Otter.ai vs Shmeetings
Comparing a privacy-first offline meeting assistant with a cloud-based transcription service
What is Otter.ai?
Otter.ai makes it very easy to record and transcribe your meetings in real-time. Otter connects to all major video conferencing platforms including Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. It will join your call as a visible participant, allowing you to see what is happening in the conversation. Otter uses the power of cloud computing to take the audio from your meetings and produce transcripts, summaries, and action items.
Otter is a great tool for sales professionals, journalists, and all types of businesses that need to keep track of searchable meeting records. In addition to searchable meeting records, Otter also provides collaboration tools such as shared work spaces, comments, and highlighting of important points. Otter also allows unlimited minutes with their paid versions and even allows you to set custom vocabulary for your industry.
The downside of Otter.ai is that it sends your meeting audio to Otter's servers to be processed by their artificial intelligence. And most companies require some type of approval prior to employees being allowed to use Otter.
The Core Difference
Otter.ai and Shmeetings both address the same issue, but they do it in opposite ways.
Otter.ai sends your meeting audio to remote cloud servers for processing, storing the audio and transcript on their infrastructure, and making it available through their web and mobile applications. This ability to process meetings in the cloud allows for much more robust collaboration features than Shmeetings, however, it means you have to give someone else access to your meetings.
Shmeetings is installed on your Mac, and processes the audio from your meetings on your computer. Your meeting audio never leaves your computer. You do not have to create an account, nor do you have to upload your audio to anyone's server, which means you do not have to get approval from your IT department to use Shmeetings.
If you need a solution that provides you with team collaboration features, Otter may be the best choice. However, if you just want meeting transcription without sending your conversations to a third party server, Shmeetings is a viable alternative.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Shmeetings | Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Data Privacy | 100% Local Processing Never leaves your computer | Cloud-based Data sent to Otter's servers |
| Account Required | No Just install and use | Yes Email signup required |
| Meeting Integration | System Audio Capture Works with any meeting app | Direct Integration Zoom, Teams, Google Meet |
| Bot Joins Call | No Invisible to participants | Yes Otter.ai joins as participant |
| Custom Prompts | Unlimited Any prompt, any length | Templates Only Pre-defined options |
| Works Offline | Yes No internet needed | No Requires internet |
| Team Collaboration | No Single user only | Yes Shared workspaces, comments |
| Pricing | $39 once Lifetime license | $17-$40/month Recurring subscription |
Privacy and Your Meeting Data
When you use Otter.ai, your meeting audio is sent to their cloud servers. Their servers transcribe your audio, store your recording, and allow you to search for specific words or phrases in your recordings. Otter's privacy policy outlines how they intend to protect your data, however, the simple fact remains: a third party now has access to your meeting recordings.
While this may not be a concern for casual meetings, if your meetings involve sensitive topics such as client information, employee issues, legal matters, or business strategies, you should consider where your meeting audio is going after it leaves your meeting space.
Shmeetings uses a completely different model to accomplish meeting transcription. The AI processing engine is installed on your Mac using local models. As such, your meeting audio remains on your hard drive. Because Shmeetings doesn't require an account, none of your meeting audio is connected to your identity on external servers. Furthermore, because Shmeetings doesn't send your meeting audio anywhere, there is no risk of a security breach from a service that you cannot control.
As mentioned above, most companies have requirements for approval from IT before employees can use cloud-based transcription services. Shmeetings eliminates this requirement. Shmeetings is software that runs on your personal computer, processing audio that never leaves your computer.
Who Should Use Each Tool
Choose Shmeetings If You:
- Handle sensitive or confidential conversations
- Can't get approval for cloud AI tools at work
- Don't want a bot joining your calls
- Want custom prompts with sensitive context
- Prefer a one-time purchase over subscriptions
- Need to transcribe in-person meetings
Choose Otter.ai If You:
- Need to share transcripts with your team
- Want searchable archives across all meetings
- Have company approval for cloud AI tools
- Need CRM or productivity tool integrations
- Want speaker identification in transcripts
- Prefer mobile access to your transcripts
Pricing: One-Time vs Subscription
Unlike Otter.ai, which uses a subscription model, Shmeetings is a one-time purchase of $39. There are no monthly fees, no pricing tiers, and no minute limits. If you were to pay for Otter Pro for two months, you would have spent more money than it costs to buy Shmeetings.
| Plan | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shmeetings | $39 | $39 | $39 |
| Otter Pro | $204 | $612 | $1,020 |
| Otter Business | $360 | $1,080 | $1,800 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Shmeetings transcribe my Zoom calls like Otter.ai does?
Yes. While Shmeetings will capture system audio and your microphone input, allowing it to work with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, or any other meeting application, Shmeetings will process the audio locally on your Mac rather than sending it to cloud servers like Otter.ai does.
Will Otter.ai store my meeting recordings?
Yes. Otter.ai will store your meeting audio and transcripts on their cloud servers. This enables the ability to search and share your meeting content, however, it means that your meeting data exists on infrastructure that you do not control.
Will I be able to use Shmeetings when I am not connected to the internet?
Yes. Shmeetings operates entirely offline. During the initial installation of Shmeetings, the AI models are downloaded onto your Mac, and after that point, all functionality of Shmeetings is available without requiring an active internet connection. This makes Shmeetings a great option for in-person meetings or for situations where you may not have internet access.
Why does Otter.ai require company approval?
Most companies have policies regarding the transmission of data to third-party cloud-based services. Since Otter.ai processes meeting audio on external servers, IT departments typically require approval prior to allowing employees to utilize the service. Shmeetings does not require this approval since no data leaves your Mac.
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