How many free minutes does Otter AI give?
Otter AI's free Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes per month, with each single conversation capped at 30 minutes. The 300 minutes reset monthly and don't roll over. Free users also get just 3 lifetime file imports. To go higher, Pro gives 1,200 minutes/month (90 min per meeting) and Business removes the monthly cap.
Why — the first-principles explanation
The 300-minute free allowance is a usage meter set to be generous for casual use but limiting for professionals, exactly the line Otter wants, so light users stay free and heavy users upgrade. Every minute of live recording or transcription draws down that monthly bucket, which refills at the start of each billing month.
Two separate caps matter. The monthly total (300 minutes, about 5 hours) limits how much you transcribe overall, while the per-conversation cap (30 minutes) limits any single session. The second one catches people off guard: even with minutes left in your monthly bucket, a one-hour meeting stops transcribing at 30 minutes on the free plan. Both caps must be satisfied.
File imports are a third, separate limit, and the stingiest: 3 uploads for the entire life of the account, not per month. So the free plan is best for recording short live conversations, not for converting a library of existing recordings. When either the minutes or the meeting length pinches, Pro (1,200 minutes, 90-minute meetings) and Business (unlimited minutes, 4-hour meetings) are the upgrade paths.
An example that makes it click
Picture a prepaid phone card worth 300 minutes each month, but with a rule that no single call can run past 30 minutes. If you make lots of short calls, you'll rarely run out. But try one long hour-long call and it cuts off at the half-hour mark even though you still have minutes on the card. And there's a separate, tiny bonus: only 3 free 'voicemail transcriptions' (file uploads), ever.
How to do it
- Sign up for the free Basic plan at otter.ai, no payment needed.
- Use up to 300 transcription minutes per month, which reset at the start of each billing cycle.
- Keep any single recording under 30 minutes, since that's the per-conversation cap.
- Use your 3 lifetime file uploads sparingly, they don't renew each month.
- Upgrade to Pro (1,200 min/month, 90-min meetings) or Business (unlimited) if you hit the limits.
Key facts
- The free Basic plan gives 300 transcription minutes per month (about 5 hours).
- Each single conversation is capped at 30 minutes on the free plan.
- The 300 minutes reset monthly and do not roll over to the next month.
- Free users get only 3 file imports total (lifetime), not per month.
- Pro raises the allowance to 1,200 minutes/month with 90-minute meetings; Business removes the monthly cap (as of 2026-07).
Live meeting transcription, notes, and summaries.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.▶ The 60-second explainer (script)
How many free minutes does Otter AI give you? The free Basic plan gives you 300 transcription minutes a month, that's about five hours. But there's a catch a lot of people miss: any single conversation is capped at 30 minutes. So even if you still have minutes left for the month, a one-hour meeting will stop transcribing at the half-hour mark on the free plan. The 300 minutes reset each month and don't roll over, and separately, you only get three file uploads, total, for the life of your account. That makes free great for short live recordings, but not for transcribing a stack of existing files. When you start hitting the limits, Pro bumps you up to 1,200 minutes a month with 90-minute meetings, and Business removes the monthly cap entirely with meetings up to four hours.
What authoritative sources say
People also ask
Do free Otter minutes roll over each month?
No. The 300-minute allowance resets at the start of each billing month, and unused minutes are lost rather than carried forward.
Why did my free recording stop at 30 minutes?
The free plan caps each single conversation at 30 minutes, separate from the 300 monthly total. Upgrade to Pro for 90-minute meetings.
Is 300 minutes enough?
For occasional lectures or interviews, yes. For someone in daily meetings, it's usually gone within a few days, making Pro or Business worthwhile.
How many minutes do paid plans give?
Pro gives 1,200 minutes per month with 90-minute meetings; Business removes the monthly minute cap with a 4-hour limit per meeting.