Comparing note takers
An Otter alternative for students: what Avenotes does.
If you are comparing AI note takers for class, here is Avenotes, plainly. This page says nothing about what Otter does or costs: read that on their own site, then hold both to the questions below.
Free: your transcript and recap after every meeting. See the plans
Eight questions to ask any note taker
And Avenotes’ answer to each. Every answer here is true on every plan.
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Does a bot join my class?
No. Nothing joins the meeting and nobody sees an Avenotes participant. It hears only what your microphone or shared tab plays.
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Does it work in a lecture hall?
Yes. Leave a laptop or phone where it can hear; it listens through the microphone and labels each voice. The iPhone app keeps listening when the phone is locked.
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What happens to the audio?
Avenotes records the meeting and writes the transcript. The audio is deleted as soon as it’s ready. Never sold, and never used to train AI.
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What do I have when class ends?
The transcript, and your recap, usually seconds after it ends: what was covered, your action items, the open questions, and the jargon and terms to learn.
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What does the free plan give me?
Free: your transcript and recap after every meeting. The plans page has the minutes it includes.
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Can it read a recording I already have?
Yes. Upload audio or video, up to 3 hours and 2 GB, and get its transcript and recap. A transcript from another app can be pasted in as text.
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What about my language?
Hold the class in one language and read the recap in yours, in any of 19. The app itself is in English.
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What can’t it do?
Play the audio back; work without a connection; connect to other tools; or hear a call playing in another app on a phone.
Pro plan
Notetakers help after. Avenotes helps during.
In a class, Avenotes explains: what this means, the key idea, why it matters. It never gives you lines to say.
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Pro plan
Keep up with a 3-hour lecture
The live transcript puts the words on screen as they are said.
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Pro plan
Explain that
The last thing said in plain words: jargon, acronyms, idioms, and what the speaker actually means.
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Pro plan
Ask anything about what’s been said
Type any question about the class so far, such as “what did I miss?”
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Pro plan
Notes that write themselves as you listen
About every three minutes the class is written up as it goes: concepts, examples and assignments.
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Pro plan
Avenotes remembers. You just ask.
Ask your meetings: one question across your pinned and newest meetings, answered with the meetings it came from.
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Pro plan
A live link for your class
A link your class opens to follow the transcript as it happens, with no account.
How to compare fairly
- Try both on the same class. A real lecture, with its room, its accents and its jargon, tells you more than any page, this one included.
- Ask everyone first, whichever tool you use. Before every meeting, ask people if they’re OK with you recording.
- A transcript can mishear a word. Check anything that matters against the lecture itself.
- Avenotes is not affiliated with Otter.ai. Its name is used only to say what this page is compared with.
Questions students ask
Is Avenotes better than Otter?
That depends on what you need, and we will not judge a product we do not make. The eight answers above are what Avenotes does; try it on one class and see.
Can I bring my old transcripts?
As text, yes. Paste a transcript or pick a .txt, .srt, .vtt or .md file and it becomes a meeting in Avenotes. That costs no minutes.
Does it work for online classes?
Yes, from a computer. See Transcribe a Zoom class.
And on my phone?
Avenotes for iPhone is on the App Store. See Record lectures on iPhone.
More for students
Try it on one class and see.
Free: your transcript and recap after every meeting. See the plans