MeetInk vs Otter.ai: private meeting notes without the bot

Otter.ai is one of the best-known names in meeting transcription, and for good reason: it is mature, it works on many devices, and it is easy to share. It is also cloud-first. This comparison is for people deciding whether they need that, or would rather keep meetings on their own Mac.

How Otter works

Otter is a cloud service. You create an account, and recordings are processed and stored on Otter's servers. For online meetings, Otter can join the call as an assistant that records and transcribes — so other participants see it in the meeting. Transcripts can be shared, commented on and searched from the web and mobile apps.

That model has real advantages: your transcripts are available everywhere, and a whole team can work in them together.

How MeetInk works

MeetInk is a Mac app that never joins your meeting.

• No bot. It records your microphone and the audio from the meeting app directly on your Mac. Nothing appears in the call.
• On-device transcription. Speech recognition and speaker separation run locally. Audio is never uploaded.
• Only the meeting. By default it records only meeting apps and browsers, so music or a video in another app stays out. Echo cancellation keeps the call out of your microphone when you use speakers.
• Notes by the model you choose. A local model through Ollama keeps everything offline; or use your own Google Gemini (free tier, recommended), Claude or OpenAI key, which sends only the transcript text.
• No account. Your library lives on your Mac.

Notes that fit the meeting

Otter focuses on the transcript and a general summary. MeetInk writes different notes for different meetings — 16 types, detected automatically, including:

• Engineering: standups by person (done, doing, blockers), sprint planning, design reviews written as decision records, incident reviews.
• Sales: discovery calls with a MEDDIC scorecard, objections and competitors with timestamps, deal risks, demos.
• Client work: requirements, scope changes and commitments from both sides.
• People: interviews and 1:1s.

Every bullet links back to the second it was said.

After the call

• Every call's items collect in one Action items list, and any item becomes a prefilled Linear issue in one click.
• Ask AI answers questions about one meeting, a folder or all your meetings, citing where each answer came from.
• Each meeting shows talk time, longest monologue and questions asked, plus its Tone in words, clearly labelled as an AI estimate.
• Insights shows your hours in meetings, open action items, meetings that ran over and calendar coverage.
• Share to Slack, save Markdown to a synced folder, or send to Zapier, Make or n8n.
• Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor can search your meetings through a local connector.

Pricing

Otter offers a free tier and paid subscriptions per user — check their site for current plans.

MeetInk is a one-time purchase of $29 with 12 months of updates. There is a 14-day full trial, and afterwards it stays free for 5 meetings a month.

Side by side

	Otter.ai	MeetInk
Joins the call as a bot	Yes, for online meetings	No
Where audio is processed	Otter's cloud	Your Mac
Where transcripts are stored	Otter's cloud	Your Mac
Account required	Yes	No
Notes by meeting type	General summary	16 types, incl. MEDDIC and decision records
Action items to tickets	Via integrations	Linear in one click
Choose your AI model	No	Gemini (free tier), local Ollama, Claude or OpenAI, with your own key
Platforms	Web, desktop and mobile	Mac (macOS 15 or later)
Languages	Several — check their site	English
Pricing	Free tier + subscription	One-time license + free tier

Where Otter is the better choice

• You work across devices. Otter's web and mobile apps mean your transcripts follow you everywhere. MeetInk is Mac-only.
• You record in-person conversations on your phone. Otter's mobile apps handle that well.
• Your team collaborates inside transcripts. Shared comments and highlights are central to Otter.
• You need languages other than English. MeetInk is English-only today.

Why choose MeetInk instead

Choose MeetInk if you would rather nobody saw a recorder in the call, if your meetings contain things that should not sit on a vendor's servers, and if you want notes that already look like a standup update, a MEDDIC scorecard or a decision record — without paying every month.

The bottom line

Otter is a strong, collaborative cloud service. MeetInk is the private option for Mac: no bot, no upload, no account, and notes written for the meeting you actually had.

Frequently asked questions

Can I import old recordings?

Yes. You can import an audio file and MeetInk transcribes it on your Mac like any other meeting.

Will other people know I am recording?

Nothing joins the call, so there is no on-screen indicator for others. Let participants know you are taking notes wherever the law or your company requires it.

Do I need an internet connection?

Recording and transcription work offline. Writing notes works offline too if you use a local model through Ollama.

Try MeetInk

Download it and record your next call. Every feature is free for 14 days, no account needed.