CallNote vs Otter.ai at a glance
| Feature | CallNote | Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Records audio | No, never | Yes. Records and transcribes meetings and in-app recordings |
| Ordinary phone calls | Yes, from the transcript your phone system makes (Aircall, Dialpad) | Not directly. Record the call with the phone's built-in recorder, then import the file. Zoom Phone sync on Enterprise only |
| Sends a bot to the meeting | No | Yes. Otter Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet and Teams from your calendar |
| How it gets the transcript | Receives one that already exists: Aircall, Dialpad or Microsoft Teams automatically, or paste, upload, Email-in or a dictated voice memo | Makes its own from the audio it records or you import |
| Live transcript during the meeting | No | Yes |
| Where data is stored | Sydney (AWS ap-southeast-2) | Amazon Web Services, based in the United States, per Otter's privacy policy |
| AI training on your data | Not used to train AI | Otter says it trains its own models on de-identified data. Its AI service providers do not train on customer data |
| Sealed notes and audit log | Yes. SHA-256 checksum on publish, append-only amendments, full audit log | Not described on its site |
| Note format | Your own file note template, built from one of your past notes | Transcript, summary and action items |
| Security statements | Encrypted, hosted in Sydney. No SOC 2 claim | SOC 2 Type 2 |
| Free option | 14-day free trial, no credit card | Free Basic plan: 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation |
| Pricing | Solo AUD $149/month. Team AUD $99 per seat/month | USD. Pro $16.99 per user/month, or $8.33 billed annually. Business $30, or $19.99 billed annually. Enterprise by quote |
Which one to choose
When Otter.ai is the better choice
- You want a tool that captures the meeting for you. Otter joins the meeting, records it and produces the transcript itself. CallNote needs a transcript to exist already.
- You want a live transcript on screen while people are talking. CallNote does not do live transcription.
- You want a free plan. Otter's Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes a month. CallNote has a 14-day free trial.
- Price per seat decides it. Otter Pro is US$8.33 per user a month billed annually. CallNote starts at AUD $149 a month.
- You want a mobile app that records an in-person conversation. Otter has iOS and Android apps for that.
- US hosting is fine for the meetings you want transcribed.
When CallNote is the better choice
- Most of your client contact is ordinary phone calls. With Otter you record each call on the phone and import it by hand. With CallNote, Aircall and Dialpad transcripts arrive automatically.
- You do not want a recording of client calls made for the note tool. CallNote never records and only sees the transcript.
- You want data hosted in Australia. CallNote is hosted in Sydney and does not use your data to train AI.
- You need a file note in your own format. Paste one of your past notes and CallNote builds a template with your headings.
- You need the record locked. Publishing seals the note with a SHA-256 checksum, amendments are append-only and there is a full audit log.
- You want the note on the client record. CallNote publishes to HubSpot, Clio or Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Can Otter record phone calls? Not directly. Otter's own help centre says Apple and Google currently restrict third-party apps from recording phone calls, so you have to record the call with your phone's built-in recorder and then import the audio into Otter to have it transcribed. Otter is built first for online meetings, where its Notetaker joins and records. CallNote is a different kind of tool: it never records, and it writes a file note from a transcript your phone system or meeting platform has already produced.
We make CallNote. Everything below about Otter comes from its own help centre, pricing page, privacy policy and security page in October 2026. Check their site for current details before you decide.
Can Otter record phone calls?
Otter's help article 'Record and transcribe a phone call' (updated September 2026) sets out the position, and a separate help article covers Zoom Phone:
- No direct recording. 'Apple and Google currently restrict third-party apps from recording phone calls directly, so calls must be recorded separately and imported into Otter.'
- A live Otter recording stops for a call. The same article says a live recording in Otter will pause during a phone call.
- On iPhone: record the call with Apple's built-in call recording, open the recording in the Notes app, choose Share Audio and select Otter. Otter then imports and transcribes it.
- On Android: record the call with Google's built-in call recording on a supported device, then share the file to Otter. Steps vary by device.
- Zoom Phone: on Otter's Enterprise plan only, an admin can connect Zoom Phone so future Zoom Phone calls sync to Otter and are transcribed automatically.
- Consent is on you. Otter says recording phone calls is subject to local laws and that you are responsible for getting any permissions required.
Otter also says it hopes to offer direct phone call recording in future if platform policies allow. As at October 2026 it does not.
Phone calls without recording them yourself
CallNote does not record calls either, and it does not ask you to. It starts one step later, from a transcript that already exists. If your business phone system is Aircall or Dialpad, the system produces the transcript and CallNote receives it automatically once connected. Aircall needs its AI Assist switched on for transcripts, and Dialpad needs a Pro or Enterprise plan. The note is waiting for review after the call.
If you use a different phone system that produces transcripts, paste the transcript, upload it as a .vtt or .txt file, or forward it to your Email-in address. After an in-person meeting or a call with no transcript, you can dictate a voice memo of what was discussed and CallNote writes the note from that.
How the two tools compare
Otter.ai is a live transcription and meeting notes tool. Otter Notetaker joins your Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams meeting through your connected calendar, records it and transcribes it in real time. It has a free plan and mobile apps for recording in-person conversations.
CallNote never records a call, never sends a bot and never joins a meeting. It takes the transcript and turns it into a structured file note in your own format. You review it, then publish it. The note is sealed with a SHA-256 checksum, amendments are append-only, and data is hosted in Sydney.
Where Otter.ai is strong
- Live transcription. The transcript appears while people are speaking, which CallNote does not do.
- A real free plan. 300 transcription minutes a month, with a 30-minute limit per conversation, is enough to test it properly.
- It captures the meeting for you. Connect your calendar and Notetaker joins on its own.
