Comparison
Otter and OSSFlow do different jobs
Otter records meetings, lectures, and voice notes inside Otter, then transcribes them. OSSFlow does not record a meeting. It dictates into WhatsApp, Gmail, or any other field you have focused. As of October 2026, use Otter for the recording and OSSFlow for the typing.
What Otter is
Otter is an account product for transcripts of conversations. Its start page describes Basic transcription and summaries in English, French, or Spanish. Its pricing page lists iOS and Android apps. This page does not quote dollar prices. Paid plans exist, and the pricing page is the place to read them.
Otter's Basic plan help article says the free plan includes 300 transcription minutes a month, 30 minutes per transcription, 3 audio or video imports over the life of the account, and the 25 most recent conversations. A recording can run longer than 30 minutes, but on that plan only 30 minutes of the transcript are readable until you upgrade.
You copy, share, or export text from Otter. Otter is not a system keyboard and it does not paste into other apps while you chat. If the job is "record this lecture and give me a transcript", Otter is built for that and OSSFlow is not.
What OSSFlow is
OSSFlow pastes into the focused field and copies the same text to the clipboard and History. History stays on the phone. There is no account. The app is free, bring your own key, for Grok or any OpenAI-compatible transcription API. Optional cleanup uses an OpenAI-compatible chat API.
It needs Android 14 or newer and a network connection. It will not label speakers, import an old recording, or join a Zoom call. Students who need a lecture transcript should use a recorder such as Otter. Students who need to speak a paragraph into a notes field can use OSSFlow. That split is also on the student guide.
Questions
- Can OSSFlow transcribe a lecture in the background?
- No. OSSFlow listens while the bubble is red, then pastes into the focused field. It is not a meeting recorder and it does not keep a room transcript with speaker names.
- Does Otter type into WhatsApp or Gmail?
- Not as a dictation keyboard. You record or import audio in Otter, then copy or export the transcript. OSSFlow is the tool that pastes into the field you already opened.
- How much does the Otter Basic plan include?
- Otter's help article says 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per transcription, 3 lifetime file imports, and the 25 most recent conversations. This page does not quote paid prices.
- Does OSSFlow need an Otter account?
- No. OSSFlow has no account. You bring an API key. The app is free, bring your own key.