Softwr

Telecommunications · head to head

Five9 vs Otter.ai

Five9 logo

Five9

Telecommunications

Intelligent cloud contact center

From
$149/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Otter.ai logo

Otter.ai

Remote Work

Transcription and meeting notes powered by AI

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Otter.ai has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Five9 a 50 seat minimum applies to the published rates, so the entry cost on the $119 Digital plan is $5,950 a month; Otter.ai two separate limits apply at once, a monthly minute allowance and a per conversation cap, so a long meeting can be cut short with allowance remaining
  • They diverge on capability: Five9 covers Intelligent routing, Otter.ai covers Automatic transcription.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Five9 and Otter.ai actually diverge.

Attributes where Five9 and Otter.ai differ
AttributeFive9Otter.ai
Starting price$149/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, DesktopWeb, Ios, Android, Mac
CategoryTelecommunicationsRemote Work
Founded20012016

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Five9

  • Intelligent routing
  • IVR
  • ACD
  • Dialer
  • WFM
  • Quality management
  • Analytics
  • ServiceNow

Only in Otter.ai

  • Automatic transcription
  • Real-time transcription
  • Speaker identification
  • Searchable transcripts
  • Highlights and summaries
  • Sharing
  • Mobile apps
  • Zoom

Both cover

  • Salesforce
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Five9

  • Cloud contact centre across voice, chat, email and social messagingnot Otter.ai
  • Routing and managing high volume customer interactionsnot Otter.ai

Otter.ai

  • Meeting transcription and recordingnot Five9
  • Live transcription for accessibilitynot Five9
  • Multi-language meeting supportnot Five9

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Five9

  • A 50 seat minimum applies to the published rates, so the entry cost on the $119 Digital plan is $5,950 a month
  • Prices are per concurrent user rather than per named agent, which changes what a seat means when shifts overlap
  • Voice is excluded from the Digital plan and requires a quote
  • Usage based charges apply on top of the per seat rate
  • Three of the five tiers publish no price at all

Otter.ai

  • Two separate limits apply at once, a monthly minute allowance and a per conversation cap, so a long meeting can be cut short with allowance remaining
  • The free plan cuts off at 30 minutes per conversation and 300 minutes a month
  • The Pro plan still caps a single conversation at 90 minutes
  • Even unlimited plans cap a conversation at 4 hours
  • Imported file transcription has its own separate monthly limit, at 6,000 minutes on Business
  • Paying monthly rather than annually roughly doubles the rate, from $8.33 to $16.99 on Pro

Pricing, plan by plan

Five9

$149/month
  • Core$149/month
    • Inbound/outbound
    • IVR
    • Basic CTI
  • Premium$169/month
    • Core + Chat/email
    • Quality management
  • Optimum$199/month
    • Premium + WFM
    • Proactive chat
  • Ultimate$229/month
    • Full suite
    • Advanced analytics

Otter.ai

Free
  • BasicFree
    • 300 monthly transcription minutes
    • 3 lifetime audio/video file imports
    • Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet support
  • Pro$16.99/month
    • 1,200 in-app recording minutes
    • 10 monthly audio/video file imports
    • Up to 90 minutes per meeting
  • Pro Annual$8.33/month
    • 1,200 in-app recording minutes
    • 10 monthly audio/video file imports
    • Up to 90 minutes per meeting
  • Business$30/month
    • Unlimited meetings and in-app recordings
    • Unlimited audio/video file imports
    • Up to 4 hours per meeting

Which should you pick?

Choose Five9 if

  • You need intelligent routing.
  • You work on Web, Desktop.
  • You also want ivr.
Five9 review

Choose Otter.ai if

  • You need automatic transcription.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Mac.
  • You also want real-time transcription.
Otter.ai review

Questions people ask

Is Five9 or Otter.ai better?
Neither clearly leads. Five9 starts at $149/month and Otter.ai at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Five9 or Otter.ai?
Otter.ai has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $149/month for Five9 and Free for Otter.ai.
Does Five9 or Otter.ai run on more platforms?
Five9 runs on Web, Desktop. Otter.ai runs on Web, Ios, Android, Mac.
Can I use Otter.ai for free?
Yes. Otter.ai has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Five9 starts at $149/month.
What is Five9 best used for?
Five9 is most often used for cloud contact centre across voice, chat, email and social messaging, routing and managing high volume customer interactions. Of those, cloud contact centre across voice, chat, email and social messaging and routing and managing high volume customer interactions are not what Otter.ai is typically brought in for.
What can Five9 do that Otter.ai cannot?
Five9 covers Intelligent routing, IVR, ACD, Dialer. Otter.ai covers Automatic transcription, Real-time transcription, Speaker identification, Searchable transcripts. Both handle Salesforce, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Five9: What is the minimum team size required to use Five9?

Five9 requires a minimum commitment of 50 seats for any subscription plan.

Source
Otter.ai: What are the monthly transcription minute limits on Otter.ai plans?

Basic tier includes 300 monthly transcription minutes at no cost. Pro tier includes 1,200 in-app recording minutes. Business tier provides unlimited meetings and in-app recordings.

Source
Five9: How is Five9 pricing calculated, per user, flat rate, or usage-based?

Five9 offers flexible pricing models: per concurrent user, per named agent, or pay-per-use. The pricing structure varies depending on the chosen bundle.

Source
Otter.ai: What meeting duration limits apply to different Otter.ai tiers?

Pro tier supports up to 90 minutes per meeting. Business tier supports up to 4 hours per meeting. Enterprise tier offers custom configurations.

Source
Five9: What does the entry-level Digital bundle include, and what does it cost?

The Digital bundle costs $119 per month per seat and supports digital channels only. Higher tiers (Core at $159, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise) are available, with Plus/Pro/Enterprise requiring contact with sales for pricing.

Source
Otter.ai: How much can you save with Otter.ai annual billing?

Pro annual plan costs $8.33 per month (51% savings compared to $16.99 monthly). Business annual plan costs $19.99 per month (33% savings compared to $30 monthly).

Source
Five9: Are there additional charges beyond the base subscription?

Yes. All bundles include 3000 AI minutes per seat, but additional AI usage incurs charges. SMS messaging also has usage-based charges applied separately.

Source
Otter.ai: What integrations are available with Otter.ai Pro plan?

Pro tier includes integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier. Enterprise tier provides access to Otter API and custom webhooks.

Source
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