In our view, Otter is a meeting transcriber. Hovor is a dictation app with a meeting mode. If you mostly want a transcriber that joins Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet calls (as listed on otter.ai/pricing), Otter is built for that. If you also want to dictate into any app and record meetings on your own iPhone or Mac, Hovor covers both in one app.
The two products start from different places. Otter's homepage (otter.ai, checked 5 October 2026) describes a "Conversational Knowledge Engine" that makes meeting data searchable and actionable. Hovor starts from dictation: you speak and the text is pasted into the app you are using. Meetings in Hovor are an extra mode, available on iPhone and Mac with Local Unlock or Pro. The table covers what is confirmed on each side.
| Feature | Otter | Hovor |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Meeting transcription and meeting notes | Dictation into any app, plus a meeting mode |
| Meetings | Joins Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet (otter.ai/pricing) | Record a meeting and get a speaker-labelled transcript on iPhone and Mac. Needs Local Unlock or Pro; not available on Windows |
| Platforms | Web app, desktop apps for Mac and Windows, mobile apps, Chrome extension (otter.ai) | iPhone and iPad app, Mac app (Apple Silicon, macOS 15 or later), Windows beta |
| Languages | AI transcription in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese (otter.ai/pricing) | 30+ languages for dictation |
| Free plan | 300 monthly transcription minutes, 3 lifetime audio/video file imports (otter.ai/pricing) | 2,000 words per week, shared between cloud and on-device dictation |
| Paid plans | Pro $16.99 per user/month, Business $30 per user/month (monthly billing) | Pro $7.00/month or $65.00/year, or a one-time Local Unlock |
Otter's pricing page (otter.ai/pricing, checked 5 October 2026) lists a free Basic plan with 300 monthly transcription minutes and 3 lifetime audio/video file imports, with Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet integration. Pro adds up to 90 minutes per meeting and Business up to 4 hours per meeting. The same page lists AI transcription in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese.
Beyond what the vendor states on those two pages, this comparison makes no claims about Otter, so it does not cover things like offline behaviour or bring-your-own-key support.
Hovor pastes what you say into the app you are using. On Mac you start and stop with a global keyboard shortcut (it needs Accessibility permission). On iPhone the Hovor keyboard types dictated text into any app and requires Full Access. The Windows version is a beta.
Hovor records a meeting and gives you a speaker-labelled transcript. On iPhone the transcript is stored on your device and the processing runs through on-device Parakeet, so it needs a Parakeet-capable device. On Mac the meeting is recorded on your Mac. Meetings are included with Local Unlock or Pro, not with the free plan, and they are not available on Windows. We make no accuracy, speaker-count or speed claims for Hovor meetings.
On supported Macs you can dictate with on-device Parakeet or Whisper models that you download in the app. On iPhone, Parakeet needs 4 GB of RAM or more and Whisper needs 6 GB or more. Hovor requires you to sign in, so it is not an install-and-go offline tool.
Hovor lets you use your own OpenAI, Anthropic or custom-endpoint keys for formatting; translation works with your own OpenAI key. This needs Pro or the one-time BYOK Unlock. Keys stay in your device's Keychain and are never sent to Hovor. With Pro, Hovor can fall back to Hovor Cloud automatically if your provider fails.
Otter is the better pick when the job is capturing meetings you cannot or do not want to record yourself.
If your main need is dictating into other apps, with meetings as an occasional extra on iPhone or Mac, Hovor is worth a look.
The products are priced differently: Otter charges per user per month, and Hovor offers a monthly or yearly Pro plan and a one-time unlock. Local Unlock includes meetings but not cloud dictation; Pro includes meetings and has no weekly word limit on cloud dictation.
| Otter | Hovor | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 300 monthly transcription minutes; 3 lifetime audio/video file imports | 2,000 words per week, shared between cloud and on-device dictation |
| Pro, monthly | $16.99 per user/month (monthly billing) | $7.00/month |
| Pro, yearly | Annual pricing: see otter.ai/pricing | $65.00/year |
| Business | $30 per user/month (monthly billing) | Not applicable |
| Per-meeting length | Up to 90 mins on Pro, up to 4 hours on Business | No figure claimed |
You do not have to drop Otter to try Hovor: the two apps can run side by side while you decide, for example Otter for calls and Hovor for dictation.
For recording a meeting you attend and reading a speaker-labelled transcript afterwards, yes: Hovor records meetings on iPhone and Mac. Meetings are included with Local Unlock or Pro, not with the free plan. On iPhone the processing runs through on-device Parakeet, so it needs a Parakeet-capable device. Otter is built around meetings: its pricing page (otter.ai/pricing, checked 5 October 2026) lists integrations with Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet, which Hovor does not claim. If a transcriber that joins Zoom, MS Teams or Google Meet calls is what you need, Otter is the better fit.
No. Hovor meetings are available on iPhone and Mac only. The Windows version of Hovor is a beta and supports dictation, not meetings. Otter lists desktop apps for Mac and Windows on its homepage (otter.ai, checked 5 October 2026).
Otter's pricing page (otter.ai/pricing, checked 5 October 2026) lists a free Basic plan with 300 monthly transcription minutes, Pro at $16.99 per user/month on monthly billing, and Business at $30 per user/month on monthly billing. Hovor has a free plan of 2,000 words per week, Pro at $7.00/month or $65.00/year, and a one-time Local Unlock at $20.00 that includes meetings. Local Unlock does not include cloud dictation.
On supported devices, yes: with a Parakeet or Whisper model downloaded in the app, dictation runs on your device. Support depends on the device: on iPhone, Parakeet needs 4 GB of RAM or more and Whisper needs 6 GB or more. You need to sign in to use Hovor.
Otter's pricing page (otter.ai/pricing, checked 5 October 2026) lists AI transcription in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Hovor supports 30+ languages for dictation.
Mac dictation, offline · iPhone voice keyboard · Meeting transcription with speakers · Wispr Flow alternative · Українською