Comet is the better app overall, scoring 8.2 to 8.0. Comet wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Otter.ai on 1, with 1 tied.
Researchers and heavy web users who want AI help beside every tab
Students, journalists and teams who want searchable transcripts of every meeting
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Comet | Otter.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Assistants | AI Assistants |
| Category rank | #10 of 16 | #13 of 16 |
| Developer | Perplexity AI | Otter.ai |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Comet better than Otter.ai?
Comet is the better app overall, scoring 8.2 to 8.0. Comet wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Otter.ai on 1, with 1 tied.
Which is cheaper, Comet or Otter.ai?
Comet: Free on every platform; Perplexity Pro ($20 a month) and Max raise the limits. Otter.ai: Free: 300 minutes a month; Pro is $8.33 a month billed yearly or $16.99 monthly. On value for money, Comet scores higher.
Do Comet and Otter.ai work on the same devices?
Only Otter.ai runs on Web.
Which is more private, Comet or Otter.ai?
Comet scores higher on privacy (5.8/10). Perplexity says Comet keeps browsing data on your device, but with a synced account it may record your history and use data to improve its AI. Its privacy notice also allows some ad sharing.
Strengths and weaknesses
Comet
- Free on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android
- Can act on pages, not just sum them up
- Your sessions sync between phone and computer
- A synced account lets Perplexity record your browsing history
- The helper has to read the pages you visit
- No Linux version
Comet is Perplexity's web browser, with an AI helper beside every tab. It can sum up a page or compare products across sites. It can even work through a multi-step task while you browse. Bigger jobs go to Perplexity Computer. It's free on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and your sessions sync between them. The trade-off is privacy. The helper has to read your pages, and a synced account lets Perplexity record your history.
Full Comet review
Otter.ai
- Years of experience with meeting and lecture transcripts
- Free plan includes 300 minutes a month
- Apps for phone, computer and web
- Free conversations stop at 30 minutes
- Trains AI on recordings with personal details removed, by default
- Faces a class action lawsuit over recording consent
Otter has typed up meetings and lectures for years. It writes live transcripts with speaker labels. Its notetaker can join Zoom, Meet and Teams on its own. AI Chat answers questions across your meetings. A new desktop app records calls and chats outside scheduled meetings. The free plan works but stops each conversation at 30 minutes. Otter trains its AI on recordings with personal details removed. It also faces a class action lawsuit over recording consent.
Full Otter.ai review
