CaptionSnap › Otter alternative
An Otter alternative without a bot or audio recording
CaptionSnap saves the captions Teams, Zoom or Google Meet already show, as a transcript on your Mac with each speaker's name and time. No bot joins the call and no audio is recorded.
What Otter does well
- A meeting agent. Otter's AI Meeting Agent can join your Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet meetings automatically, or you can record “directly from your Mac or Windows desktop, without bots joining the call” (otter.ai).
- Summaries and chat. Otter “turns every meeting into a clear summary with decisions, action items, and insights”, and Otter AI Chat searches across your meetings and connected apps (otter.ai).
- Desktop, phone and browser. From your desktop, a mobile device or your browser, with iOS and Android apps (otter.ai).
- A free plan with 300 transcription minutes a month and up to 30 minutes per conversation; Pro is $16.99 per user a month, or $8.33 billed yearly (pricing).
How they differ
Otter records the meeting's audio and transcribes it. CaptionSnap records no audio: it keeps the captions your meeting app already shows.
| App | How it gets the words | Uses call audio | Transcripts kept | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter | A bot joins the call, or its desktop app records audio | Yes | Cloud | Free: 300 min a month, 30 min per meeting. Pro $16.99/month ($8.33 billed yearly) |
| CaptionSnap | Saves the captions Teams, Zoom or Google Meet already show | No | Your Mac | $9.99 once |
From Otter's website, October 2026.
When CaptionSnap fits
- You want the exact words, with who said them, kept as files on your Mac.
- Your calls are on Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, with captions on.
- You want a transcript without your call's audio being recorded or sent anywhere.
- You'd rather pay once than every month.
When Otter fits better
- You want AI-written notes. CaptionSnap doesn't write summaries; it keeps the exact words in a plain file that you can paste into any AI tool.
- Your meeting has no captions, such as one in a room or a phone call. Otter can record from your phone; CaptionSnap needs the captions of Teams, Zoom or Google Meet.
- You're not on a Mac. CaptionSnap is for Mac only.
Free for 14 days, then $9.99 once. macOS 26 or later, Apple Silicon.
Questions
- Is CaptionSnap a free Otter alternative?
- No. You can try it free for 14 days; after that it's $9.99, once.
- Is CaptionSnap a local Otter alternative?
- Yes. Your meetings never leave your Mac; it goes online only to check your license and look for updates.
- Is there a meeting note taker without a bot?
- CaptionSnap keeps a transcript without a bot and without recording audio. It doesn't write AI notes; paste the transcript into any AI tool for a summary.