- Team features. Shared, searchable conversations across a workspace, AI chat over past meetings, and on the Enterprise plan a Zoom Phone connection.
If your main need is transcribing internal meetings and searching them later, Otter is a sensible choice and CallNote is not trying to win that buyer. For a wider list, see Otter.ai alternatives in Australia.
Recording versus receiving
Otter works by capturing audio. Notetaker is a participant that joins the meeting, records what is said and produces the transcript. Otter can also use stored voice data to label speakers across recordings. That means an audio recording of the conversation exists, and Otter's privacy policy names Amazon Web Services, based in the United States, for compute and data storage.
CallNote assumes a transcript already exists, because your phone system or meeting platform produced one, and it only handles that text. For a broker, adviser or lawyer that changes what data exists, where it sits and what you need to tell the client. We go through the trade-offs in meeting bots versus transcript-only note tools.
Otter AI in Australia: pricing and where data is stored
If you are looking at Otter from Australia, three things are worth knowing before you sign up.
- Pricing is in US dollars. Otter's pricing page lists Basic as free, Pro at $16.99 per user a month (or $8.33 a month billed annually) with 1,200 transcription minutes, and Business at $30 (or $19.99 billed annually). Enterprise is by quote. We could not find Australian dollar pricing on its site.
- Storage is in the United States. Otter's privacy policy names Amazon Web Services, based in the United States. We could not find an Australian hosting option on its site.
- Model training. Otter's security page says it de-identifies user data before training its own models, and that its AI service providers do not use customer data to train theirs.
CallNote is priced in Australian dollars, hosted in Sydney (AWS ap-southeast-2), encrypted, and does not use your data to train AI. For internal meetings, US hosting is usually fine. For a client file note that may be pulled out in a dispute or an audit, check it against your own obligations and your licensee's or insurer's policy.
What the note has to do
Otter gives you a transcript, a summary and action items. That is a good record of a meeting. A client file note is a different document: it follows your firm's headings and has to stay unchanged once it is on the file.
- Your format. Paste one of your own past notes and CallNote builds a template with your headings and order. System templates cover general calls, a short chronological call log, and mortgage and NCCP.
- Sealed on publish. SHA-256 checksum, append-only amendments and a full audit log.
- On the client record. The note goes to the one CRM you have connected: HubSpot, Clio or Microsoft Dynamics 365. Slack, Notion and Zapier are also available, plus PDF export.
For one example of what a template has to cover, see how to write a compliant NCCP file note.
How you get a transcript into CallNote
- Connect Aircall. An Aircall admin connects once and call transcripts arrive automatically.
- Connect Dialpad. Paste a Dialpad API key and call transcripts arrive automatically.
- Connect Microsoft Teams. Each person connects their own Microsoft account, and the firm's Teams admin turns on transcript access once.
- Paste a transcript. This works with anything, including a transcript Otter produced.
- Upload a .vtt or .txt file exported from Zoom, Google Meet or Teams.
- Forward it to your Email-in address, as an attachment or pasted into the email.
- Dictate a voice memo after an in-person meeting.
Zoom and Google Meet are not automatic. You upload or paste the transcript.
Pricing
Otter is cheaper per user and has a free plan. If cost per seat is the deciding factor, Otter wins that line.
CallNote is AUD $149 a month for Solo and AUD $99 per seat a month for Team, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. It is priced for people whose write-up time is the real cost. Details are in the pricing section.
So which should you pick?
If you want live transcripts of online meetings, a free plan to start with and a searchable archive for your team, Otter.ai is a good tool and a fair choice.
If you are an Australian broker, financial adviser or lawyer who spends the day on the phone and needs a file note on the client record, hosted in Australia, without recording calls yourself, that is what CallNote is built for. You can start a free trial with no credit card, or compare CallNote against Fireflies and Fathom. The comparison hub lists every tool side by side.
Common questions
Can Otter record phone calls?
Not directly. Otter's help centre says Apple and Google restrict third-party apps from recording phone calls, so you must record the call with your phone's built-in call recorder and then import the audio file into Otter, which transcribes it. The exception is Zoom Phone, which can sync calls to Otter automatically on the Enterprise plan.
Can Otter record phone calls on iPhone?
Otter cannot record an iPhone call itself. Otter's instructions are to record the call with Apple's built-in call recording, open the recording in the Notes app, choose Share Audio and select Otter. Otter then imports, transcribes and summarises the file. A live recording in the Otter app pauses when a phone call starts.
Can Otter record phone calls on Android?
Not directly. Otter says to record the call with Google's built-in call recording on a supported Android device, then share the audio file to Otter to import and transcribe it. The steps vary by device.
What does Otter AI cost in Australia?
Otter does not list Australian dollar prices. Its pricing page is in US dollars: a free Basic plan with 300 transcription minutes a month, Pro at US$16.99 per user a month or US$8.33 billed annually, and Business at US$30 or US$19.99 billed annually, as at October 2026. Otter's privacy policy says data is stored with Amazon Web Services in the United States.
Does CallNote record the call?
No. CallNote never records calls, never joins a meeting as a bot and never stores call audio. It receives a transcript your phone system or meeting platform already produced, then turns that text into a structured file note that you review and publish.
Can I use Otter and CallNote together?
Yes. If Otter has already transcribed a call or meeting, paste that transcript into CallNote or forward it by email, and CallNote builds the file note from it in your own format. CallNote does not need to be the tool that captured the conversation.
Where is my data stored with CallNote and with Otter?
CallNote hosts data in Sydney (AWS ap-southeast-2), encrypted, and does not use it to train AI. Otter's privacy policy names Amazon Web Services, based in the United States, for compute and data storage, and its security page says it trains its own models on de-identified data.