Waitlist open for Mockingbird: the most-wanted dupes get built firstOtter.ai alternative Mockingbird, AI meeting notes for $99 once
A private AI meeting notepad for the Mac: it listens to the call, you jot notes, it writes them up. No bot, no subscription.
Pay once
$99 once (planned), against $300 for three years of Otter.ai Pro.
No bot in the call
It records your Mac's own audio and transcribes on your Mac, so the audio never leaves it. Every meeting is a Markdown file you keep.
Build it free
Paste our starter prompt into Claude Code and build the core of Mockingbird yourself, step by step.
| Feature | Otter.aiPro · $8.33/mo, yearly | Mockingbird$99 once · planned |
|---|---|---|
| Records Zoom, Meet and Teams callsMockingbird: from your Mac's audio, no bot | Yes | Yes |
| Live transcript during the call | Yes | Yes |
| Summaries and action items | Yes | Yes |
| No monthly minute capOtter: unlimited on Business | No | Yes |
| Audio stays on your computer | No | Yes |
| Speaker labels | Yes | Planned |
| Import a recording you already have | Yes | Planned |
| Mobile apps | Yes | No |
| Three years, one person | $99 |
Plus your own AI usage. Otter.ai prices from its pricing page, per person. All Otter.ai plans.
What's the best Otter.ai alternative?
It depends what you want from it. The short answer, by need:
- No subscription
- Mockingbird: $99 once (planned; waitlist open), against $300 for three years of Otter.ai Pro. Mac app.
- Free
- Fathom: unlimited recordings; AI action items and chat are limited.
- Open source
- Meetily, from $10/mo (community edition free with no usage caps; no speaker labels).
- Windows or Linux
- Fireflies.ai runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Web, from $10/mo.
- Staying on Otter.ai
- Its free Basic plan has 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation.
More options and their catches in Other Otter.ai alternatives.
Why people switch
Why people look for an Otter.ai alternative
What Otter.ai users raise in reviews and forums, and what its own pages say. In our words, with the source; checked Oct 12, 2026.
A 2025 class action alleges Otter's bot records meetings without every attendee's consent and uses them for AI training.
Source: npr.orgThe free plan caps you at 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per meeting and 25 visible conversations.
Source: otter.aiReviewers report surprise charges, unwanted auto-renewals and trouble cancelling or getting refunds.
Source: trustpilot.comThe original
What Otter.ai does
- Transcribes meetings live, with a bot that joins Zoom, Meet and Teams calls.
- Labels speakers, writes summaries and answers questions about a meeting.
- Caps minutes: 300 a month and 30 minutes per conversation free, 1,200 a month on Pro.
- Keeps only your 25 most recent conversations on the free plan.
The dupe
What Mockingbird does
- Records the call from your Mac's audio, so no bot joins the meeting.
- Transcribes on your Mac, so audio never leaves it. Only the text goes to the AI, with your own key.
- Turns your rough notes plus the transcript into clean notes: decisions, action items, open questions.
- Saves every meeting as a Markdown file in a folder you own. History never expires.
The face of Mockingbird
Meet Nesta Blythe
botanical archivist in Auckland
Nesta catalogs heritage seeds for a living and keeps the minutes for her rooftop community greenhouse. Like every mockingbird, she repeats back exactly what was said, and files it where it can't expire.
If your notes vanish when you stop paying, they were never your notes.
Mockingbird is named after the mockingbird, which repeats what it hears. Nesta is a fictional character we made with ppl.studio, not a customer.
Waitlist open · Mockingbird
Get Mockingbird first
We build the dupes people sign up for first. Join and you'll get one email, the day Mockingbird is ready.
$300 Otter.ai Pro, 3 years$99 once
- Just your email: no card, no account
- One email when it ships, nothing else
- Planned price $99, once
Free
Build Mockingbird yourself
Paste this into Claude Code in an empty folder. It builds the core of Mockingbird in steps and stops after each one so you can try it.
- Built withSwift / SwiftUI · ScreenCaptureKit · whisper.cpp · Claude API · Markdown files
- You needClaude Code · an Anthropic API key
- Not includedThe full spec, polish, updates
Build me a macOS app called Mockingbird: a private AI meeting notepad. What it does - A menu-bar app. Start records my microphone and the system audio (the other people on the call). No bot joins the meeting. - It transcribes on this Mac with whisper.cpp and streams the transcript into a side pane while we talk. - Next to the transcript is a plain notepad where I type rough notes during the meeting. - Stop sends my notes and the transcript to the Claude API and writes enhanced notes: my bullets stay as the skeleton, expanded with what was actually said, then decisions, action items with owners, and open questions. My own words stay visibly distinct from the AI's additions. - Every meeting is saved as a Markdown file in ~/Documents/Mockingbird/ named YYYY-MM-DD-title.md, with the transcript in a collapsed section at the bottom. No cloud, no account. Tech - Swift and SwiftUI, macOS 14 or later. System audio through ScreenCaptureKit (audio only), the mic through AVAudioEngine, mixed to 16 kHz mono for whisper. - whisper.cpp as a Swift package. Download the model on first run with a progress bar; base.en by default, switchable in Settings. - The Claude API key lives in the Keychain and is set in Settings. Use the latest Sonnet model. How to work Build it in four steps and stop after each so I can try it: 1) record and save a WAV, 2) live transcription, 3) the notepad and saving, 4) the enhanced notes. After each step tell me exactly how to run and test it. Brand - The app's mascot is Nesta Blythe, a northern mockingbird in a forest-green tweed waistcoat and a mustard bow tie. Use her portrait (https://dupe.software/characters/mockingbird-icon.jpg) as the app icon, and her full-length picture (https://dupe.software/characters/mockingbird.jpg) on the first-run and empty screens. - Write every label and message in her voice: deliberate, unhurried and calm. Nesta would say: "If your notes vanish when you stop paying, they were never your notes."
