JustVoice vs Otter.ai
JustVoice vs Otter.ai
Otter is a meeting notetaker that lives in the cloud. JustVoice is system-wide live dictation that runs locally on your Mac.
At a glance
- JustVoice
- Local Whisper on macOS. Free / $5/mo Plus / $9/mo Pro. 5,000 free words/mo. Code mode, app profiles, custom vocabulary.
- Otter.ai
- Cloud meeting transcription and AI summaries. Free / $16.99/mo Pro / $30/mo Business. Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension.
Otter.ai is excellent at one job: capturing meetings, transcribing them, and producing summaries. JustVoice is built for a different job: typing into any app on macOS, by voice, in real time. They overlap on "speech to text" but that's about it.
Why choose JustVoice over Otter.ai
- System-wide live dictation into any Mac app
- Local processing — no audio sent to cloud
- Code dictation with IDE detection (Pro)
- Custom vocabulary, snippets, and app profiles
- $5/mo Plus vs Otter Pro $17/mo
- No meeting required — works for any text input
Where Otter.ai still wins
We won't pretend JustVoice is better at everything. Otter.ai has real strengths:
- Live meeting capture from Zoom, Google Meet, Teams
- AI meeting summaries and action items
- Multi-speaker transcription with diarisation
- Cloud collaboration on transcripts
Bottom line: If your job is "transcribe and summarise meetings," use Otter. If your job is "type into any app by voice," use JustVoice. Many users run both.
Feature comparison: JustVoice vs Otter.ai
| Feature | JustVoice | Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|
| System-wide live dictation | ||
| Meeting transcription | ||
| Local processing | ||
| Speaker diarisation | ||
| AI summaries | ||
| Code dictation | ||
| Custom vocabulary | ||
| Mac appOtter is web/extension | ||
| Starting paid price$5/mo vs $17/mo |
The bottom line
JustVoice and Otter solve different problems. Use JustVoice for live dictation; use Otter for meeting capture and summaries. Or just use both.
Frequently asked questions
Is JustVoice really a good alternative to Otter.ai?
Yes. JustVoice covers the same core voice-to-text job — system-wide dictation on macOS — and adds GPU-accelerated local Whisper transcription, custom vocabulary, voice-activated snippets, and a free tier with 5,000 words per month. Most users switching from Otter.ai cite price, privacy, or features as the deciding factor.
Can I keep using both apps side by side?
Absolutely. JustVoice is a one-time download with a free tier — there's no risk in installing it alongside Otter.ai and trying both for a week. Most users settle on one, but they can coexist on the same Mac without conflict.
How long does it take to switch?
Five minutes. Download JustVoice from justvoice.ai/download, sign in (or use the free tier without an account beyond email), grant microphone and accessibility permissions, set a hotkey, and you're dictating into any app immediately. Custom vocabulary and snippets carry no migration overhead — they're entered as you go.
Can JustVoice replace Otter for meeting transcription?
Partially. JustVoice can transcribe an audio file from a recorded meeting locally. It does not currently provide live multi-speaker meeting capture, diarisation, or AI summaries. For those, Otter is purpose-built.
Why is JustVoice so much cheaper?
Different product, different cost structure. JustVoice runs Whisper locally on your Mac, so we don't bear inference costs per minute. Otter runs cloud transcription continuously and offers collaboration features that demand cloud infrastructure.
Compare JustVoice with other dictation apps
Ready to switch from Otter.ai?
Try JustVoice free with 5,000 words per month. No credit card required.