Quick verdict
- Pick Pocket if your important conversations happen in person or on the phone.
- Pick Otter if you live on Zoom, Teams and Google Meet and want live notes with no hardware.
- Plenty of people will want both.
Want the full field? See Pocket AI recorder alternatives .
Pocket vs Otter side by side
| Otter | ||
|---|---|---|
| Device price | $129 (list $199) | No device |
| Subscription | Free plan with unlimited transcription; Pro $19.99/mo or $239.88/yr | Basic free; Pro $16.99/mo or $8.49/mo annual; Business $30/mo or $24/mo annual |
| Form factor | Credit card sized MagSafe phone attachment, 52 g, 3.4 x 2.2 x 0.2 in | Software: meeting bot, desktop, iOS and Android apps |
| Battery | Up to 4 days of active use | n/a |
| Transcription minutes | Unlimited on every plan | 300/mo free (30 min per conversation); 1,200 on Pro |
| Call recording | Yes, contact mic records both sides without speakerphone | Zoom, Teams, Meet; phone calls must be recorded with your phone and imported |
| Privacy and compliance | Pocket lists SOC 2 Type 1, HIPAA and GDPR; encrypted on device, in transit and at rest; not used for training; HIPAA mode and BAA on Enterprise | SOC 2 Type II; HIPAA as an Enterprise add-on |
| MCP / Claude | Yes, 7 tool MCP server; full transcripts and cross meeting questions on Pro | Yes, official MCP server, included on the free plan |
Prices are US list prices as of October 2026.
Where the conversation happens
Otter joins your video calls and writes a live transcript with speaker labels. It’s built for the screen. Pocket is built for the room and the phone. Pocket is polite. It’s about the size of a credit card, it rides on the back of my phone, and one click starts it. The phone app does the rest. Nobody across the table is staring at a phone propped up on a stack of napkins or a laptop lid between us. A small light shows when it’s recording, so nobody is surprised.
Minutes
Otter Basic is free with 300 minutes a month and a 30 minute cap per conversation. Pro is $16.99 a month, or $8.49 a month billed annually, with 1,200 recording minutes and up to 90 minutes a meeting. Pocket has unlimited transcription on the free plan.
MCP and Claude
Both have official MCP servers. Otter’s is included on the free Basic plan, connects to Claude through OAuth, and searches transcripts, summaries and action items. Pocket’s MCP server gives an AI seven tools: account info, folder lists, hybrid search across recordings, action item search, and action item updates on any plan, plus full transcripts with audio links and cross meeting questions on Pro. I run it every day. On the free plan, MCP is mostly search.
Privacy and compliance
Otter says it’s SOC 2 Type II certified, with HIPAA available as an Enterprise add-on. Pocket lists SOC 2 Type 1, HIPAA and GDPR, with HIPAA mode and a BAA on Enterprise.
A note on consent
Recording laws vary. Some states, including California and Washington, require everyone in the conversation to consent. Whatever you use, tell people you’re recording.
One more thing
Otter’s free plan caps each conversation at 30 minutes, about one sitcom episode.