Tyll vs. Otter.ai
Otter.ai sends your audio to its servers, transcribes it there, and shows you the result in a web dashboard. Tyll does everything on your Mac — no upload, no account. In return, Otter has team features Tyll doesn't.
If your team already works in Otter and the cloud is fine: stay with Otter. If you want everything on your Mac and won't upload your audio: Tyll.
| Tyll | Otter.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on your Mac | ● | ○ Cloud-based |
| No account required | ● | ○ |
| Tells who's speaking | ● | ● |
| Captures your Mac's audio in meetings | ● Through its own audio device | ● Through an Otter bot in the meeting |
| Team sharing / collaboration | ○ | ● |
| Mobile app (iOS/Android) | ○ | ● |
| Live notes during the meeting | ○ | ● |
| Works offline | ● | ○ |
| Audio never leaves your Mac | ● | ○ |
- No cloud, no upload, no account
- Works offline — planes, trains, secure rooms
- One-time purchase, not a monthly subscription
- You confirm the speakers before the transcript is written
- No visible bot joining the meeting
- Apps for iPhone and Android
- Team collaboration, comments, shared folders
- Highlights, action items, and AI summaries in the dashboard
- Connects to Salesforce, Slack, Notion, and more
- Live captions during meetings
What each one really is
Otter.ai is a cloud service. Your audio goes to Otter’s servers, gets transcribed there, and the transcript lands in your Otter account. You work with it in your browser or the Otter app.
Tyll is a native Mac app. Your audio, the transcript, and everything in between stay on your Mac. You work inside the app and export whenever you want.
When Otter is the right call
Your team already lives in Otter and you actually use the cloud features — sharing, action items, the Salesforce connection. You need it on your phone. You want live captions during the meeting.
When Tyll is the right call
You can’t (or won’t) put audio in the cloud — for legal reasons, a client’s policy, or just on principle. Subscriptions wear you down. You record offline, on trains, planes, or on-site. And you’d rather no visible bot showed up in the meeting.
Will other participants see that I'm recording? +
With Tyll: no. Tyll listens through its own audio device, so there's no visible bot. With Otter: yes — the Otter bot shows up as a participant.
Can I share Tyll transcripts with my team? +
Not directly. You can export a transcript as Markdown and share it yourself. A built-in team feature isn't planned.
Does Tyll work with Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams? +
Yes. In the meeting app, pick "Tyll Audio" as both your microphone and your speaker. Then both sides arrive in Tyll as separate tracks — your voice and the other people's voices.