Head-to-head · profiles checked Oct 1, 2026
Pick Descript to edit podcasts or video; pick Otter.ai for transcripts and summaries of Zoom, Teams or Google Meet calls. Descript Hobbyist is $16/mo per editor billed annually, and Otter Pro is $16.99/user/mo. Descript and Otter.ai both have a free plan: 60 media minutes a month on Descript, 300 transcription minutes on Otter.
We based this comparison on our verified profiles of both tools, checked on 1 October 2026 against official pricing, homepage and privacy pages; it uses no third-party benchmarks and no vendor paid for placement.
Descript is a text-based video and podcast editor, so pick it if you produce media and want to cut footage by editing a transcript. Otter.ai is an AI meeting assistant for Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, so pick it if your main need is meeting transcripts, summaries and CRM sync. Descript and Otter.ai both have a free plan and cap monthly usage: Descript by media hours and AI credits, Otter by transcription minutes and meeting length. They overlap only on transcription, and each profile points to the other as the choice for a different job.
Based on our profiles of both tools, verified on 1 October against official pricing, homepage and privacy pages; no benchmark was run.
If you only want the answer, this is the table. Everything below is the evidence from the two documented profiles.
| You want to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Edit a podcast by deleting words from the transcript | Descript | Descript edits media through its transcript; Studio Sound and filler-word removal are included. |
| Get notes and a summary of a Zoom call | Otter.ai | Otter joins Zoom, Teams and Google Meet and produces summaries with action items. |
| Transcribe a recorded interview | Either | Descript transcribes in 25 languages; Otter lists interview transcription as a use case. |
| Cut social clips from a long recording | Descript | Social clips from long recordings is a documented Descript use case. |
| Sync sales call notes to a CRM | Otter.ai | Otter lists Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier integrations on Pro and above. |
| Ask questions across many past meetings | Otter.ai | Otter AI Chat works within and across meetings. |
| Add captions to a video | Descript | Captions and translation are listed Descript features. |
| Clone a voice for narration | Descript | AI voice cloning is a listed Descript feature; Otter lists none. |
| Record lecture audio and get a transcript | Otter.ai | Lecture transcription is a documented Otter use case, with a free plan of 300 minutes a month. |
| Translate and dub a video | Descript | Descript lists translation and dubbing in 30+ languages on Business. |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Descript Free | Descript | $0 | 60 minutes of media per month; 100 AI credits (one-time); 1080p export only |
| Descript Hobbyist | Descript | $16/mo per editor, billed annually ($24 monthly) | 600 minutes of media per month; 400 AI credits per month; 1080p export |
| Descript Creator | Descript | $24/mo per editor, billed annually ($35 monthly) | 1,800 minutes of media per month; 800 AI credits per month; 4K export |
| Descript Business | Descript | $50/mo per editor, billed annually ($65 monthly) | 2,400 minutes of media per month; 1,500 AI credits per month; unlimited 4K export |
| Descript Enterprise | Descript | Custom | Custom media hours and AI credits |
| Otter Basic | Otter.ai | $0 | 300 transcription minutes per month; 3 lifetime file imports; 30 minutes max per meeting |
| Otter Pro | Otter.ai | $16.99/user/mo | 1,200 recording minutes per month; 10 file imports per month; 90 minutes max per meeting |
| Otter Business | Otter.ai | $30/user/mo | Unlimited in-app recordings; unlimited file imports; 4 hours max per meeting |
| Otter Enterprise | Otter.ai | Custom, via demo | Unlimited concurrent meetings; custom retention and data controls |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Oct 1, 2026. Descript pricing in full · Otter.ai pricing in full
| Descript | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Media or minutes per month | Free 60 min; Hobbyist 600 min; Creator 1,800 min; Business 2,400 min | Basic 300 min; Pro 1,200 min; Business unlimited in-app recordings |
| AI credits | 100 one-time on Free; 400, 800 and 1,500 per month on paid plans | Not stated |
| Meeting length | Not stated | 30 min on Basic; 90 min on Pro; 4 hours on Business |
| Seats / team | Creator suits teams of up to 3; Business scales to 5+ editors | Basic and Pro: 5 max members; Business: 25 billed users; Enterprise: unlimited |
| Feature | Descript | Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Transcription | Yes, 25 languages | Yes, live, 6 languages with speaker identification |
| Video editing | Yes | Not stated |
| Voice cloning | Yes | Not stated |
| Meeting bot for Zoom, Teams, Meet | Not stated | Yes |
| AI chat / assistant | Yes, Underlord AI co-editor | Yes, AI Chat within and across meetings |
| API | Listed on site; docs page returned 404 | Enterprise only, with webhooks |
| Mobile apps | Not stated (desktop for macOS 14+ and Windows 11+) | Yes, iOS and Android |
| Descript | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Not stated in the privacy policy; Business plan offers a training opt-out | Policy effective June 16, 2026 does not explicitly permit training on user content |
| Retention | Policy has a data retention section; details not captured; custom retention on Enterprise | Custom retention on Business and Enterprise; default not stated |
| Business controls | SOC 2 Type II, SAML SSO and SCIM, GDPR compliant | Custom retention, export and sharing permissions, activity logs and usage analytics (Business and above) |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
Text-based video and podcast editor with AI tools like Studio Sound, filler-word removal and voice cloning.
Free stops at: 60 minutes (1 hr) media per month, 100 AI credits (one-time)
Free · paid from $16/mo US · checked Sep 29
AI meeting assistant that records, transcribes and summarizes Zoom, Teams and Google Meet calls with AI chat across meetings.
Free stops at: 300 monthly transcription minutes per user, 3 lifetime audio/video file imports
Free · paid from $16.99/mo US · checked Sep 29
Otter.ai is better for live meetings and Descript for recorded media. Otter.ai is built for live meeting transcription with speaker identification on Zoom, Teams and Google Meet. Descript transcribes in 25 languages, but the transcript exists to edit video and audio.
Yes, Descript and Otter.ai both have a free plan. Descript Free gives 60 minutes of media per month and 100 one-time AI credits at 1080p. Otter Basic gives 300 transcription minutes per month, 3 lifetime file imports and a 30-minute limit per meeting.
Descript Hobbyist is $16/mo per editor billed annually ($24 monthly), Creator is $24 ($35 monthly) and Business is $50 ($65 monthly). Otter Pro is $16.99/user/mo and Business is $30/user/mo. Both list Enterprise as custom.
Descript and Otter.ai both list an API, with caveats. Descript lists API and MCP access on its site, though its docs page returned a 404 when we checked. Otter.ai offers an API and webhooks only on Enterprise, plus an MCP server.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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