What Happens When You Hit Your Transcription Limit? 🚨⏱️
Complete guide to transcription limit overages on Otter, Fireflies, and other AI meeting tools
Quick Answer 💡
When you hit your transcription limit, most tools stop recording new meetings but keep your existing transcripts accessible. You typically have three options: wait for the monthly reset, upgrade to a paid plan, or switch to a tool with unlimited transcription. Tools like Fathom and Tactiq offer truly unlimited free transcription.
📊 What Happens on Each Tool
🦦 Otter.ai (300 minutes/month)
When Limit Is Reached:
- • Cannot start new recordings
- • Live transcription stops
- • Dashboard shows "limit reached"
- • Existing transcripts remain accessible
Per-Conversation Limit (30 min):
- • Recording continues but only 30 min transcribed
- • Long files get truncated after 30 minutes
- • Must manually restart to get next 30 min
💡 Pro Tip:
Split long meetings by stopping and restarting every 30 minutes for full coverage in parts.
🔥 Fireflies.ai (400 minutes storage)
Free Plan Includes:
- • Unlimited transcription for calendar meetings
- • 20 monthly AI credits for advanced features
- • 400 minutes of storage (not transcription)
- • 2-hour max per meeting recording
When Storage Fills Up:
- • Oldest meetings may be auto-deleted
- • New transcriptions still work
- • Must delete old content to free space
- • AI features stop when credits exhausted
✨ Good News:
Fireflies offers unlimited free transcripts for calendar meetings - you can capture every word with no upgrades or limits.
📝 Notta (120 minutes/month)
When Limit Is Reached:
- • No new transcriptions until reset
- • Existing content remains accessible
- • 5-minute per-conversation limit applies
- • File imports still count against limit
Advantages:
- • Unlimited file imports (unique)
- • 104 languages supported
- • Very affordable paid plans ($8.17/mo)
- • High accuracy rate
🎙️ Trint (Trial/File Limits)
Limit Structure:
- • Free trial: 3 files per month
- • Starter plan: 7 files per month
- • Files must be under 3 hours each
- • 3GB file size maximum
⚠️ "Unlimited" Warning:
- • Advanced plan claims "unlimited"
- • Actually has undisclosed fair-use caps
- • Daily transcription limits exist
- • Users report hitting hidden limits
⚠️ Be Careful:
Trint's Advanced Plan ($100/mo) has undisclosed fair-use limits despite being labeled "unlimited."
🔧 Your Options When Limits Are Reached
⏰ Wait for Reset
- • Monthly limits reset on billing date
- • Check your dashboard for reset date
- • Plan important meetings around reset
- • Free but requires patience
Best for:
Casual users with flexible schedules
💳 Upgrade Your Plan
- • Immediate access to more minutes
- • Often unlocks additional features
- • Typical cost: $10-20/month
- • Some offer per-minute overage fees
Best for:
Regular users who value the specific tool
🔄 Switch Tools
- • Some tools offer unlimited free tiers
- • Combine multiple free tools
- • May require learning new interface
- • Export transcripts before switching
Best for:
Power users who need more minutes
♾️ Tools with Unlimited Free Transcription
Tired of hitting limits? These tools offer truly unlimited transcription on their free plans, so you never have to worry about running out of minutes.
🎯 Fathom
- Unlimited recording & transcription
- Unlimited AI summaries
- Works with Zoom, Meet, Teams
- No hidden caps or fair-use limits
- Perfect for freelancers & solopreneurs
📋 Tactiq
- Unlimited transcription
- 60 minutes/day noise cancellation
- Chrome extension (no bot required)
- Works in-browser with Zoom, Meet, Teams
- Lightweight and privacy-focused
🔥 Fireflies.ai (Calendar Meetings)
- Unlimited transcripts for scheduled meetings
- 20 AI credits for advanced features
- 400 min storage (rotating)
- Automatic calendar integration
- Great for teams up to 8 people
🎙️ Krisp
- Unlimited transcripts
- 2 meeting notes per day
- AI-powered noise cancellation
- Works with any app
- Great audio enhancement
💡 Tips for Managing Transcription Minutes
✅ Smart Usage Strategies
- 🎯 Prioritize: Only record meetings that need transcription
- ⏰ Monitor: Check usage dashboard regularly
- 📅 Plan: Schedule important meetings after reset
- ✂️ Trim: Stop recording during breaks/chitchat
- 👥 Rotate: Use team members' accounts strategically
🔄 Backup Strategies
- 📱 Multiple tools: Have a backup tool ready
- 💾 Export: Download important transcripts
- 🗓️ Track: Know your reset date
- ⚡ Emergency: Keep one import slot for urgent needs
- 📊 Compare: Test alternatives before you need them
📊 Free Plan Limits Comparison
| Tool | Monthly Limit | Per-Meeting Limit | When Exceeded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai | 300 min | 30 min | Blocked until reset |
| Notta | 120 min | 5 min | Blocked until reset |
| Fireflies | Unlimited* | 2 hours | Storage rotates |
| Fathom | Unlimited | Unlimited | N/A |
| Tactiq | Unlimited | Unlimited | N/A |
| Krisp | Unlimited | Unlimited | 2 notes/day limit |
| Maestra | 300 min | 30 min | Blocked until reset |
*Fireflies offers unlimited transcription for calendar meetings but has 400 min storage limit.
💰 Upgrade Costs When Free Isn't Enough
| Tool | Paid Plan | Price/Month | What You Get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai | Pro | $10 | 1,200 min/mo, 90 min/meeting |
| Fireflies | Pro | $10 | Unlimited transcription, 8000 min storage |
| Notta | Pro | $8.17 | 1,800 min/mo, unlimited imports |
| Trint | Starter | $80 | 300 min/mo, 7 files/mo |