# Free alternatives to Otter.ai

> Otter.ai (Pro) costs $99.96 a year. Free alternatives: whisper.cpp and Buzz. Data checked 2026-10-17.

- Page: https://stoprenting.dev/apps/otter/
- Category: Transcription (https://stoprenting.dev/categories/transcription/)
- Vendor: Otter.ai
- Plan: Pro
- Price: $8.33/month, $99.96/year
- Billing: per user, billed annually (regular; $16.99 monthly)
- Price quote from the vendor's page: "Pro ... $8.33 /user/month ... [monthly toggle] $16.99 /user/month"
- Price source: https://otter.ai/pricing (checked 2026-10-17)

## Alternatives

### whisper.cpp

- Website: https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp
- Repository: https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp (54,442 stars, last push 2026-10-12)
- License: MIT
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: command-line tool
- Linux: AUR: whisper.cpp-git
- Self-hostable: no
- Install: `yay -S whisper.cpp-git`
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/whisper-cpp/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

### Buzz

- Website: https://buzzcaptions.com
- Repository: https://github.com/chidiwilliams/buzz (21,938 stars, last push 2026-10-11)
- License: MIT
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: desktop app
- Linux: AUR: buzz-bin; Flathub: io.github.chidiwilliams.Buzz
- Self-hostable: no
- Install: `yay -S buzz-bin`, `flatpak install flathub io.github.chidiwilliams.Buzz`
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/buzz/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

## FAQ

### Is there a free alternative to Otter.ai?

Yes. The 2 free alternatives are whisper.cpp (open source, MIT) and Buzz (open source, MIT).

### How much does Otter.ai cost?

Otter.ai's Pro plan costs $8.33 a month, which is $99.96 a year (per user, billed annually (regular; $16.99 monthly)). Source: the official pricing page at otter.ai, checked Oct 17, 2026.

### Which Otter.ai alternatives run on Linux?

whisper.cpp (AUR: whisper.cpp-git) and Buzz (AUR: buzz-bin; Flathub: io.github.chidiwilliams.Buzz).

### Can you self-host a Otter.ai alternative?

There's nothing to host: whisper.cpp is a command-line tool and Buzz is a desktop app.

### Are these Otter.ai alternatives open source?

Yes. All 2 use OSI-approved open-source licenses: whisper.cpp (MIT) and Buzz (MIT).

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Source: Stop Renting (https://stoprenting.dev). Methodology: https://stoprenting.dev/methodology/