🆓 Free Plan Transcription Limits
⚠️ Core Restrictions
Monthly & Session Limits
📅 Monthly Allowance:
- • Total minutes: 300 minutes per month
- • Reset date: Same day each month (signup date)
- • Rollover: No unused minutes carried forward
- • Overage: Service paused until next reset
- • Tracking: Real-time usage counter in app
- • Warning alerts: At 250, 280, 295 minutes
⏱️ Session Restrictions:
- • Max duration: 30 minutes per session
- • Extension option: +10 minutes (once per day)
- • Warning alerts: 5, 2, 1 minute before cutoff
- • Auto-cutoff: Recording stops at limit
- • Resume capability: Can start new session immediately
- • Partial transcripts: Saved even if cut short
Storage & Feature Limits
💾 Storage Restrictions:
- • Transcript storage: 100 transcripts maximum
- • Retention period: 1 year (then auto-deleted)
- • File uploads: 3 audio files per month
- • File size limit: 100MB per audio file
- • Supported formats: MP3, M4A, WAV, AIFF
📤 Export & Sharing:
- • Export limit: 5 exports per month
- • Share limit: 3 shared transcripts per month
- • Export formats: TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT
- • Live sharing: Not available
- • Bulk operations: Not supported
💰 Paid Plan Transcription Limits
📊 Pro Plan Limits ($8.33/month)
Enhanced Allowances
📈 Increased Limits:
- • Monthly minutes: 6,000 minutes (20x increase)
- • Session length: Unlimited duration
- • Audio uploads: 10 files per month
- • File size: 4GB per audio file
- • Storage: Unlimited transcripts
- • Retention: 2 years
🚀 Removed Restrictions:
- • Export limit: Unlimited exports
- • Sharing: Unlimited shared transcripts
- • Custom vocabulary: 1,200 words
- • Advanced search: Full-text search
- • Integrations: Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex
🏢 Business Plan Limits ($20/month)
Enterprise Features
♾️ Unlimited Access:
- • Monthly minutes: Unlimited transcription
- • Session length: No time restrictions
- • Audio uploads: Unlimited files
- • File size: 4GB per file (same as Pro)
- • Storage: Unlimited with extended retention
🎯 Advanced Capabilities:
- • Vocabulary: 2,500 custom words
- • Admin controls: User management dashboard
- • Team folders: Shared workspace organization
- • Priority support: Faster response times
- • Bulk operations: Mass export/management
⚙️ Technical & Hidden Limits
🔧 System-Level Restrictions
Platform-Wide Limits (All Plans)
👥 Meeting Limits:
- • Speaker identification: Maximum 10 speakers
- • Language support: English only for live transcription
- • Audio quality: Minimum 8kHz sample rate
- • Background noise: Performance degrades in loud environments
- • Accents: Optimized for North American English
📱 Device & Network:
- • Concurrent sessions: 1 per account
- • Mobile battery: ~3 hours continuous use
- • Network speed: Minimum 1 Mbps for live sync
- • Browser support: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge
- • Mobile OS: iOS 13+, Android 8.0+
Rate Limits & API Restrictions
⚡ Processing Limits:
- • Upload queue: 3 files processing simultaneously
- • Processing time: ~2x real-time for audio files
- • Retry attempts: 3 automatic retries for failures
- • Timeout: 10-minute processing limit per file
🔌 Integration Limits:
- • API calls: No public API for free users
- • Zapier: Pro plan only, 100 tasks/month
- • Calendar sync: 10 calendars max per account
- • CRM integrations: Business plan only
🎯 Limit Optimization Strategies
💡 Maximizing Free Plan Usage
Session Management
⏰ Time Management:
- • Track usage: Monitor remaining minutes daily
- • Prioritize meetings: Use for most important sessions
- • Split sessions: Break 60-minute meetings into 2×30
- • Use extension wisely: Save 10-minute bonus for key moments
- • End early: Stop recording when meeting concludes
📝 Content Strategy:
- • Pre-meeting prep: Review agenda to optimize recording time
- • Key moments: Start recording for decision points
- • Skip breaks: Pause during non-productive time
- • Focus on speakers: Record when specific people talk
Storage Optimization
🗃️ Storage Management:
- • Regular cleanup: Delete old/unimportant transcripts
- • Export before delete: Save important content locally
- • Archive system: Keep only recent transcripts in Otter
- • Rotate content: Move old transcripts to other tools
📤 Export Strategy:
- • Batch exports: Use 5 monthly exports strategically
- • Copy-paste alternative: Manual text extraction
- • Screenshot summaries: Capture AI insights visually
- • Print to PDF: Browser-based export workaround
🔄 When Limits Become Problematic
🚨 Signs You Need More Capacity
Upgrade Indicators
⚠️ Free Plan Breaking Points:
- • Using 250+ minutes monthly consistently
- • Need sessions longer than 40 minutes regularly
- • Hit storage limit frequently
- • Need more than 5 exports monthly
- • Require custom vocabulary for work terms
- • Need team collaboration features
🆔 Alternative Free Options:
- • Fireflies: 800 min/month, unlimited sessions
- • Notta: 120 min/month, unlimited storage
- • tldv: 1,000 min/month, unlimited recordings
- • Microsoft Copilot: Free with Office 365
- • Google Meet: Basic transcription included
🔗 Related Limit Questions
Ready to Break Free from Limits? 🔓
Compare transcription limits across all platforms to find the perfect fit for your usage needs.