HumlaThe private, no-bot Otter alternative
Otter sends a bot to your calls and uploads every meeting to its cloud. Humla joins nothing and can keep it all on your Mac.
Free · Open source · macOS 13+ (Apple Silicon)
Which should you pick?
- Switch to Humla if you want a free, local, open-source alternative that keeps meetings on your Mac.
- Stick with Otter.ai if you want deep sales/CRM automation, an AI sales agent, and a large integration catalog.
Why people leave Otter.ai.
Why people look for an Otter alternative — the reasons that come up most.
- A bot joins the call. Otter's notetaker shows up as a participant — awkward for confidential client calls.
- Your meetings live in Otter's cloud. Audio and transcripts are uploaded and stored on its servers.
- The free tier is tight — limited minutes and just 3 lifetime file imports before the paywall.
- Paid plans run $17–20/user/month.
What Humla does instead.
Humla is the local, private alternative that never joins the call.
- No bot in the call. Humla records your Mac directly, so clients never see a recorder join.
- Your audio stays local. Run transcription and summaries 100% on-device — nothing is uploaded.
- Nothing to train on. Humla never uploads your audio, so there's nothing to feed a dataset.
- Free and unlimited. No minute caps or import limits — the app is free and open source.
- Open source. MIT-licensed and auditable end to end.
- Speaks your language. Around 99 languages via Whisper — on-device or with your own key — plus a dedicated Norwegian model and per-language routing.
See a meeting become a note.
New note, record, summary — that's the whole workflow. The cleanup afterwards is none, on a five-minute meeting or an hour-long one.
When Otter.ai is still the better pick.
Humla isn't for everyone. Stick with Otter.ai if:
- You want deep sales/CRM automation, an AI sales agent, and a large integration catalog.
- You need a mobile app and cross-platform (non-Mac) support — Humla is Mac-only.
- You'd rather have a fully managed hosted service you never think about.
FAQ
Is there an Otter alternative that doesn't use a bot?+
Yes. Humla records through macOS itself, so nothing joins the call and the other side sees nothing.
Can I keep my meetings off the cloud?+
Yes — Humla can run fully on-device, so audio and transcripts never leave your Mac. Cloud engines are optional with your own key.
Is Humla really free?+
The app is free and open source, with no minute caps. Optional team sync is $5/user/month, or self-host it free.