All of their plans
What Otter.ai costs
From Otter.ai's pricing page, per person, checked 2026-10-12.
| Plan | Billing | Per month | 3 years | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai Basic | monthly | $0 | $0 | 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation |
| Otter.ai Pro | monthly | $16.99 | $612 | 1,200 min/month |
| Otter.ai Pro | annual | $8.33 | $300 | 1,200 min/month, billed yearly |
| Otter.ai Business | annual | $19.99 | $720 | unlimited meeting minutes |
| Mockingbird | once | — | $99 | planned price, plus your own AI usage |
Not sold on a dupe?
Other Otter.ai alternatives
Mockingbird isn't for everyone. These do the same job in other ways: free plans, open source, teams, other platforms. Prices from their own pricing pages, checked Oct 12, 2026.
Granola
Listens to your meetings through your computer's audio, so no bot joins the call.
Free plan: 30 days of meeting history.
Granola alternativeFathom
Recording every Zoom, Meet or Teams call free, with no monthly cap
Free plan: Unlimited recordings; AI action items and chat are limited. The catch: Bot-free recording is Mac-only beta; on Windows a bot joins your calls. Runs on Mac, Windows, Web (Zoom, Meet, Teams).
Fireflies.ai
Mixed Windows, Mac and phone users who want one searchable meeting archive
Free plan: 400 minutes of storage per team; limited AI summaries. The catch: Free plan stores only 400 minutes; recording video needs a paid plan. Runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Web.
Jamie
Windows users wanting bot-free notes, with data hosted in the EU
Free plan: 10 AI notes a month, meetings capped at 30 minutes. The catch: Plus caps you at 20 meetings a month; unlimited is Pro at $55. Runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone. Price from Jamie's billing docs (its pricing page shows euros only).
Krisp
Bot-free notes plus noise cancellation for calls in noisy rooms
The catch: No free plan, just a 7-day trial; paying monthly doubles the price. Runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, Chrome.
Meetily
Keeping recordings and transcripts entirely on your own Windows or Mac computer
Free plan: Community edition free with no usage caps; no speaker labels. The catch: Free edition doesn't label speakers; Linux users must build it themselves. Runs on Mac, Windows, Linux (build from source).
Anarlog (formerly Hyprnote)
Open-source Granola-style notepad that runs locally, including on Linux
Free plan: Free with on-device models or your own API keys. The catch: Free plan needs your own AI keys for summaries; Windows, Linux still beta. Runs on Mac, Windows (beta), Linux (beta).
We don't earn anything from these links, and none of these companies is affiliated with dupe.software. Seen a price change? Tell us. How we research these pages.
Leaving Otter.ai?
Take your Otter.ai data with you
Whatever you switch to, export first, then cancel. From Otter.ai's own help center, checked Oct 12, 2026.
1 · Export
Export your Otter.ai data
- Open the conversation, click the ⋯ menu and choose Export.
- Pick a text format (TXT, DOCX, PDF or SRT) and options like speaker names and timestamps. Turn on Audio to also download an MP3.
- Export the summary from the same dialog on web or desktop; mobile can only copy it.
- On Business or Enterprise, bulk export: tick conversations in My Conversations, click Export, and download the ZIP from the email.
- FormatsTranscripts: TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT. Audio: MP3. Bulk export: a ZIP by email.
- Watch outThe free Basic plan exports text as TXT only. Bulk export is Business and Enterprise only. Outlines and action items can only be copied, not exported as files.
2 · Cancel
Cancel Otter.ai
- As the workspace owner or an admin, go to Account Settings > Billing > Cancel plan (on mobile: Account > Account Settings > Manage subscription).
- Confirm at least 24 hours before the next billing date.
- If you subscribed through the App Store or Google Play, cancel there instead.
Afterwards: Paid features work until the billing period ends, and Otter doesn't refund subscriptions. The account then moves to Basic: only your 25 most recent conversations stay open; older ones are archived, not deleted, and can still be exported.
Source: help.otter.aiQuestions
Otter.ai alternative FAQ
Is Mockingbird an Otter clone?
It's an independent app that does the same job for meetings on a Mac. We build it from our own spec, with none of Otter's code, design or branding, and we aren't affiliated with Otter.ai.
Does Mockingbird join my Zoom calls?
It doesn't need to. Mockingbird records your Mac's own audio, so it works with any call app and nobody sees a bot in the meeting.
Is there a free Otter alternative with no minute limit?
Build Mockingbird yourself from the starter prompt on this page. It transcribes on your Mac, so there's no minute limit, only your own API usage for the summaries.
When can I get Mockingbird?
Mockingbird is on the waitlist: we build the dupes people sign up for first. Join and you'll hear the day it's ready.
More dupes
Mockingbird also replaces
Mockingbird is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by Otter.ai. Otter.ai is a trademark of its owner, named here only to describe what Mockingbird is an alternative to. All dupes.