transcription, AI features
- Business: ~$19/month, analytics, CRM integrations
Where it falls short
Like Otter, all data is stored in the cloud on US servers. The AI features, while solid, are less polished than Otter's. And the free tier's total storage cap (not monthly) means heavy users hit the wall quickly.
Ecla
What it does differently
Ecla doesn't compete on integrations or cloud features — it competes on a different axis entirely: your data never leaves your device. Transcription runs locally using Whisper AI. No account required to use the core features. No subscription ever.
For AI summaries and action items, Ecla uses a "bring your own key" model: you connect your own Claude, GPT-4o, or Gemini account. This means AI requests go directly from your device to your chosen provider — Ecla is never in the middle.
Pricing
- Always free for recording and transcription
- No subscription — the only cost is your existing AI provider account if you want summaries
Current status
Ecla is currently in development with an Android launch planned. It's not yet available for download — but you can join the waitlist to be notified at launch.
Full comparison
| Feature | Otter.ai | Fireflies | Ecla |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (monthly) | $0 – $30 | $0 – $19 | Free |
| Transcription | Cloud | Cloud | On-device |
| AI summaries | Included | Included | BYOK |
| Data on your servers | No | No | Yes |
| Works offline | No | No | Yes |
| Account required | Yes | Yes | No |
| CRM integrations | Some | Extensive | No |
| Video call bot | Yes | Yes | No (mic only) |
| Android app | Yes | Yes | Coming |
| iOS app | Yes | Yes | Planned |
Which should you choose?
Choose Otter.ai if you want the most polished, feature-complete experience and you're comfortable with cloud storage. The free tier is enough to evaluate it, and the Pro plan is reasonable for individual users.
Choose Fireflies if your priority is CRM and project tool integrations. For sales teams and customer success professionals, the automation capabilities are hard to match.
Choose Ecla if privacy is a genuine requirement, you handle sensitive conversations professionally, or you simply don't want to pay a monthly subscription for something that can run on your phone.
A note on transparency: this comparison is written by the Ecla team. We've tried to represent Otter and Fireflies fairly — both are good products that serve their users well. If you want to verify anything here, we encourage you to check the competitors' websites directly.
Curious about Ecla?
Join the waitlist and be first to try on-device, private meeting transcription when it launches on Android.
Join the waitlist →